Three pins, and nearly every signal in this business passes through them.

The magazine is named after the cable: the microphone in the booth, the line to the desk, the DMX run that fires the lights. Studio, stage and rig share the same cable. Most magazines pick one of the three. This one covers all of it, because the people we read do too — the engineer mixing a record on Tuesday is on front of house by Saturday.

Around a hundred and sixty sources, in English, Japanese, Spanish, German, French, Chinese and Italian: makers and their release notes, reviewers who put a hand on the thing, studios and touring crews, the producers and collectives surfacing this month and the scenes they came out of. Synths and modular, plugins and DAWs, guitars and drums, microphones, monitors, PA and lighting. What the trade is talking about is counted and plotted. The editor's letter has just started; it will find its rhythm.

For each story: a headline, a short excerpt, one picture and the link out. We never reprint the article, and the picture belongs to the maker or the photographer. A German review appears in German and a Japanese one in Japanese, as the writer published it; the link goes to the original.

Nothing is sold on this site. When a link leads to a shop, it is the maker's shop, not ours.

← XLR MAG Archive

Synth and SoftwareDAW & plugins

KORG NTS-4 Analog Performance Mixer

July 23

From @synthandsoftware - Assembly required – and that’s a good thing It’s always interesting how the most successful, durable synth manufacturers – and Korg is certainly that and a lot more – have a…

Synths Japan-made

Read at Synth and Software ↗

One letter a week, in your inbox.

Latest

KORG NTS-4 Analog Performance Mixer

Related

EuropeWe compared Akai's new MPC XL to the Live III, and the verdict is clear Audiofanzine

EuropeAkai MPC Live III: Just how far can a computer-free production station go? Audiofanzine

DAW & pluginsVintage Synths – Where’s the Missing Sine Wave Oscillator Shape? Synth and Software

EuropeWhich Groovebox Should You Choose in 2026? 8 Current Models, from the MPC Live III to the Push 3 Standalone Audiofanzine

EuropeThe 12 best free Synthesizers That Rival Paid Plug-ins Audiofanzine

MakersBehind the synth: A. G. Cook on stacked sawtooths and the creation of Super*Saw Native Instruments Blog