Saint Mike DSP ColoraVerbColoraVerb is a creative algorithmic reverb that lets you shape space through color. Its four color blocks: Decay, Diffusion, Tone, and Room, each control a group of linked parameters, turning complex reverb design into simple, musical gestures. With lush spatial depth and nearly endless combinations, ColoraVerb inspires new textures and adds a touch of mystique to any mix. Read More

Barefoot launch Gen2 Footprint 01 & 02 Barefoot's Footprint 01 and 02 have recently been treated to an overhaul that introduces new driver designs and promises to deliver some significant performance improvements. 

Watch Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter perform first DJ set in 16 years – alongside Fred Again..Last month, Fred Again.. shocked fans when he announced he’d be teasing the rollout of UBS002 with a series of 10 shows in 10 different cities across 10 weeks. He’s ticked off Glasgow, Brussels, Madrid, and most recently Paris – and the show featured a surprise appearance from Parisian electro royalty, Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter.
The performance at Paris’s Centre Pompidou came as Bangalter’s first return to the DJ decks in quite some time. Throughout, he spun a slew of Daft Punk classics, including Digital Love and Rollin’ & Scratchin’, as well as cuts from The Chemical Brothers and even the theme of One Battle After Another, the 2025 blockbuster soundtracked by Radiohead’s Johnny Greenwood.

READ MORE: How we remixed The Cure: Tips from Orbital, Trentemøller and more

Prior to the set, Bangalter’s last live appearance was at the 2017 Grammy Awards alongside his Daft Punk partner, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. The pair had performed alongside The Weeknd.

Fred Again..’s impromptu stop in Paris also saw saw Phantasy Sound label’s Erol Alkan and Ed Banger Records founder Pedro Winter performing their own B2B DJ sets throughout the night.
As well as aiding the rollout of UBS002, the evening also doubled as a celebration of the 20th anniversary of French record label, Because Music. Billed by the venue as part of the ‘Because Beaubourg’ birthday festivities, Bangalter’s guest appearance also helped add an extra flare of excitement to the festivities… but it was also his way of honouring Paris’ Centre Pompidou before it closes for a 5-year renovation project.

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As Fred explains in an Instagram post, Bangalter’s appearance was his way of honouring the Parisian venue before it closed for its 5-year renovation process. “Thomas told me in the lift on the way down to the show that the first time he fell in love with electronic music was in this building in 1992,” Fred writes.
“He also told me hasn’t played a proper set without the mask on for 24 years,” the DJ continues. “I didn’t know what to say to either of those things, and I still don’t. All I said to him at the end is that I hope it isn’t 24 years ‘til the next.”

We’re sure Bangalter appreciated the chance to show his own face for a change. The last evidence of him on the decks without his robotic headgear on was way back in 2009, and it looks like one hell of a set.
There’s no saying what the rest of Fred’s 10 weeks of touring has in store. He’s also been releasing fresh cuts from USB002 to tease fans, with collaborations with Caribou and Floating Points already giving a taste of his upcoming record.

“10 weeks!” Fred shared in his original Instagram post announcing the tour. “A new song every Friday and a show every Friday (in 10 different cities!).”
“We’ve spent the last year or so planning how we want these shows to sound and look and feel,” he continued. “here is an absolutely ridiculous line-up of people joining us in different places… it’s genuinely like 10 of my dream raves in every way. We’ve never done anything like this before… let’s have a magical time together.”
Back in March, Fred was also spotted in the studio with Justin Bieber… so the DJ has potentially got some pretty exciting features down the line.

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The post Watch Daft Punk’s Thomas Bangalter perform first DJ set in 16 years – alongside Fred Again.. appeared first on MusicTech.

Witch’s Brew Bitcrusher for macOS, Windows, and Linux is FREE till Halloween
The Witch’s Brew Bitcrusher is a new plugin from Kushview, the developer behind the modular VST plugin host, Element. Witch’s Brew Bitcrusher is available in AU, VST3, LV2, and CLAP formats for macOS, Windows, and Linux. The plugin has a regular retail price of $10, but you can download it for free until Halloween (October [...]
View post: Witch’s Brew Bitcrusher for macOS, Windows, and Linux is FREE till Halloween

Berglind Audio releases Oolong Jr, a FREE saturation plugin for macOS and Windows
Berglind Audio has released Oolong Jr, a free saturation plugin for macOS and Windows. Oolong Jr is a streamlined version of the full-featured Oolong saturator. That said, even in its cut-down form, the freebie packs decent amounts of mojo and might earn a spot in your mixing chain. It’s designed as a straightforward saturation tool [...]
View post: Berglind Audio releases Oolong Jr, a FREE saturation plugin for macOS and Windows

Spatial audio has arrived on BandLab. What does it mean for producers?Ad feature with Sony and BandLab. Editor’s note: BandLab Technologies and MusicTech are both a part of the Caldecott Music Group.
When terms like ‘spatial audio’ and ‘spatial music’ started hitting the mainstream a few years ago, there was plenty of scepticism from jaded audio pros, myself included. To a large extent, those reservations have melted away. Most major streaming platforms now support spatial audio, and both studio and consumer hardware have adapted at breakneck speed, with spatial audio interfaces, soundbars, and headphones becoming available at pitch-perfect price points.
After decades of two-channel dominance, it now truly feels like spatial audio might be the successor to stereo.
In April, BandLab stepped into the ring, announcing that, through a partnership with Sony, the company’s hugely popular browser and app-based DAW would begin offering spatial audio capabilities at zero cost to the platform’s 100 million registered users. The first stage of that collaboration is now here, with the launch of a curated set of pre-mixed spatial audio song-starters called 360RA beats.
To understand why this is a big deal, we first need to step back and look at what spatial audio actually is and why it’s a massive leap forward for listening.
Image: Press
What is spatial audio?
Don’t get me wrong, I love a good stereo track – but the stereo listening experience has always been a simplified version of how humans actually experience sound. We’re all familiar with stereo panning – the ability to move sounds left or right on an 180° horizontal plane – but, in the real world, sounds have height and depth; they can move around us or surround us completely. Spatial audio can emulate all of this better than stereo.
Of course, spatial audio has actually existed in some form or another since the 1950s. Back then, people were experimenting with putting hundreds of loudspeakers around a venue to give people a deeper spatial experience of music. Cool? Definitely. Practical? Nope. It’s taken decades to refine the technology to the point where we can now have a standardised spatial audio format that works seamlessly across various consumer listening devices, from phones to computers, TVs and stereo systems.
Getting this to work involves some cutting-edge audio processing technologies that reproduce how we naturally hear distance, depth, and movement – whether you’re listening on headphones or on a multi-channel speaker setup. Luckily, we don’t need to know the specifics. What’s important is that spatial audio has reached critical mass: it’s now possible to approximate the experience of standing in a hundred loudspeaker concert venue using just a pair of mid-tier headphones. This is why spatial audio is fast becoming the new consumer standard for music listening.
Image: Press
What does it offer audio engineers, artists and listeners?
Over the decades, mix engineers have gotten extremely adept at working within the confines of stereo. Using effects like compression, EQ, and reverb, they’ve managed to pack huge walls of sound into just two speakers. Spatial audio explodes this paradigm, fundamentally reshaping how we should consider dynamics and frequency ranges in music production. For one thing, spatial audio offers unparalleled separation between instruments – sounds don’t have to fight each other to be heard. This means audio engineers can back off the compressors and limiters and mix with a much wider dynamic range. Essentially, the Loudness Wars are over.
For artists, they can begin thinking about songwriting in three dimensions. Artists can transport their listeners to a stadium concert or an intimate studio session, they can put the listener in the best seat in the house, or right up on stage in the middle of the band. The incredible depth and realism offered by spatial audio means that artists can communicate the emotion and mood of their music with a level of control that was never possible in stereo.
And, of course, artists don’t have to shoot for a mix that resembles real life. With 360° of space to play with, you can push the piano so far away it sounds like it’s coming from the back of a dark cavern or bring your vocal harmonies so close they feel like an intimate whisper. Or, if you’ve a sadistic streak, it’s entirely possible to make a cowbell run circles around the listener’s head.
The creative possibilities for spatial audio are incredibly exciting, and right now is the time when artists and engineers get the opportunity to define the new production techniques we might end up using for generations to come. What spatial audio does best, what works, what doesn’t, how to achieve certain moods or feelings – these are the big questions and it’s music creators who will find the answers.
For music lovers, spatial audio offers a deeply immersive listening experience. And, because of spatial audio’s adaptability, it’s also frictionless: the format will seamlessly adapt to a person’s hardware, giving them the ideal spatial mix regardless of the listening environment, or even switch back to a stereo mix if spatially enabled hardware is unavailable.
Mixing for spatial audio is one of the best ways to make sure a song stands out from the crowd. The world’s largest music streaming providers are increasingly making spatial listening a default option for subscribers, and it’s even possible for artists to earn higher music streaming royalty rates if they publish a spatial mix. So if you’re looking to catch someone’s ear on a playlist, increase your royalties, or just offer your fans the best possible listening experience, spatial audio is the way forward.
The only drawback to this format is its inaccessibility – but not anymore.
Image: Press
A new era of accessibility
Up until now, spatial audio has been a complex, niche, and expensive technology that was off-limits to anyone working outside of professional studios or academia. With the BandLab x Sony partnership, that’s no longer the case.
Using Sony’s cutting-edge spatial sound technology, 360 Reality Audio (360RA), BandLab is supporting millions of music makers to use spatial audio for the first time. Crucially, specialist knowledge and expensive hardware is no longer a requirement – all you need is a pair of headphones and an internet connection to jump onto the BandLab platform and start playing with space.
The first big step comes in the form of 360RA beats. These pre-spatialised tracks empower users to quickly audition spatial sounds, hear the difference between a classic stereo mix, and drag and drop into BandLab Studio to begin crafting a new song. Best of all, it’s all freely available to BandLab’s 100 million-strong community.
With 20 360RA beats on offer at launch, and many more set to become available over the following months, these are a great place to start for any bedroom producers who have never dabbled with spatial mixes before. To try it, just make an account, peruse the hundreds of Beats available on the BandLab platform, and select one that is tagged with the ‘Experience 360 Reality Audio powered by Sony’ label. Simple as that.
The barriers holding back the adoption of spatial audio in mainstream music are being broken down as the technology is refined, simplified and made widely available to music makers. The creative potential is clear, the limitations have yet to be reached, and with the introduction of 360 Reality Audio to BandLab’s highly accessible DAW, there’s now nothing holding artists back from stepping into this new creative space.
The post Spatial audio has arrived on BandLab. What does it mean for producers? appeared first on MusicTech.

Why Universal Audio’s CEO wants you to talk to your DAWIt’s easy to see where Universal Audio’s idea for LUNA’s voice activation came from, especially after speaking with Bill Putnam Jr, the company’s CEO.
When I last spoke with Putnam Jr in October 2024, the Californian audio wiz detailed his morning routine of creative writing and wandering through Santa Cruz. These daily habits remain intact 12 months later, but he’s no longer strolling around the scenic coastal town alone. Now, he has an assistant.
“My favourite workflow these days is to walk around Santa Cruz while using voice mode on ChatGPT. I’ll be thinking, working on something, and say, ‘Oh, take a note of that,’ and it’ll store it in my Notion database,” says Putnam. “My favourite interface for ChatGPT is voice now.”
Last week, Universal Audio released LUNA 2.0, the second iteration of its popular DAW. It arrives four months after LUNA 1.9, which introduced new AI tools: Hands-Free Recording, Instrument Detection, and the Smart Tempo Suite. The former allows producers to say, “Hey Luna, start recording”, rather than hitting the recording button in the DAW, while the latter two features help with faster project organisation.
Credit: Universal Audio
But who exactly is asking for an AI-assisted DAW, and why would producers and engineers want to talk to LUNA?
“If you’ve got an instrument in your hand, or you’re at the microphone and you want to just jump into singing, you want to keep the computer keyboard out of the equation,” explains Putnam. He cites his own experiences in recording guitar parts into LUNA, and previously having to pause his performance, reach over to his desk and hit the record button before finding his way back into the groove, interrupting his creative flow.
Our voices, to Putnam, are increasingly becoming a powerful means of software navigation. “There are a lot of places where voice is going to be the most natural, best interface,” he says, before caveating that meticulous audio editing work will still require a screen: “Nothing’s gonna replace a highly detailed visual user interface for that.”
Bill Putnam Jr. Image: Universal Audio
With a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford, Putnam has long been curious about AI’s potential. He looks to fellow Stanford alumni and the “Godfather of AI music” David Cope, for challenging his own thoughts on generative music and creative theories. Putnam is, however, careful to avoid becoming an overly enthusiastic AI evangelist.
“Our mission at UA is to thrill and inspire music makers, and just put anything we do through that filter. ‘Will this thrill and inspire music makers?’ If the answer is yes, we should do it. If the answer is no, we shouldn’t do it,” he explains.
LUNA 2.0 isn’t a dramatic overhaul, but it seems to address UA’s mission to some effect. The free version now has support for ARA plugins, which has been heavily requested by the LUNA userbase; the Pro tier now brings an additional 15 UAD plugins, plus Melodyne Essential, which is being touted as “great value” by customers.
However, regarding the AI features, Putnam says he’s heard “the full gamut” of feedback.
“There are people who get it,” he says, “but other people ask, ‘Why would I ever want to talk to a DAW?’ If your workflow is just mixing and editing, you might never want to. But for some people, that’s not the case; there’s not going to be a one-size-fits-all…AI is clearly overhyped right now, and we’re starting to see the negative side.”
Bill Putnam Jr. Image: Universal Audio
“I’ve seen some reactions that say, ‘Well, you’re just feeding into the hype. This is just AI slop’ or whatever. [But UA] needs to go out there and be willing to be pioneers; we need to be willing to make mistakes. There are gonna be some swings and misses across the industry. And, hopefully, we don’t beat people up too much for that; we just learn a lesson and make something better.”
The distinction between ‘AI slop’ and the vision that Putnam has for a modern DAW is important to him. Many producers and creators are right to be cautious of generative AI, he says, but remains firm that Universal Audio’s goals differ from generative AI apps Suno and Udio. “It’s very hard to spend the time to get to the point where music is fun. And it should be,” Putnam says. “Making a tool that can automatically create a soundtrack and replace a music maker is not like Universal Audio.”
Still, some commenters on Universal Audio’s LUNA 1.9 announcement video are adamant that any use of AI in music-making is blasphemous. “The most human music is the music without AI involvement,” reads one comment, while another says: “THIS is what they throw us after all the suggestions we’ve made about LUNA the last 5 years, AI?…So tired of AI being shoved up our noses.”

For Putnam, the backlash is partly a communication problem. Some features, he argues, shouldn’t even be marketed as AI. LUNA’s Instrument Detection, which automatically labels tracks based on the instrument being recorded, is one tool the CEO thinks doesn’t warrant an AI fanfare.
“Naming tracks is something I always avoid,” he says with a chuckle. “You get too many tracks and it’s like, ‘What was this?!’ But [Instrument Detection] is something that you shouldn’t even have to know is AI. You shouldn’t even have to know that it’s a feature. You should just not have to think about it.”
UA isn’t alone in its push for DAW innovation. Apple has integrated AI into Logic Pro via the Mastering Assistant, while Image-Line has baked an entire chatbot into FL Studio 2025 (it’s called Gopher, and we actually found it pretty useful). Evidently, DAW developers are looking in a plethora of directions with AI, and how it can assist creators using their software. Whether artists want that assistance is another question.
“I think artists are the right people to have the burden of figuring out how to make AI serve humanity, and not serve up humanity. Artists have a long history of taking technology and figuring out the ways that it could best suit whatever kind of expression they’re going for. I have tremendous faith in humans’ propensity and desire to create, but even more so in artists’ ability to cut through the shit and figure out what works and what doesn’t, and lead the way.”
Putnam acknowledges, however, that generative AI platforms are very much infringing on the livelihood of working musicians. “There’s clearly potential for disruption on the commercial side – everything where music is filler or background. That’s going to be suited to some kind of automatic generative algorithm, and that will be threatening to people who had that as their day job.”
He believes strongly, however, that human creativity is unquenchable. “It’s what makes us uniquely human,” he says. “I think there is no chance that humans are going to lose the urge to create and find ways to create.”
As bleeding-edge tech continues to disrupt and concern almost every industry on the planet, Putnam, who is now in his 60s, is just glad that he’s around to take on the challenge.
“If I were sitting this out or if I were retired, I’d be regretting it. Change is always hard and always creates fear, and people just innately don’t want to transform, but [it can be] the most satisfying thing.”
Bill Putnam Jr with a portrait of Bill Putnam Sr. Image: Universal Audio
Putnam is reminded of his dad, Bill Putnam Sr, the founder of Universal Audio and the creator of some of the most coveted analogue studio gear in history. “We get so many analogue purists who say ‘it has to be tubes, it has to be this way,’” he says.
“My dad never would have been that. Even though people identify him with the past, he was always looking to the future. Literally, towards the end of his life, he was thrilled about where digital was going – super fast-acting compressors, simulated reverberant spaces. He saw what digital was going to do.”
“He would be thrilled by this next iteration of AI, I’m certain. We think about him as a representative of a static past, but he was not static. He was dynamic. He was always moving.”
 
The post Why Universal Audio’s CEO wants you to talk to your DAW appeared first on MusicTech.

Family of Grammy-winning mix engineer Dave Pensado appeal for help with cost of his Alzheimer’s treatmentDave Pensado – the Grammy-winning mix engineer behind classic records by Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Shakira and many others – is living with Alzheimer’s, and his family are appealing for help with treatment costs.
In a post on Pensado’s social media profiles, his family note his “heavy” care costs, adding: “Dave spent a lifetime elevating others… If his work moved you, please consider giving or sharing this post.”

READ MORE: Hybrid music production in 2025: The good, the hard, and the recall

A page has been set up at davepensado.com where fans can donate anything from $50 to $5,000 – or even a custom amount – either as a one-time or regular donation, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annually. There’s also a special run of merchandise, the proceeds of which will go towards Pensado’s care.
Pensado’s family say these donations will go towards his medical and memory care support, dignified daily care and supervision, and basic living needs not covered by insurance.
“For decades, Dave helped shape the soundtracks of our lives,” Pensado’s family write. “He poured care into artists, crews, and friends, always making others feel bigger than the moment.
“Today, Dave is living with Alzheimer’s and facing a difficult decline. He’s in a new chapter – spending precious time with family and grandchildren – remembering with warmth his years as a recording engineer, even as day-to-day life has become challenging.
“We want to speak plainly and respectfully: Dave does not have the financial cushion many assumed. Ongoing care costs are significant, and our family is doing everything we can – but we need help.
“If Dave’s work moved you – as a colleague, artist, student, or listener – this is a chance for the community he loved to give back.”
Pensado’s family also encourage supporters to share their stories of how his work has impacted them: “Dave always lit up hearing how the work connected. His family visits him daily and will make sure he receives your words of love and encouragement.”

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Dave Pensado began his career as a live and studio sound engineer in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and has since mixed hundreds of songs and albums by top recording artists. He won a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album in 2008 for his work alongside Jaycen Joshua and Kuk Harrell on Mary J. Blige’s Growing Pains.

You can head to davepensado.com to make a donation to his ongoing Alzheimer’s treatment costs.
The post Family of Grammy-winning mix engineer Dave Pensado appeal for help with cost of his Alzheimer’s treatment appeared first on MusicTech.

Solidtrax Maxed OutStep into new sonic territory with Maxed Out – an inspiring sound expansion for UADx PolyMAX from Universal Audio. With PolyMAX, Universal Audio introduced a fine polyphonic synthesizer. Inspired by classic instruments from the 1970s and early 1980s made by brands such as Moog, Oberheim, Roland and Sequential. Featuring two morphable oscillators, onboard modulation and spatial effects, along with a multimode filter offering 2-pole and 4-pole options, PolyMAX delivers impressive sonic versatility. Universal Audio prioritized sound quality above all else, resulting in a straightforward yet excellent-sounding synthesizer. Maxed Out is a detailed sound set offering 160 presets across a wide range of categories, designed to support your creative process. Whether you're composing ambient, cinematic, documentary, synthwave, retrowave, or exploring electronic music genres such as EDM, house, IDM, techno, trance, or even gabber/hardcore, these presets are made to help you achieve your musical goals. All presets are created with precision, are volume-matched, have tags and make extensive use of velocity and modulation capabilities. They were carefully crafted using PolyMAX version v1.0.16 to ensure they integrate seamlessly into your productions. MAX out your next production with Maxed Out. Included in the soundbank A collection of 160 presets designed for Universal Audio UADx PolyMAX. Featuring: Arpeggiated sounds. Basses. Bells. Brasses. Drums. Effects. Keys. Leads. Organs. Pads. Plucks. Poly sounds. Strings. All presets are fully tagged, allowing easy filtering within UADx PolyMAX. The price is € 29 (including VAT if applicable). Extra Information: OS X / Windows compatible. 100% royalty-free. Detailed installation instructions included (PDF). Requirements Windows: Windows 10 or newer. Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Universal Audio UADx PolyMAX v1.0.16 or newer. Requirements OS X: OS X 11 (Big Sur) or newer. Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Universal Audio UADx PolyMAX v1.0.16 or newer. Demos on YouTube Demos on SoundCloud Read More

Examining the First Mechanical CalculatorBlaise Pascal is known for a number of things, but we remember him best for the Pascaline, an early mechanical calculator. [Chris Staecker] got a chance to take a close look at one, which is quite a feat since there were only about 20 made, and today we only know where nine of them wound up.
This Pascaline was lost for many years, and turned up in an antique store, where they thought it was a music box of some kind. The recent owner passed away, and now this machine is going to go up for auction, probably for more than we can afford. While he wasn’t able to handle the antique, he has plenty of knock-offs that were made back when people actually used them, which wasn’t that long ago. One of these is transparent, so you can see the mechanism inside.
The idea is to use the wheels like an old-fashioned phone dial to add counts to an output wheel. A linkage moves the next input wheel every time the current output wheel passes nine. Of course, if you have a multi-digit carry, it might take a little more elbow grease than just flipping the dial one normal position.

The Pascaline could subtract, too, but modern versions use a more efficient method. Pascal was worried about the extra elbow grease required to push the carry, and the Pascaline actually stored energy to drive the carry mechanism. Pretty forward-thinking for someone building the very first mechanical calculator.
This Pascaline was unusual because it was made for surveying and used old French units. If it were made today, for example, it would have inch wheels that would carry a foot when they went past 11.
What a beautiful machine. You’d like to think that if you lived in the 1650s, you’d dream up this machine. But, to be honest, we probably wouldn’t. We can’t say anything about you.
We’ve seen Pascaline machines before, of course. While we love complex mechanical computers, there’s a certain charm to the simple ones, too.

Ads might be coming to Apple Maps next yearThis could be part of a larger strategy to introduce more advertising in iOS.

Urban Kits offers Bedroom Guitar, a FREE sampled nylon-string guitar plugin
Developer Urban Kits has released Bedroom Guitar, a free sampled nylon-string guitar plugin for macOS and Windows. Bedroom Guitar seems like the perfect name for this library, and not only because we’re all about bedroom producers around here. It’s the perfect name because, as any non-guitarist will know, finding a convincing virtual guitar sound is [...]
View post: Urban Kits offers Bedroom Guitar, a FREE sampled nylon-string guitar plugin

Acon Digital plug-ins join Pro Tools Inner Circle With the launch of Pro Tools 2025.10, the Inner Circle rewards now include Debleed:Snare and Verberate 2.

Thermite Pottery Fires Itself
Finely powdered aluminium can make almost anything more pyrotechnically interesting, from fireworks to machine shop cleanups – even ceramics, as [Degree of Freedom] discovered. He was experimenting with mixing aluminium powder with various other substances to see whether they could make a thermite-like combination, and found that he could shape a paste of aluminium powder and clay into a form, dry it, and ignite it. After burning, it left behind a hard ceramic material.[Degree of Freedom] was naturally interested in the possibilities of self-firing clay, so he ran a series of experiments to optimize the composition, and found that a mixture of three parts of aluminium to five parts clay by volume worked best. However, he noticed that bubbles of hydrogen were forming under the surface of the clay, which could cause cracks during the firing. The aluminium was reacting with water to form the bubbles, somewhat like a unwanted form of aerated concrete, and for some reason the kaolinite in clay seemed to accelerate the reaction. Trying to passivate the aluminium by heating it in air or water didn’t prevent the reaction, but [Degree of Freedom] did find that clay extracted from the dirt in his back yard didn’t accelerate it as kaolinite did, and the mixture could dry out without forming bubbles. This mixture wasn’t totally reliable, so to make it a bit more consistent [Degree of Freedom] added some iron oxide to accelerate the burn through an actual thermite reaction – some mixtures burned hot enough to start to melt the clay. After many tests, he found that sixteen parts clay, seven parts aluminium, and five parts iron oxide gave the best results. He fired two cups made of the mixture, a thin rod, and a cube, with mixed results. The clay expanded a bit during firing, which sometimes produced a rough finish, cracking, and fragility, but in some cases it was surprisingly strong. The actual chemistry at work in the clay-aluminium mixtures is a bit obscure, but not all thermite reactions need to involve iron oxide, so there might have been some thermite component even in the earlier mixtures. If you need heat rather than ceramic, we’ve also seen a moldable thermite paste extruded from a 3D printer.

Thanks to [kooshi] for the tip!

OpenAI reportedly developing new generative music toolSuch a tool could be used to add music to existing videos, or to add guitar accompaniment to an existing vocal track, sources said.