2018 studio gear. What’s hot so far this year?

The year has gotten off to a stellar start, so we thought we’d share our 2018 studio gear picks so far.

Mono Machine Electron Synthesizer

We’ve seen some truly awesome releases – so much so that it may be a bit daunting if you’re looking to spoil yourself.

This 2018 studio gear list of our top 5 releases may make that choice a bit easier.

Korg Prologue

What is it:

The Prologue is Korg’s newest analog synth offering, a bi-timbral 8 or 16 voice polyphonic synthesizer that comes in a 49-key and 61-key version.

Best feature(s):

The Korg Prologue has user-programmable filters and effects, offering you an incredibly huge sonic palette, each voice incorporates 2 analog and 1 digital voice – further bolstering sonic possibilities.

Not so cool:

The Korg Prologue is big, so not ideal for travelling/touring musicians, it’s best suited in studio. It’s aimed at the professional market, so it has a price tag on it.

Final Thoughts:

If you’re looking for a new synth to up your sound design game, be sure to check out the Korg Prologue, have a look out our full write-up below.

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Behringer Neutron

What is it:

The Behringer Neutron is Behringer’s new unique semi-modular synth design, following their release of the Moog Model-D replica which took the industry by storm.

Best feature(s):

The Neutron is a paraphonic synth based on dual 3340 analog oscillators, which were first popularized by Roland, DSI, Oberheim and Moog in the 80’s. Behringer’s Neutron features flexible modulation and built-in effects.

Not so cool:

Modular synths are generally designed to play alongside others, while the Neutron is usable straight out the box, you do need to hook it up to a PC or external MIDI controller.

Final Thoughts:

For owners of the Moog Mother32 or MakeNoise 0-coast, or any other semi-modular system, the Behringer Neutron would be a fantastic counterpart, find out why in our full write-up below.

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Roland TR-8s

What is it:

Roland claims that their new TR-8s, is their best drum machine yet. With built-in sampler, effects and various external and internal routing capabilities.

Best feature(s):

The Roland TR-8s ships with a host of samples pre-loaded, over 15 unique effects to choose from – which can be applied to individual channels or the master. The TR-8s has a new Motion Record section, which allows you to record automation of hardware parameters to create varying movement in your tracks.

Not so cool:

While the sampler section does allow for basic synth sound triggering, I would have liked to see a simple bass synth section, to make it even more of an all-inclusive production centre.

Final Thoughts:

The Roland drum machine sounds have become a staple in genres across the board, if you’re looking for that sound, without the hefty price tag of the original units, check out the details in our full write-up.

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ROLI BLOCKS Songmaker Kit

What is it:

The ROLI BLOCKS Songmaker Kit is an intuitive, fully-fledged music production centre in a portable package. It offers a host of new ways of programming music on-the-fly.

Best feature(s):

The Songmaker Kit features ROLI’s award-winning Seaboard technology, which aims to change the way you play keys. It offers “5D touch technology” allowing you to control a host of parameters using hand gestures. The Songmaker Kit also ships with ROLI’s incredible Lightpad Block M, an intuitive drum triggering/mixing system.

Not so cool:

The system is not cheap; however, it offers totally new ways of looking at music creation, it’s incredibly portable and offers all the features you would need for production.

Final Thoughts:

The aptitude of the ROLA BLOCKS system can only truly be portrayed through trying or seeing it for yourself, check out the videos and details in our full write-up below.

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Nsynth Super

What is it:

Nsynth Super is Google’s first official foray into the wonderful world of synthesizers, it features a sound engine based around machine-learning algorithms.

Best feature(s):

The system is open-source, meaning with a bit of technical know-how you can build one yourself – relatively inexpensively. It offers new ways of shaping and creating sounds using its unique algorithm which has decoded the characteristics of over 100 000 sounds.

Not so cool:

The Nsynth Super is not an off-the-shelf product, if you really want one you’ll have to find someone to build one or start hitting the electronics text books.

Final Thoughts:

Nsynth Super is a great system, not often do we see a revolutionary product released under open-source licensing. It means that the public can develop it further into something truly remarkable and unique. To find out more, check out our full write-up below.

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Synth-heads – 2018 is our time

Okay, I admit I’m a little bit biased when it comes to synthesizers. Who wouldn’t be when we have so many fantastic options been released so rapidly. This is just the beginning, who knows what is in store for the rest of 2018?