Spitfire Audio has packed some of Look Mum No Computer’s finest ‘Obsolete Machines’ into a free LABS plugin

Is it ironic that Look Mum No Computer (Sam Battle) has worked with Spitfire Audio to pack sounds from some of his finest hand-built and modified machines into a free plugin that runs in your… computer? We’re not sure we care, to be honest.

The main thing is that Obsolete Machines, the latest addition to the LABS range, is here, complete with presets derived from the likes of the GAMEBOY Megamachine, Sega MegaDrive Synth, and the monstrous 1000 oscillator Megadrone. Battle’s hand-restored vintage Univox also gets a look-in, as does his Formant Bass.

The instrument was recorded on location at Battle’s This Museum is (Not) Obsolete facility in Kent, a place where his collection of electronic craziness is allowed to live and breathe. “It was just inside me - the idea of being in a dark museum,” he says. “I haven’t got a hoarding problem, now I’m a curator.” 

The presets in the LABS instrument can be tweaked with Expression, Unison/Warp/Dynamics, LP/HPF Filter and Reverb controls, so you can dive in and start tweaking these (not) obsolete machines to taste.

Obsolete Machines runs on PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX formats. Download it for free on the Spitfire Audio website.

Revisit our guide to Spitfire Audio's LABS.

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Ben Rogerson
Deputy Editor

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.