Suno could get sued by the record business. Who’s backing it with $125m?Here, we take a look at Suno’s investors, their philosophies, and the other businesses they’ve put money behind...
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Spark Plug Becomes Glass CutterSometimes a hack doesn’t need to be rocket science to be useful. Take for instance [MofigoDIY] using an old spark plug to build a glass cutter.
Sure, going to grab a glass cutter at the hardware store might be easy, but there’s something satisfying about going the DIY route. [MofigoDIY]’s version of this classic hack is a bit more refined than the quick and dirty route of smashing the spark plug alumina and hot gluing it into a tube.
After using a rotary tool to cut off the threads and expose the narrow part of the ceramic, [MofigoDIY] grinds it down to a fine point. This lets the spark plug itself become the handle, so you don’t need any additional parts to make the cutter. Toward the end of the video, a heated wire is used to break a glass jar apart after it was scored which might be of interest even if you already have a glass cutter. Once you’re finished making your glass cutter, make sure you dispose of any chips left over, since ceramic spark plug fragments are considered burglary tools in some areas.
Would you rather just build the glass up additively? How about using a laser cutter to sinter glass or 3D printing fused silica using a polymerized composite precursor?

Universal Audio launch LA-6176 plug-in Combining the sound of their renowned 610 valve preamp with both an 1176 FET and LA-2A compressor, Universal Audio’s latest plug-in offers all of the features of their 6176 Channel Strip and then some! 

“Analogue heaven in a plugin”: Universal Audio introduces the LA-6176 Signature Channel Strip, combining three of its top plugins into oneUniversal Audio has unveiled its new LA-6176 Signature Channel Strip plugin, offering “the best of UA’s 610 tube preamp, LA-2A, and 1176 compressors, combined into a single Unison-enabled plugin”.
Available in both UADx (Native) and UAD-2/Apollo formats, the LA-6176 can add warmth and presence on your vocals, guitars, bass and more. It gets its name from the classic 6176 Tube Channel Strip, used on records by artists including Coldplay, Adele, Pharrell, and more.

READ MORE: Scaper is a plugin that turns anything into an ambient soundscape — even a sneeze

Users can record and mix with “three of the most historically-significant pieces of analogue gear ever made”, with the new plugin set to deliver the smooth harmonics and rich overdrive of a vintage UA 610 tube preamp, the famous punch of the 1176, and the smooth warmth of an LA-2A, with the flip of a switch. You can also record in real time with Apollo interfaces.
Unlike the original UA 6176 hardware unit, the LA-6176 plugin lets users select between fast 1176LN Limiting Amplifier compression, and slower, gentler LA-2A Levelling Amplifier compression, a feature never before found in a UAD plugin that lets music creators ‘tune’ the channel strip to better match the source.
“This is really a ‘what if we just…’ type of plugin,” says Bill Putnam Jr., CEO of Universal Audio. “It started out as a 100 percent faithful emulation of our original 6176 Channel Strip in celebration of its 20th anniversary. But our team couldn’t help but add in the LA-2A circuitry that we couldn’t actually fit into our 2U channel strip in the physical world.”
Currently, there is an exclusive introductory price of $99 for the LA-6176 plugin due to UA’s Half Yearly Sale, running from 28 May – 30 June. After this period, it will be priced at $299 MAP.
Find out more over at Universal Audio.
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Is Lewitt Connect 2 really the “most user-friendly audio interface” ever made?£169 / €199, lewitt-audio.com 
If you’re just getting started with your studio setup, the last thing you need is equipment with a load of functions you don’t know how to use. Thankfully, Lewitt says its new Connect 2 audio interface is the “most user-friendly audio interface” ever made — that should make things pretty simple, right?

READ MORE: Audient’s ORIA is the Atmos interface that engineers have been waiting for

Lewitt’s first venture into the world of audio interfaces, the Connect 6, was aimed squarely at content creators and streamers. Its blend of input and internal loopback options makes it a perfect match for small-scale video and broadcast production. It can make a decent fist of working in a music studio too, but doing so will waste some of the unit’s talents.
The Connect 2 retains some of the features that make the 6 so attractive to streamers – chiefly internal loopback and stylish design – but its input configuration is clearly geared towards individuals and solo performers. And, it does feel like it could be the “most user-friendly audio interface”, which is great – let’s hug it up. But we’re not aware of any modern interfaces that are particularly user-unfriendly!
Connect 2 in use
How does the Lewitt Connect 2 look and sound?
Connect 2 is small and compact with a slim, low-profile control panel area and a raised bridge accommodating the rear-facing input and output connectors. The interface is USB-2 class compliant, meaning it’s compatible with Windows, macOS, iOS/iPadOS and many flavours of desktop Linux and Android. It can also operate as a standalone preamp and mixer.
Its recording and playback quality do not disappoint. There is a slight loss of detail at the very lowest and highest frequencies when compared to a high-end interface such as a Universal Audio Apollo, which is to be expected with a small and affordable unit like this, but everything is clean and well-balanced with faultless stereo imaging.
Connect 2 input and output connectors
What are the key specifications of the Lewitt Connect 2?
As its name suggests, Connect 2 features just two input channels, the first dedicated to microphones and the second to instrument level inputs such as electric guitar and bass.
Inputs are fed by an XLR and mono jack socket, respectively, and while this is a common enough socket configuration for smaller interfaces, the lack of standard line inputs may be a deal breaker for some. It does, however, speak to the “user-friendly” claim because there’s no ambiguity about what should be connected where!
Outputs are served by a pair of jacks for hooking up to your monitor system, plus a Zero-Ohm headphone amp that can drive an incredibly wide range of headphones from its dual (6.35 mm and 3.5 mm) jack sockets. Although all outputs carry the same master mix signal, both the monitor and headphone buses have independent volume and mute controls.
Connect 2 in use
How do you control the Lewitt Connect 2 interface?
Most configuration tasks can be performed directly from the interface’s slimline control panel. There are no physical buttons or dials here though; rather, there are touch-sensitive spots with raised surrounds and backlit symbols that act as buttons, and a larger circular groove that serves as a data entry dial.
This is all quite intuitive to use: touch the ‘button’ corresponding to the input or output you wish to configure, causing its symbol to light, then manipulate the dial to set a gain/output level value. An LED ring surrounding the dial gives visual feedback on the selected channel’s gain/output level setting and current signal level.
As is common on smaller interfaces, direct monitoring is handled by balancing the direct input signal and the computer playback signal. The Connect 2 lets you choose which inputs are included in the direct signal, which is handy, but we also find that, when monitoring inputs via a DAW, the input signal can be doubled in the monitors (although not the recording).
This issue appears to be related to the loopback bus and the optional macOS Streaming Mode that determines which of the internal “software input” buses carries the loopback signal, and it seems that it will only occur under certain elusive circumstances.
Lewitt’s Connect 2 manual needs to go into a lot more detail about what the macOS Streaming Mode is for, how to use it, and what some of the potential pitfalls are if it’s set incorrectly.
Control Center software
How do you access signal processing on the Lewitt Connect 2?
While the Connect 2 hardware allows access to essential functions, the full suite of features can only be accessed via the Control Center software. Here, you can toggle the low-cut filter and Clipguard system available to each input, the latter preventing overly-hot signals from causing digital clipping that would ruin your recording or stream.
The software also allows the interface’s onboard audio processors (DSP) – unusual in a unit of this size – to be accessed. First is a choice of preamp mode, with a selection of Clean, Warm and Vivid, which is essentially a high-end EQ cut (Warm) or boost (Vivid). This is followed by Denoise, which enables a noise filter, and Comp, which applies a progressive compression to louder signals.
None of these processors can be tweaked or controlled – they are just on or off for each channel – and they can’t rival the basic plugins provided by most DAWs. They can be useful, though, especially for streaming, content creation, video conferencing and such.

Is the Lewitt Connect 2 as user-friendly as the brand claims?
So, what about this “most user-friendly” business? We’ve already mentioned the unambiguous input options, and the simple on/off nature of the onboard processing, but there are a couple of other features aimed at snuggling-up to users, too.
Autogain monitors 10 seconds of incoming signal and then sets an ideal input gain. This can be done on individual inputs or both simultaneously, and we find the resulting gain settings to be just about how we would have set them manually – impressive given that similar tools we’ve seen on other interfaces have tended to leave more headroom than we would have liked.
Taking things a stage further is Autosetup. This presents a series of screens asking about which inputs are being used, what type of mic is connected, and so on, with helpful explanations provided at each stage. Once you’ve worked through the questions the appropriate settings are applied and the Autogain process is triggered.
This really couldn’t be easier, and will be particularly welcome to those who don’t want to get bogged down with audio engineering details that may have nothing to do with what they’re actually doing. In the post-Covid world of working from home and remote meetings, Connect 2 also presents an interesting choice for those who want their audio as clean and clear as possible.
User-friendliness is subjective. If you already know your XLRs from your SPLs and your mind doesn’t turn to exorcising ghosts at the mention of phantom power, then “easy” can be more like “restrictive”. But if you have no interest in the technicalities of audio engineering and just want to get on with creating – whether that be music, videos, YouTube shows, or whatever – then Connect 2 is sure to appeal.

Key features

USB-2 class-compliant audio interface
Supports sample rates of 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz and 96 kHz
Mic and instrument level inputs
Phantom power on mic input
Low-cut filter and Clipguard on both inputs
Stereo line output
Zero-Ohm headphone amp with 6.35mm / 3.5mm sockets
Clean, Warm and Vivid preamp modes
Onboard audio processing
Touch-sensitive hardware control panel with no moving parts
Lewitt Control Centre software for accessing all features
Includes licences for Steinberg Cubase LE and Cubasis LE

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“This synthesiser is clearly not a clone”: Behringer releases statement following Tom Oberheim’s response to its UB-Xa synthBudget gear brand Behringer has released a statement following Tom Oberheim’s response to its UB-Xa synth, in which the Oberheim Electronics founder stated there was “no collaboration” between himself and the brand.
Though inspired by the OB-Xa, Behringer says the UB-Xa is “not a clone”. The product, which took six years of development, was announced as the best selling synth at Thomann last week. Following the news of its success, Behringer responded to a comment on social media in which it claimed it “got consent” from Oberheim himself.

READ MORE: Tom Oberheim on synth emulations: “Anything that brings new sounds is exciting — I don’t care what the brand is”

In his own post on Facebook, Oberheim clarified that Behringer does “have limited rights to use the name UB-Xa, but not the Oberheim name. So it has permission under certain conditions to release a product using the UB-Xa name, but that’s all.”
As this situation has escalated and caused much confusion surrounding matters of consent between the two, Behringer has now released a full statement via its main means of communication, its Facebook page.
“Behringer recently announced that our UB-Xa synthesizer has become the best-selling synthesizer at Thomann, Europe’s largest retailer. When questioned about the designer of the original synthesizer, we clarified in a social media post that we have the pioneer’s consent, affirming our right to market our synthesizer and use the UB-Xa name,” it begins.
“The pioneer whose name we’re unable to mention based on a three year old agreement, states: ‘…have no objection to Music Tribe’s use or registration of the mark UB-Xa anywhere in the world…’”
It continues, “We clearly shared the plan for the UB-Xa synthesizer and received consent to use the trademark. We have utmost respect for the pioneer and it is unfortunate that this situation has escalated. We wish him the very best and much success.
“We are immensely proud of our innovative UB-Xa and its success. This synthesizer is clearly not a clone; in fact it is the world’s first and only 16-voice analogue and bi-timbral synthesizer with a poly aftertouch keyboard and eight-mode atrophy settings, all priced at USD $1,199, which is a fraction of the cost of competing products.”
Behringer concludes, “We remain committed to our mission of making great instruments accessible to all musicians, especially those who ‘have not and cannot.’”

Behringer recently announced that our UB-Xa synthesizer has become the best-selling synthesizer at Thomann, Europe’s…
Posted by Behringer on Friday, May 24, 2024

You can find out more about Behringer’s UB-Xa via its official website. Oberheim recently announced the launch of the TEO-5 polysynth, a compact analogue-digital synth with a lower price tag than any other Oberheim instrument in history. In our interview with Tom Oberheim, he says the TEO-5 is the synth he’s dreamed of making for five decades.
The post “This synthesiser is clearly not a clone”: Behringer releases statement following Tom Oberheim’s response to its UB-Xa synth appeared first on MusicTech.

Should songwriters get points on recordings? Raye renews call to actionSinger-songwriter Raye renewed her call for record labels to give songwriters a share of recording royalties during her acceptance speech at the UK's Ivor's Awards last week.....
The post Should songwriters get points on recordings? Raye renews call to action appeared first on Hypebot.

Top 12 Strategies to book more (and better) music gigsWant to book more live shows? Here are 12 essential strategies for increasing gig opportunities with more gigs that matter.....
The post Top 12 Strategies to book more (and better) music gigs appeared first on Hypebot.

Transform audio with Sampleson Scaper Scaper has been designed to save users hours of work by generating atmospheric soundscapes using any audio recording. 

What musicians and creators can do to get ready for the TikTok ‘ban’Biden signed a bill last month that could leave U.S. consumers and creators TikTok-less nine months from now. Here are some steps you can take to prepare for the worst.. Continue reading
The post What musicians and creators can do to get ready for the TikTok ‘ban’ appeared first on Hypebot.

Decent Samples Release FREE Korg Phase 8 Sample Library
Decent Samples has released a new free Korg Phase 8 library for the free Decent Sampler.  As many of you know, Superbooth 2024 was recently held in Berlin. Superbooth is an annual event at which new and innovative synthesizers and music production gear from various manufacturers are announced. We have covered several synthesizers introduced this year [...]
View post: Decent Samples Release FREE Korg Phase 8 Sample Library

KIT Plugins release BB Chamber A KIT Plugins’ latest collaboration with Nashville’s legendary Blackbird Studio has just arrived, and becomes the first of the company’s offerings to utilise AI technology

‘Hacker’ identified in celebrity memecoin scams, says crypto sleuth RoxoA person associated with Caitlyn Jenner’s JENNER coin launch rugged five other prominent figures, but not her, according to Roxo.

The Emperor’s New ComputerYou walk into a home office and see an attractive standing desk that appears bare. Where’s the computer? Well, if it is [DIY Perk]’s office, the desk is the computer. Like a transformer robot, the desk transforms into a good-looking PC.
He starts with a commercial desk and creates a replacement desktop out of some aluminum sheets and extrusions. The motion uses some V-slot profiles and linear rails. The monitor and keyboard shelf pop up on invisible hinges. When closed, there’s no trace of a computer.

The mechanics of the pop-out hatch are complex, but they worked the first time. At least, we think it was the first time. Video editing is a possibility! He did have to add some springs and pneumatics to keep it from slamming down. A magnet gives a positive lock feeling when you open the hatch.
The monitor is an ultra-wide OLED that can be curved or flat. He removed the electronics from the panel and mounted the screen on the inner part of the hatch. Half of the electronics went back into the desk. A small but powerful PC with an Intel I9 and a graphics card fit in the desk. A conventional power supply would be too large, but a pair of very thin GaN power supplies come to the rescue.
Surplus server heatsinks keep the system cool without breaking the bank.
Thermal management is also something that could easily be too thick. The solution was a custom brass heat spreader that runs the length of the desk, onto which he mounted 40 surplus server heatsinks paired with laptop fans. But when they failed to get the job done, larger heatsinks and fans were brought in. These stick out below the bottom of the desk, but you wouldn’t notice unless you were laying on the floor.
Honestly, the build is amazing. If you are on the fence, watch the first few seconds of the video where the desk transforms, and you’ll be hooked. The final step was to make the aluminum desktop look like wood with oak planks and some optical illusions.
We doubt our woodworking and machining skills are up to duplicating this, but we wish he’d take our money. Desk computers aren’t really a new idea, of course. Be glad you don’t have to build a 1965 “desktop” computer into a desk.

A System Board for the 8008Intel processors, at least for PCs, are ubiquitous and have been for decades. Even beyond the chips specifically built by Intel, other companies have used their instruction set to build chips, including AMD and VIA, for nearly as long. They’re so common the shorthand “x86” is used for most of these processors, after Intel’s convention of naming their processors with an “-86” suffix since the 1970s. Not all of their processors share this convention, though, but you’ll have to go even further back in time to find one. [Mark] has brought one into the modern age and is showing off his system board for this 8008 processor.
The 8008 predates any x86 processor by about six years and was among the first mass-produced 8-bit processors even before the well-known 8080. The expansion from four bits to eight was massive for the time and allowed a much wider range of applications for embedded systems and early personal computers. [Mark] goes into some of the details for programming these antique processors before demonstrating his system board. It gets power from a USB-C connection and uses a set of regulators and level shifters to make sure the voltages all match. Support for all the functions the 8008 needs is courtesy of an STM32. That includes the system memory.
For those looking to develop something like this, [Mark] has also added his development tools to a separate GitHub page. Although it’s always a good idea for those interested in computer science to take a look at old processors like these, it’s not always the easiest path to get original hardware like this, which also carries the risk of letting smoke out of delicate components. A much easier route is to spin up an emulator like an 8086 IBM PC emulator on an ESP32. Want to see inside this old chip? Have a look.