Remi Blaze OxidexOxidex is an analog tape saturation plugin for macOS. It models the behavior of real magnetic tape — hysteresis, head-bump resonance, wow and flutter, and spectral aging — so tracks take on genuine tape character rather than a static EQ curve. A single Wear knob ages the tape from a pristine studio reel to a crinkled cassette. Saturation engine: Magnetic hysteresis model with frequency-dependent behavior. Oversampled S-curve saturation (2×, 4×, 8×), anti-aliased. Three tape speeds — 7.5, 15 and 30 IPS. Asymmetric clipping for natural even-harmonic content. Tone and texture: Head Bump — resonant low-end lift that tracks tape speed. Tilt EQ — dark to bright on a single knob. Wear — wow and flutter, high-frequency loss and dropouts, pristine to worn. Tape Hiss and Vinyl Mode for period-correct noise. Performance effects: Tape Stop / Start — one-button slowdown and spin-up. Motor Pressure — momentary flange build with a drive boost. Tape Speed Shift — smooth glide between speeds. Workflow: Auto-Gain matching for honest A/B comparison. Dry/Wet for parallel saturation, output trim with a safety limiter. Flux Meter that responds to saturation. 22 factory presets, preset save/load. Resizable interface. Formats: AU, VST3, and Standalone — Universal Binary (Apple Silicon + Intel), code-signed and notarized by Apple, so it installs cleanly on macOS. Pay-what-you-want, from $5. Read More

Counterfeit Retro Mainboards with Fake AGP Slots Are a ThingSometimes that retro gaming itch strikes, and you just have to source components for a Pentium 4 build, like [Computer Retro Bus] did recently. Unfortunately, along the way he learned that you can actually get counterfeit mainboards. Case in point the purported ‘Asrock P4i45GV’ that was purchased as the core of this Pentium 4 build, which turned out to have many issues that included a fake AGP slot.
The mainboard was bought off Facebook Marketplace, with the first sign of trouble being spotty GPU support for the AGP slot, and an inability to install a driver for a card that seemed to work. Following this, issues with the installed Soundblaster soundcard popped up, with the use of Windows ME as OS being of course a factor, but even ME is generally not this sketchy.
Warning on fake AGP slot on genuine Asrock mainboard. (Credit: The Retro Web)
At some point he decided to actually dig into this Socket 478 mainboard that he had purchased, only to find out that there was a reason why there were no real markings on it. After an image search it turned out to be a clone of the aforementioned Asrock mainboard, including the original’s ‘feature’ of connecting the ‘AGP’ slot to the PCI bus. This explained why only the AGP GPUs that are compatible with PCI worked with this mainboard, as it’s actually Asrock’s ‘AGI’ slot.
Effectively just a way to scam buyers into believing that they bought a mainboard with an AGP slot when it was just a regular PCI slot cosplaying as an AGP slot. This doesn’t just mean lower speeds and spotty support with AGP cards, but also also potentially dead GPUs, as this mainboard inherited the same 3.3V-only card support.
Unlike PCI slots that are keyed for 3.3/5V voltage support, AGP slots are keyed for either 3.3V or 1.5V, or no key for universal support. These ‘AGI’ slots are sadly keyed for 1.5V AGP cards and thus will expose 1.5V-only AGP cards to potentially fatal voltages.
On the bright side, these are at least genuinely old mainboards, using the same AGP-less Intel chipsets, made back in the day to sell to unsuspecting buyers. Clearly the pain that these fake boards as well as genuine Asrock boards that these ripped off caused back in the day continues in 2026. Caveat Emptor, as they say.

Jessica Audiffred Performs Next-Level Set in HollywoodIt's been two years since Music Connection interviewed Jessica Audiffred for our weekly Hit the Decks! column, but we knew then that this bass music artist was onto something special.

She told us back then that she plays bass music across the spectrum. "Dubstep, House, Riddim and Drum & Bass," she said. "I’ve also been playing hard techno as a side project and at after parties. That seems to be very well received."

That same year, Audiffred became the first female dubstep artist to headline the Hollywood Palladium, and in July she returned to the scene of her triumph, this time for a mammoth three hour extended set. In the years between, Audiffred released the much-loved Rave New World album, cementing her standing as one of the top bass artists on the circuit right now.

The first thing that was quickly apparent was how rabid the large Palladium crowd was for all things Audiffred. Every mention of her name from opening artist Drinkurwater (who did a great job of warning up the Palladium) was greeted with enthusiastic, deafening cheers.

By the time she stepped up to the decks, situated in the middle of the Palladium floor rather than on the traditional stage, the energy was fever-pitch.

This is an artist who know exactly how to keep a dance floor moving. Spinning a mixture of her own tunes, classic electronica, and some expertly-woven oddities (Queen's "We Will Rock You," Killers' "Mr. Brightside"), Audiffred truly had Hollywood in the palm of her hand.

As more and more new tracks are dropped and word of her brilliance continues to spread, one can imagine Audiffred blowing up and transcending the bass scene. Let's see!

The post Jessica Audiffred Performs Next-Level Set in Hollywood first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

TikTok is testing an opt-in ‘Likeness Detection’ tool that lets US creators find and report AI deepfakes of themselvesIt was first spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra, who wrote in a post on X that TikTok was testing the feature with "some US creators."
Source

Dirty Boy Jr. Series from Warm Audio The new Dirty Boy Jr. Series promises to bring the authentic Dirty Boy tone to a broader audience while preserving the all-important character of the original designs.

cloph-dsp releases Grungr, a FREE drive pedal plugin
cloph-dsp has released Grungr, a free/pay-what-you-want drive pedal emulation for guitar, bass, and anything else that needs more bite. You might remember Pedro Castro from Freeze95, the fun little stochastic stutter and freeze effect we featured on BPB earlier this year. I loved that one, so Grungr is another interesting free effect from the same [...]
View post: cloph-dsp releases Grungr, a FREE drive pedal plugin

Pleatech Audio offers WorldVerb reverb plugin for FREE (Windows)
Pleatech Audio is offering WorldVerb, a creative reverb plugin for Windows, as a free download for BPB readers. Developer Niels posted the offer in the BPB community section and shared a coupon code that unlocks the full version, with future updates included. That code is KAAPXM3; I tested it, and it works. Thanks to Niels for [...]
View post: Pleatech Audio offers WorldVerb reverb plugin for FREE (Windows)

Can Jamstik finally make MIDI guitar stick?Ah, MIDI guitar. The promised land of unlimited six-string expression, but one that never quite delivered. From the space-age Roland G-707 to modern approaches like Fishman’s TriplePlay, many manufacturers have tried to translate the guitar’s familiar physical language into something a synth can understand. Few, however, have managed to deliver a solution convincing enough to stick.
Jamstik thinks the answer is integration. The Minneapolis company builds MIDI control into full-size guitars that still feel, play, and function like familiar six-strings. Except now, those strings can speak to synths, samplers, and DAWs.

READ MORE: Jamstik Core is the best affordable MIDI guitar at $650, by far

Its latest model, the three-quarter-scale Jamstik Core, is its most affordable yet, but the bigger story is how Jamstik got here. To trace the company’s past, present, and future, I’m speaking with Meredith Gaslin, director of marketing, and Jon Keller, senior engineer.
Both play guitar, though they’re quick to decline the label of ‘shredder’. Meredith even learned her first few chords on the five-fret Jamstik+, a device that smashed its $50,000 Kickstarter goal with over $800,000 in backing in 2015.
Three years later, Jamstik crowdfunded seven-fret and 12-fret versions, but its ambitions were already outgrowing the compact controller: “It worked well for the original concept,” explains Meredith, “but it couldn’t fully capture the kinds of expression that experienced players expect from a professional instrument; things like vibrato, natural string decay, and the nuances of a real guitar performance.”
Jamstik Core. Image: Jamstik
When Jon arrived in 2018 with a background in digital signal processing, the company’s focus shifted towards proprietary tracking algorithms that detected notes using an onboard hexaphonic pickup that output six discrete signals for independent processing — one from each guitar string.
Naturally, a new question arose: why keep building a controller that imitates a guitar when you could simply build the real thing instead? Two years later, the Jamstik Studio appeared: a compact, headless, MIDI-enabled guitar that unlocked the limitless world of synthesis by convincingly translating its fretted notes into ones and zeros.
The Jamstik Classic followed, a more traditional headstocked guitar with a Strat-style body incorporating the same detection tech as the Studio. In 2024, the lineup was refreshed again with the Standard and Deluxe models — though the team knew that getting more players on board would require a lower price of admission.
Enter the Jamstik Core, another crowdfunded success: “[The Core] is making the entire experience more affordable without compromising on the algorithms,” says Jon. “The tech inside is all the same [as the Standard and Deluxe], minus the battery and the Bluetooth because it helps cut the cost.”
At the other end of the spectrum is the Strandberg x Jamstik Chameleon, unveiled at NAMM 2026. Jon speaks enthusiastically about the sold-out collaboration: “It’s the best guitar we’ve put our tech into to date, by a long shot. Not only is the guitar itself better, but because the intonation is better and the action is better, it reflects in the tracking as well.”
The joint venture felt like a natural fit: “[Strandberg] are really innovative in the guitar community, and we felt we were innovators on the MIDI side of things,” explains Meredith. “It kind of came authentically when we met, from both sides.”
Through its ergonomic headless guitars, Strandberg has built a strong cachet with virtuosic players. Alongside the improved build quality of Jamstik’s newer models, the collaboration undoubtedly gave the platform more weight. Meredith smiles: “We’ve been able to turn a lot of the sceptics into supporters. The guitar community has vastly turned around from seeing Jamstik as a gimmick.”

MIDI guitar has been available for years, however, via Roland’s GK hex pickup and Fishman’s TriplePlay tech, both of which augment existing guitars. So what, exactly, is Jamstik’s pitch?
“It’s a fully integrated instrument from the ground up, so everything is optimised — the pickup placement, the electronics, the firmware, the processing,” says Meredith. “It results in more accurate tracking, lower latency, and a more natural playing experience.”
Jon puts it more simply: “Our algorithms are better at translating what you’re playing and tracking your pitch bends.” I ask him how it works, and he laughs: “It’s a lot of math.”
But accurate tracking only gets Jamstik to the starting line. Like a keyboard controller or MPC-style pad grid, it needs somewhere to send that data. The instrument may be a fully-fledged guitar — complete with humbuckers and a jack output for your amplifier — but its MIDI power depends on how easily it connects to the rest of your setup.
“Every Jamstik has a TRS MIDI out. There’s no proprietary 13-pin cable,” says Meredith. “We supply a TRS to five-pin adapter [with each guitar], and you can control any analogue hardware. We wanted it to be a plug-and-play experience that works with any gear you have.” Software is no trickier: “If you plug in via USB, you’ll see the Jamstik connected as you would any other controller.”
It goes deeper than pitch and velocity, too: “We’re the first MIDI guitar system that incorporates MPE,” Meredith continues. “Jon had some cool breakthroughs with his performance tracking, and we actually mapped the physical decay of the string to expression.”
The company has also built its own companion software for the instrument. Originally called Jamstik Creator, the app has now been reincarnated as Loon, a more fully-featured synthesizer that Jon describes as “a whole new sound engine, pretty much rewritten from the ground up.” It adds three layers per patch, multitimbral capabilities, and modular-style ‘blocks’ for more complex routing.
Meredith explains the name: “The loon is actually the state bird of Minnesota. We thought that was a nice callback to where we’re from, and the call of the loon is very widely known as resonant and eerie, reminiscent of soundscapes that a synth might produce.”

Loon’s arrival should draw fresh attention to Jamstik, but perhaps the most persuasive endorsement is seeing the instrument in the wild. The appetite for guitar-synth hybrids has grown substantially in recent years, helped along by players like Mk.gee and Dijon. While the former leans on a vintage Roland VG-8, the latter currently tours with an all-black Jamstik — a serious vote of confidence for the brand.
With musician uptake increasing and Loon now available, the company is already planning past the current lineup.
“We’re looking at a bass,” Meredith says, before adding, with an even balance of humour and sincerity: “We could probably do a MIDI ukulele. I don’t know how popular or needed that is, but stringed instruments with MIDI compatibility are in our wheelhouse.”
What about a hybrid synth/effects pedal that accepts both MIDI and jack input? A tentative smile appears on Meredith’s face: “It’s a fun idea, and it’s one that we often get requests for, especially from touring players.”
For now, Jamstik’s company size keeps its ambition tempered. “We’re about eight people full time,” Meredith says. “If one of those cool pedal makers said, ‘Hey, we should do something,’ we’ll take it into consideration.”
Meredith takes a moment to celebrate Jamstik’s decade-plus journey: “It’s always been our hope that we would put our tech into a premium guitar … We’re proud of how far we’ve come. I’m really proud of the build quality that we’ve been able to achieve with these newer models.”
And maybe that’s the point. MIDI guitar can offer all the sonic possibilities in the world, but guitarists will only embrace the technology if the instrument still feels immediate, familiar, and worth playing. The math can happen under the hood — but the guitar still has to feel like a guitar.
The post Can Jamstik finally make MIDI guitar stick? appeared first on MusicTech.

The CDJ-1500X’s new song request feature is either genius or ragebait £1,469 / $1,599, alphatheta.com
In a market increasingly dominated by all-in-one systems and DJ controllers, the arrival of a brand new standalone CDJ is a surprise. Yet that’s exactly what AlphaTheta has delivered with the CDJ-1500X: a more compact, lower-cost player that borrows heavily from the flagship CDJ-3000X while introducing a few ideas of its own.
At first glance, it’s arguably one of AlphaTheta’s best-looking media players to date. The clean industrial design is immediately striking, dominated by the same 10.1-inch touchscreen found on the CDJ-3000X and paired with the now-familiar bank of eight Hot Cue buttons beneath it. The 1500X has a distinctly premium look, despite its lower positioning in the range.

READ MORE: How AlphaTheta’s CDJ-3000X is finding an unexpected new audience

That decision of slick minimalistic design, however, comes with compromise. Retaining the large display, while pursuing a smaller overall footprint, means sacrificing valuable panel space, resulting in noticeably fewer dedicated controls than many DJs may be used to. Whether that’s a worthwhile trade-off depends on how much you rely on the touchscreen navigation, but for some functions, a few extra physical buttons would have been welcome. The cue and play buttons feel ok, but certainly lack that premium feel of other devices, and removing the track search buttons means you are only able to skip back using the shift button and cue together.
Software additions go some way to making up for it. AlphaTheta’s latest waveform enhancements include Vocal Position indicators, highlighting exactly where vocals occur throughout a track during playback. This is a feature now available to all rekordbox users. Alongside this are Phrase descriptions and BPM Change markers, making it immediately obvious where song sections begin and where tempo shifts occur.
For open-format DJs, wedding performers and anyone mixing across genres, these visual cues genuinely improve track preparation and on-the-fly decision making.
Another thoughtful and much-requested software addition is Light Mode, a new interface option designed specifically for daytime events and outdoor festivals where screen visibility can become problematic. It’s one of those simple, quality-of-life improvements that quickly makes sense in practice, and one existing CDJ-3000X owners will undoubtedly hope arrives via a firmware update.
Image: Press
Jog wheels and workflow
Unlike the mechanically weighted jogs on the CDJ-3000X, the 1500X opts for mid-sized capacitive platters. They’re enjoyable to use, but the choice does feel slightly at odds with the asking price. Previous products such as the Pioneer DJ XDJ-1000MK2, XDJ-AZ and AlphaTheta Opus Quad all featured mechanical jog wheels, leaving us wondering why that premium hardware hasn’t filtered down here.
Another major disappointment is the lack of a digital output, with stereo RCAs being the only audio outputs available.
Elsewhere, AlphaTheta borrows another design touch from the Opus Quad with the same style dual rotary encoders. The left-hand control handles Beat Loops: press once to activate a loop, rotate to adjust its length, then press again to exit. It’s an elegant solution that feels quicker than traditional loop controls, particularly once muscle memory kicks in.
The right-hand encoder combines browsing, select and waveform zoom, although the overall navigation feels a bit clunky having to hit Back and then use the touchscreen to get to the browse or playlist page. Perhaps a shift-click of the Browse encoder is a refinement that a firmware update could easily introduce.
Image: Press
Smart hardware touches
One of the more unexpected design decisions is also one of the most practical.
The front-loading USB compartment—with integrated illumination—initially feels unusual before making perfect sense. Long-time Pioneer DJ users may even find themselves reminded of the days when CDs slid into the front of the player. Housing both USB-A and USB-C ports inside the recessed bay keeps drives protected from accidental knocks, which is something many DJs who’ve had a USB stick unexpectedly yanked mid-set will immediately appreciate.
The bay can even be customised with one of 12 LED colours, adding a small touch of personalisation.
There are, however, a couple of software quirks. Pressing Eject always prompts you to choose between “USB 1” and “USB 2”, even if only a single drive is connected. Displaying the actual drive name instead would make this more elegant.
Image: Press
Connected Crowd
As with the 3000X, the CDJ-1500X includes built-in Wi-Fi and NFC login support, giving access to CloudDirectPlay, cloud libraries and compatible streaming services.
But it’s an entirely new feature called CoBeat that will generate the most conversation.
Designed around QR-code song requests, CoBeat allows DJs to generate a unique code through their AlphaTheta account. Guests simply scan the code to submit requests and messages directly to the player, where they appear in a dedicated screen tab.
It’s easy to imagine this being genuinely useful at weddings, corporate events and private functions, where requests are often expected. Equally, it’s just as easy to imagine many club DJs hoping it never makes its way into any DJ booth.
The concept itself isn’t new. Third-party request platforms have existed for years, while VirtualDJ has its Ask The DJ functionality. What CoBeat does differently is integrate the experience directly into AlphaTheta’s hardware and rekordbox ecosystem, eliminating the need for additional laptop devices or software.
There are sensible controls available. DJs can, of course, turn off this feature entirely, or create a playlist of requestable tracks, although the messaging system currently feels less refined. A request-only mode, without allowing free-form messages, would arguably offer more flexibility.
CoBeat. Image: Press
Real-world use also exposes a few rough edges. Messages seem to be still submitted even when requests have been disabled on the player, leaving users with no indication whether anything has actually been received. Beyond a basic profanity filter, there are currently few safeguards governing what users can send, and while a three-minute cooldown period limits repeated messages from the same person, that time interval isn’t currently adjustable.
Whether CoBeat genuinely changes the request experience is another question entirely. DJs who regularly perform at weddings will know that digital systems rarely prevent someone from walking over moments later to ask the same question in person. In many respects, it solves a workflow that’s already been addressed through mobile apps, websites, or even the humble pen and paper.
Still, bringing requests directly onto the hardware is an important strategic move. It positions AlphaTheta more firmly within the mobile, corporate and wedding sectors while creating a connected ecosystem that extends beyond traditional club performance. It may not appeal to every DJ, but it represents a notable shift in where the company sees future growth.
Undoubtedly, the CoBeat feature and its future feature updates will become a key add-on to the rekordbox subscription service plans, but they will have to add more customisation and features like SMS support, tipping, custom customer-facing landing page creation and more to match the competition.
Image: Press
Should I buy the CDJ-1500X?
The 1500X is an excellent product. It looks every bit the modern club-standard player, feels reassuringly premium, and delivers exactly the kind of performance you’d expect from a flagship media player. It’s the ideal size and slick look for a killer home setup and much more transportable than the huge 3000X model.
The challenge is the price. At a time when all-in-one systems do the job and are much more portable, the cost of building a traditional modular setup is harder to justify than ever. Although AlphaTheta and Pioneer DJ products have always been premium, the wider technology industry’s AI bubble and the ongoing demand for processors and memory certainly isn’t helping AlphaTheta keep these new hardware devices wallet-friendly.
The lack of a digital output is a little too thrifty though, but because the 1500X shares the same screen and software as the 3000X it makes sense that AlphaTheta has cut back somewhere to set this device in its appropriate lane. I just think cutting the digital output is a step too far.
Yet most of these criticisms are unlikely to matter to the DJs this product is really aimed at. If you prefer the flexibility of separate players, want the familiar dual screen workflow of a club booth, or already own a mixer and simply need to refresh an ageing CDJ setup, the 1500X makes a compelling case for itself. It’s still a serious investment, but it could be the more attainable route into the latest generation of flagship media player features that many DJs have been waiting for.

Key Features

Compact design
Large 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen
Customisable side panels
Light Mode for daytime DJ sets
Dual USB-C and USB-A ports
Built in CoBeat request and messaging platform

The post The CDJ-1500X’s new song request feature is either genius or ragebait appeared first on MusicTech.

Musik Hack announce HyFi mastering platform Musik Hack’s latest offering takes a step away from plug-ins, and introduces a new pay-as-you-go an online mastering platform that draws on the expertise they’ve honed whilst developing their innovative processors. 

AOFN Audio releases Grizzly, a FREE Gristleizer-inspired modulation plugin
AOFN Audio has released Grizzly, a free stereo modulation plugin for macOS and Windows. Grizzly is modeled on the 1979 Gristleizer circuit, the strange little LFO-driven pedal that Chris Carter of Throbbing Gristle famously used on drum machines, tapes, synths, and plenty of other sources. Developer Marcel describes Grizzly as his software interpretation of that [...]
View post: AOFN Audio releases Grizzly, a FREE Gristleizer-inspired modulation plugin

Democrats added certain consumer protection rules to CLARITY: Coinbase execCoinbase vice chair Ryan VanGrack said that Democratic lawmakers had added provisions on customer protection to a digital asset market structure bill under consideration in the US Senate.

Google is working on a new AI chip designed to make Gemini more efficientAlphabet, Google's parent company, is reportedly working on a new chip designed to make its Gemini models run much more efficiently.

What is a patchbay (and how does it work)?
Let's explore what a patchbay is, its most common configurations, and why you might want to consider incorporating one into your workflow.

Echolocation for DronesBats are remarkable creatures, able to fly at night or inside the confines of caves without light to guide their way. A team of researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has determined how to use low power ultrasonic sensors to guide drones in obscured environments.
While radar, lidar, and GPS are all great for navigation and sensing, they can run into issues when light is obscured or can take too much power to be practical for the limited battery life of a drone. The researchers found that a dual sonar array could be used to implement a much lower power sensing system for a drone that performs well in environments that would stymie a computer vision system.
A shield placed behind the array cuts down on the sound of the propellers that would otherwise drown out the signal, and further signal analysis via a neural net separates the echoes of objects in front of the drone from the background. The prototype could navigate in various simulated environments like forests, smoke, and snow. It looks like it even got a chance to go for a flight in the actual woods. All the code and hardware designs are Open Source, so have at it!
We’ve covered mosquito-inspired drone sensors before, and if you want to get into echolocation yourself, apparently humans can learn to do it too.

via Entertainment Engineering.