About the author
Posts by Marcus Schmahl
Rhodes V8 Pro, GForce Oberheim TVS Pro, IK Multimedia Pianoverse MAX: 3 Strong Plugin Deals for Electric Piano, Duophonic Synth, and Grand Piano
Rhodes V8 Pro, GForce Oberheim TVS Pro, and IK Multimedia Pianoverse MAX on sale: electric piano, synth, and grand piano heavily discounted.Mac Studio M5 Max and M5 Ultra: Apple’s Most Powerful Chip Ever Is Here!
25 Aug in Tech
Apple unveils the Mac Studio M5 Max and M5 Ultra, its most powerful chip ever. 512GB unified memory and up to 80 GPU cores.
Mac mini M6 or M5 Pro: Apple Officially Unveils the New Mac Mini!
25 Aug in Tech
Apple has officially unveiled the new Mac mini M6 or M5 Pro. The M6 is Apple's first 2-nanometer chip. Pre-orders are already live.
Making Sound Machines Plinky 12: Three Synths in One, the Perfect Controller, or a Clever Concept with Some Catches? – Review
Making Sound Machines Plinky 12 review: Toadstep and Chords as studio idea generators. Is €530 worth it? Here is my studio review.iMac M6: New Apple Machine Coming With a Fresh Chip and New Colors This Year
24 Aug in Tech
Gurman reports that Apple is preparing a new iMac M6 in fresh colors. The launch is expected to take place later this year. Would that be a good fit for you?
Apple Music Finally to Label AI-Generated Songs With “Made With AI” Tag by Late 2026
21 Aug in Tech
Apple Music is (soon) rolling out a mandatory "Made With AI" label. Over a third of uploads are already fully AI-generated, but barely getting listened to.
Sound Design with Plugins: 3 Tools for New Sounds + Free Alternatives – Perfect Match!
21 Aug in Studio
Sound design with plugins is where the real magic happens. We show you three tools for shaping new sounds, plus a free alternative for each one.
Abyss II: Dawesome’s New Synth Wants You to Stop Thinking Like an Engineer
Dawesome's Abyss II drops the oscillator menus entirely, letting you shape sound through tone colors and taste instead of synthesis theory.Serum 2: Xfer Records Brings the Legendary Wavetable Synth to Linux Too — Public Beta
19 Aug in Synths
Xfer Serum 2 gets a Linux beta. A genuine industry-standard synth finally lands on a platform that usually gets left out entirely.
Minimal Audio Lucid: New Granular Effect Rebuilds Sound Grain by Grain and Is Always in Key
Minimal Audio's Lucid rebuilds any sound grain by grain into textures, harmonies, and rhythmic effects, always in key, and always locked to your session.Steinberg HALion, Acon Digital Restoration Suite 2, Safari Audio Rhino Reverb: 3 Strong Software Deals for Sampling, Audio Restoration, and Vintage Reverb
Steinberg HALion, Acon Digital Restoration Suite 2, and Safari Audio Rhino Reverb on sale: sampling, audio restoration, and vintage reverb, discounted.Max for Live: What Is It, and Which Ableton Live Resources Are You Missing Out On?
Here's how to expand what Ableton Live can do with Max for Live, a visual programming language packed with free instruments and effects.Reloop RP-2000 MK4: The Perfect Budget Turntable for Beginners?
17 Aug in DJ
With the RP-2000 MK4, German manufacturer Reloop introduces a new DJ turntable that costs little and delivers a lot.
Beatport Now Bans Fully AI-Generated Music, Effective Immediately: New Detection Tool in Action
Beatport is banning fully AI-generated music and rolling out the Beatdapp detection tool to enforce it. 77% of DJs say they want music from real artists.Sampling and Field Recording in 2026 as a Creative Process: How to Build Tracks From the World Around You
Sampling and field recording as a creative process: what gear you need, how the workflow works, and why the best sounds are waiting right outside your door.Suno Studio 2.0: MIDI, a Chat Bar, and Custom Plugins Land in the Browser-Based DAW
Suno Studio 2.0 brings MIDI, a chat bar, and custom plugins to the browser-based DAW. But does this shift the creative work away from actually playing music?Big Guitar Tone 2026: Why Does a Guitar Actually Sound Huge?
14 Aug in Guitar
Big guitar tone: a Les Paul with humbuckers, a 100-watt tube amp, a 4x12 cab, and plenty of gain? That's not always the whole story.
Producing IDM: 3 Tools for Complex Beats and Glitches – Perfect Match!
Producing IDM gets a serious boost with these three hardware tools that complement each other perfectly. A genuine Perfect Match!Suno x BMG: AI Music Platform Strikes Its 2nd important Major Label Licensing Deal
13 Aug in Tech
Suno x BMG: After Warner, BMG becomes the second major rightsholder to sign a licensing deal with the AI music platform. Universal and Sony are still suing.
Spotify Labels AI Artists With “AI Persona” Tag and Cuts Them From Recommendations
12 Aug in Tech
Spotify is rolling out the AI Persona label starting mid-September and cutting AI artist profiles from recommendations. Royalties, though, stay untouched.
Softube Reference EQs: 70 Years of Studio History, Now in Modern Plugin Form
12 Aug in Studio
Softube Reference EQs bring two legendary passive tube equalizers into plugin form, combinable with Softube's own Equalizers plugin for maximum flexibility.