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July 2025
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77 articles
- July 5
- July 4
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- 14 of the best plugins and DAWs you can use on Linux
- "The choices are endless - on every laptop you have access to every sound you could ever want. That can make creativity really hard": Sean and Isom of Foster The People on their duo Peel
- Melbourne Instruments' Roto-Control gets Bitwig Studio integration following 2.0 firmware update
- "The value of music has dropped considerably since I was born – it's not great that less people are trying to perfect their art”: Ezra Collective’s Joe Armon-Jones on the imagined musical apocalypse that inspired his double album, All The Quiet
- “You’ll find it in everything from the Prodigy to Skrillex”: How to get famous sounds and effects using only Logic’s stock plugins
- “The producer said, ‘If you guys can deliver a strong performance of Cum On Feel The Noize, you’ve got a deal'”: How a ’70s glam rock anthem was the key for Randy Rhoads’ old band going all the way to No.1
- Waves just made building a pro-level plugin chain a lot cheaper - grab 2 for $59.99 or 4 for $99.99
- "A lot of instruments feel like interacting with a spreadsheet - we're trying to do something different": Void & Vista's plugins are 'pieces of art for people to make art with'
- MusicRadar deals of the week: Celebrate the 4th of July in style with hundreds slashed off gear from Gibson, Fender, Alesis, Roland, Yamaha, Boss and more
- “Then his mic fails and Pete Townshend grabs me from one side and says, ‘Let’s help him'. David Bowie grabs me from the other, and with Alison we went out to sing along": Bob Geldof on how Paul McCartney’s Live Aid performance was almost a disaster
- “I spent six months listening only to AC/DC – and it changed my entire approach to songwriting”: How Metallica embraced simplicity – and Mötley Crüe's producer – to create their 30 million selling monster hit
- How to emulate a classic analogue recording system entirely with plugins
- "This is exactly what artists have been worried about – it's theft dressed up as competition": Who is behind The Velvet Sundown, the AI-generated band that blew up the internet?
- "90% of what I do is done on one software synth": Hans Zimmer on the synth plugin that he's been working with for years - and still hasn't run out of ideas
- "This really is the ultimate sound design tool": 6 of the most creative plugin synths for sound design
- July 3
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- How to use reverb to build impressive-sounding filters, reverses, risers and pads
- “I have to say it was the most bizarre musical experience I think I’ve had”: Queens Of The Stone Age’s Troy Van Leeuwen on what it was like to play for the “bones of six million people” in the Catacombs of Paris
- How Cherry Audio recreated the sound of the world's first commercial polysynth in software: “There may be fewer than six working Novachords on the planet”
- “The Eagles were in the same studio, in the room next to us. They had to pack up and go because we were too loud!”: The highs and lows of Black Sabbath in the ’70s - by Tony Iommi
- Want to learn to play Wonderwall on the guitar? As the start of the Oasis reunion tour approaches, you’re not the only one…
- “The biggest driver right now is people wanting everything fast”: Predicting the future evolution of plugin design
- “Unlocks a new layer of compositional creativity that was absent from previous versions”: Ableton Live 12 Suite review
- "I can't help but smile when using a good wah, and the Vox V863-CA certainly qualifies as more than just a good one": Vox V863-CA Semi Auto Wah review
- “That’s not how we were. We would never do that”: Ringo has put his foot down over parts of the Beatles biopics
- “It’s a circle of freaks and I don’t want to be involved”: How the Oasis vs Blur chart battle marked Britpop's cultural peak, and the beginning of its end
- “If you want to turn sweet sounds into ear-splitting discordance, this is the plugin”: To mark Plugin Week, here’s our pick of the most out-there sound design plugins you should add to your collection
- "For real-time plugins, it’s very hard to do something effective with AI. It’s very good at big brush things”: Leapwing Audio on their stable of forensic mix plugins
- “Years of research, development and deep love of FM synthesis has gone into picking just the right balance of flexibility and simplicity”: Pivot is a ‘no-nonsense’ FM synth plugin from the designer behind one of our favourite hardware instruments
- “Almost everyone thinks it’s strings”: Lorde unmasks the unusual guitar part on her new album that was created using a classic ‘90s Roland V-Guitar processor that’s now “insanely expensive” on the second-hand market
- “Bound to capture djent and thall-loving audiences because of the fine balance of brutality, customisation, and ease-of-use”: Atlas DSP – Your Last Steps review
- “I know there’s going to be at least one more gig - I'm not looking forward to putting the setlist together”: Joe Perry is convinced his band will play again, despite retirement from touring
- “We wrote it in a farmyard in France. We’d never heard of ‘disco music’ at the time. We were singing about the state of the times, and the human condition”: How the Bee Gees channelled angst and despair to create the greatest dancefloor-filler of all time
- “If your flanger is too harsh, try a chorus - if it's too subtle, try a phaser”: How modulation effects work and how to use them
- “How is a clear CD even possible? The data is written on the silver part?”: It’s clear to see that Lorde’s see-through Virgin CD doesn’t play in most CD players
- "It’s simple enough to create the perfect hard-tuned and harmonised effects within our DAW, providing you have the right software": How to harness hard-tuned vocals
- July 2
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- 5 innovative synth plugins daring to do things differently
- "I want to make something that allows people to express themselves purely and not feel like they’re having to make compromises": Musik Hack on their quest to refine plugin UI design
- "We have mended broken bones and broken hearts. But we have followed this road together, with each other, for each other, no matter what": Foo Fighters mark their 30th anniversary with a new song
- “Doing this makes me feel like he's always going to be here with me”: Meet the guitarist who’s worked his dad’s ashes into his Telecaster
- “Everyone comes back changed”: Bicep on their new collaborative project with Inuit musicians
- “We are honoured to show our love for Ozzy and Black Sabbath”: Judas Priest might not be playing at Back To The Beginning but they have just saluted the OG metal gods with a cover of War Pigs
- “It’s great for squeezing energy out of lacklustre ambient sounds”: Our pick of the very best VCA compressor software emulation plugins for any music project
- “Sometimes I’m surprised by what I can do now, because I could not sing”: As she prepares to release her new album, Vie, Doja Cat says that she now has a lot more knowledge of how to use her voice “as an instrument”
- “And the award for best AI song of the year goes to…”: The Future Sound Awards are new music awards 100% focused on rewarding AI-derived music
- “Thunderous sub-octave, expressive envelope, and lush modulation effects with killer tracking and sustain”: MXR unveils the MB301 Bass Synth – instant funk for your pedalboard
- "Minimal Audio's Rift and Xfer's Serum are by far the most-used plugins in our toolbox": ARMNHMR on their tools of the trade
- “I’m going, ‘Whoa, I just quit my band, put all my eggs in this Thin Lizzy basket, and now we’re breaking up over a beard?!’”: Scott Gorham recalls the band's close shave when Phil Lynott was not tickled by Brian Robertson’s whiskers
- The Oasis song Liam hated because it was 'reggae': "I remember Our Kid saying 'Why are you writing reggae songs?' And I was like, there speaks a man that has never heard reggae"
- “Don't construct a chord that uses eight notes - it’s unplayable on a guitar!”: How to humanise your virtual acoustic instruments in your DAW projects
- Why wait for Prime Day when Thomann's massive Music Days sale will save you up to 65% off big brands right now?
- Billie Joe Armstrong is very much not having the time of his life as he says 'Good Riddance' to fan who gets on stage and plays an Oasis song instead of the 1997 Green Day hit they were supposed to
- “Whether you’re looking to liven up a dull snare or beef up a lacklustre bass sound, these plugins are extremely handy”: Our resident platinum award-winning mixer and producer shares 10 of his go-to plugins
- “We don’t want our music killing people”: Deerhoof just quit Spotify in protest against CEO Daniel Ek’s multi-million dollar investment in AI weapons tech
- “Sometimes I can be brutally honest, and people don't like that. But if you don't like what the answer is going to be, don't ask the question!”: Iron Maiden’s commander-in-chief Steve Harris says that strong leadership is the secret to the band’s success
- “Learning how to mix is almost as important as hitting on your original musical idea”: New to the mixing process? Start here
- “These recordings clearly demonstrate what fine music they produced right from the very beginning”: Early Sabbath demos to be released later this month
- July 1
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- Ignite your inner guitar god for just 27 cents a day with TrueFire’s July 4th sale - save 60% on online lessons
- "A guitar software instrument can sound incredible – as nuanced and human as the real thing, but only if you know exactly what you are doing with it": The ultimate guide to plugin guitars
- "I never want the sample to be the whole thing - I want to mask it": Loukeman reveals his favourite plugins and unusual production techniques
- "If your singing sounds like a dying cat, this finally kills the cat": This hilariously bad mic modelling plugin is free for International Joke Day
- How to master virtually any software synth
- “It came off the rails quite significantly at the end of Hammer to Fall”: Brian May reveals Queen's Live Aid doubts, and how the band were "lacking oil"
- “It was confusing to me, even when I did the record. I didn’t know that I was playing it in the wrong place”: Guitarist Daryl Stuermer on why Phil Collins had to set him straight when they were recording In The Air Tonight
- “A creative reverb platform built for guitarists, synth players, and sound designers who want studio-grade depth”: With dual reverb engines, 16 algorithms, Crazy Tube Circuits’ Mirage is one serious reverb pedal with no menu-diving required
- “It’s a $20 plugin… I love it because sometimes the problem with digital sounds is they just lack a little bit of character”: Steven Wilson reveals the plugin that's on "almost all" the guitars on his new space rock epic
- “THEY’RE IN THERE!!! And they are LOUD”: Recordings of Oasis soundchecking in Cardiff are now online
- “He wanted something that was a bit more heavier, had a bit more compression to it, a bit more gain”: Laney celebrates Black Sabbath's final show with a limited edition Black Country Customs reissue of Tony Iommi's TI100 signature amp
- “Try this on drums, and you'll end up with something similar to a classic gated drum kit. Eat your heart out, Phil Collins!”: Our go-to plugins for adding flavour to sounds
- “Roger went absolutely nuclear, apoplectic. He had every right to”: Producer Bob Ezrin reveals what led him to fall out with Roger Waters over The Wall
- “As a musician, I don't want to spend time and energy scrolling through endless lists of samples. I don't think that's creative”: Output’s AI-powered Co-Producer picks samples for you, but is it streamlining workflows or outsourcing creativity to AI?
- "Our aim with ShaperBox is to make it easy for any producer to get complex-sounding results, all in one plugin": Cableguys talk modulation-mad multi-effects plugins and more
- $1,200 off one of the best guitar synths on the market is a deal too good to ignore in Sweetwater's epic 4th of July sale
- Hit Record Meter is the free plugin that can assess the commercial appeal of your track. But does it actually work?
- “Their music changed my life – if not saved it”: Band that soundtracked history gets the biopic treatment
- “Nobody was going to freak out. We said, ‘This is going to get done. We just need to find the right person to join the family.’ And we got Steve Vai, thank God”: How the virtuoso Vai put the sizzle into the last big hair metal album of the ’80s
- “A timely reminder that investing in local music isn’t just good sense - it’s a way to boost pride in place and breathe new life into our high streets”: New report shows immense contribution of music tourism to UK economy