Sonic Academy JU-60The JU-60 - Juno Chorus VST Plugin is a digital audio plugin designed to emulate the chorus effect found in the Roland Juno-60 synthesizer. This plugin replicates the signal processing characteristics... Read More

TikTok refreshes Desktop App in challenge to YouTubeTikTok refreshes Desktop App, in the latest salvo in its ongoing battle with YouTube.
The post TikTok refreshes Desktop App in challenge to YouTube appeared first on Hypebot.

Echoes of My Slutty Valentine"Some of L.A.s best degenerate bands will be seeping up from the underground to make you cry, laugh, mosh and feel hornier than you ever thought imaginable," wrote promotors Basic Cable Programming on their website, by way of a description of My Slutty Valentine fest, and that's not bad but it doesn't really do it justice.My Slutty Valentine celebrates Valentine's Day, but leaves out the cheesiness and vanilla romance. In its place, we get heaps of sex positivity, feminist and queer joy, and a ton of glorious outfits. Love is in the air, but lust won't be pushed out. Frankly, the event is a fucking riot.Music Connection was at The Echo and Echoplex from the 5 p.m. start on Sunday. That meant 20 bands, conveniently overlapping, on three stages (inside at the two neighboring venues, plus a third on the Echo patio). Nobody was bad and, indeed, we discovered plenty of bands and artists that will appear in the pages of our magazine in the future.First up was brutal and uncompromising hardcore punks CNTS, swiftly followed by deceptively upbeat rocker Spooky Marvin (bit Ramones, bit Gun Club). Codex continued the rowdy punk vibe outside. BushfireThe Memories have a sound that is somehow lo-fi and upbeat. Somewhere between Weezer and Dinosaur Jr. They were followed by the raw, AC/DC-esque rock 'n' roll of Tyranis. Bushfire upped the ante somewhat. Incredible tunes, boundless energy and a frontwoman who looks like she's ready to kick everyone's ass.Caravan222 offered a change of pace; outlaw country and dusty Americana, with an edge and real heart. Then there was the glorious trash rock of Lord Friday 13, who wowed with their glitter-and-grime take on glam-punk. Legs were kicking, balls were swinging, and feet were tapping. Shamon Cassette

SpunkShamon Cassette were a bit of a revelation. P-funk, punk, metal and hip-hop collided in a gloriously loud, perfect mess. The wonderfully named Warblob put the focus back on the hardcore punk, as did the even better-named Spunk. The latter in particular went for the jugular with a set of riotous, gnarly noise.Mz NeonMz Neon may well have stolen the night. "Check on your trans friends--we're not ok," she said. "Things are crazy." That is undoubtedly true, and the crowd at the Echoplex was quick to show its support. Naturally, we will too.The alt-rapper was spectacular, with tunes like "Pussy Stick" (we think) whipping up the Slutty crowd. Magnificent.The Urinals

Poppy Jean CrawfordL.A. punk vets The Urinals were playing to a younger crowd that what they might be used to, though they had fiery gems like "Ack Ack Ack" to blast through. They didn't disappoint. Neither did Chimera, who have a vocalist with one of the better hardcore voices we've heard in a while.If Mz Neon stole the night, Poppy Jean Crawford ran her close. The alt-pop star-in-the-making recently announced a tour with veteran Brit goths The Mission UK, and on this evidence she'll go down a treat. Elements of PJ Harvey and Siouxsie Sioux meld beautifully, as she purrs through her stunning set.Greenwitch add some welcome death metal to the night, while S.O.H.'s brand of lively punk rock kept the energy levels high (although we don't know what the initials stand for). Slaughterhouse followed suit, and then it was time for Mac Sabbath.Yeah, it's all a bit silly. The band's rewriting of Black Sabbath songs to cover fast food subject matter is, frankly, ludicrous. But the yin to that yang is that the musicians inside the costumes are super-talented, the songs sound immense, and the showmanship is glorious. Songs like "Chicken for the Slaves" and "Sweet Beef" reinterpret Sabbath classics in a manner Ozzy could never have imagined. But shit, it's fun.On the way out, we caught a bit of indie-pop artist Mothe, and we heard enough to intrigue. We'll be checking out more.The post Echoes of My Slutty Valentine first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Hyperliquid flips Solana in fees, but is the ‘HYPE’ justified?Hyperliquid’s $9 billion in volume and profitable mechanisms will make vampire attacks on the network’s liquidity a challenge.

Snowflake grows startup accelerator with $200M in new capitalSnowflake plans to expand its startup accelerator with $200 million in additional commitments, the tech giant that specializes in cloud-based data storage said Thursday. The new injection of capital follows a string of activity by Snowflake over the past several months that illustrates that company’s growth ambitions. The Snowflake Startup Accelerator, formerly known as the […]
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Thermorphs: Self-Folding 3D PrintsPrints separating from the build plate or warping when you don’t want them to is a headache for the additive manufacturer. [CNC Kitchen] walks us through a technique to use that warping to our advantage.
Based on a paper by researchers at the Morphing Matter Lab at UC Berkeley, [CNC Kitchen] wanted to try making 3D printed objects that could self-assemble when placed in hot water. Similar to a bimetal strip that you find in simple thermostats, the technique takes advantage of the stresses baked into the print and how they can relax when reaching the glass transition temperature of the polymer. By printing joints with PLA and TPU layers, you can guide the deformation in the direction you wish, and further tune the amount of stress in the part by changing the print speed of different sections.
[CNC Kitchen] found that Hilbert curve infill slows the printer down sufficiently to create relatively stress-free sections of a print to create flat sections which is an improvement over the original researchers’ all TPU flat sections with respect to rigidity. We’ve covered how to reduce warping in 3D prints, but now we can use those techniques in reverse to design self-assembling structures. These parts, being thermoplastic, can also be heated, reformed, and then exhibit shape memory when placed back into hot water. It’s very experimental, but we’re curious to see what sort of practical or artistic projects could be unlocked with this technique.
We’ve seen a few other interesting techniques with folded objects like laser cutter origami, some flat-to-folded 3D prints that might be interesting to try with this technique, and also folded hybrid mechanisms made with laser cutting and 3D printing.

According to Bob Horn, “Pro Tools meters affect the sound of your mix” – or do they?A podcast clip in which mix engineer and producer Bob Horn claims that Pro Tools meters affect the sound of your mix has left music makers divided.
The clip, taken from the My StudioNerds Podcast (hosted by Devvon Terrell, L. Jean, and Courtney Taylor), shows Horn – who has worked with the likes of BTS, Michael Jackson, and Timbaland – suggesting that the meters in Pro Tools each have “a sound”, and that Pro Tools Classic meter is “the worst” metering type to use.

READ MORE: Billy Corgan thinks Pro Tools made music worse: “It brought a lot of people into the music business that really have no business being in the music business”

In the video, Horn says, “Some people think I’m crazy but the ones that have heard it just freak out – the Pro Tools meters have a sound, and depending on which ones you choose, sound different. So what meters do you use? Is it Pro Tools Classic? That’s the worst one.
“The code written for the meters must be in like a series to where they affect the audio, and if you’re summing it gets recorded. So if you’re in the box it’s just how you’re monitoring, but I always say your best monitoring will help you make the best decisions. If you’re summing it matters, and Pro Tools Classic sounds horrible. So the masters have a setting and then tracks and auxes have a setting, two different settings, so my ultimate combo… It’s linear (extended) on the masters and K-14 on the tracks. The look of it takes a minute to get used to, but when you AB that sound, it’s different.”

Horn’s opinion has got people talking with some people agreeing, and others believing Horn’s conclusion isn’t accurate. One person writes, “I knew I wasn’t tripping”, while another states, “Tried it! There’s definitely a difference in sound! A noticeable one at that. Unbelievable.”
On the other hand, another user says, “Just null-tested this in-the-box with offline rendering: perfect null. Meters make no difference, sorry guys and gals.” Another also states, “The meters don’t have a sound, but the way you mix with different meters results in a different sound. K14 meters zero out at -6db.”

You can check out the full podcast below:

The post According to Bob Horn, “Pro Tools meters affect the sound of your mix” – or do they? appeared first on MusicTech.

“Immortalise” your place in an artist’s journey with SoundCloud’s new Fan Recognition featureSoundCloud has launched a new Fan Recognition which highlights your most dedicated supporters on the platform.
The new module is proudly displayed on your track page via web, and highlights both your first fans – whose names will be displayed in order of plays accumulated during the first week of a song’s release – and top fans, who are the most prominent listeners of your music overall. SoundCloud believes the feature will “immortalise” a fan’s place in their favourite musicians’ journeys. Discover a huge artist before they became big? Now you’ll forever have the bragging rights that you were there early doors.

READ MORE: “I swear we’re working on it… Innovation is ongoing”: SoundCloud responds to criticisms of “destroying” transients in song uploads

To qualify for Fan Recognition, fans must be aged 18 or over and have liked the track and followed the artist, in addition to having a username, profile picture, and verified email address. Fans can also opt out of Fan Recognition if they wish.
The platform cites research ​​MIDiA and Luminate as a drive for the new celebratory feature, which shows the importance of direct fan relationships in an artist’s success. Luminate reports that 90 percent of superfans engage with artists through live performances, and 81 percent amplify their favourite artists by spreading the word. “Recognising and nurturing these connections early can be game-changing for an artist’s career,” says SoundCloud.
It seems more and more industry giants are realising the power and value of fans – last year, UMG CEO Lucian Grainge and Warner Music Group CEO Robert Kyncl both underscored a focus on cultivating and monetising “superfans”.
“We need to develop our direct artist-superfan products and experiences,” Kyncl told WMG staff, as part of his plan to ‘increase the value of music’. “Both artists and superfans want deeper relationships, and it’s an area that’s relatively untapped and under-monetised.”
Find out more about SoundCloud’s Fan Recognition via its official newsroom.
The post “Immortalise” your place in an artist’s journey with SoundCloud’s new Fan Recognition feature appeared first on MusicTech.

Camp David AudioSuite Clarity EQGet 20% off when you purchase on KVRaudio. Camp David AudioSuites first generation equalizer comes ready to add clarity to your recordings. A simple to use design, Clarity EQ comes... Read More

$500m-valued Suno has admitted training AI on copyrighted music. That hasn’t stopped Amazon from adding its controversial tech to AlexaThe new voice assistant is also integrated with the Claude chatbot from Anthropic, an AI company facing a copyright lawsuit from music publishers
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Gems from Song Athletics & BORO Song Athletics’ latest project has been developed in collaboration with BORO, a Montréal- based creative sound studio led by composer and sound artist Noah Cedar Sherrin.

Instagram shares How Reels Algorithm Works as new App Rumors riseInstagram shared more about how Reels algorithm works in a blog post and video including some good news for emerging creators. The reveal comes alongside word that Meta is considering a separate short video app.
The post Instagram shares How Reels Algorithm Works as new App Rumors rise appeared first on Hypebot.

The Hi-Fi-way to Hell: Pro-Ject’s AC/DC-inspired turntable is ridiculous, but we want itAudio systems brand Pro-Ject has released an AC/DC-themed turntable, with a lightning bolt design that will really leave you Thunderstruck.
Pro-Ject took inspiration from the band’s electrified logo for the new turntable, which it says is engineered and handmade in Europe for audiophiles and music enthusiasts. It will be available to purchase from March.

READ MORE: This two-in-one Bluetooth turntable and wireless speaker might just be a serious vinyl lover’s dream

The turntable hosts a heavy glass platter and acrylic sub platter with fiery red LED lighting, as well as an 8,6-inch acrylic, low-resonance tonearm of a “completely new” design with spring anti-skating.
Its plinth is made of MDF, and a flat silicon belt builds the connection to its AC motor for stable speeds in playback. There’s also a premium, pre-adjusted Ortofon 2M Red MM phono cartridge that blends in seamlessly with its rock-ready aesthetic. Take a closer glimpse at this lethal-looking machine below:
Image: Pro-Ject

The turntable isn’t the first Pro-Ject model to take inspiration from a legendary band. The brand has a number of creative products in its Artist Collection, spanning turntables themed after Metallica, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and more – it even has one in the shape of a yellow submarine.
Another brand who has just released a creative range of turntables is Gadhouse. Its COSMO Solar turntable range newly welcomes fresh colours that blend “nostalgia with innovation” and upgraded sound quality. Its three new colours channel the retro-futurism aesthetic of the Y2K era, when countless gadgets were given a clear tech makeover, revealing their inner mechanisms while remaining playful and vibrant.
The Pro-Ject AC/DC turntable will be available this March for £1,149.00/€1.299. Find out more over at Pro-Ject.
The post The Hi-Fi-way to Hell: Pro-Ject’s AC/DC-inspired turntable is ridiculous, but we want it appeared first on MusicTech.

“The story began 15 years ago when I was repairing Soviet synthesizers”: Eternal Engine’s tube-powered MARS is the wildest synth we’ve seen in ages – here’s how it came to beEternal Engine has unveiled a new polyphonic synth based on vacuum tubes, and it claims it is the first of its kind.
The synth, called MARS, is a hybrid instrument offering the power of oscillators based on the famous R-2R DAC TDA1387 digital-to-analogue converter, combined with the original fully tube audio path based on the APPARATUS synthesiser circuit.

READ MORE: One of the Bay Area’s top ambient producers has created a sample library for Soundbox – and it’s totally free

Though vacuum tubes were first integrated into synths all the way back in 1939 with the Hammond Novachord, few modern synths have integrated them into their designs, and where they have, these have been monophonic – like the Korg Volca Nubass, for example.
MARS’ sounds can range from punchy aggressive FM leads and acid basslines, to soft classic pads and strings. It also supports full software control and easily integrates into any DAW via plugin. Each one is assembled by hand, and they are produced in limited quantities. Hear it in-play below:

It has a compact rack format, which is five units high, and four oscillators operating in modes: Basic (Sine, Triangle, Sawtooth, Fixed Pulse Width 1/2, 1/4, 1/8); Pulse; Ensemble and Noise with Hi-Pass and Low-Pass filters.
Further features include:

Voltage-controlled tube filter of the second order with self-oscillation with overload
Voltage-controlled amplifier, following the traditional architecture of tube opto compressors
Triode asymmetric overdrive
Indicator based on Nixie lamps
Four channels of 4xCV and Gate for integration with Eurorack format synths
External Input for processing the audio signal of external audio devices
Two HADSR envelope generators with pre-delay and multiple retriggers
Sub-audio frequency generator LFO with restart and synchronisation Clock, smooth waveform transition sawtooth-triangle-sawtooth, pulse-square-pulse, as well as Sample & Hold and Noise with reconfigurable Hi-Pass and Low-Pass filters
Auto and continuous modes of portamento / legato
Mono, duo, and four-voice polyphony modes
Flexible four-channel modulation matrix
PC connection with galvanic isolation

A polyphonic tube-powered synth is a wild thought, so MusicTech reached out to Alexander at Eternal Engine to learn more.
“The story of MARS began 15 years ago when I was repairing and modifying both Soviet and imported synthesizers,” he recalls. “I worked on iconic models like the Polivoks, Aelita, Alisa 1377, Minimoog, Jupiter-8, Prophet-5, Yamaha CS-80, and many others.
“By studying their circuits and designs, I learned what made them great, as well as their limitations. This experience helped me understand how different engineers approached sound design and problem-solving.
“Besides repairs, I also worked on synth modifications – fixing design flaws, adding new features like MIDI, and expanding their capabilities. Over time, I started to imagine what my ideal synthesizer would be and how I could build it.”
Alexander says he began developing his first tube filter in 2017, a process which took him over a year, and one which led to his first tube synth, Apparatus, which arrived in 2019. But while MARS only arrives now in 2025, he had been working on it for some time before the launch of Apparatus.
Credit: Eternal Engine
The first version, MARS-1, was a hybrid synthesizer with a modified Polivoks filter and an analog three-phase chorus. It had a lot of potential, but the project was too complex for one person, so I focused on developing modules for the tube-based Apparatus.
“In 2020, during the pandemic, I finally had time to return to the MARS-1 project. With all the experience I had gained from Apparatus, I was confident that I could combine powerful digital oscillators with a rich tube sound. The result exceeded all my expectations.”
Alexander says designing MARS’s interface was one of the biggest challenges of the process, as it “had to be compact enough to fit in a standard rack while staying intuitive and easy to use – without making the musician feel overloaded with too many controls”.
“I always liked the idea of having one or two knobs with parameter indication for each section,” he says. “This way, you can always see the stored value, have instant access to any parameter, and avoid overcrowding the front panel with unnecessary controls.
“It took several years to refine the design, and now MARS is finally ready for production. I believe it offers a unique mix of modern digital flexibility and rich analog depth. This synthesizer can create everything from deep, evolving textures to aggressive, expressive tones while keeping a dynamic and organic sound.”
MARS is priced at $2199. To find out more, head over to Eternal Engine.
The post “The story began 15 years ago when I was repairing Soviet synthesizers”: Eternal Engine’s tube-powered MARS is the wildest synth we’ve seen in ages – here’s how it came to be appeared first on MusicTech.

Machina Bristronica 2025 Join Sound On Sound at Machina Bristronica 2025 Bristol on 27-28th September for a weekend of world class live...