Latest articles by Andy Jones
"It's faster for some music-making tasks than even Apple claims": Apple MacBook Air 15-inch M3 (2024) review
It's even snapping at the heels of the latest MacBook Pros…
Best studio monitors 2024: Studio speakers for musicians and producers on any budget
A comprehensive guide to the best studio monitor speakers for home studio recording, whether you’re a beginner or pro producer – including Yamaha, IK Multimedia, Focal and more
6 of the most ridiculously large synth workstation plugins that can handle every part of a track: "This powerhouse of a synth has all of the sounds you need"
These beastly ROMplers provide all the music-making power one could ask for
6 vintage polysynth emulations we recommend for authentic analogue tones: "The UI looks so real that you can almost smell the wood varnish"
We stack up six excellent emulations of classic polys for your consideration
6 of the best software polysynths of 2024 so far: "Kult stands out from most of our choices by trying very deliberately to do something different"
We survey the most impressive soft synths that have caught our eyes (and ears) this year
How to design atmospheric pads on any polysynth
Follow this easy step-by-step tutorial
How to get the supersaw synth sound for free
Follow this easy step-by-step tutorial
How to grasp the mechanics of polysynths vs monosynths
Follow this easy step-by-step tutorial
The Great Synth Showdown: Oberheim OB-X8 hardware synth vs GForce Software OB-X
The polyphonic stakes are high...
The Great Synth Showdown: Roland JV-1080 hardware vs Roland Cloud JV-1080 software
The next bout in our polyphonic synth shootout pits Roland's original JV-1080 sound module against its modern plugin recreation
The Great Synth Showdown: Sequential Prophet-5 Rev 4 hardware vs Arturia Prophet-5 V
The first round in our polyphonic hardware vs software shoot-out
Are software synths now better than hardware - and does it matter?
Grab your favourite softsynths and let us take you on a journey into their evolution. Learn how to get more out of them and see how they stack up next to the pioneers that inspired them
"It’s not one of my favourite things. It’s stupid because I produced it, but the keyboards just hit me as wrong": Van Halen's Jump is 40 years old. Here's how the most famous keyboard riff of all time was created (and how you can do it, too)
Or the most irritating? You decide…
“They just risk everything – every song starts from a point of absolutely no safety net”: Queens of the Stone Age engineer and producer Robert Adam Stevenson on working with Josh Homme, Jeff Beck, Johnny Depp and recording a very '80s Taylor Hawkins
Interview: Since his own band broke up, Stevenson has taken the producer/engineer route, diving straight into the LA music scene and recording its biggest stars
“An immense sonic force, all under one roof”: UVI Falcon 3 review
This workstation was already chock full of every synthesis and effect type imaginable, so what can v3 possibly add?
Best in-ear monitors 2024: IEMs for stage and studio
Our expert guide to the best in-ear monitors for practice, performance and production, no matter your budget
"Fine for off-the-cuff sequencer basslines, otherwise you have to plan what you're going to do before even switching it on": Here's what the reviews said when the dance-music-defining Roland TB-303 was released in 1981
Happy TB-303 Day! Grab your time travel machine, because back then it only cost a couple of hundred bucks
"It sounded completely out of place in the chart it was in, and the year it was released": 5 Prophet-5-powered tracks by Radiohead, Gary Numan, Japan and more
We're in Prophet-5 mode, as we celebrate five decades of the first 'proper' polysynth with five – ok six – glorious tracks
The producer's guide to the Teletronix LA-2A: "It's one of the few pieces of vintage gear that can have grown producers weeping into their mixes, such is its ‘magic dust’ reputation"
Our in-depth guide to the classic compressor revered by gearheads and beloved for its warmth, colour and transparent sound
"I heard Portishead’s Dummy on the radio and thought to myself: ‘I can make that'": Air's Moon Safari is 25 years old, but still sounds like it will be made in 25 years' time. Here's the story of the greatest chillout album ever
And why you should see them play the whole album live this year…
How to get a vocal sound like Billie Eilish and FINNEAS
Billie Eilish and FINNEAS have built some of the defining songs of the millennia. Here we break down their approach to vocal production, all thanks to Apple…
"From ’70s punk to ’80s synth pop to ’90s dance and beyond": How New Order became the ultimate musical trendsetters
Always making the most of modern technology but never following an obvious path, this pioneering band remains hugely influential on both guitar-led and electronic music
The very first Prophet-5 review was sweet, spot on and surprisingly prescient: "Think of it as a 5-note Minimoog, and your programs can be stored even when the instrument is turned off!"
"The Prophet-5 will remember 40 different preset sounds, each of which can be easily recalled and also modified. Impressive, eh?"
The Tina Turner smash hit she thought was "throwaway pop", but ended up saving her career: "It was David Bowie who first got Capitol interested in reviving Tina's career"
"Afterwards she told me that it was the hardest vocal she'd ever had to do in her life," said songwriter Terry Britten in a classic 1986 interview
