It’s very rare that any new product announcement is met with universal praise - there is always, inevitably, at least one cynic that will criticise even the very best product.

Props to Novation, then, for their Launchpad dedicated Ableton Live controller, which received cries of ‘well, that seems like a really good idea’ from across the board. Except perhaps from Akai. One of the years’ hottest products for sure - check out our exclusive video first look then the in-depth review for more.

Speaking of really cool products, October had another up its sleeve: The Eigenharp. It might look like the kind of cosmic techno-bassoon you’d expect to only be good for playing the Star Wars Cantina theme, but Eigenlabs head honcho John Lambert insisted the Eigenharp is a tool for serious musicians. After attending the launch event, we’re inclined to agree with him. Check out the video for more.

On the slightly less cool but equally welcome side of tech was the release of Windows 7 – an OS that has massive potential for future music-making app development given its memory and multi-thread processing capabilities.

Even more tech to finish – October hosted Synth Week on MusicRadar, a week in which we revealed the greatest synth icon of all time, as voted for by you.