The Bitwig round table: a decade of innovation

In 2014, a DAW landed that not only rattled the industry's big players, but brought a workflow that encouraged experimentation. To celebrate ten years of Bitwig Studio, we brought its key figures around a table to reflect on a journey that’s still they promise just starting...

Sampleson Drumbada

IF you're searching for more dynamic and rhythmically complex drums, Drumbada can help you change up the pace

Ray Volpe

A titan of the bass scene, showered with acclaim by both his peers and an enraptured audience, Ray Volpe's contemporary spin on dubstep is both earth-shakingly impactful and sonically multi-hued. We caught up with Volpe and discover how he assembles his brand of crowd-pleasing ultra-bangers fully in-the-box...

JASON GRAVES

Harnessing sounds wrangled from a bespoke, hand-crafted sculpture, alongside a legendary synth and a deft mastery of software-shaping tools, composer Jason Graves further justifies his position of the world’s most in-demand score providers with nis latest project the oil rig-set horror Still Wakes the Deep...

A virtual future?

Like many tech-focused magazines, we've been entranced by the latest glut of augmented and virtual reality headset releases from the likes of Apple and Meta. Our question: how good are they from a music production POV?

LOLCOMP LITE CM

As much as we love creating chains from scratch, for quicker results, Computer Musics very own edition of LOLCOMP Lite could be just What youre after, and it’s free with this month's issue

Everyone loves an efficiency hack, so if you're looking for ways to cut valuable time from your mixing process, then it's time to join the chain gang...

When we mix, it would be ideal if we could load up a simple one-knob-style plugin, choose a preset, set an amount and simply move onto the next sound.

BLEASS Arpeggiator

Classic synth-based arpeggiators' up-down patterns can be tedious, says Stuart Adams. Can Arpeggiator bring the variability he craves?

Synthogy Ivory 3 German D

One of the most highly regarded piano libraries around gets an update. Does it strike a chord with our reviewer, Herr Roland Schmidt?

MODALICS BITFUZZER

Distortion can be a great effect for enlivening and mashing up sounds, and this month we've got you a plugin that can do both

RADICAL RHYTHMS

From pepping up basic grooves to creating full-on 4/4-flouting madness, learn a multitude of timing tricks with our classic guide

SEDIBUS

Detaching from The Orb mothership, Sedibus is the latest project of core figurehead Alex Paterson, accompanied by former Orb-member and key creative collaborator Andy Falconer. With a studio shorthand and a shared passion for flourishing ambient textures, the pair's second record SETI gazes skyward for its inspiration. We spoke to Andy to learn more...

Sidechain compression

Sidechain compression is an excellent mixing tool and in this tutorial we pick apart this essential process

How to make a rave-style techno track

Prepare to get fists in the air as we learn the tools, tricks and tempos for nailing the basics of rave-ready techno

Make a filter kick bass with BazilleCM

Following our deep-dive into the oscillator section of BazilleCM, we follow the signal flow to create a filter-thumping bass sound

MARIA W HORN

An avid explorer of sound's spectral properties, Maria W Horn's work realises the potential of long-forgotten spaces. Via instrumental textures, room responses, the human voice and a specialised computer language, she synthesises entirely new sonics. We heard more about her processes and the at-times chilling story behind her affecting new album, Panoptikon

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CREATIVE REVERB

Reverb has been relied on for its evocative sonic character ever since the first homo sapien warbled expletives into a dark cave. The transformative power of space is still a vital mix ingredient

Wavetick: forging an equitable music market

Promising an artist-focused service that gives musicians, beatmakers and producers a free marketplace to trade their sonic wares, Wavetick aims to disrupt the current sample website paradigm in the creator's favour. Let's find out more...

Moog Mariana

Looking for absorbent synth bass sounds? Moog's new software synth bass plumbs new trench-like depths, Roland Schmidt submerges...

Craft Avicii-style melodies

We pay tribute to the modern dance pioneer who, in his short time, set a standard for songwriting in the genre

15 questions with... Canblaster

It's becoming increasingly common to find electronic artists and creatives having a hand in the development of the types of creative tools they themselves want to use.

PETRI ALANKO

Weaving the dramatic and tension-stoking soundtrack to one of the most critically acclaimed games of the last year, Petri Alanko built a score for Alan Wake 2 that harnessed an arsenal of plugins with DIY instruments and a huge array of hardware and software synths. We spoke to Petri about his idiosyncratic approach and its exhilarating results

THE GREAT - SYNTH SHOWDOWN

Grab your favourite softsynths and let us take you on a journey into their evolution. Learn how to get more out of them and see how they stack up next to the pioneers that inspired them. Yes, we're pitting some software against hardware, and on the way, expect to pick up one or two things...

Ableton Live 12's accessibility revolution

Ableton's Accessibility Specialist Adi Dickens and blind musician Andre Louis speak to us about Live 12 and Note's improved accessibility for the visually impaired

Leapwing Audio: their own best customers

One of the mixing world's most prolific software innovators, Leapwing Audio's incredible range of intuitive, incisive plugins have let users perform forensic mix surgery with ease, with the company's sideline in emulating the tones of iconic producers merely the cherry on the cake. We gave 'em a call...

UVI Synth Anthology 4 $149 PC MAC

From the very old to the über new, UVI's latest library has been collated with care. Roland Schmidt blows off the dust on some classics

Raül Refree and Pedro Vian

With its enrapturing mesh of prepared piano, positive organ and dense synth textures, Font de la Vera Pau is the blissful collaborative debut from celebrated producer Raül Refree and electronic musician and sound designer Pedro Vian. We spoke to the Barcelona-based pair to learn more about their process

PSP Audioware BinAmp $99 PC MAC

We are taught to not judge a book by its cover… keep this in mind when first looking at BinAmp, says the ever-erudite Stuart Adams

Mixing Night Audio: pro results with LOLS

Born out of their popular series of YouTube-based producer masterclasses, Mixing Night Audios quirky and innovative first releases have turned quite a few heads with both their gamified design and pro-level results. We catch up with the company’s respected founders to discuss LOLCOMP the underpinning idea, and how their technology serves to arm their audience

Germanic Monos + Bass

Were taking the autobahn back in time to tap the sound of those 1970s German pioneers. We'll throw in some deep bass for good measure. KUhI!