SoundBetter Sidechain Effect SoundBetter releases Sidechain Effect - A Sidechain Multi-Effect plugin Sidechain Effect enables you to trigger a variety of effects with a sidechain input. Think Billie Eilish's Xanny where the bass rattles the vocals, but with 13 different hand-picked effects you can mix and match to taste. -Fast-pan vocals when the bass plays. -Trigger delay and reverb throws. -Distort and bandpass with every drum hit. -Phase, filter & chop the your pads to the beat. The possibilities are endless. Rethink Sidechaining. RIP Static Effects. Out Now. Limited time Intro price $29. (Reg. $59). Features: 13 high-quality, hand-picked sidechain effects. Mix, match and re-order effects. Shape each effect and mix to taste. Input sensitivity, and global attack & release times. Sync release time – great for pumping or other time-based effects. Shape the attack and release envelope. Reverb Gating and Ducking for creative sound design. Unique 'Multiply' effect, modulating a track's volume with the sidechain input. Add or silence effects on sidechain trigger. Compatibility: macOS: 10.13 or newer. Usually works on 10.12 but not officially supported DAWs: All major DAWs that support 64-bit VST3, AAX, or AU Native support for Apple Silicon chips Windows: 8.1 or newer Usually works on Windows 7 but not officially supported DAWS: All major DAWs that support 64-bit VST3 or AAX ** Note that the DAW must support sidechain inputs. For example GarageBand does not support sidechain inputs, and therefore the plugin will not work properly in GarageBand. More info and audio demos here: https://shop.soundbetter.com/sidechain-effect/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r23Uv0oqklo Read More

After being sued by Warner for copyright infringement, DSW files lawsuit against UMG, Sony and BMG seeking court protection over music usage in TikTok, Instagram postsLegal complaint seeks court protection from copyright infringement claims, after receiving demand letters from the music companies
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SVOG Update: Just 5% Got Recoupment Letters, All Closeouts SafeBlood pressures rose throughout the live music community last week after news spread that some SBA Shuttered Venue Operating Grant recipients had received involuntary recoupment notices. The letters gave grantees 30 days to return funds or dispute the claim.
The post SVOG Update: Just 5% Got Recoupment Letters, All Closeouts Safe appeared first on Hypebot.

Ohmicide[S]: Ohmforce’s Skrillex-approved Ohmicide distortion returns to plugin format A year on from its Eurorack spinoff, Ohmforce has brought its popular Ohmicide distortion back to plugin form with new “edgy twists to fulfil all of your distortion needs for the next twenty years”.
Ohmicide (known to be loved by Skrillex) was launched in Eurorack form during last year’s Superbooth event, after the brand also made all of their legacy plugins free. This latest rendition, named Ohmicide[S], builds upon the framework it devised with its Ohmboyz Infinity delay and Frohmager filter plugins, and adds some new upgrades too.

READ MORE: 6 music-making lessons from Skrillex’s new album, ‘F*** U SKRILLEX’

From the get-go, Ohmicide[S] users can toy with “lovingly crafted” presets, which are sorted into highly visual categories, and are adjustable through Macros², Ohm Force’s intuitive parameter controls.
These presets have also been created with the sound designers at Keepforest (featuring some of the people who had developed the original Ohmicide), and are also “packed with Red Force’s carousel of disgustingly gritty guitars and bass”.
Ohm Force claims that Ohmicide[S] now offers the widest library of distortion out there, with 111 different algorithms available to experiment with. It also offers “well thought out” routing created upon user feedback, allowing for serial, parallel, and split distortions, while maintaining a preserved X band to treat your low end separately.
In total, there are seven bands with dynamics, distortion, filters, and feedback generators. Everything can be modulated by a matrix supporting “all the LFOs we could think of”, according to Ohm Force, as well as step sequencers, ADSR, and an adjustable envelope follower.
Check it out below:

Ohmicide[S] is available now. Head over to Ohmforce to learn more.
The post Ohmicide[S]: Ohmforce’s Skrillex-approved Ohmicide distortion returns to plugin format  appeared first on MusicTech.

How to Create and Launch Merch That Fans Actually Want to BuyMany indie musicians struggle to turn their merch into a reliable income stream. Here are five essential tips to create and launch merch that create a connection with fans, drives sales and builds your brand.
The post How to Create and Launch Merch That Fans Actually Want to Buy appeared first on Hypebot.

Polyverse releases Filterverse 1.2 with five new filter modules
Polyverse has released Filterverse 1.2, a free (for existing customers) update to its experimental multi-filter plugin for macOS and Windows. The new version adds five creative filter modules, boosts CPU performance, and introduces several workflow enhancements. Filterverse was already one of the most interesting filter plugins out there (we covered the original release last year), [...]
View post: Polyverse releases Filterverse 1.2 with five new filter modules

FL Studio 2025: AI-powered chat assistant, new Loop Starter for sparking creativity – and everything else you need to knowFL Studio 2025 is finally here, and Image-Line‘s flagship DAW – one of the most popular on the planet, it must be said – has been granted a plethora of exciting new updates.
Keen FL Studio users and testers have had access to and been trying out the features of the FL Studio 2025 beta for some time now, but the DAW’s latest update has now been rolled out to everyone.

READ MORE: “Intuitively select chords without needing advanced musical knowledge”: The AlphaTheta Chordcat is a smart groovebox with over 110,000 chord combinations

Let’s stop beating around the bush, shall we, and bring you all the latest updates and everything you need to know about FL Studio 2025.
FL Studio 2025: new features

Chief among the new additions in FL studio 2025 is perhaps Gopher, a new multi-lingual AI-powered assistant which is on-hand to answer any of your DAW navigation or music production-related questions.
A chatbot which has been “expertly-trained on all things FL Studio and music production” – including the FL Studio reference manual – Gopher provides instant answers to any music production query without the user ever having to leave the DAW. And hey, any time we regain making music instead of reading manuals is a good thing, right?
Also new to FL Studio 2025 is Loop Starter, which helps producers instantly generate and tweak ideas directly from the channel rack. Users can choose from nine genres at launch including drill, trap, amapiano and EDM, and Loop Starter loads up a selection of tempo-synced loops from the FL Cloud sample library. It also generates full, editable step sequencer tracks with one-shots based on the selected genre. Individual sounds or the entire stack can be regenerated, meaning users can quickly audition and find a sound they like.
You’ll also be pleased to know that Loop Starter is included with all editions of FL Studio 2025, and uses samples from FL Cloud’s free tier, meaning no subscription is required.
Elsewhere, FL Studio 2025 brings a new maximum limit of Dynamic Mixer Tracks – now 500 up from 125, a pretty significant jump.
FL Studio 2025 also comes with an update to Audio Clips; users can now stretch, pitch and reverse audio directly within the Clip Properties window.
Other new features include: Emphasis, a multi-stage compression mastering plugin (exclusive to the FL Studio All Plugins Edition); Mobile Rack, which brings seven low-CPU instruments and 29 effects from FL Studio Mobile to desktop; FLEX Enhancements, including a free 150-preset Melodic Techno FLEX Pack; a Bassline Generator, for instantly creating basslines matching any chord progression; and FL Studio Remote, a new application for iOS and Android enabling you to control the DAW from your smartphone.
Finally, there’s a new VFX Script plugin for turning Patcher setups into complex audio applications, and a selection of Vectorial UI Updates, too.
What does Image-Line say about FL Studio 2025?
Credit: Image-Line
“FL Studio has always been about getting ideas down quickly,” says Constantin Koehncke, CEO of Image-Line. “With Loop Starter and Gopher, we’re now introducing two new features designed to support the creative process – whatever your level. This is where we believe AI can truly support creativity: offering new ways to get creative without taking away any of the controls.”
Earlier this year, Koehncke explained in his exclusive interview with MusicTech the company’s plans to “continuously expand our offering in FL Cloud”. “The goal is to have access to the right set of tools, some free, some paid, but most importantly, all integrated directly with FL Studio to make it easy and fast for users to get creative,” he went on.
Plugin updates
FL Studio 2025 also brings a series of updates to existing plugins in the FL Studio Cloud, including Drumaxx, FLEC, FPC, Transporter, Fruity Balance, Fruity Granulizer and Fruity Slicer.
 
FL Studio 2025: Pricing and availability
FL Studio 2025 is available now via the Image-Line website. Existing users will be pleased to know that the 2025 edition arrives as a free update – as promised by the Lifetime Free Updates pledge by Image-Line on FL Studio. However, if you’re just getting into the FL Studio ecosystem, pricing for each tier is as follows:

FL Studio Fruity Edition: $99/£89
FL Studio Producer Edition: $179/£199
FL Studio Signature Bundle: $269/£279
FL Studio All Plugins Edition: $449/£469

 
What do I need to know about FL Cloud?
FL Cloud is a platform by Image-Line that offers over a million royalty-free samples, third-party plugins, AI mastering, music distribution and more. It integrates neatly with FL Studio, too.
However, speaking on the development of FL Cloud, Koehncke said to MusicTech: “We’re going to continuously expand our offering in FL Cloud… We’ve tripled the size of our sound catalogue since we launched. The goal is to have access to the right set of tools, some free, some paid, but most importantly, all integrated directly with FL Studio to make it easy and fast for users to get creative.”
So, producers can likely expect more partnerships with plugin developers and sample creators this year, and perhaps an update to current features.
FL Cloud. Image: Image-Line
Is FL Studio 2025 available on other platforms?
FL Studio Mobile is currently the best option for producing on the Image-Line DAW when you’re away from the computer. You can’t sync projects between platforms, but you can export from FL Studio Mobile to FL Studio desktop.
Elsewhere, we’ve seen a few people on Reddit threads and in FL Studio forums asking if we’ll ever see FL Studio come to game consoles like Nintendo Switch, Sony PS5 and Microsoft Xbox. Some users have even produced on FL Studio using a Steam Deck. In our interview with Koehncke, we asked the Image-Line CEO whether FL Studio console is such a crazy idea after all. His response? Vague, but interesting.
“We just want to be wherever somebody’s thinking about creating music; it’s about being wherever your users might be,” he said.
It’s doubtful that FL Studio 2025 will drop with a Nintendo Switch 2 port at the ready, but we expect producers aren’t far off from DAW makers giving them beatmaking powers on their favourite console.
You can learn more about FL Studio at Image-Line.
Read more FL Studio news on MusicTech. 
The post FL Studio 2025: AI-powered chat assistant, new Loop Starter for sparking creativity – and everything else you need to know appeared first on MusicTech.

Meet Chordcat: a compact sequencer for writing progressions on the goAlphaTheta’s newest piece of production gear has arrived: an affordable and portable groovebox, tagged with quite the catchy name to fit its style. The Chordcat is a battery-powered sequencer with 8 channels that lets you sketch out chord progressions and basic arrangements without a laptop – and it’s earmarked at $299. It’s appealing to any artists […]
The post Meet Chordcat: a compact sequencer for writing progressions on the go appeared first on DJ TechTools.

“Intuitively select chords without needing advanced musical knowledge”: The AlphaTheta Chordcat is a smart groovebox with over 110,000 chord combinationsAlphaTheta has lifted the lid on the Chordcat, a new ultra-portable groovebox designed to help producers find inspiration for chord progressions, and quickly develop new ideas.
The unit – which when we say it’s portable, we mean it measures under 10 inches across, and weighs just 400 grams – features an eight-track sequencer at its core for experimenting with progressions, as well as 145 instrument sounds to play with, 16 drum sounds, and a series of advanced music arrangement tools.

READ MORE: The 1010music Bento could be a big league groovebox… one day

Learning music theory and chord progressions is a notoriously laborious process, but AlphaTheta is confident the Chordcat takes some of the pain out of the equation.
The device also features a Chord Cruiser mode, which, in real time, suggests multiple musically compatible chords to go to next from its database of over 110,000 chord combinations. Simply assign your favourite to the keyboard, and the next suggestion is triggered.

“The Chord Cruiser function suggests seamless and intuitive chord transitions, putting creative harmonic choices right at your fingertips,” says AlphaTheta. 
“So, you can intuitively select recommended chords while playing to compose your own tracks without needing advanced musical knowledge.”
Additionally with the Chordcat’s key and scale settings, only notes that belong to a selected key are mapped to the keyboard.
You’ll notice the Chordcat features a 4×4 XY grid of 16 buttons for step-sequencing. The playback order of this, courtesy of the unit’s Running Direction feature, can be changed with a single button, with choices between right, down, clockwise and counterclockwise.

While the Chordcat is absolutely marketed as a portable device, it’s easily integratable into a studio setup, or with a DAW or external synthesizers via MIDI In, MIDI Out/Thru and USB-C connections. 
Additionally, chord data and sequencers can be outputted in real time, and exported as patterns using the Chordcat manager. You’ll also be able to download a software app for managing and configuring the device.
The Chordcat uses six AA batteries, and AlphaTheta says it boasts five hours of battery life, so you can feel assured taking it anywhere.
Credit: AlphaTheta
 “Wherever inspiration strikes – at home, in the studio, or on the go – Chordcat helps you transform your ideas into music,” continues AlphaTheta. 
“From its intuitive chord creation to versatile sound design, this groovebox is your ultimate tool for unlocking creative potential and fuelling your musical imagination.”
In terms of price, the Chordcat clocks in at €279 / $279 / £239 and is available now via selected retailers.
For more information, head to AlphaTheta.
The post “Intuitively select chords without needing advanced musical knowledge”: The AlphaTheta Chordcat is a smart groovebox with over 110,000 chord combinations appeared first on MusicTech.

The 1010music Bento could be a big league groovebox… one day£849 / $899 / €979, 1010music.com
I think it’s safe to say we’re living through the golden age of grooveboxes. Elektron recently released new versions of the Digitone and Digitakt; Novation now has two Circuits; the MPC now supports Native Instruments plugins; Ableton put Live in a standalone version of Push, and built a portable sketchpad called Move; Polyend has the friendly Play+ and nerdy Tracker+; Teenage Engineering has everything from $90 pocket calculator-inspired musical toys to $2,300 Casio VL-Tone-inspired musical toys; and there’s so much more that I didn’t even mention.

READ MORE: Elektron Digitone II: A polyphonic powerhouse synth that goes far beyond FM

Unfortunately for 1010music, this is the crowded market into which it has launched its £849 Bento. A market with tons of options at various price points, covering FM synthesis, virtual analogue, sampling and everything in between. So, no matter how good the Bento sounds on paper, it’s going to have a tough time standing out.
Image: Terrence O’Brien
Go granular
The first thing you need to know about the Bento is that it’s a sample-based groovebox. It features multisample and granular synth engines, but ultimately, everything here is based on WAV files. That means you’re not gonna have to spend hours getting under the hood of a virtual analogue patch or experimenting with different FM algorithms.
There are some seriously powerful sound design tools at your disposal, though. The granular engine is more or less the same as on the brand’s Lemondrop synth, but without live audio processing and it defaults to two-note polyphony. You can load up two WAV files, there are two LFOs, two envelopes, a modulation sequencer, dual filters, a supplementary basic oscillator and a powerful modulation matrix. It’s enough to turn basically any sound file into a compelling pad or lead sound.
The only issue here is that granular synthesis is extremely CPU intensive and 1010music is pushing the limits of what the processor here can handle. On the Lemondrop, the company gives you four-note polyphony out of the box. But on Bento, you’re limited to one granular track and two notes by default. There is an option to switch to four-note polyphony, which works well if it’s your only track. But the moment you add the overhead of other instruments, sequencing and mixing, the CPU starts to struggle. It’s still more capable than what you’ll find on something like the Polyend Tracker, however.
Even though 1010music has the wavetable-based Fireball in its Nanobox lineup, there is no wavetable engine in the Bento. Since that is just another form of sample-based synthesis it would make sense to bring it to Bento, and I’ve been told it’s a highly-requested feature. Unfortunately there’s no announcement to share at this moment.
Image: Terrence O’Brien
Sample and loop
The other engines at your disposal are more straightforward. There are multi-sample-based melodic instruments, which run the gamut from warm and realistic, through to cheap Casio awkwardness. Some patches include over 100 samples, giving you impressive depths of expression. The quality of patches ultimately boils down to the quality of the source samples, though, and how many of them there are.
These tracks also have a robust modulation matrix, though they have only a single LFO and envelope. There is a compelling digital overdrive effect too that crushes things into oblivion in a way that demands you use it to make industrial and gabber tracks.
Then there are one-shot kits, mostly used for drums and percussion. Loop kits are essentially the same as one-shot kits but, you guessed it, they play loops. This is currently the only place on the Bento where you can sample incoming audio, but more on that later. There’s also a slicer track for chopping up samples, though cutting up audio is a bit clunky unless you’re just going with the grid.
You have all the same sound design tools at your disposal basically in all of these sampling engines. The problem is, they all feel unpolished at the moment. For example, there’s no way to trim samples right now. So, you’ll need to either add your samples as pre-processed, perfect loops to the SD card, or absolutely nail recording them into the looper instrument.
Currently, there’s also no way to record samples to the one-shot kits, or build multi-sample instruments directly on the Bento, the way you might with 1010music’s Tangerine. The company told me they plan to make Bento a “full successor to the Blackbox and Tangerine”, which implies expanded sampling capabilities are in the works. The company also confirmed that the ability to build your own multisampled instruments is on the roadmap for firmware 1.2 (currently scheduled for release ahead of Knobcon on September 5). But right now Bento is more sample player than actual sampler.
The one place you can actively sample, the loop kit, is a bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side, you can set up processing beforehand so, the moment you finish recording a loop it will start playing back an octave lower, low-pass filtered and through a ton of reverb, if that’s what you want. On the downside, I find getting the timing right when recording loops very difficult. Even when relying on a threshold to automatically start recording, there seems to be a short delay that consistently cuts part of my first note.
Image: Terrence O’Brien
Sequencing with the 1010music Bento
The place where Bento is currently the weakest in my opinion, is the sequencing department. In general it feels kinda clunky and rigid, with everything quantised to the grid. It gets the job done, but it’s incredibly basic and I don’t find it particularly fun to use. Part of that is down to personal preference. Bento tries to walk a line between DAW-less and DAW-mimicry. The large seven-inch touchscreen makes navigating the user interface a breeze and offers a lot of information at a glance, but it also led 1010music to build a touch-based piano roll sequencer that would feel at home in FL Studio or Ableton Live. When I sit down with a groovebox or a hardware instrument of any kind, the last thing I want is to be reminded of my computer.
There are also no advanced sequencing features here like parameter locks or even automation. No generative or euclidean options, no ratchets or substeps. The only option you have besides velocity and note length is per-step probability. It’s possible that some will find this stripped-down graphical approach to sequencing refreshing, but I find it largely frustrating.
There are some decent live performance features here though, with the ability to quickly mix and match up to eight sequences per track similar to Live’s clip launcher.
Image: Terrence O’Brien
My final thoughts on the 1010music Bento
There are a few other things that bear mentioning. The hardware itself is a delight. The eight endless encoders are firm, the 16 pads are above average, the buttons have a satisfying click and the screen is bright. In general, it feels built to last.
My biggest critiques on the hardware front are relatively minor: the labels on the ins and outs on the back are borderline impossible to read even in ideal conditions, and the three-hour battery life claim seems rather optimistic. Even with the screen set to 30 per cent, my anecdotal experience was closer to two hours.
While other portable devices like the Move or OP-XY have built-in microphones and speakers, the Bento does not. That means you’ll at the very least need a set of headphones when you’re jamming on the couch. And if you wanted to loop yourself banging away on some fence posts, you’d need to bring a mic.
There’s also no way to preview patches, so going through the 160(ish) factory presets looking for the perfect bass is exhausting. And, if you tweak a patch to your liking, there’s no way to save it as a user preset that you can use in other projects.
1010music’s Bento has a lot of potential. But right now, that’s mostly what it is — potential. The firmware feels incomplete. The sequencer is barebones, and even the sampling features of this “sampling production lab” are extremely limited. If the company adds wavetable synthesis, enables sampling in all the engines and improves its sequencer, the Bento could be a contender. Right now, it feels out of its league.
Image: Terrence O’Brien
Key features

Granular synth engine
4 different sample engines
External audio processing
8-track sequencer
8 sequences per track
Ableton Live-style clip launcher7-inch touchscreen
16 velocity-sensitive pads
3 minijack stereo ins
3 minijack stereo outs
2 TRS MIDI inputs / 2 TRS MIDI outputs
2 USB-C ports (including host)
3-hour internal battery
Dimensions: 20.4 x 21.8 x 5.1 cm
Weight: 936g

The post The 1010music Bento could be a big league groovebox… one day appeared first on MusicTech.

Tracktion release Waveform 13.5 The latest version of Tracktion’s DAW software has arrived, delivering some significant enhancements to clip launching, track automation and overall performance. 

Chinese creditor challenges FTX motion to halt payouts in restricted countriesThe motion to pause repayments to residents of certain countries has added a new wrinkle to the FTX saga.

Oak View Group CEO Timothy Leiweke indicted by DOJ for alleged arena bid rigging schemeLeiweke 'will vigorously defend himself' said spokesperson in a statement, as Oak View Chief Exec steps down
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California lawmaker behind SB 1047 reignites push for mandated AI safety reportsCalifornia State Senator Scott Wiener on Wednesday introduced new amendments to his latest bill, SB 53, that would require the world's largest AI companies to publish safety and security protocols and issue reports when safety incidents occur.

Andi Vax TAL-DRUM - All Kits Bundle IVAndi Vax presents "TAL-DRUM - All Kits Bundle IV" The bundle contains 9 Mix-Ready Kits for TAL Software TAL-DRUM, One Shot samples (250+ samples), as well as MIDI and audio previews for each kit. All kits are also available as LOOPS. VIDEO DEMO : Chaka Kit (Inspired by Chaka Khan «Ain't Nobody»). Linn Kit (Classical Kit on Steroids for Modern Production). NIN Kit (Inspired by Nine Inch Nails «Down In It»). NIN 808 Kit (Distorted 808 kit Inspired by Nine Inch Nails). Prince Kit (Inspired by Prince «Kiss» and «Queen I've got to break free»). Roxette Kit (Inspired by Roxette «The Look»). Starship Kit (Inspired by Starship «Nothing's Gonna Stop Us Now»). Thriller Kit (Inspired by Michael Jackson «Thriller»). TopGun Kit (Inspired by Berlin «Take My Breath Away»). BONUS: 40+ Rare Percussion samples. 28 Rare Snare samples. 11 Rare Kick samples. Presets for Bass, Arp and Synths (TAL U-No, OP-X Pro 3, The Legend HZ). Presets for Relab LX480 v4 for Super Wide effect and Non Linear effect. 51 LOOPS. IN THE MIX DEMO NAKED DRUMS DEMO Requirements: TAL-Drum 2.8.2 or higher. Read More