Native Instruments enters preliminary insolvencyNative Instruments – one of the world’s leading manufacturers of music-making software and hardware – has entered preliminary insolvency proceedings, it has been revealed.
According to a report by Create Digital Music, Prof. Dr. Torsten Martini has been appointed preliminary insolvency administrator for the Berlin-based company, and will be responsible for restructuring the company and selling off existing Native Instruments assets.

READ MORE: The NAMM Show 2026: All the news, gear, and innovations from the biggest music gear event

Further information about the preliminary insolvency proceedings is unavailable at this time, and it’s unclear what the future entails for existing Native Instruments customers and users, as well as the company’s hundreds of employees.
Native Instruments – known for its industry-leading music-making products including its Massive soft synth and Kontakt software sampler, and Maschine and Traktor hardware units – has undergone a number of changes in recent years, including a period between 2019 and 2020 involving staff layoffs and restructuring.
Since 2021, Native Instruments has been majority-owned by private equity firm Francisco Partners. Since then, the company has also acquired music brands including iZotope, Brainworx and Plugin Alliance. 
The brands were initially brought under the Soundwide umbrella, but 2023 saw the dismissal of 8% of Soundwide’s global workforce, and the consolidation of the aforementioned brands under Native Instruments brand.
As maker of some of the industry’s leading music-making products, users will no doubt be curious as to what effect the insolvency proceedings will have on ongoing user support for these products.
MusicTech has reached out to Native Instruments for comment. We’ll bring you more information as we have it.
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New Wave of Anonymous Musicians Are Thriving On Their Own TermsA growing number of anonymous musicians are thriving despite - and in part because - they are resisting conventional wisdom to (over)share on social media. By withholding their identities and letting music talk for them, a new wave of elusive artists are building momentum, fanbases, and critical acclaim.
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Spotify, Sony, Warner and UMG sue shadow library over the scraping of 86 million tracksBack in December, Anna’s Archive attempted to “back up” Spotify, allegedly scraping the platform’s metadata and audio files in an attempt to compile a free “preservation archive” of modern music. However, Spotify is suing those behind the project, saying it violates the platform’s terms of service and US copyright law.
Backed by Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group, Spotify has accused Anna’s Archive of scraping the metadata of around 256 million tracks, as well as audio files for 86 million songs, without authorisation. The could see the defendants liable to pay almost $13 trillion – yes, TRILLION – in damages.

READ MORE: Shadow library claims it “backed up Spotify” – all 300TB of it

Now, given $13 trillion is a not-insignificant percentage of yearly gross domestic product of the entire United States, it’s unlikely the figure the defendants are ordered to pay – if the suit is successful – will be even close to that. But that number is calculated based on the highest sum the US allows a party to sue another for over intentional breach of copyright law. With Spotify claiming the maximum of $150,000 in damages for 86 million songs, that’s 150k multiplied by 86 million. In other words: big number.
When Anna’s Archive first shared news of its mass “preservation archive” project, Spotify was hot on its tail. The streaming giant shared a statement confirming it had identified and disabled the accounts responsible, stating: “Spotify has identified and disabled the nefarious user accounts that engaged in unlawful scraping,”
“We’ve implemented new safeguards for these types of anti-copyright attacks and are actively monitoring for suspicious behaviour. Since day one, we have stood with the artist community against piracy, and we are actively working with our industry partners to protect creators and defend their rights.”
Newly available documents reveal that Spotify and its supporting trio of major record labels originally originally filed a for a preliminary injunction, which was issued by Judge Jed S Rakoff on 2 January. A preliminary injunction is usually an attempt to keep things civil before pursuing more drastic measures, with the document also enforcing a temporary restraining order against Anna’s Archive to cease its project.
According to the document, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York requested that the defendants appear in court on 16 January. Anna’s Archive did not attend. With no word from the defendants, things have seemingly escalated.
In the official complaint, Anna’s Archive has been branded as “a band of anonymous internet pirates who disregard the law” who have carried out an act of “audacious theft of millions of files encompassing nearly all commercial sound recordings worldwide”.
The complaint sees Spotify suing Anna’s Archive over counts of copyright infringement, breach of contract, as well as violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The document notes that “such widespread and illegal infringement would irreparably harm the music industry”.
In other Spotify news, the platform has recently risen its prices for US customers by $1-2 dependant on subscription plan. This year has also seen Daniel Ek stepping down as CEO, with his final year of leadership also seeing him investing €600 million in AI weapons company Helsing, a decision that saw multiple artists removing their music from the platform in protest.
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Don’t Sell What You Don’t Have: Why AB 1349’s Crackdown on Speculative Tickets Matters to Touring Artists and FansAfter years of just talk, there is new momentum federally and in the states to fix how concert and event tickets are sold and resold. California AB 1349 confronts what musician and artist advocate David Lowery calls "one of the most corrosive practices in touring: speculative ticketing."
The post Don’t Sell What You Don’t Have: Why AB 1349’s Crackdown on Speculative Tickets Matters to Touring Artists and Fans appeared first on Hypebot.

Luna Co. Audio releases free 4K EQ, MultiComp, and Tape Machine plugins
Luna Co. Audio has released 4K EQ, MultiComp, and Tape Machine, three free mixing tools for Windows, macOS, and Linux. At first glance, I figured these were straightforward mixing utilities we’ve covered dozens, if not hundreds, of times: an equalizer, a multi-band compressor, and a tape-style saturation plugin. But after going through the feature lists [...]
View post: Luna Co. Audio releases free 4K EQ, MultiComp, and Tape Machine plugins

Reloop’s PTB-2 is a “pocket powerhouse” for the travelling DJLet’s face it – a DJ’s full arsenal isn’t exactly travel friendly. However, Reloop might just have the answer; PTB-2 serves as an ultra portable 2+1 channel mixer, making it the perfect way to knock out a fully-fledged DJ set anywhere.
Designed to promise “maximum flexibility in the smallest of spaces”, the PTB-2 is compact but efficient. All the need to do is hook up two CDJs or turntables and the kit acts as a proper DJ mixer, with its two central channel strips allowing you to alter gain, treble, bass and filter with ease.

READ MORE: Korg Collection 6 is immensely powerful — but it’s also inconsistent

PTB-2 also boasts features such as adjustable crossfader curve and reverse, as well as RMX Innofader compatibility. And its all laid out intuitively, with a clear preview section to see your channel assignment, headphone volume and cue mix control.
The kit also has switchable phono/line/USB input, but, even if you’ve not got ANY turntables to hand, it can also play from 3.5mm AUX or Bluetooth. It’s a move that allows plenty of options to mix from, showing just how flexible the PTB-2 being flexible and accommodating even in a pinch.
Credit: Reloop
There’s also support for djay Pro DVS with no need to pay a subscription fee, further aiding those wanting to combine analogue mixing with digital tunes.
It also doesn’t matter if you’re out in a field in the middle of nowhere, or having to set up your decks away from a power outlet; the PTB-2 only requires 2.2w of power via a USB-C cable, meaning a portable charger or even your laptop will do you just fine. Pair with other USB-C powered or chargeable turntables, like Reloop’s SPIN, and you’re good to go.
The mixer can also even charge up your mobile while you’re playing, thanks to a USB-C port on the back. So you can keep your phone charged while you’re streaming tracks off of it, if need be.
Reloop PTB-2 is available for £215. For more information, head to Reloop.

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BOSS expand GX series: GX-1 and GX-1B Boss have announced the GX-1 and GX-1B, two new ultra-compact multi-effects processors that extend the GX series with two keenly priced entry-level models for guitar and bass respectively.

JBL Bandbox: New Bluetooth speakers with AI stem separation – a game-changer for practice sessions?NAMM 2026 is done and dusted, but we’re still on a mission to alert you to as many new product launches as we can. And this release from JBL is certainly worth knowing about.
Meet the BandBox, a new line of practice amp/speakers loaded with AI vocal and instrument separation technology for supercharged practice sessions. Think of it like a portable Bluetooth speaker with a bunch of powerful musician-focused features.

READ MORE: The coolest synths, software and gear I saw at NAMM 2026

The line comprises two BandBox units: the 30W BandBox Solo – tailored for individuals looking to upgrade their practice setup – and BandBox Trio, which is designed more for group situations, with four instrument inputs and a more powerful speaker configuration, with 135W powering one 6.5” woofer and two 1” tweeters.
BandBox Solo
Credit: JBL
The ability to utilise AI-powered stem separation to subtract your instrument from a mix and play along will no doubt prove a tantalising prospect for musicians looking to upgrade their practice setup.
The BandBox Solo features a single guitar/mic input – ideal for guitarists or singer-songwriters – and allows the player to stream songs via Bluetooth, and use JBL’s Stem AI to reduce or completely remove specific elements of a track.
The Solo also boasts a built-in looper, as well as a pitch shifter, tuner and integrated LED screen, while the JBL ONE app is on hand with a healthy selection of vintage and modern amp models, and effects including phaser, chorus and reverb.
You can also connect wired headphones for silent practice, and there’s also a USB-C output for recording your sound straight into your DAW of choice.
Of course, it isn’t just a practice amp, the JBL BandBox Solo can also simply be used as a regular Bluetooth speaker.
BandBox Trio
Credit: JBL
Meanwhile, the BandBox Trio packs a bigger punch, and is aimed at “small bands, jam sessions or duos who want to perform together without the need for a full setup”.
You can balance levels, craft tone and apply effects directly on the speaker unit via a built-in four-channel mixer, while the unit also features a replaceable battery, meaning you can simply swap power packs and accommodate longer practice sessions without the fear of running out of charge.
Like the BandBox Solo, the Trio also features a built-in tuner, metronome and looper, integrated LCD colour screen, Stem AI instrument separation technology, and added control via the JBL ONE app. There’s also a USB-C output for connecting the Trio to your computer for direct recording into your DAW.
What is JBL saying about BandBox?

“JBL BandBox is created with musicians’ needs in mind, and made possible by cutting-edge technology,” says Carsten Olesen, President of Consumer Audio at HARMAN, JBL’s parent company.
“This is the first speaker to feature an on-device Stem AI algorithm capable of removing vocals or instruments, without the need for cloud processing or an internet connection. With this breakthrough, it’s easier than ever to practice, improve and enjoy playing music either on your own or with friends.”
Pricing and availability
Both the BandBox Solo and Trio will be available from February, priced at £199 and £529, respectively.
Learn more at JBL.
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Arturia Pigments 7 review: “Almost a no-brainer at $199”$199 ($99 introductory price)
Free upgrade for existing users
arturia.com
Pigments has become a crucial synthesizer for Arturia since its release in 2018. Although the French manufacturer had built such a stellar reputation with its analogue modelling technology and plugin recreations of classic synths, Pigments represented a move away from this comfort zone, and is now essential to Arturia’s identity.

READ MORE: Korg Collection 6 is immensely powerful — but it’s also inconsistent

Rather than an exclusive focus on one type of synthesis, Pigments is a platform that lets you combine a wide range of sound generation and shaping tools. It offers virtual-analogue, wavetable, granular, harmonic, and modal synthesis as well as complex modulation shaping, while remaining musical to the touch and never feeling too technical or too sound design-y.

For that reason, Pigments is a go-to production tool for music producers. Its strength lies in the combination of a diverse but not intimidating sound library and a visually orientated interface that allows you to quickly familiarise yourself with the inner workings of each patch. Meanwhile, although there is some feature overlap with competitors like Serum and Falcon, there is no doubt that Pigments has its own sonic identity and unique workflow characteristics.
Pigments 7 brings creative immediacy through its intuitive workflow and sonic potential, which allows you to approach it with a specific idea or goal in mind or collaborate with the different areas of the platform to discover something new and unexpected. The combination of seamless UX design and an extensive sound palette makes Pigments 7 a worthy choice for almost any application.
Image: Press
Pigments basics
At 1.9 GB, Pigments 7 couldn’t be easier to install with the help of Arturia Software Center. However, like many flagship softs synths, Pigments’ recommended specs are exaggerated. Due to the load put on your CPU when running even basic patches, I’d recommend at least 16 GB RAM instead of the 4 GB stated by Arturia. When you open Pigments, the first thing you’ll notice is the Play View, offering access to essential synth controls, macros, and effects. This provides an intuitive way to interact with sounds on a basic level without having to navigate the complexity of the Synth View.
When you do decide to brave the unknown, the helpful Sound Design Tips provide info about each control you interact with, and the Edit Tips even suggest the optimum parameter range for getting the most expressive sound in a particular patch. What’s more, if you open the Settings tab, you can access tutorials to guide you through the various sections and new features of Pigments 7, and a cleverly curated list of sound design tutorials.
This immediately makes me look at Pigments through a different lens. With these well-written descriptions and guides, there is no excuse for treating Pigments like a glorified sound library, no matter your previous experience level. Admittedly, I find the patch browser a little fiddly when it comes to filtering sound categories. However, once I get more comfortable, it’s easy to cherry-pick through the 1,800 included patches (with 150 new additions for Pigments 7), and the algorithmic Similar Presets feature is useful for narrowing down search results.
Furthermore, if you’re looking for sounds for a specific application, such as motion picture score or game sound design, the Arturia Sound Store opens up a world of creative options from top artists and sound designers. While the detailed descriptions help you contextualise each sound, each collection becomes an investment in your journey towards specialisation in a particular music production discipline or genre.
Image: Press
Deeper shades of Pigments
When you want to dive deeper into sound creation, the Synth View’s intuitive layout with drag-and-drop modulation routing makes it easy to animate almost any parameter. As most parts of Pigments can be bypassed individually, fact-finding missions are straightforward when you want to know exactly how each section is affecting the sound.
The basic workflow moves from the sound generation section on the top left with engine-specific controls and processors, to the dual filter section on the top right with an array of analogue and digital filter types. From the bottom left of the interface, you can access the shapers and modulation sources, including the basics like envelopes and LFOs, as well as functions for advanced time-based control, random generators, and combinators for adding complex modifiers to mod paths.
If you use an MPE controller, Pigments can harness its expression parameters and elevate your sounds with performance-based control and macros. Although modulation assignment is straightforward, the more advanced modulation features require a little more technical understanding. However, if you have an idea or a sonic goal in mind, you are more likely to learn on the go by working towards it rather than noodling fruitlessly in the interface without any particular direction. In addition, aspects like modulation functions have presets that you can flip through quickly to gauge the type of sounds possible with the different types of graphs and function modes.
As Arturia expands Pigments’ capabilities in the future, I can certainly see the development team creating a dedicated Modulation View tab, as this would give you a complete overview of your routing matrix and more space to dive into the various modulation features in greater detail. Once you’ve put Pigments through its paces, you’ll notice that the sequencer is without a doubt one of its not-so-secret weapons and the reason it slips so seamlessly into electronic music production workflows.
For starters, the sequencer has its own little preset library for loading a range of sequences and storing your own. Then, you can also choose from a selection of scales, modes, and generative patterns before diving into the sequencer lanes to tweak your pattern. It’s overwhelming at first, but once you take a closer look, you’ll find yourself stumbling upon patterns that simply can’t be created by traditional keyboard playing or MIDI programming.
Image: Press
Why is Pigments such an essential production tool?
With its depth of features, Pigments provides a range of different sound creation methods. If you’re building sounds exclusively with a click-mouse, the fluency of its workflow makes it a sound designer’s dream. For those with keyboard skills and/or fancy MPE controllers, Pigments becomes an expressive traditional instrument and a platform for creating sounds you can play.
On the other end of the spectrum, the powerful generative sequencer has a definite allure for electronic music producers, because it offers an unpredictable source of ideas and patterns that can be shaped to fit in almost any musical context. This means you’ll never run out of ways to use it in your music. Regardless of the kind of synthesis platform you’re used to, you’re bound to get impressive results with Pigments.
When compared to the competition, such as Serum 2 ($249) and UVI Falcon 2026 ($299), Pigments 7 is almost a no-brainer at $199. With its integrated tips and tutorials, it gives you the incentive to gain insight into the different aspects of synthesis and sound design, and with the easy access you have to advanced creative tools, effects, and an endless library of patches in the Arturia Sound Store, it adds a ton of value.
Image: Press
Key features

Standalone, VST, AU, AAX, NKS
Multi-engine architecture
6 synth engine types
2 oscillators
Dual filter section with 19 filter types and 68 filter modes
Complex modulation System

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The coolest synths, software and gear I saw at NAMM 2026NAMM 2026 didn’t have a showstopping product. There was no behemoth booth like Universal Audio’s LUNA spectacle of 2020, and there were several major music tech brands absent from the show. Meanwhile, the boutique synth crowd has found a new home at the Buchla & Friends event in Los Angeles, which happens during the same weekend as NAMM. That sounds like a problem.
But it created an opportunity for more brands to share the spotlight with some ambitious products. From bizarre sonic sex toys and electromagnetic noise generators to acoustic synthesizers and Gameboy-style samplers, NAMM 2026 was rife with new ideas.
Here’s the gear that caught my attention throughout NAMM week.
Dog Paw
At the front of Rock Paper Scissors’ Innovator Hub (the same place where one could find the Groove Thing), a curious grid instrument was making attendees double-take.
Dog Paw is an MPE controller made by two friends, Bill and Trevor, who first teased the device at NAMM 2025, but is now presenting a more complete version. It’s a 64-pad controller designed to help you play your instruments with “no wrong notes.” You can map out the grid as a guitar fretboard, choose specific scales, and employ community-made layouts. DAW integration is tight, too.
It’s fun to play, although the pads have a different feeling than what you might expect — almost like a typewriter.

The team hit its Kickstarter target in May 2025, raising $45,892, and has since been posting regular updates about the progress of the controller. There’s still no exact word on shipping dates, but pre-orders are open now.
Casio SX-C1 Sampler
Casio SX-C1 Sampler. Image: Sam Willings for MusicTech
Casio’s SX-C1 sampler was being quietly flaunted at NAMM 2026, with two units on show at the side of Casio’s giant keyboard-focused booth. But the Gameboy-style sampler deserves a little bit more fanfare.
The pocket-sized SX-C1 is exactly what you think it is. It can sample sounds as 16-bit/48kHz WAV files, with a built-in mic and analogue audio input. It boasts 64GB internal storage, with a USB-C mode for transferring files between devices. It can be powered by USB-C or by four AAA batteries — although the projected battery life is a dreadful two hours.
You can play one-shots and loops on the SX-C1’s 16 pads, with up to 16 voice polyphony. Two wheels above the pads are used for trimming the start and end points of samples. The SX-C1 also has an effects bank — I was only shown the scratch effect, as it seems more effects will be added closer to release.
Casio says that the SX-C1 is still a work in progress. Many details are left as TBD, including price, so it’s unclear when this will hit the market and how different the final version might be, but we’ll definitely be keeping an eye out.
Casio SX-C1 Sampler — lots still “TBD”. Image: Sam Willings for MusicTech
ASM Leviasynth
ASM Leviasynth Desktop at NAMM 2026. Image: Sam Willings
Arguably, the biggest synth launch at NAMM 2026 was the ASM Leviasynth. A sequel to the coveted Hydrasynth, the Leviasynth is a 16-voice hybrid synthesizer, focused around an algorithmic sound engine with eight oscillators.
The Leviasynth dragged me into its vast sound palette at NAMM for a lot longer than I planned. Its massive bank of inspiring presets, intuitive interface, and three-track sequencer had me hooked for about 30 minutes straight, building pads, sequences and squelching basslines.
A desktop version lets you perform with 16 pads, while the keyboard version has 61 keys featuring polyphonic aftertouch — both support MPE.
It’s bold, it’s brilliant, and I’m looking forward to getting a review unit to tell you more about it. If you’re already sold on the Leviasynth, you can order it now for $1,799 for the desktop version or $2,499 for the keyboard version.
Eternal Research Demon Box
Demon Box at NAMM 2026. Images: Cillian Breathnach for MusicTech
MusicTech reviewed the Demon Box in late 2025, praising the unique, experimental sound but caveating that it’s chaotic and expensive. Those points are all still valid, but I have to admit, the Demon Box is cool as hell — and the Eternal Research booth was all the rage at NAMM 2026.
Complete with a stack of CRT televisions and plenty of boutique hardware synths, the Eternal Research booth was emitting a befittingly gritty vibe. Through its speakers, passers-by were treated to warped, distorted sounds from the several Demon Boxes on show, which use electromagnetic fields to generate 15 semi-random notes per second and which were controlling synths such as Black Corporation’s ISE-NIN.
The Demon Box is not an easy controller to understand. It is, however, exceptionally gnarly, and was enough to pique the interest of all types of music-makers at NAMM.
Akai MPC XL
Akai MPC XL at NAMM 2026. Image: Harry Levin for MusicTech
Frustratingly, I wasn’t able to get any hands-on time with the Akai MPC XL, since the InMusic booth was constantly packed with other attendees keen to play with it.
During the Global Media Preview day, however, we were treated to a performance from J Black, who gave us a strong idea of what the next-gen sampler is capable of.
This is the most powerful MPC ever, according to Akai, with a Gen 2 8-core processor and 16GB RAM. In practice, that means you can run 32 plugins and 16 audio tracks at once, and 256 simultaneous voices. You’ll navigate the MPC XL via a 10.1-inch multi-gesture touchscreen, and play using the expected 4×4 grid of MPCe pads.
The MPC XL’s design isn’t to everyone’s taste, however — online commenters have even said “incredibly ugly”. It’s not as slick as recent MPC models, sporting more knobs and buttons than you’ll probably know what to do with at first — but that didn’t stop NAMM attendees from giving it a go.
Korg Phase8
Korg’s acoustic synthesizer, Phase8, made a strong impression during the Global Media Preview day, with a performance that used rocks and wooden blocks to shape the synth’s sound. The synth was first teased at Superbooth 2024, but this final version seemed to have many NAMM-goers excited.

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At Korg’s NAMM booth, each station with the Phase8 had a series of small objects that everyone was encouraged to use with the synth. These included stones, wooden sticks, small metallic bits, and even magnets, which added modulation beyond the different quality of sound. An AIR slider can adjust the acoustic response of the resonators.
“[Korg] wanted to do something that had never been done before,” says Rachel Aiello from KORG Berlin. “It would have been easy for them to continue making analogue synths, but they wanted to do something different.”
Fender Studio
Yes, Fender Studio Pro is PreSonus Studio One with a rebrand — and, yes, many current users are upset by the name change. But I think Fender Studio’s DAW and accompanying product line have strong potential to find new customers this year.
Fender Studio Pro, Motion controllers, and Quantum audio interfaces at NAMM 2026. Image: Sam Willings for MusicTech
There was no Fender guitar booth at NAMM 2026; only the Fender Studio booth. Here, I was given a demo of Fender Studio and a first look at the new Motion controllers (which are essentially the new version of PreSonus’ Atom controllers), and the new Fender Studio Quantum interfaces.
The Motion controllers are intuitive and pack in a bunch of useful features — the brand’s representative focused on the expansive Chord mode during my demo — and are relatively affordable. Ranging from $300 to $400, both will work with any DAW, but also give you a full perpetual license of Fender Studio Pro.
As for the Fender Studio Pro DAW, I’m already impressed with the layout, featureset and general workflow. It takes many cues from other major DAWs — Ableton Live, Pro Tools, etc — but also packs a ton of Fender hardware emulations.
Changing DAWs can be challenging, but as someone who primarily uses Ableton Live, I find myself quite tempted by Fender’s offering.
Stuff we can’t tell you about…
I know — this is cruel. But, at the show, a handful of brands brought us to their secret booths around the Anaheim Convention Center to share sneak previews of their big 2026 products.
I’m sworn to secrecy, so all I can say is that there are some crazy modern iterations of classic gear, and fascinating applications of AI in upcoming music products this year. There’s really no way to be specific without breaking some NDAs, but I’d advise approaching 2026 with a curious eye.
Read more NAMM 2026 news. 
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The Super Bowl on ShuffleWith Green Day and Bad Bunny primed to elicit controversy and conversation, we look back at some of the best (and strangest) performances throughout the history of the Super Bowl. Who should bring home the trophy and who should be sidelined for the rest of the season?

Some international attendees are skipping 2026 GDC due to safety fears and growing ICE presenceMany members of the international games industry are skipping the 2026 Game Developers Conference because of the growing ICE presence and other concerns.

Bitmine’s staked Ether holdings point to $164M in annual staking revenueThe publicly traded Ether treasury has more than 2 million ETH staked, with total holdings of more than 4.2 million, or 3.5% of the outstanding supply.

Electronik Sound Lab Abyss FXWHAT IS ABYSS FX? AbyssFX is a creative reverb and spatial destruction plugin designed for producers, sound designers, and audio engineers who demand more than just ambience. While traditional reverbs aim for transparency and realism, AbyssFX embraces character, movement, and transformation. Featuring three distinct morphing modes that fundamentally alter the reverb's behavior, advanced pitch shifting, and creative destruction tools, AbyssFX delivers everything from organic cinematic textures to aggressive glitch effects. Whether you need textured vintage warmth, deep evolving spaces, or complete sonic annihilation, AbyssFX provides the tools for creative exploration. Built on a custom Dattorro FDN architecture with Hermite interpolation and professional DSP enhancements, this plugin combines studio-grade algorithms with a bold, character-driven approach. Perfect for when you want your reverb to be heard, not hidden. LAUNCH SPECIAL - 50% OFF: €29.99 (ex VAT) - Regular price €59.99 - Offer ends: February 8, 2026 at 23:59 CET https://electroniksoundlab.com/abyss-fx/ KEY Features THREE MORPHING REVERB MODES Transform your sound with three distinct reverb personalities: RUST MODE - Vintage Saturation Engine. Textured, modulated spaces with progressive saturation and organic breathing. Creates vintage tape machine warmth, lo-fi cassette character, and warm analog textures. Perfect for retro electronic music, textured pads, and progressive saturation builds: ABYSS MODE - Deep Space Engine. The deepest and cleanest mode. Creates vast, underwater-like spaces with slow organic movement. Features the deepest modulation (up to 125 samples) without added drive saturation. Perfect for cinematic soundscapes, dark ambient, and film scoring: MAGMA MODE - Destruction Engine. Pure sonic aggression with the fastest LFO speed (2×), increased diffusion, and extreme drive behavior. Intentionally creates artifacts and distortion for creative destruction. Perfect for glitch effects, breakdowns, and experimental electronic music. PRESSURE MACRO CONTROL AbyssFX's secret weapon - a single control that morphs multiple parameters simultaneously: Size breathing and space expansion. Modulation depth increases. Progressive drive saturation (mode-dependent). Wet mix boost for instant impact. Dual functionality: use with reverb OR as standalone drive control. Each morph mode responds differently to Pressure, creating instant sonic transformations from subtle enhancement to complete chaos. HYBRID PITCH FX SYSTEM Two distinct pitch modes optimized for different applications: SUB-ABYSS MODE - Pitch Down Specialist. Serial mixing architecture optimized for sub-bass generation and octave-down effects. Perfect for adding weight and depth to drums and bass: GLITCH MODE - Shimmer. Parallel mixing architecture for ethereal shimmer effects. Creates angelic, crystalline textures perfect for ambient and post-rock styles. Both modes feature adjustable pitch shift from -12 to +12 semitones with independent amount control. CREATIVE DRIVE SYSTEM Five distinct saturation modes for character or devastation: ANALOG - Vintage tube-style saturation for subtle warmth. TAPE - Tape saturation emulation with smooth harmonic compression. BIT - Bit-reduction distortion for lo-fi aesthetics and digital crunch. FOLD - Wave-folding algorithm for complex harmonic content. GRANULAR - Sample rate reduction with glitchy, stuttering textures. Parallel processing with independent Amount, Mix, and Tone controls. PROFESSIONAL FILTERING State Variable TPT filters with advanced control: High-pass filter (20 Hz - 2 kHz). Low-pass filter (2 kHz - 20 kHz). Independent Q control (0.1 - 10.0) for each filter. Selectable slopes: 12 dB/oct or 24 dB/oct. Surgical tonal shaping from mud removal to telephone effects. ADVANCED MODULATION Create movement and organic evolution: LFO Rate: 0.05 - 10 Hz with mode-dependent speed multiplication. LFO Depth: 0-100% modulation intensity. Orbit: Circular stereo panning for swirling spatial effects. Mode-specific behavior: Abyss (0.5× slow), Magma (2× fast). FREEZE FUNCTION Infinite sustain for pad creation and sound design: Capture and hold current reverb tail. Transform transients into evolving textures. Perfect for live performance transitions. Combine with Pitch FX for instant synth pads. PROFESSIONAL OUTPUT PROTECTION Studio-grade signal processing: Soft clipping for musical saturation. Brick-wall limiter prevents intersample peaks. Denormal protection for consistent CPU performance. Zero latency for real-time performance. Extended tail times up to 60 seconds. COMPREHENSIVE PRESET SYSTEM Get started instantly or build your library: 60+ factory presets covering diverse use cases. Save unlimited custom presets. Automatic dirty state detection. Preset browser with dropdown selection. Easy sharing via .afx files. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Audio PROCESSING: Sample rate support: 44.1 kHz - 192 kHz. Bit depth: 32-bit floating point internal processing. Latency: Zero latency (no look-ahead processing). Tail time: Up to 60 seconds. Channel configuration: Stereo in / Stereo out. Dynamic range: >120 dB. DSP ARCHITECTURE: 4-line FDN architecture with Hadamard mixing matrix. Hermite interpolation for artifact-free modulation. Advanced input diffusion network (8 all-pass stages). DC blocking filters for bass preservation. Denormal protection for CPU efficiency. Adaptive delay line sizing with breathing room. OPTIMIZATION: Efficient memory management. SIMD-optimized math operations. Lock-free parameter updates. Conditional processing (bypasses inactive sections). Smoothed parameter changes for click-free automation. COMPATIBILITY: Format: VST3. Platform: Windows 64-bit. Minimum: Windows 10. Tested DAWs: FL Studio, Ableton Live, Reaper, Studio One, Cubase. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: Windows 10 (64-bit) or later. Dual-core processor (2.0 GHz or faster). 4 GB RAM. VST3-compatible DAW. 50 MB free disk space. OpenGL 2.0 compatible graphics. RECOMMENDED REQUIREMENTS: Windows 10/11 (64-bit). Quad-core processor (2.5 GHz or faster). 8 GB RAM or more. VST3-compatible DAW. 100 MB free disk space. Dedicated graphics card. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwgHDNNUK1Y Read More

Create a Tiny Telephone Exchange with an Analog Telephone AdapterAn analog telephone adapter (ATA), or FXS gateway, is a device that allows traditional analog phones to be connected to a digital voice-over-IP (VoIP) network. In addition to this, you can even create a local phone exchange using just analog phones without connecting to a network as [Playful Technology] demonstrates in a recent video.
The ATA used in the video is the Grandstream HT802, which features one 10/100 Mbps Ethernet port and two RJ11 FXS ports for two POTS phones, allowing for two phones to be directly connected and configured using their own profiles.
By using a multi-FXS port ATA in this manner, you essentially can set up your own mini telephone exchange, with a long run of Cat-3 possible between an individual phone and the ATA. Use of the Ethernet port is necessary just once to configure the ATA, as demonstrated in the video. The IP address of the ATA is amusingly obtained by dialing *** on a connected phone and picking 02 as menu option after which a synthetic voice reads out the number. This IP address gets you into the administration interface.

To configure the ATA as an exchange, the local loopback address is used, along with a dial alias configured in the ‘Dial Plan’ section. This way dialing e.g. 102 gets internally converted to dial the other FXS port. By setting up a similar plan on the other FXS port both phones can call each other, but it’s also possible to auto-dial when you lift the handset off the hook.
The rather hacky configuration ought to make clear that the ATA was not designed to be used in this manner, but if your use case involves this kind of scenario, it’s probably one of the cheaper ways to set up a basic, small phone exchange. There are even ATA models that have more than two ports, opening up more possibilities. Just keep in mind that not every ATA may support this kind of tweaking.