Marcus feels at home in software, recording gear, and synthesizers. Beyond his work as an author, he's a music producer, mix and mastering engineer, sound designer, live performer, DJ, and lecturer (including at SAE). At GEARNEWS.de & GEARNEWS.com he's Editor-in-Chief, and he has also written for bonedo, DJ Mag and other magazines. Based in Mainz, Germany, he's worked across strikingly different projects over the decades: touring as Broombeck and Guardner (including a live show at Berghain), as one half of 2pole with the Beatport number one hit "Alone feat. Ursula Rucker", and under his own name as Marcus Schmahl. He's released on a wide range of respected labels, produced music for film, broadcast and advertising across genres from pop to techno to ambient, and holds two gold records. His technical background as a graduate electrical engineer shows in his productions just as much as his musical instinct. And even though his catalog already runs to more than 2,000 releases, the story of Marcus Schmahl is far from over.
Are locking tuners a worthwhile upgrade for every guitarist? What's actually true about the tuning stability myth? Let's find out together.
suru.music wants to bring SoundCloud, Dropbox, and Discord together into one ecosystem for music producers. Here's my take after months of testing.
Less latency, more precision when isolating: zplane's PEEL STEMS 2 takes a big step closer to genuine real-time stem separation.
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BEATSURFING VRAC turns any audio source into a complete drum kit via XY morphing. Kicks, snares, and hi-hats from your own sounds. Free!
Ableton Live, Push, and Move each play a distinct role in the same ecosystem. Here's how the trio covers beat-making, songwriting, and live performance.
Available now!
Teenage Engineering OP-XY 1.1.15 brings project templates, rotate trigs, a new system monitor, and up to 16 patterns per track. Here's what's in the update.
Logic Pro 12.3 updates Beat Breaker with new filter and panning modes, adds Granular Sync to Alchemy, and throws in a fresh sound pack. Here's what's new.
Korg synthesizer plugins, XLN Audio DB-30 Drum Butter, and Mastering The Mix REFERENCE 3 are heavily discounted right now. These deals are worth it!
Apple's M-Series skips the M6 Pro and M6 Max entirely. An M7 is already in the works. Here's what that means for the long-awaited touchscreen MacBook, Gurman explains.
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Tracktion Waveform Free 14 brings a new interface, an AI assistant, and a reworked audio engine. And it's still completely free.
D16 Group's PunchBox 2 brings a wavetable engine, a new FX rack, and pitch detection to kick design. What does the sequel bring to the table?
No outlet, no problem: pack a battery-powered speaker, a standalone controller, and the right headphones, and your DJ setup to go is ready to roll.
The Thomann Beatmaking Contest 2026 challenges you to build your own beat from an exclusive sample pack. Got what it takes to win? You've got two weeks!
The Atlantic's AI training data investigation into Suno and Udio uncovers over 20 million songs. Is your music in there too? Test it for free right now!
Celemony Melodyne 5, SSL Native Channel Strip 2, and Plugin Alliance Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor Class A are heavily discounted right now. Don't miss out!
The world's largest music retailer is defending Harley Benton and other manufacturers in court. Here's the official statement: Thomann Sues Fender.
The best guitarists of all time without the Pink Floyd mastermind? Unthinkable. We dig into David Gilmour's gear: guitars, amps, and more.
TourBox Elite Plus review: is this little multi-button dial controller worth it for DAW, video, and photo editing? This is my review!
Melodic Techno Hardware: Three gear combos for wide pads, synth melodies and driving grooves, with a budget and higher-end option for each. Our perfect match.
Tim Cook calls the Apple price increase "unavoidable." What's really going on, and what does it mean for your next studio Mac?
Moog Mariana, Sonnox Oxford Inflator Native, and Slate Digital Virtual Tape Machines on sale: bass synth, loudness plugin, and tape emulation at a discount.
The Stokyo Record Runner BT is a miniature VW Bus that drives along your record grooves and plays them back, now with Bluetooth and an Audio Technica cartridge.
Genki Instruments Katla review: Voice Rotating Polysynth from Iceland. Is €4,990 worth it? Here's my studio verdict.
Sidechain compression in techno: From classic compressors to multiband sidechain, with plugin and hardware recommendations. Here's how it works!