CDM Create Digital Music

Wish granted: VCV Rack’s Plateau is now a Eurorack module from 4ms

Peter Kirn — Thu, 07 May 2026 09:53:40 +0000

It was bound to happen. Now Eurorack hardware is emulating your computer. How the tables have turned! Or, um, mesas. But if you haven't experienced Plateau yet, get ready to find out why it's an instant favorite reverb -- and one that a whole lot of people will want in their Eurorack skiff, too. Plateau, meet 4ms Mesa.

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Make Noise and Tom Erbe have made a mighty morphing spatial Plexiphon

Peter Kirn — Thu, 07 May 2026 09:25:22 +0000

Soundhack creations endure years and decades, and now we get a new one. Think mighty morphing modeless modulation. Plexiphon is neither reverb or echo. It's both, simultaneously, for spatial textural sounds you can shift fluidly. And in my quest to avoid being consumed by a sea of modules, this one just rose way up the list.

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Elastic OSC, Plaits-derived poly, is now a macOS and Windows plug-in, too

Peter Kirn — Wed, 06 May 2026 18:06:19 +0000

Elastic OSC expands on Émilie Gillet's 24 original open-source Plaits oscillator models, adding 8-voice polyphony, expression (MPE), a modulation engine, and Elastic effects. And if that sounds like something you wish you had in your computer DAW and not just Android and iOS, now you're in luck.

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QuadTrack is a new groovebox for the Amiga (really), plus PC and Mac

Peter Kirn — Wed, 06 May 2026 11:23:50 +0000

It's the biggest Commodore Amiga news of the week: Pink Parrot Studio is launching a new "Dynamic Performance Sequencer" with powerful modulation and Trig Tools option, built for jamming right on the computer keyboard. And there's a music album to match. But don't worry: if you have one of those inferior PC or Macintosh machines, you can still get in on the fun with an emulator, no installation or setup required.

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dadamachines tbd 16: a groovebox that’s compact, capable, and open by design

Peter Kirn — Tue, 05 May 2026 16:39:11 +0000

tbd 16 does everything the other standalone grooveboxes do, but in a handheld form factor, built as an open platform that you’re free to customize, mod, and hack. Choose the engines and apps you want to use. And get them all on a compact, standalone device that rivals big-name competitors in a fraction of the […]

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Buchla Ziggy: the complex oscillator gets a friendly standalone synth

Peter Kirn — Tue, 05 May 2026 09:40:58 +0000

It's been decades in coming: what if you took the best parts of the classic Buchla complex oscillator with its, well, ziggy waveshapes, and built a friendly compact synth around it? It's all that modular fun, but in a package that lets you tweak right away without connecting a single patch cord.

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From Éliane Radigue to West Coast, Homework is a patchable wonder

Peter Kirn — Mon, 04 May 2026 18:48:57 +0000

It's a modular week, yes, but here are things you can never have too much of: great food, open beaches, modular environments, and Giorgio Sancristoforo sound playgrounds. So here's Homework, a 4-track cassette recorder, retro effects including granular processor and tape echo, and modular synths inspired by Buchla and ARP. It's all you need to recreate some Éliane Radigue-inspired drones and float away on a sea of noise.

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Play together with Ableton Live: how Circle of Live sets up for improvisation

Peter Kirn — Mon, 04 May 2026 09:52:54 +0000

"It's okay to not have a plan -- it's okay to just jump and see what happens": Circle of Live is an event that brings together artists for spontaneous improvised performance. Ableton filmed Clark, Rival Consoles, Sebastian Mullaert, and the organizers at a recent event. Here's what we can learn from how they work (plus some more Circle of Live selections).

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Link Audio, now in Max, Pd, VCV Rack, TouchDesigner, oF, and plug-ins, free

Peter Kirn — Sun, 03 May 2026 15:16:09 +0000

Ableton Live 12.4 is inbound, with Link Audio support coming to Live, Move, Note, and Push. But Live Audio can also be about routing audio over a network to other hosts, too. Julien Bayle (VOID) has an early, open-source implementation. If you're ready to start experimenting even while this API is still in alpha, you've got a wide variety of sound and visual tools to try, all for free.

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For May Day, United Musicians and Allied Workers shares wins, goals

Peter Kirn — Fri, 01 May 2026 22:45:20 +0000

Today is May Day, the original date for Labor Day, or a pagan date to drive away evil spirits. Actually -- why not both? For today's International Workers' Day, United Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) is sharing some optimism, as it takes on justice for musicians in the era of streaming and AI.

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