Author: admin_musicTang78

We’re just a few months into 2025, and it’s already been a fantastic year for orchestral freebies with the latest offer Orchestral Tools’ Berlin Free Orchestra for SINE Player. Sonixinema’s Delicate Strings and Sona/Chroma by Tempest Audio are two real standouts. If we go back to the end of last year, we can throw in Tokyo Scoring Strings from Impact Soundworks, too. It’s a great moment, and long may it continue! This time around, we’ve got Berlin Free Orchestra from Orchestral Tools. Berlin Free Strings is compatible with the latest version of Orchestral Tools SINE Player (also free). If you’re…

The classic soft synth TyrellN6 is known and loved by the audio community for its fat, gritty, analog-like sound and boundless retro appeal. Initially hosted as freeware at amazona.de, the synth is now at home at u-he.com with some brand-new features. TyrellN6 has an interesting origin story. It was supposed to end up as a real hardware synth designed by Amazona but became a VST cult classic instead. Although the initial idea of a hardware synth never came to fruition, the man behind u-he, Urs Heckmann, took it upon himself to program a synth engine, and the rest is history.…

Last year we were saddened to hear that the Sam Ash music store chain closed its doors after 99 years of operation. Brick and mortar retail is tough and getting tougher by the day as so many of us choose to buy our gear online, so the closing wasn’t entirely surprising. Still, those of us that grew up with the chain shed a tear when the news was announced. Thankfully, the brand is not gone for good, as Sam Ash has now reappeared as on online entity called Sam Ash Direct. As Director of E-Commerce for Sam Ash Direct and…

Ink Audio has released Alt Tines for Kontakt, introducing a different take on classic electric pianos. Ink Audio offers a diverse range of Kontakt libraries, from slide guitars to synth pads and vocal rhythms. If you’re in the market for new Kontakt sounds, Ink Audio is having a sale with 50% off all individual libraries and bigger savings on bundles. If you want to get straight to the free stuff, check out Alt Tines (requires a full version of Kontakt 6.8 or higher). Alt Tines is a library that takes an interesting approach to classic electric piano sounds, like the…

UJAM has partnered with the Bob Moog Foundation and synth ace Alex Ball to release Vox Humana, a recreation of an iconic Polymoog 280A preset. The Vox Humana soft synth is available for $19, and 100% of proceeds go directly to the Bob Moog Foundation. The Polymoog 280A hit the scene in 1978, and around a year later, a young Gary Numan featured the synth on his first and most successful single, “Cars.” “Cars” remains one of the most prominent examples of the Polymoog 280A in use, specifically, the Vox Humana preset. A quick listen to the demo will tell…

Xfer Records Serum has been around forever and remains one of the most popular soft synths of the last decade. Now, they have released Serum 2. Tomislav reviewed the original release way back in 2015, and one of my favorite lines from that review is: “It is a rare example of a complex instrument that is easy to use and a powerful instrument which is equally enjoyable for beginners and sound design experts.” Serum is a mighty synth, but not one that beginners need to avoid. Serum 2 promises much more than the original, and it is available for $189 with special…

Milkboy’s Baldwin “Fun Machine” Organ sample library for Decent Sampler is now available for free. Do you want the warm analog sound of a mid-70s organ from the legendary Milkboy the Studio in your DAW? Then you should look into the free sound library of samples from the Baldwin Interlude Model 155, also known as the “Fun Machine”, made by Dave Hilowitz for Decent Sampler. The instrument sounds very interesting, dare I say modern at times. You could get a lot of mileage out of this for your next dungeon synth jam, rock band, or knob-twiddling project in general. I…

Production Expert and Klevgrand are currently offering Klevgrand’s Richter Tectonic Compressor (normally $70) for free. Richter is a macOS and Windows release for AAX, AU, VST, and VST3.  Production Expert announced the giveaway in a post dated March 15, 2025. The company didn’t list an end date for the giveaway, but as the plugin is still listed at full price on Klevgrand’s website, we can assume the freebie probably won’t be available forever.  To claim your free plugin, visit the Klevgrand website’s giveaway page and log in or create an account.  When I went to create an account, the mandatory…

In this week’s podcast episode, my guest is musician, book and magazine publisher, and artist Mike Lawson, who also happens to be my book publishing champion. Mike was the person who took a chance on me to publish my first book, and then most of my subsequent 20+ books after that.  He’s since gone on to become the owner and publisher of notable publications like School Band and Orchestra and Musical Merchandise Review magazines. If those credits were Mike’s only claim to fame it would be pretty substantial, but he’s also continued to be a working musician having recorded and/or performed…

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