Articles by: Si Truss

MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians

I'm Editor-in-Chief of Music Technology, working with Future Music, Computer Music, Electronic Musician and MusicRadar. I've been messing around with music tech in various forms for over two decades. I've also spent the last 10 years forgetting how to play guitar. Find me in the chillout room at raves complaining that it's past my bedtime.

Articles by: Si Truss

Donner B1 Analog Bass Sequencer review

By Si Truss published 15 March 23

£185

Donner enters the analogue synth realm with a 303 clone that sounds the part – even if it doesn’t look it

5 futuristic drum tricks to bring your beats into 2023

By Si Truss published 15 March 23

Put a creative and contemporary spin on tried-and-tested rhythms

Quick Tips: How to use bus compression to glue your mix together

By Si Truss published 2 March 23

Creating a bus channel allows you to process your drums or vocals as a whole, adding that all-important 'glue' to your mixes

15 essential synth patches every producer should know

By Si Truss, Jon Musgrave published 28 February 23

From classic bass sounds to evolving pads, quick drums and FX, we’ll show you how to rustle up these go-to patches from scratch

5 reasons we’re excited about Roland’s SH-4d (plus 3 things we would've done differently)

By Si Truss published 28 February 23

Retro vibes and new school tricks explored

How to recreate the sound of the Solina String Ensemble

By Si Truss published 27 February 23

We bolster our guide to 15 essential synth sounds with one of the most useful patches in any synthesist's arsenal: synth strings

How to create a classic rave chord stab

By Si Truss published 23 February 23

A staple of dance music, these short, punchy bursts of sound can provide harmonic and percussive drive in one go

Roland SH-4d review

By Si Truss published 23 February 23

£549
$650

Roland releases yet another groovebox that emulates the company’s heritage instruments. However, there’s a real reason to be excited here…

Cherry Audio Synth Stack 3 review

By Si Truss published 22 February 23

$299

Cherry Audio’s product line has exploded recently. Can Synth Stack now rival the likes of the V Collection?

Solid State Logic Fusion Vintage Drive and Fusion Stereo Image

10 tips for maximizing stereo width

By Si Truss published 21 February 23

Our guide to fine-tuning your stereo image to create depth, contrast and impact in your mixes

How to make a Minimoog-style bass patch

By Si Truss published 21 February 23

A classic analogue bass patch makes a great jumping-off point for pretty much any monosynth

How to synthesize an analogue-style kick from scratch

By Jon Musgrave, Si Truss published 20 February 23

Making your own kick has many benefits, and is simpler than you’d think

How to make a classic house organ sound like Robin S.' Show Me Love

By Si Truss, Jon Musgrave published 17 February 23

Next up in our guide to 15 synth patches every producer should know, we take on a defining sound in '90s house music

Best drum machine plugins 2023: sample and synthesis VSTs for beatmaking

By Si Truss published 3 February 23

From 808 and 909 emulations to innovative drum synths and AI-assisted samplers

Best synth plugins 2023: synth VSTs to suit all styles and budgets

By Ben Rogerson published 2 February 23

From virtual analogue to wavetable, these are plugins you need on your hard drive

Klevgrand Tomofon review

By Si Truss published 21 January 23

$129

The Swedish developer’s ‘real audio synth’ is the company’s biggest release yet. We see what it can do…

Elektron Syntakt review

By Si Truss published 17 January 23

£849

Elektron’s latest groovebox borrows sounds and ideas from various places in the company’s product line. We ask if this is more than the sum of its parts

Korg Drumlogue review

By Si Truss published 16 January 23

£529

Some two years after it was first announced, Korg’s hybrid drum machine is finally here. We find out if it’s worth the wait

Audiomodern Loopmix review

By Si Truss published 21 December 22

€69

A six-track looper with controlled randomisation at its heart. We get in the loop

Arturia MiniFreak review

By Si Truss published 6 December 22

€599

The MicroFreak gets a new, polyphonic sibling. We let the ’Freak off the leash

Cableguys ShaperBox 3 review

By Si Truss published 24 November 22

The modulation-focused multieffect hits v3. We examine what’s new in this box of tricks…

A pair of Audio Technica headphones on a grey and white background

Best budget studio headphones 2023: top cheap headphone picks for every studio task

By Dave Clews last updated 27 January 23

Expert buying advice, plus our pick of the budget studio headphones for music-makers from just $/£40, including models by Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic and Audio Technica

Pair of black IK Multimedia iLoud Micro budget studio monitors forming part of a home studio setup

Best budget studio monitors 2023: pocket-friendly home studio speakers, most pairs under $200/£200

By Chris Corfield last updated 27 January 23

The best cheap studio monitors for home recording, with affordable options from IK Multimedia, M-Audio, JBL, PreSonus and more

Arturia MiniFreak: 5 things you need to know

By Si Truss published 18 October 22

Some highlights from Arturia's newest 'Freak box

Ableton Note first look: the closest you’ll get to Ableton Live on your iPhone?

By Si Truss last updated 18 October 22

Here’s everything you can and can’t do with Ableton’s new music-making app

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