Electronic Musician

The new ELECTRONIC MUSICIAN is a “must have” resource for anyone who makes music, plays music, and shares music. Every issue includes "gig tested" product reviews on music gear, tons of how-to's, and interviews with today's stars revealing the secrets of their songwriting approaches and audio-production concepts.

Digital history

Editor's choice

Electronic Musician US

NEW GEAR • ROLAND'S NEW AIRA COMPACTS PUTS TR DRUMS, 303S AND JUNOS IN YOUR POCKET

Blue Cat Audio PolyVibe

RETRO DIGITAL • Let's forget analog for a minute and delve into some of the pioneering gear and musical approaches taken as the digital revolution swept the planet

Noisy reverb tails • Hardware reverbs of the '80s usually offered lower sample rates than we're used to today, providing crunchier, grittier decay phases

Roland‘s sample and synthesis sounds • Roland‘s D series synths combined ROM-based samples with a digital synth engine to offer new sonic possibilities

QUICK TIPS

Early drum & bass breaks • Let's create a drum & bass break by first preparing our own, programmed source material at half-speed

Creating Wavestation-era sequences • The Korg Wavestatien was great for creating ‘wave sequences', note patterns which pulsed or move sinuously. Here's how to ape the idea

BREAKBOT AND IRFANE • The disco-funk double act from France spill the beans on their latest tunes…

THE ART OF SYNTH SOLOING Snarky Soloist • How Snarky Puppy do it - revealed.

EASY GUIDE Relative & parallel scales • Get your head around the difference between these concepts and your songwriting vocabulary will be all the richer for it

BLAST FROM THE PAST E-mu Emulator • In 1981 a modular synth manufacturer came up with an instrument so new and groundbreaking that even they weren't sure what to do with it

Three great plugin alternatives

Sequential Take 5 • Sequential have taken the core ingredients of the Prophet-5 and repackaged them into a more compact and contemporary synth. But does it add anything new?

COMPARING TAKE 5 WITH A PROPHET-5

GForce Software M-Tron MkII • If vintage kudos and retro styling appeal to you, the latest update from GForce Software may provide some contemporary inspiration too

An accompaniment concept!

ASM Hydrasynth Deluxe • The original Hydrasynth made an impressive debut for ASM. Does the new model add extra magic?

DELUXE MULTI MODE

Audiomodern Playbeat 3 • A virtual drummer like no other, Playbeat 3 not only suggests rhythmic strategies, but opens an online ecosystem of creative sample sharing

One I made earlier

Universal Audio Spark • With a seismic change in plugin policy, one of the world's most renowned audio companies hopes to spark your imagination… without hardware

Post-production conundrum!

Casio PX-S3100 • Have Casio made “the world's slimmest digital stage piano without compromising on sound”?

AudioThing Noises • Ever felt inspired by background hums and whirrs? Award-winning soundsmith Hainbach has made a plugin that takes them further…

A noise does not annoy!

Novation FLkey Mini and FLkey 37 • Novation introduce the first dedicated MIDI keyboards for FL Studio, in 37-key and Mini formats. Let's get fruity…

PADS VS KEYS

Audiotent Ether: Pigments Presets

THE DIY GUIDE TO RELEASING YOUR MUSIC • Because what‘s the point of creating music if nobody is ever going to hear it…?

Gather your assets • Prior to launch it's very important to gather any assets you will need. We've already talked about artwork and videos for your music, but you also need to gather assets pertaining to you as an artist as well.

The big...