Bitwig now lets you import tracks directly from rekordbox – here’s what you need to knowBitwig has partnered with AlphaTheta in a bid to bridge the gap between DJing and music production, with DJs’ rekordbox libraries usable directly within Bitwig Studio.
The Berlin-based company says version 6.1.4 of its Bitwig Studio DAW can now access a user’s rekordbox library and track analysis data, so DJs can pull tracks from their existing collection straight into a project to edit, remix or draw inspiration from.

READ MORE: Man who made $8 million in AI streaming fraud scheme given 18-month prison sentence

The integration works on both macOS and Windows and is available to Bitwig Studio, Producer and Essentials users with an active upgrade plan and requires rekordbox version 6.x or later.
Alongside the integration, AlphaTheta, the maker of rekordbox and swathes of industry-standard DJ hardware, has launched its new Studio Plan, which aims to offer “a smooth transition between DJing and music-making, and a production experience that’s uniquely tailored to DJs”.
It’s essentially a subscription plan which offers Bitwig Studio Essentials for $7 a month or $72 a year, with a 30-day free trial also available. Bitwig Studio Essentials is described as “the ideal environment to quickly adapt and remix songs, build new material with audio and MIDI clips, and dive into advanced production”.
Bitwig has also announced that built-in stem separation is coming to Bitwig Studio this winter, which the companies say will expand what users can do with their collections.
How the integration works

Users can browse their rekordbox library inside Bitwig’s browser and search or filter by artist, file type, playlist and other criteria. Opening a track automatically creates a Bitwig project that matches the track’s BPM and key with hot cues, song structure and vocal positions from rekordbox’s track analysis appearing automatically in the project.
The companies say this lets users build on what they already know from DJing, such as editing a track’s structure, rebuilding its rhythm with BPM-matched loops or adding synth parts in the song’s key.
Background
Founded in Berlin in 2009, Bitwig released its first product, Bitwig Studio, in 2014. The software includes a sound-design environment called The Grid and supports open standards including the CLAP plug-in format and the DAWproject file format.
AlphaTheta, which is part of the Noritsu Koki Group, began as the DJ division of Pioneer Corporation in 1994. It became independent as Pioneer DJ Corporation in 2015 and took its current name in 2020. Its brands include rekordbox, Pioneer DJ and TORAIZ.
Learn more at Bitwig.
The post Bitwig now lets you import tracks directly from rekordbox – here’s what you need to know appeared first on MusicTech.

Bitwig & AlphaTheta announce collaboration Bitwig have joined forces with AlphaTheta to bring together two different areas of modern music creation: DJing and studio production.

All The Machines offers UN/T-01, a FREE 808 drum machine plugin
All The Machines is offering UN/T-01, a free drum machine with synthesized 808 sounds, sample playback, and a built-in step sequencer. I’m a sucker for drum machine plugins, mainly because of the workflow. When working with a step sequencer, I often find patterns or combinations of sounds that I wouldn’t have come up with by [...]
View post: All The Machines offers UN/T-01, a FREE 808 drum machine plugin

How To Build An Independent Artist Career From The Ground UpThis week Ari sits down with Toni Nelson, artist manager, business manager, and co-founder of 1990 Records.

How To Build An Independent Artist Career From The Ground UpThis week, Ari welcomes Patrick Laird, cellist and half of the acclaimed instrumental pair Brooklyn Duo.

Why Mick Fleetwood Wore Wooden Toilet-Chain Balls on the ‘Rumours’ CoverEver wondered why Mick Fleetwood is holding wooden toilet-chain balls on Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours cover? Discover the bizarre story behind his unusual good-luck charm.

GetYourGrooveOn StarveSTARVE lives in the moment a fuzz pedal stops behaving. You know that sound when the battery is nearly gone, the circuit is hanging on by a thread, and a held note starts to sag, choke, and fray around the edges? That is where STARVE begins. It turns a dying power supply into part of the performance, giving you a fuzz that can sound worn out, wounded, unstable, or ready to fall apart completely. This is not a layer of random noise pasted over the guitar. The virtual power supply reacts to what you play. Dig in and the circuit pulls harder against the rail. Hold a bend and the note can slowly lose its footing beneath you. Leave space between phrases and the supply begins to recover. The distress moves with your hands, so it feels played rather than programmed. The large Power knob sweeps from 3V to 12V. At 9V, STARVE is fully fed and delivers a thick, direct transistor-style fuzz. Turn left and the battery starts giving up. The sound compresses, darkens, coughs, and fizzles as the voltage falls toward 3V. Turn right past 9V and the circuit becomes pushed and tightly compressed, with a little extra level but no unwanted jump in fuzz. Fuzz decides how hard the circuit gets hit. Keep it low for an open sound with just a hint of strain, or turn it up and make the virtual battery work for every note. The harder the fuzz stage pulls, the more the supply sags and the more dramatic the end of the phrase becomes. Mix lets you run the whole thing fully wet or bring the dry attack back underneath the damage. STARVE is at its best on the parts where feel matters: a bent note that starts strong and dies fighting, a single-note riff that coughs between hits, or a solo that sounds like the amp might not survive the take. It can also sit at a solid 9V for heavy, dependable fuzz or move above noon for a smoother pushed lead tone. The Starved, Fed, and Pushed LEDs follow the state of the circuit in real time. When the virtual battery is taking a beating, you can watch the Starved light weaken along with it. Six factory presets get you moving quickly: Starve Default, Dying Lead, Voltage Cough, Fed Fuzz, Pushed Solo, and Parallel Starve. Formats: AU for Logic Pro. Platform: macOS. Trial: 14-day full-function trial via GYGO Portal. Read More

Raye says ticket scalpers used AI bots to create ‘hundreds of thousands of fake registrations’ as 1.8M sign up for 5,000 Royal Albert Hall seatsPresale registration for the show ran through a sign-up page hosted by fan marketing platform co:brand.
Source

Helix Carbon says it can make iron cheaper by recycling blast furnace pollutionThe steel industry is a big polluter, but Helix Carbon can upcycle pollution from blast furnaces to drive down emissions and improve margins.

ESP-SDR Can Now TransmitWell, that was fast! Last week, we reported on two apparently simultaneous hacks using the 2.4 GHz radio inside many ESP32 variants that enabled raw access to the radio samples, turning it into a listen-only software defined radio (SDR) platform. Listen only? That’s only half of the SDR story.
Last weekend, [Murmel] got started fixing that, and released an early early version of ESP32 firmware that can also transmit, and got it working with gqrx. He demos it by communicating using a Hellschrieber mode of his own devising between an S3 and a C6. And he didn’t stop there, either. He’s working on 802.15.4 modulation at the moment, which means that maybe soon your ESP32 will speak ZigBee.
This is all in the roughly 2.4 GHz band, but Espressif’s API suggests that the radios will tune down as low as 100 MHz, although we can hardly imagine that the filters are tuned to make that particularly effective. Still, it’s clear that the boundaries on the ESP-SDR are just starting to get pushed.
If the early hacks on the RTL-SDR set off a wave of hacker SDR radio experimentation, and we can only hope that this is the beginning of the ESP-SDR era. Thanks then to [Murmel] – aka [Marble] – and the original hacks coming from the Espargos team for kicking this all off!

Sony Music Vision Presents Queen BudapestSony Music Vision presents Queen Budapest, the first Western stadium rock show to take place behind the Iron Curtain, and the final filmed Queen live performance. Queen Budapest was released globally in cinemas and IMAX the first week of October for a limited time only, in partnership with Trafalgar Releasing.

An announcement from Legacy/Sony Music Vision described Queen’s Budapest concert film and November products.    

“Filmed on July 27, 1986, at Budapest’s Népstadion during the band’s ‘The Magic Tour’, Queen Budapest captures the band's final filmed performance with Freddie Mercury at their live peak, just five shows before their final show. The film features hits such as We Will Rock You, We Are the Champions, Under Pressure and BohemianRhapsody, along with an acoustic take on the traditional Hungarian folk song Tavaszi Szél Vizet Áraszt.

“The concert was a groundbreaking moment, as Queen became the first Western rock band to perform a stadium show behind the Iron Curtain during a period of profound cultural and political change. In addition to 80,000 tickets selling out, an estimated 45,000 people listened to the group outside, with some fans having travelled from as far away as Russia and Poland. The show was filmed on 35 mm film by Hungary’s best cameramen using 17 cameras and 25 miles of film. The Hungarian government approved the entire operation, which was a first for a Communist State.

“Queen Budapest will be released to mark the 40th anniversary of this pivotal moment in the band’s history, and the film has been meticulously restored in 4K from the original filmed 35mm footage by Sir Peter Jackson’s Park Road Post Production facility in New Zealand, with newly remixed audio from the original multitrack recordings.

Queen Budapest will also be released as a multi-format audio package via Legacy Recordings, the catalogue division of Sony Music, internationally, and Hollywood Records in the U.S. and Canada on November 6.

The soundtrack, newly remixed from the original multitrack by Queen’s studio team, will be released alongside the Blu-Ray, DVD, CD & Digital editions as a 3LP vinyl set for the very first time. 

Queen Budapest is directed by János Zsombolyai. Sony Music Vision is the distributor.”

Queen Budapest CD Track ListingCD 11. One Vision2. Tie Your Mother Down3. In The Lap Of The Gods… Revisited4. Seven Seas Of Rhye5. Tear It Up6. A Kind Of Magic7. Under Pressure8. Another One Bites The Dust9. Who Wants To Live Forever10. I Want To Break Free11. Looks Like It’s Gonna Be A Good Night – Improv12. Guitar Solo13. Now I’m Here

CD 21. Love Of My Life2. Tavaszi Szél Vizet Áraszt3. Is This The World We Created…?4. (You’re So Square) Baby I Don’t Care5. Hello Mary Lou (Goodbye Heart)6. Tutti Frutti7. Bohemian Rhapsody8. Hammer To Fall9. Crazy Little Thing Called Love10. Radio Ga Ga11. We Will Rock You12. Friends Will Be Friends13. We Are The Champions14. God Save The Queen

My public profile has been way more visible after being filmed along with Queen co-founders, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, in their 2012 Queen at 40 documentary, directed by Matt O’Casey for BBC Television and issued and expanded as Queen: Days Of Our Lives The Definitive Documentary of the World’s Greatest Rock Band as a 2014 DVD and Blu-Ray via Eagle Vision regularly broadcast on cable TV outlets.

I was subsequently quoted describing Queen on www.brianmay.com,  “As American journalist Harvey Kubernik put it, ‘it wasn’t rock ‘n’ roll, it was Broadway.’” 

As Freddie himself said, “A concert is not a live rendition of our album. It’s a theatrical event.”  

Queen’s 1976 stage repertoire included an encore of Cy Coleman and Dorothy Fields’ song “Big Spender” initially done on the boards by Shirley MacLaine in the Broadway musical Sweet Charity.  Mercury first heard Shirley Bassey’s 1967 version of the tune on BBC Radio and then by Liza Minnelli. “Big Spender” is on Queen Live at Wembley ’86.  

I saw Queen perform three times during the seventies and interviewed Freddie Mercury twice-once in Beverly Hills for the now defunct Melody Maker and in London during 1975 and ‘76.   

Our first conversation was at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. It was a Special Melody Maker report Killer Queen Slay America!

Mercury regally waltzed into the room, stuck out his hands, and greeted fellow journalist Justin Pierce and me with “Hello darlings. What do you think of my black fingernail polish?” 

I replied to him, “Freddie, I grew up in Hollywood. I know what kind of paint color real stars wear. So, while in L.A., why don’t you go over to Ball Beauty on Fairfax Ave? My cousin Shelia Kaye and Cher get their makeup supplies at that shop. It’s near Norty’s Music Center. Ask one of the women at your Elektra Records label office on La Cienega Blvd. to drive you there.”           

Mercury poured a glass of champagne and announced, “Please put the tape machine on.” Freddie thoroughly enjoyed trumpeting Queen and discussing the machinations of their mid-seventies career. 

We must have spent the first 10 minutes talking about performers Liza Minnelli and Judy Garland.

I saw Judy sing in 1963 at her CBS-TV Judy Garland Show taping in Television City in a memorable duet with Barbra Streisand. In 1975 I sat next to Liza at a Rolling Stones 1975 Fabulous Forum concert. Freddie had seen Minelli at the London Palladium in the very early seventies.

Mercury was stunned. “If you come to London, do call my publicist Tony Brainsby. We must do this again.” And we did, but this time he was wearing green nail polish.  

Freddie had an air of confidence and mega-stardom destiny about him. The boy had a keen sense of the pop music process and about being a star on and off the stage.

I spoke with Freddie about a recording session he, Taylor, and May cut of “I Can Hear Music” b/w “Goin’ Back” under the pseudonym Larry Lurex. It was around the time of the recording of Queen’s debut album (for legal reasons, they couldn’t call it a “Queen” single). 

I had a delightful chat with Brian May after a Queen show at a party Elektra Records tossed in Hollywood, where Brian mentioned he saw the Jimi Hendrix Experience a few times.

May recalled in 1967 he was on the entertainment committee at Imperial College in London who booked the trio for a cheap rate. Before Queen and Smile, Brian was in 1984, who opened a show for Hendrix or played at a venue with him.   

In my conversation with the visionary A&R man and former record label executive at UNI/MCA and later 20th Century Records, Russ Regan, he lamented that one failure in the music business was not acquiring Queen in 1973 for a North American deal, losing out in a bidding war to Jac Holzman at Elektra.

Regan gave The Beach Boys their name and at UNI inked Elton John to the company and Barry White to 20th Century. “I loved Queen’s songwriting, harmonies and the sound I heard on the tape sent to me.”     

I think it’s time again, after 50 years, to write about Queen and Freddie Mercury, utilizing my Stateside 1975 interview with him, reminding the world about this talented, charismatic performer, and truly charming character.     

Harvey Kubernik Freddie Mercury 1975 Interview    

It was mid-afternoon in Beverly Hills as Freddie Mercury peered over the spacious swimming pool of the Hilton Hotel and reflected on Queen’s latest tour of the States.

“The tour has been going just great. The only drawback has been the problems with my voice, which I’ve been over-taxing. But since I’ve been taking care of it and resting more, it’s been fine. The problem is that when you do a tour, you try to schedule the concerts as close as possible.

“Therefore, it’s like a constant workout. However, at this moment it’s raring to go and at the conclusion of this tour, we’re going to take a rest in Hawaii, which we really deserve. From there it’ll be on to Japan and Australia.”

The success story of Queen is remarkable when one considers the time in which they’ve become one of the world’s most popular bands. In Japan, they were recently voted one of the top three bands in the world, and that’s without even doing one date in the Orient.

What does Freddie see as being the key to their phenomenal following? “I can’t pinpoint it, but there’s something about our music that’s different and unlike anybody else’s.

“I believe that’s our major strong point. But there’s other ingredients. Besides the fact that our timing has helped, there is the fact that we take risks. We’re not one of those groups that go through every stage, for we skipped a few hurdles and we’re willing to take the chances that brought us to our level of acceptance.

“This American tour is a perfect example. To undertake this kind of massive tour is not unheard of, but it is a risk. People were constantly telling us about the American economy and how the biggest groups are having trouble filling venues.

“And for us to come on as strong as we are, headlining after only half a previous tour, shows how confident we are, or what you can put across unless you were a headliner.             

“And now we’ve proved we can do it. Here we are, the first time in L.A. and we’ve sold out two shows, and it’s simply an amazing feeling.”

That feeling is bound to be even greater on subsequent tours for Queen who are only now breaking into the American record charts with their single recording of “Killer Queen” from Sheer Heart Attack.

The gentleness and buoyancy of the tune is in marked contrast to the high level of energy that characterizes their first two albums.

It is only on the third album that the diversity really became apparent. However, Mercury really doesn’t look at it as a great change: “The thing I hate is trying to pinpoint everything for everybody.

“People always ask questions like, ‘Why did you write such and such a lyric and what does it mean? That’s now what it’s all about. The one thing the British press has been trying to do for years is to pinpoint and categorize. It really annoys us.

“We came out with ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ as a single, which is raunchy, and then we decided on ‘Killer Queen’ for a later release. The first thing they do is go up to you and ask ‘What are you up to?’ This is our music and it’s up to the individual to interpret it. It’s not up to us to come out with a product and label it.

“It would be boring if everything was laid out and everybody knew what it was all about all the time. I like people to make up their interpretation.

“They also want to categorize my stage image. I remember back in an interview where I said, ‘I play on the bisexual thing.’ Of course I play on it. It’s simply a matter of wherever my mood takes me. If people want to know and ask me if I’m gay, I tell them it’s up to themselves to find out. I’m just being my flamboyant self and having a good time,” he smiled.      

Even though Mercury prefers not to try and analyze Queen’s music, he discussed their cumulative work in a logical manner: The first LP was very raw and full of freshness.

“It was simply a reflection of what we’d been doing for so long and we just wanted to get it out of our system. On the second album we found out that even though we had a formula we didn’t necessarily have to keep it.

“Therefore, we dabbled at other things. Sheer Heart Attack was something different again. We wanted to make it interesting for ourselves as well as the listener. Hopefully, we succeeded on both counts. When we’re on stage we try to do the same thing.

“We’re perfectionists. Although all of us write, it doesn’t necessarily mean that every song composed will appear on an album.

“Having all the members write adds to our versatility, and that’s another strong point. On the last album we wanted to create a certain feel, and did. However, there were so many ideas and things that we wanted to do and have yet to carry out.

“You simply can’t do everything on one album. Lots of groups eventually burn themselves out due to lack of new ideas. But at this point, there’s no way we’re going to burn out. In fact, presently we’re stronger than ever.

“We do rock ‘n’ roll, and our presentation is just a way of putting across the music. We view albums and concerts as two spheres of work. There’s a different level in the studio as compared to when you’re on stage. But when we’re before an audience we let loose,” Freddie underscored.

Mercury was at the end of the US tour. It was interesting to know how he felt the English music market differs from the American.

“Even though singles may have been more important at one time in Britain, I feel that the stress on the singles and the albums is becoming pretty even. If you play too much on singles you can quite easily become a singles group.

“At that point it’s almost impossible to revert back to albums. I feel we’re in a fortunate position for we’ve only released four singles, including our new one. Therefore, we’ve achieved a balance. I think the same thing is true in America, though we’ve had to rely on response to our albums to carry us through. It wasn’t really till ‘Killer Queen’ that we received mass exposure on a commercial level.

“Back home, you have to be very careful of what you say or do because you’re in a position of immense responsibility. In fact, it can sometimes get ridiculous.

“We have this black-and-white theme that we carry out in England and it’s very strong. It has even got to the point where the audiences dress and look like me to a tee. They’re very faithful and it’s beautiful. On this tour, in Dallas, there was even a fan dressed with black makeup on one side of his face and white on the other, and it was marvelous.”

As for his own musical tastes Mercury says: “I listen to all kinds of music from Hendrix to Liza Minelli, all the way back to Mae West. I also enjoy Flo & Eddie when I hear them on the radio. They’re simply a riot.

“I also enjoy Joni Mitchell tremendously, and am constantly awed by her vocal phrasing as well as the amazing things she writes. She’s simply beautiful.”

Besides devoting the last few years to Queen, band members took time to record a single, “I Can Hear Music” and “Goin’ Back” pressed up under the name Larry Lurex.

In the early '70s, Robin Geoffrey Cable was a house engineer at Trident Studios in London, owned by Queen's initial manager Norman Sheffield. At one point, Cable was at work on his own musical project, but he enlisted Freddie Mercury, Brian May and Roger Taylor to add some parts. A pseudonym was devised for Mercury. "Robin liked the idea of spoofing Gary Glitter and the Glam Rock movement, so he came up with 'Larry Lurex!'" May recalled following Cable's passing in 2020. "So, in a sense our first ever release on vinyl was under the name 'Larry Lurex.'"

I’d never associate members of Queen with Brill Building songwriters Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Phil Spector, Gerry Goffin and Carole King or expect cover versions of The Ronettes and The Byrds. I had to ask Freddie, how did this collaboration come about?

“It was simply a by-product. We’d already completed our first album [at Trident Studios], and a producer friend [Robin Cable] told us about this record he wanted to put out just for fun.

“He said he wanted us to do it, but we told him he couldn’t use our name. Actually there were quite a number of studio musicians on it besides ourselves. It was in the days of Gary Glitter and Alvin Stardust.

“We never took it quite seriously since it didn’t have anything to do with Queen. It was only when we achieved popularity and people started figuring out that it was us that anybody was interested. It was just something rock stars dabble in once in a while, and I was quite pleased with the outcome.”    

(Harvey Kubernik is the author of 21 books, including 2009’s Canyon Of Dreams: The Magic And The Music Of Laurel Canyon, 2014’s Turn Up The Radio! Rock, Pop and Roll In Los Angeles 1956-1972, 2015's Every Body Knows: Leonard Cohen, 2016's Heart of Gold Neil Young and 2017's 1967: A Complete Rock Music History of the Summer of Love.

Sterling/Barnes and Noble in 2018 published Harvey and Kenneth Kubernik’s The Story Of The Band: From Big Pink To The Last Waltz. In2021 they wrote Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child for Sterling/Barnes and Noble.  Otherworld Cottage Industries in 2020 published Harvey’s Docs That Rock, Music That Matters.

His writings are in several book anthologies, most notably The Rolling Stone Book Of The Beats and Drinking With Bukowski.   Harvey wrote liner notes to the CD re-releases of Carole King’s Tapestry, The Essential Carole King, Allen Ginsberg’s Kaddish, Elvis Presley The ’68 Comeback Special, The Ramones’ End of the Century and Big Brother & the Holding Company Captured Live at The Monterey International Pop Festival.

During 2006, he spoke at the special hearings initiated by The Library of Congress held in Hollywood, California, discussing archiving practices and audiotape preservation. In 2017, Kubernik appeared at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, as part of their Distinguished Speakers Series).

Photo by Denis O’ReganThe post Sony Music Vision Presents Queen Budapest first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Most tokenized stock trading on Solana, BNB Chain occurs outside US market hoursTokenized equities have reached nearly $3.3 billion in value as investors embrace round-the-clock access beyond Wall Street hours.

Get a free soft alto saxophone for Splice INSTRUMENT
Download our free alto saxophone for Splice INSTRUMENT—grab these presets during the drop window and they’re yours to keep forever.

Modbap release Fidelity Theory Described as a “character effect", Modbap’s first plug-in takes the hands-on approach behind their Eurorack modules and applies it to software.

Don’t be fooled by the bland looks of Lewitt LW6 wireless studio headphones£519/$699, lewitt-audio.com
When I recently reviewed the OneOdio Studio Max 2 DJ headphones, I wondered whether they were solving a problem that didn’t really exist. Did DJs really need to be free from being cable-bound to the equipment they use?

READ MORE: OneOdio Studio Max 2 review: the same ultra-low latency as the big brands without the hefty price

That review quickly proved otherwise. DJing has changed; the way we work has changed. Producers, engineers, content creators and musicians increasingly move between multiple roles throughout the day, and the idea of owning a single pair of headphones that can comfortably handle all of them suddenly makes a lot of sense.
Lewitt’s new LW6 wireless studio headphones are built around that exact premise. Whether you’re setting up microphones, tracking instruments, tweaking hardware synths or moving between different parts of the studio, the freedom of wireless monitoring is massively appealing. The problem, historically, has been that wireless audio means compromises. Bluetooth introduces latency, data compression and, in many cases, a noticeable drop in fidelity. The LW6 aims to eliminate those compromises entirely.
At the heart of this solution is Lewitt’s RealSound wireless technology, which delivers uncompressed PCM audio at 1,728kbps, with latency quoted at under six milliseconds. In practical terms, that means you can comfortably track, mix and monitor at an uncompressed 24-bit, 48 kHz without feeling disconnected from the source. It’s a wireless system that genuinely feels capable of replacing a wired studio setup. Connect via a wired USB-C, and you’ll get the ability to work up to 96 kHz too.
Image: Press
Connectivity done right
The first thing that stands out is just how flexible the system is. The included wireless transmitter is powered via USB-C, but can receive audio either digitally over USB-C or through a traditional 3.5 mm analogue input. There’s also a 3.5 mm analogue output on the transmitter if you want to stack multiple units and more than one set on the same analogue headphone output. There is also Bluetooth 5.3 with standard lossy SBC and AAC codecs for casual listening and roles not requiring uncompressed audio and ultra-low latency.
When it comes to that flagship wireless mode, because the Lewitt RealSound tech operates in the Ultra-Wideband spectrum, it does require a direct line of sight to the transmitter and has roughly a five-metre range. That means you can connect the output of an audio interface, mixer, synth, sampler or any device with a headphone output and instantly transmit uncompressed wireless audio to the headphones. It’s a simple solution, but one that opens up plenty of possibilities in the studio and is great for a home studio setup where you might have to move around to twiddle with synths, drum machines or guitars etc. It’s worth noting that if you have thick walls to walk behind or other things that break the line of sight to the receiver, you may run into problems.
It’s obvious that Lewitt has spent time considering real-world workflows here and users wanting a set of headphones for music listening too. There are multiple ways to integrate the LW6 into a setup, and the system handles edge cases that many manufacturers simply overlook.
Image: Press
Lewitt LW6 sound quality
The sound is where Lewitt has focused its attention, the LW6 is tuned in collaboration with acoustics engineers on actual human test subjects. The LW6 delivers a flat, detailed and reassuringly high-end sound. You’re presented with a balanced, honest listening experience that feels entirely appropriate for studio work. They are on the brighter side, which I find perfect and familiar to my taste, but of course you can tweak them if needed in the app.
Stereo imaging is excellent, transient detail is clear, and mixes translate well. I don’t notice any discernible noise floor even at extremely high or low volumes. Perhaps most importantly, you forget that you’re listening wirelessly. That’s one of the biggest compliments you can pay these headphones, and I am constantly taking them off to get up from a chair out of habit.
Image: Press
Smart software
The hardware itself is, of course, only part of the story. The companion software and mobile app add a significant amount of flexibility, including access to a customisable five-band parametric EQ and a range of listening profiles. Switching to the Virtual Studio mode creates a noticeably more spacious presentation that can be particularly comfortable during longer sessions, using DSP to mimic listening in front of a set of speakers. It’s genuinely useful for checking how a mix responds to different listening environments without having to swap headphones or monitors.
On the headphones themselves, Lewitt has included a thoughtfully designed control scheme. The integrated volume control works brilliantly, while assignable buttons provide quick access to power, EQ presets and other functions without needing to dive back into the app. Also, on registering the product, you are able to claim a copy of the brand’s Space Replicator Essential software. Here, like the included Virtual Studio, you can switch between models of real spaces on your headphones as if you were there. Again, this is perfect for checking mixes, and weirdly, also quite fun!
Image: Press
Lewitt LW6 comfort and isolation
Design is perhaps the least exciting aspect of the LW6. They look perfectly respectable, but they don’t exactly scream premium luxury. Build quality feels solid, although the rubberised adjustable headband gives me some concern about long-term durability. That said, the lightweight construction pays dividends during extended sessions, and in daily use they’re extremely comfortable.
The ear pads deserve particular praise. They’re comfortable, and the isolation is excellent, with surprisingly little bleed reaching nearby microphones even at relatively high monitoring levels. That’s a huge advantage when recording vocals, acoustic instruments or other sensitive sources where backing-track and click bleed can be problematic. Because of their brilliant and unique design, it does mean that replacing ear pads with other styles might not be as simple as on more standard headphone shapes.
These headphones also go exceptionally loud when required, making them well suited to performers who need strong monitoring during tracking sessions or when working with dynamic sources. Reassuringly, Lewitt has included a configurable Loudness Guard feature within the app, allowing users to limit peaks above a chosen SPL threshold. It’s a thoughtful addition for anyone conscious of hearing health, and for that surprise feedback, buzzes or pops when recording, although it can be disabled entirely if preferred.
Image: Press
Battery life
One thing worth noting is that the LW6 cannot be used passively, even though you can use a 3.5 mm wired connection from the headphones if the headphones are powered up. If the battery is dead, then so are the headphones.
Battery life is rated at 21 hours though, and this feels more than adequate in practice, so a dead set of headphones is unlikely and isn’t something I experience in use. In any case, fast charging can deliver three hours of listening time on just a 15-minute top-up charge.
Should I buy Lewitt LW6 wireless headphones?
The LW6’s only foible is aesthetics. They look pretty bland, and the amazing sound and technology inside feel deserving of something a little more alluring. Imagine this amazing headphone tech wrapped in aluminium, wood or some other premium finish, and you’d have something truly special. Time will tell whether the ear pads end up like some other headphone brands, flaking and eroding over time. With the attention to detail in every other design choice, I find this unlikely.
Noise cancellation would have been a welcome addition for those leisurely listening sessions, provided there was a method of implementing it without compromising the excellent audio quality, as would a built-in mic for calls. Still, those are relatively minor criticisms. The reality is, I like these headphones a LOT and those extra features might justify adding another set of expensive headphones to my collection. What Lewitt has achieved here is genuinely impressive. The LW6 successfully combines studio-grade sound quality with the convenience of wireless operation, while avoiding the compromises that have traditionally made engineers wary of cutting the cord.
At over £500, these aren’t an impulse purchase. But for producers, engineers and musicians who spend countless hours wearing headphones, the LW6 offers something few rivals can match: a single pair of headphones capable of handling virtually every aspect of modern music production and casual listening. When you consider the competition, the price is extremely attractive.
The Lewitt LW6 proves that wireless studio headphones have finally grown up.

Key features

Closed-back, high-isolation design
Ultra-low latency RealSound wireless audio
USB-C and 3.5 mm connectivity on both transmitter and headphones
Companion desktop and mobile apps
5-band parametric EQ
Virtual Studio listening mode
Loudness Guard hearing protection
Up to 21 hours of battery life and fast charging
Assignable on-ear buttons
Includes Space Replicator Essential software

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