Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About us
Don't miss these
Prince at a press conference where he officially changed his name from the Artist back to Prince. 5/16/00 Photo by Scott Gries/ImageDirect
Artists Back in 1999, Prince offered his opinion on the new generation of DAW-based musicians and producers
Teenage Engineering EP-40 Riddim and EP-2350 Ting
Samplers “Proper old school producers might also baulk at the ease of song creation and the slick results” – Teenage Engineering EP-40 Riddim and EP-2350 Ting review
Suno text prompt
Tech Is it finally time to stand up to the tech taking the very soul out of music-making?
stem splitter
Tech I tested 11 of the best stem separation tools – and you might already have the winner in your DAW
Universal Audio Volt 876
Audio Interfaces Best audio interface 2026: For home recording, podcasting, and streaming - tested by experts
Music technology gear of the year 2025
Tech Music technology gear of the year 2025: Our favourite new synths, drum machines, plugins and more
An Asus ProArt P16 laptop on a desk with music production gear
Computers Best laptop for music production 2026: For home studios and mobile music-making - tested by experts
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 02: Shawn "Clown" Crahan attends the ASCAP GRAMMY Brunch in the Garden at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on February 02, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images)
Bands “A professor in my pocket”: Slipknot’s Shawn Crahan says he’s been using AI “my whole life”
Apple iMac M4
Computers Best PCs for music production 2025: Apple Macs and Windows machines for your home studio
ELMONT, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 07: Sombr performs during the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards at UBS Arena on September 07, 2025 in Elmont, New York. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for MTV)
Artists “In the actual song you hear today, the guitars, the riff, the bass, the drums and all the vocals are from those initial takes I did in my bedroom”: Sombr on the making of viral hit Undressed, and his formula for creating "a legendary indie rock song"
An Asus Aspire 5 laptop
Computers Best budget laptops for music production 2025: Affordable laptops for making music
chris lake
Artists “People have been imitating my sound for a long time, but now someone can type a prompt and make a song that sounds like Chris Lake – that's wild!”: Chris Lake on how AI is putting music-making “under threat”
amenbreak
Tech AmenBreak VST is a break-slicing, sample-mangling junglist powerhouse - and there’s a free version
Bass
Music Production Tutorials 37 heavyweight bass production tips
modeselektor
Artists "The answer might sound a little boring, but it's probably my iPhone": Modeselektor on their go-to instrument
More
  • "The most expensive bit of drumming in history”
  • JoBo x Fuchs
  • Radiohead Daydreaming
  • Vanilla Fudge
  • 95k+ free music samples
  1. Tech
  2. Software & Apps

What So Not's favourite music software

News
By Computer Music ( Computer Music ) published 5 November 2018

Aussie producer and DJ Chris Emerson unveils his favourite tools for adding a little chaos in the studio

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Ableton Live 10

Ableton Live 10

“I actually started out as a DJ and moved into ‘making songs’ via mash-ups, bootlegs and remixes. Ableton provided the perfect platform for that and I’ve been with it ever since

“It isn’t perfect, but what Live does offer is an insane amount of audio manipulation. It lets you do to things that make no sense, but it’s those crazy ideas that make songs stand out.”

Read Ableton Live 10 review

Page 1 of 5
Page 1 of 5
Sonic Charge Synplant

Sonic Charge Synplant

“A tool that offers you the chance to experiment. All you need to do is grab a chord progression, set up an arpeggiator on Synplant and get tweaking.

“Start with the basic stuff, but then you can go right into the DNA of the sound; all sorts of random stuff. Pitch it up, down, flip it all around… even the humble mod wheel seems to add a hint of chaos!”

Read Sonic Charge Synplant review

Page 2 of 5
Page 2 of 5
Lennardigital Sylenth1

Lennardigital Sylenth1

“Although I mess around with a lot of different synths, I only really use two main ones in the studio: Synplant and Sylenth1.

“If Synplant is the peculiar one, Sylenth1 is the easy-to-handle all-rounder. When struggling for a sound, I always go to Sylenth1.”

Read Lennardigital Sylenth1 review

Page 3 of 5
Page 3 of 5
Cycling ’74 Max For Live

Cycling ’74 Max For Live

“I’ve only really scratched the surface of Max For Live, but what I’ve found - especially the LFO tools - sounds very cool and interesting.

“There’s so much possibility with Max, but I don’t want to spend all my time with sound design, not making any music. I’ve met people who are brilliant technicians, but when it comes to putting down a bassline, they can’t make a decision.”

Read more about Cycling ’74 Max For Live

Page 4 of 5
Page 4 of 5
Soundtoys EchoBoy

Soundtoys EchoBoy

“Yeah, it’s a delay, but so much more. It’s that whole thing of modulating sound over time.

“You’ve got your basic chord progression, but you can send it into EchoBoy and that chord progression becomes ear candy. It’s constantly growing and shifting, and it keeps people interested in your song.”

Read Soundtoys Soundtoys 5 review

What So Not’s latest album, Not All The Beautiful Things, is out now.

Page 5 of 5
Page 5 of 5
Computer Music
Computer Music
Social Links Navigation

Computer Music magazine is the world’s best selling publication dedicated solely to making great music with your Mac or PC computer. Each issue it brings its lucky readers the best in cutting-edge tutorials, need-to-know, expert software reviews and even all the tools you actually need to make great music today, courtesy of our legendary CM Plugin Suite.

Get over 70 FREE plugin instruments and effects… image
Get over 70 FREE plugin instruments and effects…
…with the latest issue of Computer Music magazine
More Info
Read more
chris lake
“People have been imitating my sound for a long time, but now someone can type a prompt and make a song that sounds like Chris Lake – that's wild!”: Chris Lake on how AI is putting music-making “under threat”
 
 
steve hauschildt
Ambient maestro Steve Hauschildt on the obscure plugins, generative tools and '00s digital synths behind Aeropsia
 
 
bicep
“Omnisphere’s like a Korg Wavestation on crack – you press one button and 16 things happen at once”: Bicep on soft synths, sampling glaciers and club-focused new project CHROMA 000
 
 
MARIBOU
“Each of our albums had a synth that really excited us. The first was a Prophet ‘08, the second was the MS-20, and this time the Moog Matriarch is on every track”: Maribou State on Hallucinating Love
 
 
teed
How TEED went back to basics with a bedroom set-up and a borrowed synth for third album Always With Me
 
 
modeselektor
"The answer might sound a little boring, but it's probably my iPhone": Modeselektor on their go-to instrument
 
 
Latest in Software & Apps
LANDR acquires Reason Studios
“This isn’t about changing Reason, it’s about giving it room to grow”: Reason acquired by AI specialist LANDR
 
 
Suno text prompt
Is it finally time to stand up to the tech taking the very soul out of music-making?
 
 
Music technology gear of the year 2025
Music technology gear of the year 2025: Our favourite new synths, drum machines, plugins and more
 
 
amenbreak
AmenBreak VST is a break-slicing, sample-mangling junglist powerhouse - and there’s a free version
 
 
Neural DSP Archetype: John Mayer X – The latest and most high-profile addition to the Finnish brand's signature plugin range, Mayer's plugin is replete with captures of boutique, rare and one-off amps and pedals
It’s official! Neural DSP’s John Mayer Archetype plugin suite is here – and with Dumble, Klon and Reverberator captures, it is the motherlode for boutique electric guitar tone
 
 
fl studio web
"FL Studio is coming to your browser": Image-Line announces FL Studio Web in bid to "lower the barrier to entry" for new users
 
 
Latest in News
DETROIT, MI - NOVEMBER 4: American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, actor, and filmmaker Prince (1958-2016) and American guitarist, singer-songwriter and member of the Revolution Wendy Melvoin perform onstage during the 1984 Purple Rain Tour on November 4, 1984, at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Ross Marino/Getty Images)
How Prince and The Revolution turned the bare bones of Purple Rain into a lighters-in-the-air epic
 
 
 Iconic female rap group Salt-N-Pepa members Salt (Cheryl James), Pepa (Sandra Denton), and DJ Spinderella (Deidra Roper)
"Did not establish they ever owned the copyrights to their sound recordings": Salt N Pepa lose legal battle with Universal
 
 
DAVID BYRNE AND OLIVIA RODRIGO
“I actually cried when I heard his version of this song”: Olivia Rodrigo on David Byrne's cover of Drivers License
 
 
Buddy Guy [left] smiles as he takes a solo on his Fender Stratocaster. He wears a red jacket and black hat. Billy Gibbons [right] wears shades, a wide-brimmed hat and a red blazer as he plays his custom SG-style electric with the V-style headstock.
Billy Gibbons on the tip Buddy Guy gave him after they jammed a T-Bone Walker classic
 
 
Pat Smear performs onstage during the FIREAID Benefit Concert for California Fire Relief at The Kia Forum on January 30, 2025 in Inglewood, California
“In the classic tradition…”: Pat Smear is out of upcoming Foo Fighters dates after “bizarre gardening accident”
 
 
LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 23: Raye performs onstage during All Points East at Victoria Park on August 23, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)
Producer Mike Sabath reveals the surprisingly limited instrumentation in Raye's Where Is My Husband!
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...