Although it seemingly goes against everything we stand for here at FM, we’ll admit it – you don’t need to spend thousands of pounds on new gear to make great music.
It’s 2018 after all, and plenty of musicians out there are making incredible tracks with little more than a laptop, a DAW and maybe a few bits of budget hardware. That being said, getting your hands on the right gear can make all the difference. Whether it’s an instrument to inspire a new way of working, a reliable plugin to help sort out your mixdowns, the perfect monitors for your studio, or just a DAW to suit your workflow, making sure you’re working with the best gear for you can transform your creativity.
That’s precisely what we want to help you with through our annual Gear Of The Year rundown. It doesn’t matter whether you’re looking to spend £100 on your bedroom setup or drop tens of thousands on kitting out a full studio, we’re here to guide you through 2018’s essential instruments, effects and studio tools.
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Interviews
Flux Pavilion – UK producer and DJ Joshua Steele played a major role in dubstep’s mainstream breakthrough. We find out why, in 2018, he’s now hooked on Eurorack and his Moog Model D
Alex Niggeman – The German club icon talks us through the evolution of his genre-hopping sound
Container – The US techno don crosses the pond; toting the latest of his dysfunctional, brilliant LPs with him
The Track: DLR – The drum & bass maestro shows us how he created his latest collaboration with Hydro, Trick
Classic Album – Manchester veterans 808 State on their influential LP Ex:el
Technique
Producer’s Guide – Turn simple ideas into full tracks with our guide to working with melody and harmony
Modular Monthly – We explore a modern Eurorack classic – the Toppobrillo Sport Modulator
Explainer – Get your head around the concept of phase
Reviews
Teenage Engineering OP-Z
Mutable Instruments Plaits
Pioneer DJ XDJ-RR
Universal Audio UAD 9.7 plugins
Arturia Keylab MkII
And more...
Samples
Essential synths – From classic bass throbs to house organs and fat synth stabs, get all the iconic synth sounds you need with our pack of loops and multis
Glass & Metal – We combine samples and creative effects for a pack of glistening, resonant and harmonically rich loops and one-shot hits
Access the FM sample archive: Download the ‘Archive’ packs and get over 12GB of loops, hits and instruments from our back catalogue of high-quality and royalty-free samples. From vintage synths and drum machines to esoteric instruments and FX – think of it as our best of. All the samples you need to create great music!