Audio gear reviews
Detailed reviews of the latest products, from synths to podcasting gear and beyond.
Latest
Bastl Microgranny Monolith review: Vintage sampling grit in a portable package
The Bastl Instruments Microgranny Monolith is a portable lofi sampler and granular processor with tons of character.
Terrence O'Brien02.06.2023
Razzmatazz review: A delightful (and delightfully pink) drum machine
1010music's Razzmatazz is a playfully pink and deceptively powerful drum machine that fits in a pocket.
Terrence O'Brien12.27.2022
Arturia's Pigments 4 adds new effects and a simplified interface
Arturia's Pigments gets a new filter, shimmer reverb and simplified UI options.
Terrence O'Brien12.14.2022
East Beast and West Pest review: Affordable intros to the addictive world of modular synths
Cre8Audio's East Beast and West Pest are $250 semi-modular synths that deliver incredible value.
Terrence O'Brien12.01.2022
7910079100Victrola's Stream Carbon turntable works seamlessly with Sonos, at a price
Victrola's Stream Carbon turntable is a well-built, expensive device that can stream your records wirelessly to any Sonos speaker. It's easy to set up and sounds great, but the $800 price point makes it a tough sell.
Nathan Ingraham11.23.2022
Teenage Engineering’s Record Factory is a DIY musician’s dream
The Record Factory PO-08 is a super satisfying way to make a lo-fi mono record.
Roberto Baldwin11.18.2022
Moog resurrects Moogerfooger effects as a collection of digital plugins
After being discontinued in 2018 Moog is bringing Moogerfooger effects back as a collection of plugins.
Terrence O'Brien10.21.2022
Arturia MiniLab 3 hands-on: A big upgrade for a budget MIDI controller
Arturia's MiniLab 3 adds a full sized MIDI ports, an arpeggiator, faders and improves DAW integration.
Terrence O'Brien10.19.2022
Arturia’s MiniFreak is a weird-but-powerful digital synth at a great price
Arturia's MiniFreak is weird and powerful digital synth that builds on success of the MicroFreak in exciting ways.
Terrence O'Brien10.19.2022
Erica Synths Pērkons review: A uniquely thunderous drum machine
Pērkons is a uniquely thunderous drum machine. But at $2,059 you need to be in love with its quirks.
Terrence O'Brien10.07.2022
Arturia's Dist Coldfire might be the only distortion plugin you need
Arturia threw everything and the kitchen sink in Coldfire, its one-stop dirt shop.
Terrence O'Brien08.31.2022
Archetype: Rabea is an all-in-one virtual guitar rig that’s also a synth
Neural DSP built its first guitar synth for Archetype: Rabea and basically nailed it.
Terrence O'Brien08.17.2022
Universal Audio’s amp sim pedals are an affordable route to convincing tube amp sounds
The $400 UAFX Amp Emulator pedals are the most convincing recreations of tube amps I've played.
Terrence O'Brien07.13.2022
Moog Mavis review: A surprisingly deep entry-level synth
Mavis is a pseudo-DIY monophonic semi-modular synth that delivers classic Moog sounds for cheap.
Terrence O'Brien06.15.2022
Focusrite Vocaster hands-on: Streamlined audio interfaces built for podcasters
The Vocaster's auto gain, enhance and loopback features make it easy to get pro-sounding audio.
Terrence O'Brien06.01.2022
Launchkey 88 brings a luxurious keybed to a budget MIDI controller
Novation's latest Lauchkey controller has an expansive 88-key semi-weighted keybed.
Terrence O'Brien05.26.2022
Arturia V Collection 9 grows to 32 virtual instruments
Arturia's V Collection goes beyond vintage synths with the new Augmented Voices and Strings.
Terrence O'Brien05.10.2022
Roland's $199 Aira Compact series are a serious play for the entry level
The $199 Aira Compact line delivers classic Roland sounds. But the E-4 Voice Tweaker is a standout.
Terrence O'Brien05.10.2022
The Chase Bliss Habit helped me enjoy making music again
The Chase Bliss Habit is an experimental delay, a freeform looper and it's just plain fun.
Terrence O'Brien04.28.2022
Novation's first keyboard for FL Studio offers a lot of utility for $200
The FLKey 37 and FLKey Mini put FL Studio's most important features at your fingertips.
Terrence O'Brien04.14.2022