Roland’s flagship store and first-ever standalone US retail space is opening in New York City this OctoberRoland is staking its brick-and-mortar claim in the US with its first official flagship store. The shop will open next month in New York City, offering close up experiences with new products, education, and other experiences from Roland and its owned brands, BOSS and Drum Workshop.
The 9,000-square-foot space will feature a main showroom, displaying the full range of Roland products, including pianos, drums, guitars, synthesizers, dance/DJ equipment, and an area dedicated to Roland Cloud. There will be the first grand piano showroom and the first Drum Workshop showroom, each dedicated to the premium products for these respective brands, available to try then and there. There will also be the BOSS Cavern, allowing for guitarists to try out the brand’s effects and pedals in an immersive sound environment.
But the first thing visitors will see upon entering is a tribute to arguably Roland’s most revered product: the TR-808 Rhythm Composer. The exhibit will go into the 808’s history in New York, where hip-hop was born. There will also be 30-minute one-to-one sessions available for an in-depth look at the techniques and influence of the 808. But get there soon to check it out, because the shop will rotate out different pieces of gear to highlight.
However, for anyone looking to learn about the products they have available to purchase, there will be workshops, one-on-one sessions, after-sales training, and more options, all guided by Roland staff.
And for anyone who comes back again, the store won’t look or sound the same. Roland Soundscapes, an AI-powered system, adapts the environment to movement, MIDI input, time of day, and even the weather. A trip to Roland New York when it opens next month will be completely different than during Christmas when it’s time to look for presents.
Credit: Roland
“New York has long been a place where new sounds, ideas, and creative movements take shape, making it a natural home for Roland’s U.S. flagship store,” said Masahiro Minowa, CEO of the Roland Corporation. “Roland has always been committed to pushing music forward, and this store gives us a new way to share that spirit with musicians and creators while bringing our global retail experience to one of the world’s most important cultural centres.”
“Roland Store New York City gives us the opportunity to bring our brands and our people closer to the musicians and creators who make New York such an important part of the global music community,” says Manuele Barbini, CEO of Roland Americas.
“We’re excited to give musicians, producers, and creators in New York a space where they can explore the latest Roland, BOSS, and DW innovations, connect with our team, and be part of a new creative hub for the city.”
While no official opening date has been announced, the invite-only grand opening ceremony will take place on October 10. When the store does become available to the public, its hours will be 11am to 7pm, Monday through Sunday.
Learn more at Roland. 
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Arturia update the MiniFreak Arturia have just released a free update that brings wavetable and sample import to the MiniFreak and its software counterpart.

What is multiband compression, and when should you use it?Multiband compressors split your input signal into multiple frequency bands — typically between three and five, but sometimes more — passing each through its own compressor before mixing the results back together for output.
READ MORE: ‘What does a compressor do in music?’: A beginner’s guide to compression
In most examples of the breed, each band’s compressor will be full-featured, offering the familiar compression settings: threshold, ratio, attack, release, and make-up and/or output gain.
Why use a multiband compressor?
Conventional compressors tend not to work well on sources that contain a wide range of frequencies – a full mix, a drum kit submix, synths, pianos, for example. The problem is that low-frequency elements like kick drums and basses contain more energy than higher-frequency sounds, and so are more likely to exceed the compression threshold, thereby triggering the compressor. However, the resulting compression impacts the entire mix and can cause an audible pumping effect that’s only useful as a special effect.
Sidechain filtering can help, but it’s not as good a solution as multiband compression. By tackling each frequency range independently, you can set thresholds, ratios and more to suit the sounds within that range without impacting the dynamics of the other bands. This makes multiband compression far more sonically transparent than broadband compression, even while delivering stronger compression.
The ability to control the output level of each band also gives multiband compressors a secondary role as a sort of broad-brushed EQ that isn’t centred around specific point frequencies.Learn more audio and music production terms in our Glossary
When should I use a multiband compressor?
As already alluded to, multiband compressors are at their best when used on sources containing a wide range of frequencies. Because of this, they’re regularly applied to the master bus during mixing, and almost always deployed during mastering. In this role, they can bring cohesion (sometimes referred to as ‘glue’) and solidity to a mix/master.
A common approach here is to apply stronger compression to the low band(s) to create a solid and consistent grounding, medium compression to the mid band(s) to pull things together but still allow some dynamic movement and variation, and only light compression in the upper bands to keep things sounding airy and free… of course, sometimes the exact opposite setup works well too!
The inherent sonic transparency of multiband compression compared to broadband compression, and the ability to tune band frequency ranges to suit any source, makes multiband compression useful on individual instruments and parts too.
Put simply, anything a broadband compressor can do, a multiband compressor can normally do better — with a little more setup.
Examples of Multiband Compressors
SSL G3 MultiBusComp: Combines three SSL G-series compressors in a single multiband processor, with per-band wet/dry mix and per-band external sidechain input.
PSP OldTimer MB: Multiband version of PSP’s OldTimer compressor, itself inspired by vintage tube compressors. Includes per-band stereo width control.
Your DAW: Many DAWs come with a multiband compressor included in their bundled plugin suite. This may lack the character of a premium option, but will certainly do the job.

Learn more audio and music production terms in our Glossary
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What is LUFS in music production?LUFS is an acronym for Loudness Units Full Scale and is a standardised way to measure audio loudness. It’s most commonly referred to in the mastering phase of music production.
In this context, ‘loudness’ is not the same as ‘volume level’, but rather a measure of how we perceive the loudness of a sound. The maximum possible loudness a system can reproduce is referred to as 0 LUFS, and measurements are expressed in terms of how many LU (Loudness Units) they are below this full scale point. For example, -12 LUFS is 12 LU below the 0 LUFS maximum.
Why do we need LUFS?
Our hearing isn’t sensitive to short, sudden transients, and so peak level meters don’t match our perception. Instead, we perceive loudness from a more averaged-out volume level, and that perception varies across the (roughly) 20Hz to 20kHz frequency range that we can hear.
LUFS takes all of this into account in order to create a system that closely tallies with our aural perception, and which therefore allows the loudness of completely different recordings to be compared and standardised in a meaningful and consistent way.
iZotope RX 12’s LUFS Metering
Why are there different types of LUFS measurement?
A single loudness measurement cannot tell the entire story of how loud a recording is. Many songs, for example, contain quieter and louder passages, and even the most aggressive death metal track may contain areas of serenity. We therefore measure four different types of loudness.
Momentary Loudness: Averages the measured loudness over a 400ms window, showing what the loudness is at any given moment. Similar to RMS volume level measurement.
Short-Term Loudness: Averages the measured loudness over a 3s window. This is generally the most helpful readout for meaningfully judging and comparing loudness, and when aiming for a target LUFS during mixing.
Integrated Loudness: Averages the measured loudness over an entire mix or passage of audio. This is the measurement used by streaming platforms, etc., when checking your audio matches their standards.
True Peak Level: The peak reconstructed signal level, in decibels, this being the peak level once the digital stream has been converted to an analogue signal.
Working with streaming platform loudness specifications
In order to present content at a consistent loudness, streaming platforms set standards for integrated loudness and true peak level, and will apply normalisation processing to any audio that does not match those standards. If you wish to avoid such processing from wrecking your carefully crafted mixes, ensure the audio you submit matches the platform’s specifications.
Loudness meters and tools
Your DAW: Many DAWs have built-in loudness metering, and this is often all you need to get a reliable readout.
Steinberg WaveLab 12: Steinberg’s audio editing and mastering suite features an intuitive loudness meter. It can also analyse passages of audio and overlay the resulting loudness measurement traces.
iZotope RX 12: iZotope RX 12’s Loudness Control and Loudness Optimise modules can provide detailed readouts of your audio’s loudness. The Streaming Preview module can then be used to preview and apply different platforms’ requirements to your audio.
Process Audio Decibel: This loudness and level meter runs standalone or as a plugin in your DAW, and can be linked to an app running on your phone or tablet to display loudness readouts wherever you need them.

Learn more audio and music production terms in our Glossary
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Splice x Spotify Fresh Finds Forward: Helping emerging artists “Make It ‘Till You Make It”
Splice offers six months of its Creator plan to eligible artists in Spotify’s new Fresh Finds Forward program.

Lunacy launches NOVA platform with five FREE virtual instruments
Lunacy has launched NOVA, a new instrument platform and marketplace for macOS and Windows, with a free host plugin and five free virtual instruments. The basic idea is somewhat similar to what Spitfire Audio LABS used to represent. You install one free host in your DAW and access a growing collection of instruments through it. [...]
View post: Lunacy launches NOVA platform with five FREE virtual instruments

VSL introduce Synchron Cimbalom & World Percussion II VSL (Vienna Symphonic Library) have just launched two new libraries that bring some intriguing new instruments into their Synchron Percussion range.

Smart Audio Plugins launches Timbral Box parallel harmonic processor
Smart Audio Plugins has released Timbral Box, a parallel harmonic processor for mixing and mastering, available for an introductory price of €48.30/$56 through September 30th, 2026. Timbral Box is a parallel harmonic processor. Instead of running the entire signal through EQ, saturation, and compression, it leaves the dry signal untouched and adds four processed layers [...]
View post: Smart Audio Plugins launches Timbral Box parallel harmonic processor

Best Budget Synthesizers Under $250The world of plugins and software certainly has its advantages: price, convenience, and the fact you won’t need to free up any space on the desk. But sooner or later, most musicians get hungry for something hands-on.
Many sought-after synths reach well into four-figure price tags, but getting started with hardware instruments is remarkably affordable if you know where to look. Today, a vast number of synthesizers are available for less than $250, suiting all manner of workflows and styles.
One final note beforehand: if you’re willing to up your spend by around $50, you can get your hands on popular instruments like the Korg Monologue and Arturia Microfreak, as well as the Moog Mavis DIY kit and Sonicware’s roster of genre-specific Liven grooveboxes.
But if you’re on a strict budget, here are the best synths costing less than $250 and why they might be right for you:

Behringer Mini range: The cheapest hardware synths available
Korg Volca series: The best budget synth ecosystem
Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators: Affordable portable sequencer synths
Stylophone Gen X-2: A quirky monophonic synthesizer under $80
Blipblox After Dark: Explore synthesis for the first time
Behringer TD-3: The cheapest 303-style synth
Cre8audio East Beast and West Pest: An affordable entry to modular
Korg NTS-1 Digital mkII: Expandable DIY synth with custom wavetables and effects
Bastl Kastle range: Most affordable experimental synthesizers

Behringer Mini range: The cheapest hardware synths available
Image: Behringer
Price: $99 – $129 at Sweetwater
Love him or loathe him, Uli Behringer dominates the budget synth market – so much so, we could probably dedicate this entire list to his company’s products, many of which reinterpret existing instruments.
If you’re looking for maximum bang for your buck, the Behringer Mini range is a good place to start. These compact synths condense recognisable pieces of vintage gear into an ultra-portable format with a two-octave touch-sensitive keyboard.
Whether it’s the Minimoog Model D’s three-oscillator architecture, the phase distortion synthesis of the Casio CZ-1, Oberheim-style pads and brass, or the joystick-controlled vector synthesis of the Prophet VS, Behringer’s Mini range provides an inexpensive introduction to a variety of classic sounds.
Korg Volca series: The best budget synth ecosystem

Price: $129 – $179 at Sweetwater
When Korg launched the Volca line in 2013, few could have foreseen how enduring the format would become. These battery-powered units typically pack a built-in speaker, touch keyboard, MIDI input, sync connections, and a sequencer into a chassis around the size of a book.
The original Beats, Bass, and Keys models covered the basics required for simple hardware jams, but Korg has since used the format to explore more specialised instruments, including the acid-inspired Volca NuBass, the West Coast-influenced Volca Modular, and the six-operator Volca FM2.
Across the wider line, Korg has covered analogue and digital synthesis, sampling and percussion, and even the Volca Mix for connecting several instruments, making the range an excellent starting point for a tabletop performance rig.
Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators: Affordable portable sequencer synths

Price: $59 – $99 at Teenage Engineering
While Teenage Engineering holds somewhat of a reputation for premium price tags, the Pocket Operator series proves the Swedish company is capable of producing genuinely inexpensive instruments too.
These sequencer-based synths, drum machines, and samplers are smaller than a smartphone, with exposed circuit boards and animated LCD screens that look like some kind of musical calculator. Each one is centred around a grid of buttons, two parameter knobs, and a 16-step sequencer with parameter locking and punch-in effects. There’s also a built-in speaker for annoying fellow passengers on your commute.
Our recommendation? The PO-32 is a surprisingly capable drum synth that can import sounds created using Sonic Charge’s microTonic plugin. The PO-33, meanwhile, is a compact sampler and spiritual predecessor to the larger EP-133 K.O. II.
Stylophone Gen X-2: A quirky monophonic synthesizer under $80

Price: $77 at Thomann
Invented in 1967, the original Stylophone was closer to a toy than a fully fledged synthesizer, though it still managed to make an appearance on recordings by the likes of David Bowie, John Lennon, and Kraftwerk.
The lineup has expanded since the product’s 2007 relaunch, with the Gen X-2 standing as the most capable Stylophone yet. It retains the iconic stylus-operated keyboard, but adds considerably more control over the sound, including an attack/decay envelope, a resonant filter, pulse-width control, and an LFO.
Although the resulting instrument remains deliberately simple, its distinctive, buzzy character gives it an identity of its own – and one that can communicate with a wider setup than its appearance might suggest, thanks to CV and trigger connections.
Playtime Engineering Blipblox SK2: Explore synthesis for the first time
Blipblox SK2. Image: Playtime Engineering
Price: $219 at Sweetwater
Falling somewhere between Hasbro’s Bop It and a spaceship cockpit is Blipblox, an instrument developed as an approachable, child-friendly way to explore synthesis and sound design.
Don’t let its eccentric appearance fool you – it offers considerable sonic scope thanks to 16 oscillators, a multimode resonant filter, two envelope generators, two LFOs, and flexible modulation routing. More than 300 onboard melodies can be used to play your patch, as well as external MIDI input, and there’s a built-in drum machine and delay too.
Rather than creating specific patches, the Blipblox is designed for playful exploration – but if the colourful SK2 is a little too toy-like, Playtime Engineering also makes a blacked-out After Dark version.
Behringer TD-3: The cheapest 303-style synth
Behringer TD-3-MO. Image: Behringer
Price: $149 at Sweetwater, or $199 for the Modded Out version
With original TB-303s costing several thousand dollars and Roland’s Boutique TB-03 version sitting around $400, Behringer is the best bet for hardware acid basslines on a budget.
The TD-3 closely follows the original architecture, combining sawtooth and square oscillators with a resonant four-pole low-pass filter for convincingly squelchy timbres. However, Behringer has replaced the notoriously quirky sequencer with its own programming workflow, and added a Boss-inspired distortion along with modern connectivity.
For a wider pallette, Behringer also makes the TD-3-MO, which adds modifications inspired by decades of customised 303s including a sub-oscillator, adjustable slide time, a ‘Muffler’ filter control, and expanded patching.
Cre8audio East Beast and West Pest: An affordable entry to modular synthesis

Price: $249 each (East Beast and West Pest) at Sweetwater
Using ‘modular synthesis’ and ‘affordable’ in the same sentence often feels difficult to justify. Although many modules are relatively inexpensive individually, assembling even a basic playable system can quickly add up. Cre8audio offers two more affordable entry points inspired by contrasting synthesis paradigms.
The East Beast adopts the subtractive approach favoured by Bob Moog, using enveloped filters to shape harmonically rich waveforms like saws and squares for more traditional sounds. The West Pest, on the other hand, is inspired by the additive techniques pioneered by Don Buchla, using wavefolders to add harmonics to simple sine waves, and it’s geared more towards discovering unusual and unexpected sounds.
Both units are semi-modular, meaning they can be played without inserting a single cable – but once you’re ready, the 4×5 patchbays provide hours of exploration, as well as easy integration with a larger system when the modular addiction inevitably takes hold.
Korg NTS-1 Digital mkII: Expandable DIY synth with custom wavetables and effects

Price: $169 at Sweetwater
Korg kicked off its build-it-yourself Nu:Tekt line with the original NTS-1, a compact digital synthesizer kit that paired a programmable oscillator with a useful collection of built-in reverb, delay, and modulation effects.
The mkII version introduces an improved synth engine, an expanded 18-note multitouch keyboard, an 8-step sequencer, and advanced MIDI capabilities – though the original model remains worth considering if you’ve got less to spend.
What truly sets the NTS-1 apart from most other budget synths is its expandability. It supports Korg’s Logue SDK, allowing users to load custom wavetables and effects onto the instrument via the Librarian app. Thanks to a stereo input, these effects can be used to process external audio – so the NTS-1 will remain useful even after you acquire a more powerful synthesizer.
Bastl Kastle 2 range: Most affordable experimental synthesizers
Image: Bastl Instruments
Price: $194 each at Perfect Circuit
Bastl’s original Arduino-powered Kastle offered an intriguing, hackable approach to semi-modular synthesis. Its successors run on more powerful Raspberry Pi processors, but retain the pocket-sized format, nifty jumper-wire patching sockets, and a heavy dose of the weirdness that made the original so appealing in the first place.
The Kastle 2 Alchemist is the most conventional of the trio, albeit only by Bastl standards. Its monophonic four-oscillator ‘hybrid synthesis’ engine combines five morphable modes — Filter, FM, Supersaw, Hypersine, and Glitchnoise — with a customisable, patchable sequencer.
For experimental sampling, the Kastle 2 Wave Bard can turn user-loaded sounds into unpredictable rhythms, textures, and riffs. FX Wizard completes the set by processing external audio through an assortment of delay, modulation, and pitch-shifting effects that range from subtle and refined to unwieldy sonic transformation.
Why You Can Trust MusicTech
MusicTech reviews hundreds of new products every year, from powerful synthesizers, DAWs and pro plugins through to everyday headphones and portable speakers. Our expert reviewers are producers, engineers and enthusiasts with hundreds of years of collective experience, with a keen ear to the ground on new trends and technologies.
Every guide on MusicTech is created by a producer, musician and tech enthusiast just like you. We understand what you’re looking for when searching for a new audio interface, and we want to ensure you purchase genuinely useful products for your craft. So you can guarantee that every product MusicTech recommends to you is a product we’d be happy to have in our studios.
See more music and audio gear buyer’s guides
 
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Noise wants to help everyday people become paid content creatorsMarketing platform Noise is on a mission to help anyone with a smart phone make money from their content.

CLARITY Act could get another shot during lame-duck session, policy advocate saysDigital Sovereignty Alliance managing director Adrian Wall said senators from both parties are considering another attempt to advance the crypto market structure bill before the current Congress ends.

Authentic Soundware Space Age StringsSpace Age Strings features a small violin section of nine players recorded in a large studio using a selection of vintage and modern microphones, faithfully recreating the sound of classic studio recordings from the 1950s and '60s. Features: Small section size for an intimate studio sound. 12 of articulations including legato, pizzicato, marcato, spiccato, tremolo, trills, and more. 5 legato types with user-defined velocity zones, optional speed detection. Vintage romantic vibrato with dedicated espressivo intensity control. Retro pizzicato with lively performance repetition samples. Trills Arranger — play polyphonic trills and chord tremolos on a single MIDI channel, with three modes including diatonic chord trill support. Runs Arranger — play realistic, performance-sampled runs in any key, any scale type, from any note to any note, with control over duration, dynamics, and resolution. 5 microphone positions. Onboard tape, echo, tone, and limiter effects. Custom retro reverb IR. Flexible articulation switching via key switch or MIDI CC. Read More

A 3D Rasterizer For Embedded DevicesOnce upon a time, doing graphics on a microcontroller was challenging, to say nothing of the concept of going into three dimensions. But modern microcontrollers are far more powerful, and you might find yourself wanting to do all sorts of graphical wizardry with one. To that end, you might find Jet useful.
Created by [CubeCoders], Jet is a compact 3D rasterizer built for modern chips like the ESP32 and STM32. It’s dependency free, relatively tiny, and is written in C++17 with an eye towards working well on memory-limited platforms. It runs entirely in software, uses only integer arithmetic, and is built around 16-bit RGB565 color — intended to make it easy to use with parts like the ST7796, ILI9488, and other similar displays interfaced via SPI.
As a point of reference, on a ESP32-S3 Jet can render around 650 on-screen triangles (post-culling) at 60 frames per second on a 480×320 display, or 1300 triangles at 30 FPS. The developers note that 3D performance lands somewhere between the Sega 32X and Sega Saturn — not bad for a microcontroller you can buy for under $20. The Wipeout-like demo shows off the capabilities of Jet rather fantastically, we think.
You’d be foolish to expect your next microcontroller project to render Crysis. However, if you want some retro 3D graphics for your next ESP32-based build, you might just consider exploring what Jet can do for you.

Jay B Kicks Off US Tour "2026 tape: roots" in Los AngelesSouth Korean singer-songwriter and GOT7 leader Jay B kicked off the US leg of the "2026 tape: roots" Tour at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre in Los Angeles on September 13th. After last year's disastrous tour filled with visa-related delays and mismanagement, Jay B is making sure this tour is filled with better memories. 
The show started on a fun note with a witty commercial spoof for a fictional cologne called Smells Like Jay B. It’s always nice to see artists have fun and be creative with their art. The video spoofs continued through the night and served as brief intermission breaks. The video had everyone laughing and cheering; fans even asked him at the end of the night to start selling the cologne. 
The concert setlist had a little of everything; a mix of solo hits, unreleased music and GOT7 fan favorites. As a nod to the tour title, Jay B’s focused on showcasing his powerhouse vocals through his rooted blend of R&B and soul. His vocals are dynamic with an impressive range. He can hit high notes with control, especially on serenade ballads like “We” and “Dive into You.” His voice has a lot of character, easily showing off emotions of yearning and wistfulness. The last note of “Layback” seemed extra tough to perform as Jay B confessed he needed a breather and jokingly said he thought he was going to die after hitting the high notes. He sang live the entire show. He only relied on the backtrack sparingly, only when he wanted to show off his dance moves with his three backup dancers.

The Wilshire Ebell Theatre is a small theater, which made the night feel more intimate and personable. Jay B is a veteran performer and knows how to charm the crowd with his charismatic personality. As a result, the crowd was extra rowdy and would scream out to him any chance they got. Although Jay B is not fluent in English and would occasionally use a translator, he still played along with the fans and tried to answer as many questions as possible while joking around. During one of the talking segments, Jay B revealed he will officially be releasing “Sweetie” at the end of October along with another untitled song. 
The highlight of the night was the encore performance as Jay B let loose and amped up the crowd with dance moves and occasional shirt lifting. As he was vibing to the music and energy from the crowd, he jumped down from the stage and walked through every aisle, high-fiving fans and interacting with everyone. Jay B ended his set on a high note with a medley of GOT7 songs including “THURSDAY” and “Before the Full Moon Rises.” Fans cheered with thunderous applause and barking noises, leaving him smiling from ear to ear. 
The US leg of the "2026 tape: roots" Tour continues through September with stops San Francisco, Tacoma, New York, Dallas and Chicago. 

The post Jay B Kicks Off US Tour "2026 tape: roots" in Los Angeles first appeared on Music Connection Magazine.

Believe and TuneCore won’t feed music to Suno without giving artists choice to opt in: ‘The artist must consent first, period.’Denis Ladegaillerie details two-stage opt-in process for artists who want (and don't want) to have their music provided to Suno
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