Table of contents for January 2020 in Future Music

WELCOME 10 years on… Looking back on the past decade of electronic music making, it’s remarkable how much has – and hasn’t – changed. As with anything technology-related, ten years is a long time, and comparing the DAWs, plugins and digital synths we were using in 2009 to their 2010 counterparts, it’s undoubtedly remarkable how much more power producers have at their fingertips. As much as things have moved forward though, some things never seem to change. ’80s classics still dominate the sound of dance music in 2019 and, thanks to an assortment of reissues, reworks and ‘tributes’, 808 and 909 grooves, M1 pads and DX7 chords are still everywhere. (Not that I’m complaining – I’m as much a sucker for a classic house groove or ’90s hardcore revival as…

The Future Of Music Behringer release a 303 clone and a multichannel digital mixer TD-3 and Wing mixer are available to pre-order now Behringer’s seemingly endless line of analogue ‘tribute’ synths marches on, as the company unveil their 2019 take on Roland’s classic 303 bassline synth. Unlike Roland’s Boutique TB-03, the TD-3 is fully analogue, and promises to reproduce the analogue circuitry from the original 303. It adds distortion circuitry that’s based on the Boss DS-1 guitar pedal, along with several front panel I/O ports for inputing external signals, analogue sync input and outputs for gate and CV. The TD-3 also adds a USB connection for MIDI as well as full-sized MIDI in and out ports. The sequencer is based on the 303's, but adds extra modern features. It has…

GEAR OF THE YEAR Professional 2019: HIGH-END SYNTHS THE WINNER Novation Summit Novation’s desktop synth Peak took the synth top spot in our 2017 Gear Of The Year list, so it’s hardly surprising that Summit – effectively two Peaks combined – follows in its footsteps. As with its smaller sibling, Summit is a stunning blend of analogue and digital tech, making use of characterful filter and distortion circuits combined with powerful, FPGA-powered digital oscillators. With twice the power under the hood, Summit ups the voice count to 16 and is fully bi-timbral, making it even better at complex, layered sounds. This is more than simply two Peaks in one box though; more hands-on control, additional I/O and the new FX Mod tools mean it’s possible to wring even more out…

GEAR OF THE DECADE 2010-2019: FIVE TRENDS THAT DEFINED THE DECADE Analogue affordability 1 At the beginning of 2010, genuinely analogue synths didn’t come cheap. The closest thing to an ‘affordable’ analogue instrument was Dave Smith’s Mopho monosynth – something of an anomaly with a price point just sneaking under the £300 mark. Ten years on and there’s no shortage of excellent analogue monosynths available for the same price – Korg Monologue, Arturia MicroBrute, IK Uno, Behringer Neutron… you’re spoilt for choice. You can even pick up a West Coast semi-modular (Korg Volca Modular) or analogue 303 clone (Behringer TD-3) and still have change from £150. While the Mopho was a trailblazer, Korg arguably kickstarted the affordable analogue wave, first with 2010’s Monotron pocket synth, then its Monotribe successor…

GEAR OF THE YEAR 2019: DAWS & EFFECTS THE WINNER Bitwig Studio 3 Bitwig have been talking up the ‘modular’ future of their DAW from the beginning. With v3, that finally came to fruition with The Grid – a device that offers an open-ended environment with more than 150 fully-patchable modules. Fully stereo, equipped with an endless array of modulators and MPEready, the creative depth of The Grid can’t be overstated, yet Bitwig have made the whole thing feel user-friendly thanks to its clean design and help system. It cements Bitwig Studio’s position as possibly the most creative DAW on the market. BEST FOR: HARDWARE INTEGRATION With its open controller API and plug-and-play MPE compatibility, Bitwig Studio plays nice with any MIDI controller. With MIDI, CV and gate I/O,…

GEAR OF THE YEAR 2019: SEQUENCE & GROOVE THE WINNER Pioneer DJ Toraiz Squid With a street price over £500, Pioneer DJ’s Squid is relatively expensive as pad-based sequencers go, but there’s a lot of functionality here to justify that outlay. On the I/O front, the Squid combines USB, multiple MIDI outputs, two channels of CV and gate, pulse clock in and out, and DIN sync connections. Essentially, there’s not likely to be much in your studio that can’t take its orders from Pioneer’s hardware hub. The Squid is about more than just I/O though, with plenty of inspiring tools allowing users to get really creative with both rhythmic percussion and polyphonic melodic parts. For electronic musicians who want hands-on control of hardware grooves, this is a great tool. BEST…

GEAR OF THE YEAR 2019: STUDIO GEAR THE WINNER SSL SiX Solid State Logic are associated with large format desks, renowned for their quality but also positioned out of reach of small-scale studios and most electronic producers. SiX is their answer to that: a compact and, in relative terms, affordable, all-analogue mixer designed for smaller studios and live use. With a price a little over £1,000, SiX is still a lot of money for a six channel mixer, and it’s a shame not to see an audio interface onboard, but the EQs and compressors do exactly what you’d want from an SSL, and an additional 12 master bus inputs make this a great tool for summing. BEST FOR: THAT FAMOUS ‘GLUE’ A major element of SSL gear’s appeal lies…

REVIEWS Dreadbox NYX 2 €539 It may look like other semi-modular desktop synths but, as Si Truss finds out, this dual-filtered module is a unique and fascinating beast… NYX 2 is a compact semi-modular monosynth equipped with a 30-point patchbay. Desktop analogue synths aren’t in short supply these days, and semi-modular patchability seems to be the height of fashion; even within Dreadbox’s own range, the NYX 2 faces competition from the similarly sized and spec’d Erebus. So what has this updated NYX got that makes it stand out from the crowd? As with the first generation NYX, the main USP is the dual analogue filters, which come with a broad range of routing options allowing for some interesting sound design possibilities. There are two oscillators feeding into these two filters…

FM | ADVICE X-stand that can hold modules? We’ve been looking for a solution to this for years (an X-style keyboard stand attachment that holds our other gigging/rack modules) and recently found a solution. A UK company called Obelisque Design makes a modular attachment system that clips over the ends of the stand and holds modules to the side of your keyboard or underneath. Check ’em out at obelisquedesign.co.uk/ams-stands Do I need Apple’s new Mac Pro? While the previous ‘trash can’ Mac Pro was nice and compact, it wasn’t easily expandable, and reports suggested that the machine’s quirky design made it difficult to update. For the new Mac Pro, Apple have gone back to a slightly more traditional tower shape, albeit one that’s still pretty small, and looks like a…

Gear Guide DAWS Reason Studios Reason 11 from $69 Full Review: FM350 Having the ability to use Reason’s Rack tools as a plugin is something of a revelation, and the new effects are great. Bitwig Studio 3 $399 Full Review: FM348 A powerful, inspiring update that further cements Bitwig Studio’s stake as the creative producer’s DAW of choice. Steinberg Cubase Pro 10 £480 Review FM340 Despite some niggles, this is a solid update to an excellent DAW; the new features could potentially do away with third-party tools. Tracktion Waveform 10 from $199 Review: FM345 Waveform is now friendlier, contains more creative tools and brings workflow ideas you’ll have missed from other DAWs. Ableton Live 10 €349 Review: FM329 Live 10 is a quality update to one of the best DAWs…

Gear Guide DRUM MACHINES & SAMPLERS Roland MC-707 $999 Full Review: FM349 It lags behind some rivals on the sampling front, but on the whole the 707 is a powerful and well-designed groovebox. A welcome return for the company’s MC line. Elektron Model: Samples £410 Full Review: FM346 Model:Samples is immediate and affordable, but still retains much of Elektron’s deep and creative sequencing tools. If you can cope without the more advanced tools, this is a good buy. Elektron Digitakt £659 Review: FM320 With deep sequencing and a powerful sound engine, Digitakt is the ‘affordable’ Elektron groovebox we’ve been dreaming of. Elektron Analog RYTM £1,499 Review: FM331 Though the MK1 remains a great box, there are plenty of reasons to upgrade to the MKII – user sampling, individual outs, and…

Cubase 10.5 is here: what’s new in Steinberg’s DAW update? Let’s deal with a couple of Cubase Pro exclusives first, starting with the Spectral Comparison EQ. This is a new mode in the Channel EQ that enables you to compare the spectral components of two audio signals, making it easier to adjust and balance your mix. The self-explanatory Import Tracks From Projects feature has been revised with support for additional track types (Group, FX and Folder tracks) and an Auto Map function that aligns imported tracks with the same name as existing ones. Of course, there are new plugins, too, and the good news is that the Padshop 2 synth is included in both the Pro and Artist versions of Cubase 10.5. This is a granular and spectral instrument that…

GEAR OF THE YEAR 2019: COMPACT SYNTHS THE WINNER Korg Minilogue XD Offering four analogue voices at a very reasonable price point, it’s little surprise that Korg’s original Minilogue proved to be one of the most popular hardware synths of recent years. For all its versatility though, there’s arguably a case to be made that the Minilogue lacked its own distinct character. No such criticism can be levelled at this follow-up though; the addition of a digital oscillator and a meatier – if less flexible – filter, make the XD a unique-sounding instrument at this price. The addition of the Prologue’s user-customisable digital oscillator and effect engines increases its appeal dramatically too, meaning it can load fascinating third-party sound-shaping tools from the likes of Sinevibes and more. BEST FOR:…

GEAR OF THE YEAR 2019: SOFTWARE SYNTHS THE WINNER Kilohearts Phase Plant Phase Plant certainly isn’t the first software synth with a modular design, but it’s arguably the most sleek and user-friendly take on the idea we’ve tried. Its powerful oscillator section combines virtual analogue, wavetable and sampling sound generators, which can be easily patched and routed to achieve a variety of phase and frequency modulation effects. The incorporation of Kilohearts’ ‘Snapin’ effects system adds to the flexibility too, offering a fully modular, expandable range of processors for use both in the synth and standalone. It’s Phase Plant’s simple click-and-drag modulation system that brings this synth to life though, allowing almost any parameter to be modulated from any source – with little clutter. BEST FOR: SOUND DESIGN INSPIRATION Phase…

GEAR OF THE DECADE 2010-2019: THE SOUNDS THAT DEFINED THE DECADE For better or – often – worse, these techniques and sounds dominated the decade in electronic music. Massive bass wobbles A bastardisation of the sub-focused British dubstep sound, the 2010s’ version of ‘dubstep’ was dominated by mid-range heavy bass patches characterised by sync’d, LFO-driven wobbles. Skrillex, often seen as the driving force behind the sound, revealed he used FM8 to create most of his patches, but the sound is most often associated with NI’s Massive – its complex modulation tools and aggressive wavetables made it perfect for these kinds of sounds. By the mid-’10s literally every new synth and plugin came equipped with at least one ‘wobble bass’ preset. Eurorack jams © Tommy Jackson/Redferns There’s a slightly snide…

GEAR OF THE DECADE 2010-2019: TOP BEATMAKERS, SAMPLERS AND SEQUENCERS Elektron Octatrack 1 Lacking much in the way of DAWcompatibility, even the MkII OctaTrack looks a little old fashioned compared to some contemporary hardware. However, even eight years later nobody has released a sampler with the depth and complexity of the OctaTrack. Deep sampling, looping, sequencing and effects manipulation make this one for the ages. Korg Volca Beats (2013) 2 One of the original Volca trio, this isn’t hugely characterful, but has its charms. It’s a marvel though, for giving us real analogue drum sounds in a compact, portable and wallet-friendly package. Roland TR-8 (2014) 3 After years of ignoring their legacy, Roland returned to the classics. Slightly garish looking and – disappointing to some – not analogue, the…

Jack Boston The Track Creating The Place’s guitar and string parts Jack uses a combination of original recordings and samples to create his lush, liquid DnB soundscapes 01 > “When I first started writing this tune I picked up a nylon acoustic guitar and the loop came into my head,” begins Jack. “I double-tracked it with a steel acoustic guitar, then panned them. They were slightly detuned and the nylon is a little bit flat which means you get a natural chorusing between the two.” 02 > “Next I wanted to add some bass guitar with Spectrasonics Trilian,” Jack continues. “It’s kind of chording, not something you’d usually hear in bass, but it adds harmonic content. It’s quite a mid-range-y bass.” 03 > “Then I found…

Producer’s Guide To Using ‘pivot chords’ for more unusual harmonic moves Using one note as a constant, you can pivot between seemingly ‘unrelated’ chords 01 > We start with a basic piano sound and record F two # major chords . Harmonically . The first is , C it’ major s hard , the to make second sense of these chords next to each other as they share no notes. Which one is more important? How do they relate to each other? 02 > Let’s take two other major chords side by side. This time, we’re using C major and F major. These two sound completely comfortable. Not only is there the note ‘C’ in both chords, all of the notes in the F major chord exist within the scale…

RETROSPECTIVE Grime Rising from the ashes of UK garage, grime heralded a new era for UK music © Dave Tonge/Getty Images If you asked 100 music fans to name a grime artist, we’d hazard a guess that almost all would name an MC. The vocalist is the public face of the sound, but the genre is underpinned by a sprawling, web of players supporting the figureheads: DJs, producers, pirate radio, raves, sound clashes and record labels. In the very late ’90s, the sound of UK garage began to harden, as acts like So Solid Crew began to explore tougher sounds. The collective’s 2000 single Dilemma is widely considered a forerunner of the grime sound proper, with sparse, staccato rhythms, cold instrumentation and bass-heavy production. Various London producers latched onto similar…

SPACE MODULATIONS As with the original, the synth comes equipped with an onboard reverb effect. Here that’s updated with a new algorithm and additional controls allowing for modulation of the effect itself. This modulation is provided by a random voltage generator, which has a Rate slider to dictate the speed at which it produces new values and a Wave control for smoothing the modulation waveform. The reverb itself can be shaped by controls for Feed (ie decay) and Size. There are also sliders controlling overall wet/dry mix and modulation amount. The effect in general is quite washy and feels pitched at ambient patches. With the Mix control very low it is possible to create a room-like reverb effect to add subtle space to sounds, but anything more than this quickly…

ROUND-UP Ambient Kontakt instruments Assume lotus position, take some cleansing breaths and peruse these six chilled-out sampled atmosphere and pad generators for the full version of NI Kontakt Riot Audio Bowed Glass Clouds £29 It’s another ambient instrument with clouds on the interface, only this time, it’s made from samples of bowed glass – bowls and jars, specifically. The sounds you get from this Kontakt (full version) setup range from sinister to wondrous with just a leap up or down the keyboard, and there’s distortion, filtering, delay, reverb and EQ to mess with them after. All the effects sound great, only ever adding tastefully to the complex nature of the sounds. We’re not sure if band-pass-only was the right filter design here, but given the great decisions made elsewhere, we’re…

Better live percussion mixing I’ve recorded a live percussionist but I’m struggling to get the sound to cut through. Tips? Mixing hand/live percussion can be challenging but with careful thought you can get great results. Firstly (as always) make sure your percussion is well-recorded, with not too much room sound and using mics that will capture the full dynamics of the percussion. Don’t compress on the way into the computer as this can crush all-important attack transients (needed for the sounds to cut through). Once you have a great sound, it’s all about listening in the context of the track they’re placed in and getting everything sitting nicely… Shakers, triangles, blocks, tambourines work well when panned to extremes with a little high shelf EQ to lift the sizzle out of…

Gear Guide HIGH-END SYNTHS Novation Summit £1,899 Full Review: FM350 Though the Peak is still great, Summit is even greater. A powerhouse polysynth, perfect for classic tone emulation as well as next-level, out-there sound design. Waldorf Quantum £3,500 Full Review: FM336 A stunning piece of hybrid synth design – setting a new benchmark for features, interface and sonics. It’s expensive, but a great investment that you’ll find inspiring for many years. Korg Prologue from £1,299 Review: FM332 Despite a few surprising omissions, this sounds inspiring. A unique character, plus the analogue voices layered with VPM sounds and effects sound magical! Sequential Prophet X £3,359 Review: FM336 The Prophet X is a fresh and inspiring hybrid synth that encourages you to explore sound making in new ways. The results sound unique…

Gear Guide SOFTSYNTHS Kilohearts Phase Plant from €169 Full Review: FM350 Phase Plant’s modular architecture is an incredible resource for conjuring real and otherworldly sounds. A powerful, flexible synth in every way! Native Instruments Massive X £179 Full Review: FM348 A long time in the making, NI’s follow-up to the most successful softsynth of all time doesn’t disappoint. There are still some rough edges at launch, but it sounds exceptional. Arturia Pigments $199 Review: FM342 With a multipart synth engine, sequencer and lots of creative tools, there’s a lot going on in this latest synth powerhouse. Xfer Records Serum $189 This flexible, powerful wavetable synth has quickly risen through the ranks to knock Massive and Sylenth off the top of the ‘synth every producer must own’ list. Audiaire Zone £99…

FILTER Expressive E unveil Osmose – could it be the most expressive synth ever? The French brand team up with Haken Audio to create a unique ‘three-dimensional’ instrument We’ve seen expressive musical keyboards before, but many of them – ROLI’s Seaboard models spring immediately to mind – eschew the standard piano action in favour of something different, requiring players to adapt their technique in order to use them. Osmose, the new Augmented Keyboard synthesiser from Expressive E – the company behind the impressive Touché controller – is different. The result of more than seven years of research, and a collaboration with Haken Audio, this has both the look and feel of a standard keyboard – meaning that players should immediately feel more comfortable when using it – but it also…

Talking Shop COMA “Try to record or create a sound that totally satisfies you” COMA| Following two albums for German dance music institution Kompakt, Cologne duo COMA recently signed to City Slang for their latest LP, Voyage Voyage. Inspired by childhood memories and an array of electronic influences, the album sees the pair doubling down on their distinctive sound that blends house music with live instrumentation and classic musicianship. We found out more... When did you start making music? “We both share an indie rock/pop background and developed a passion for synths after moving to Cologne, a city that is famous for its electronic music history. So we learned how to play a guitar or a drum kit first, before becoming more and more interested in old analogue synths and…

In the studio with DJ Vadim “I was in East London, and fully transitioned into doing all my editing and sampling in my iMac, with Cubase. I used Amek BCII mixing desks. They’re very clean, with a beautiful sound. For vocals I’d have a UREI 1176. Then I had a Tube-Tech LCA 2A, which is stereo – fantastic on drums, vocals. And a Chandler TG-1 stereo compressor. I also had a separate Chandler LTD-1 mono EQ and a separate Amek EQ. I also still use dbx 120X-DS sub harmonisers, from the ’80s. Then two dbx 160 mono compressors, running in parallel, to create a stereo compressor. I’d flick between using the LCA 2A on the kick, and the dbx 160 on the snare. Effects-wise, I have an AMS RMX16 reverb…

GEAR OF THE DECADE 2010-2019: TEN SOFTWARE GAME-CHANGERS Xfer Records Serum 1 At the start of the ’10s, NI’s Massive was the undisputed king of the software synths. In 2015, Xfer Record’s Serum arrived with a feature set that expanded on Massive’s across the board. The modulation and effects set a high bar, but it’s the morphing oscillators and powerful wavetable editor that really set Serum apart. Native Instruments NKS 2 Inaugurating a new industry standard is no mean feat, particularly when it’s tailored around your own product line. That’s what NI have done with NKS – creating a sleek, hassle-free way to incorporate third-party instruments and effects into the Maschine and Komplete Kontrol workflow. Ableton Link 3 This past decade, the big challenge for iOS music makers has…

GEAR OF THE YEAR 2019: DRUMS & SAMPLING THE WINNER Korg Volca Drum Broadly speaking, Korg’s previous Volcas have all taken their cues from classic gear in some way, whether that’s condensing down an analogue monosynth, taking inspiration from vintage drum boxes or reviving the vibe of an old-school sampler. With the Drum though, Korg have brought something new to the table – a digital drum machine with a sound all of its own. There’s surprising power under the hood here; each of the six voices makes use of two physical modelling sound generators, and the global ‘waveguide’ resonator send effect can imbue sounds with both percussive rattles and comb filter-like pitched effects. The only real annoyance here is the lack of individual outputs for the six voices. BEST FOR:…

GEAR OF THE YEAR 2019: AWARDS BEST CONTROLLER Novation Launch Mk3 series This third gen update adds a sleek new look and extra usability for the Launchpad X, Launchpad Mini and Launchkey Mini, making each considerably more desirable. The addition of velocity sensitivity for the X is great, making it far more expressive. It’s the custom modes that impress us most though, allowing users to take control over any MIDI-equipped device with ease. Of the trio though, the Launchkey Mini is our favourite; with its new chord mode and onboard arpeggiator, this is a brilliantly handy compact controller and a great addition for small or portable setups. BEST HARDWARE EFFECT Ninja Tune Zen Delay News of electronic record label Ninja Tune getting into the hardware effects game could easily have…

YOU TUBE THE TRACK Leading producers go in-depth on the sounds, ideas and techniques behind their latest releases Jaded, Pancake ft. Ashnikko UK-based house outfit and remix kings Jaded talk about how they attained perfection with their bass-heavy hit track Pancake DON’T MISS: Bensley, Hard Times Peter Bennett takes us through his sax-centric track featuring Emer Dineen Prospa, Intended Gosha Smith and Harvey Blumler take us into their production lair GRiZ, Mercy feat. Valentina US artist Grant Richard Kwiecinski – aka GRiZ – reveals his secrets Josh Butler, Right Time Learn how Butler made the rolling beats of Right Time in Ableton Live DON’T MISS: We’re back in LA for a chat with producer Benjamin Wynn, aka Deru Principleasure shows us the processes behind his debut album, I We…

The power of suspensions The best music always relies on tension and release. One neat way to introduce these is via chord suspensions Here, we’re going to try and understand a chord development technique which is as relevant to classical music as it is to EDM; working with suspensions. A suspension occurs whenever one note from one chord is ‘held’ as the rest of the chord moves, ‘suspending’ this note over the new chord, before resolving to a note in the new chord. Perhaps the most common suspension is referred to as a ‘4-3 suspension’ as it involves the fourth and third notes of the scale. Imagine moving from F major to C major. Instead of resolving the ‘F’ note as you move to C major, you could ‘hold’ this…

The power of inversions and chord voicing By inverting the notes of a chord, you can ‘re-voice’ them to add greater lift to a track 01 > We want to write an euphoric synth sequence that acts as a real lifter and we’ve got some chords with potential: A minor, G major, C major, D minor, C major, F major. Here is each chord, one after the other – one per bar. 02 > There’s no rhythm to the sequence yet, which isn’t helping the vibe, but the fact that some chords ‘drop’ in pitch also results in a loss of energy. Look at the second chord after the first – all three notes drop in pitch, as we’ve played a ‘G’ in the bass of the second chord. 03…

With great sounds come great responsibility Basic feature sets don’t mean basic outcomes: let’s explore the Heritage modules 01 > Let’s start off with the bOSC and experiment with PWM. Rather than an LFO, we’re going to be using an audio rate oscillator to embed rich overtones in the pulse output. Experiment with the 1v/oct inputs on bOSC and the modulation oscillator for pitch tracking variations. 02 > With the flick of a switch, the bOSC can become an LFO. In LFO mode, experiment with FM and the sync input for time-shifting and resetting LFO shapes. Using a clock to sync the LFO but playing with the rate can create varied patterns. 03 > With both gate and retrigger inputs on ENVy, we can explore more rhythmic variations in our…

Grime Grime synths: three contrasting options Vintage Korg Triton 1 For the old-school sound of Wiley’s early ‘eskibeat’ productions, there’s really only one choice. The Korg Triton was a digital synth produced in various guises from 1999 until 2008 and it’s all over the Bow producer’s early work. Depending on the model, you can pick up a secondhand unit from around £200 these days. Just fire up the ‘Gliding Squares’ preset and you’ll be ready for action. NI Massive X 2 Grime always had a lairy edge, and as the sound evolved, so too did the synth weaponry used to produce it. The original version of Native Instruments Massive is a go-to for countless producers, but if we wanted a contemporary synth we’d be tempted to go for the newer…

SOUNDS & SAMPLES IK Multimedia Modo Drum €480 Like their earlier Modo Bass, IK’s new Modo Drum instrument makes use of physical modelling (alongside conventional sampling) to deliver the authentic sound of a drum kit in plugin form. With 10 different kits at its core, on first listen Modo sounds very convincing. Like many other drum-based instruments, there is a good graphical overview of the kit, and with scope to swap out or tweak individual elements. Where things get really interesting is with the depth to editing on offer. It is possible to adjust the size, shape and (virtual) construction materials of each drum, allowing for a lot of tonal variation within each kit variant. There is also a lot of control in the way the virtual drummer ‘plays’ –…

GEAR GUIDE SEMI-MODULAR SYNTHS Dreadbox NYX 2 €539 Full Review: FM352 Dual filters and some great routing, modulation and patching possibilities make this more than just another semi-modular. The modulated reverb is great for drones and FX too. AS Impulse Command £1,020 Full Review: FM346 Likely to be an acquired taste, with its unpredictable sequencers and filters, but if you embrace the chaos this is a truly inspirational and creative instrument. Korg Volca Modular £190 Review: FM342 A West Coast synth in a compact package. It may be fiddly and a little complicated, but if you’re willing to give in to its experimental ethos, the Modular is endless fun. Pittsburgh Modular Microvolt 3900 $629 Review: FM341 A characterful semi-modular that wears its influences on its sleeve, but still has its…