"Hi! I’m a solo developer working on Retro Song Bird - a music player for your Game Boy games.
Plug in any Game Boy or Game Boy Color cartridge and the music starts playing, just like a cassette or CD. In addition to music playback, Retro Song Bird can back-up and write ROMs and save files, can be used as a USB webcam with a Game Boy Camera, and can even wake you up every day as your alarm.
I’m excited to get Retro Song Bird in the hands of musicians and chiptune artists. For the first time ever, they can plug a physical cartridge in and get stereo line-out as well as USB Audio with each of the Game Boys four instruments broken out as separate tracks. Using MIDI, they can control playback, track selection, and even tempo so they can beat match two cartridges and perform a DJ set. Here’s a video of me, a non-musician, remixing the chorus of Tetris with the drums of everyone’s favorite Japan-exclusive fish finder, Bandai Pocket Sonar: [video below]
"Skiff 2.5 is out: free, open-source firmware that turns the M-VAVE FM-1 into a six-track groovebox, and M-VAVE's SMK-37 Pro keyboard too. With 2.5, Skiff is nearly feature complete. This video builds one lo-fi song from a new project, press by press, and shows every new feature on the way: two cores and 16 voices, FREE TAKE (play first, keep it after), STRUM, a pad and a pluck made from scratch and saved with their sends, the true-stereo delay with PAN reaching it, FX › DELAY and FX › REVERB, NOTES: DELETE, FILTR, a song you can follow and start from any entry, KEEP SENDS, CLEAR SONG and CLEAR TRACKS, HOME's new views, LARGE keeping the names, 2.2's voices against 2.5's, REMOTE's knobs, and the same Skiff on the SMK-37 Pro, each combination as it is printed.
How it was made: Skiff's screens and sound are Skiff 2.5.1's own code, the firmware's source run on a computer, so the sound and the screens line up to the frame. Every key, button and knob shown is a press performed in the firmware, step by step; the takes are scripted to play like hands, a slip included. The sounds are factory sounds, apart from the three made in the video: TAPE PAD, RAIN PLUCK and DUSTY KIT. REMOTE's CCs are sent from a computer, as a controller would send them. The sound is the firmware's own, only levelled for YouTube. The FM-1 is drawn in 3D and the SMK-37 Pro flat, their screens Skiff's own display.
▶ Get Skiff (free, GPL-3.0): https://github.com/illuminus5/skiff
▶ From 2.2: every FM-1 moves to MENU › SYSTEM › CPU 2 CORES once (16 voices); songs keep a mono delay; undo keeps 6 levels.
"I've just released Guru-600 1.0, a free, open-source firmware (GPL-3.0) that turns the M-VAVE FM-1 into a Prophet-600 emulator. It is built on Felucca by Leo Kuroshita, and it has been tested on a real FM-1 and is fully working.
What it brings:
- a P600 sound engine built like the original: two oscillators per voice with sync, a 24 dB filter with its own envelope, Poly-Mod, LFO, unison, six voices
- 255 sounds: the Prophet-600's 100 factory programs under their real names, 100 free sounds from the Prophet-600 community and 55 made for Guru-600
- MORPH (gradually turn one sound into another) and MUTATE (a variation of a sound in one gesture)
- everything from Felucca: four tracks, thirteen other engines, 64-step sequencer, arpeggiator, songs, and two insert effects per track
- a web editor in 7 languages, with a panel inspired by the Prophet-600, tooltips and a complete backup of the FM-1
- a Mac app (Apple silicon) that runs the whole Guru-600 without the device
- a user guide (PDF) in 7 languages; older and newer FM-1 units supported
"Drone jam with a lot of flanging and feedback. The Erica Synths Perkons makes the drones and noise. Further I used an analog Dynacord TAM-19 and Roland SBF-325 Flanger. There was also an Art Dual Limiter to tame the TAM-19 feedback, a BBE 382i Sonic Maximizer, a Rocktron Prophesy 2 preamp and all was mixed with the Boss KM-60.
Direct recording with DAW mastering."
"In this video, Enrica and Roland from Making Sound Machines play a melodic house track, performing live with the built-in polyphonic arpeggiator.
Plinky 12 sends a MIDI clock signal to the Elektron Syntakt, synchronizing the tempo between both devices. Syntakt is a fantastic hybrid digital-analogue drum machine and provides the beats you hear in this clip. All synth sounds are produced with Plinky 12's internal synth engine.
Plinky 12's internal sequencer advances through a harmonic progression, while Enrica performs on the touch surface, editing the polyphonic arpeggio. First she extends the length of the loop, leading to great polyrhythmic shifts over the 4/4 house beat.
As the track progresses, Enrica taps the surface to add or delete notes in the arp pattern.
Roland operates a second Plinky 12, the Blocks panel to the left. It is configured to send MIDI messages from an XY surface to Plinky 12 Chords. This allows him to change the sound parameters remotely while Enrica performs on Chords at the same time.
This track was composed for a live set at Club Synth, an event our friends Stijn and Priscilla from This is Not Rocket Science are hosting and organizing quarterly at Ruigoord near Amsterdam. Thank you for inviting us and putting in the hard work to create such a lovely event!
"Syntherapy session. I bought Vangelis 'Spiral' album when it came out and I was 14. There's no way I'd imagine having fun playing my own version of 'Dervish' (nothing serious, just for fun) on an EMU modular clone 49 years later!!! Can't of course beat Vangelis version of 'Dervish'."
"These will not be sold on my normal site, they are available to purchase directly from The Arp Foundation Store, Ensuring all proceeds to directly to them. - https://alanrpearlmanfoundation.org/p...
I would like to give special thanks to Korg for donating the 2600 vst licences for James & I to carry out the programming of this bank!
STARPATH VOL.1 – 200 Sounds. One Cause. Endless Inspiration!
Scott McAuley & James Dyson are incredibly excited to announce the release of STARPATH VOL.1 – an exclusive, custom-designed sound bank featuring 200 carefully crafted sounds, created to inspire your next musical journey.
Packed with an extensive collection of sounds, STARPATH VOL.1 brings together everything from deep, powerful Basses, atmospheric Pads and expressive Leads, to evolving Arps, driving Sequences, cinematic Strings and so much more. Whether you're looking to spark a new idea, add something special to your productions or discover your next signature sound, there's plenty here to explore.
The demo showcases just a selection of what's included, with 50 sounds demonstrated to give you a taste of the collection. But that's just the beginning – the full STARPATH VOL.1 bank contains 200 exclusive sounds, ready for you to drop straight into your next big production.
But this release is about more than just music.
100% of all proceeds from sales of STARPATH VOL.1 will go directly to The ARP Foundation, a non-profit organisation. This means every purchase helps support a cause that matters, while giving you access to a completely custom collection of sounds.
We're incredibly proud to bring this project to life and grateful to everyone who chooses to support it.
ARP Foundation Releases Starpath Vol. 1 for the KORG ARP2600 VST
Scott McAuley Sounds and James Dyson created 200 patches for the software synthesizer, with all proceeds supporting the Foundation’s archives and ARPs for All program.
Kingston, NY, November 10, 2026 —The Alan R. Pearlman Foundation announces Starpath Vol. 1, a collection of 200 original patches for the KORG ARP2600 VST. Created by Scott McAuley Sounds and James Dyson, the sound bank will be sold exclusively through the Foundation for $39.99. All proceeds benefit the Foundation’s work to preserve Alan R. Pearlman’s legacy and expand public access to his instruments.
The original ARP 2600 laid out its signal path on the front panel so players could see how its modules worked together and use patch cables to change those connections. Starpath Vol. 1 gives musicians 200 ways into that same architecture in KORG’s software instrument. Each preset can go straight into a session or serve as a starting point for tracing a signal path and reshaping the sound.
The collection spans basses, leads, pads, keys, arpeggios, sequences, and strings, with sounds for electronic dance music, film scoring, and other productions. Most patches are programmed for polyphonic aftertouch, so players using a compatible controller can shape individual notes by varying the pressure on each key. The bank takes advantage of KORG’s software recreation, which offers up to 16 voices of polyphony.
The Foundation will receive 100% of the proceeds to support its archiving work and ARPs for All, a program that gives musicians hands-on access to rare vintage ARP synthesizers.
After receiving some holiday foley from our friends at Focusrite, check out how Kody uses FLpad and FL Studio to turn them into a track. If Ableton Live is your DAW of choice, take a look at how CALC creates a track with the same sample pack using Novation Launchpad Pro. If you want to download the pack yourself, visit https://novationmusic.com/articles/fl....
If you want to see how these holiday found sounds were recorded, check out:
We mic’d up a Christmas cracker and made it into a snare | Here's how it sounds
After receiving some holiday foley from our friends at Focusrite, check out how CALC uses Launchpad Pro and Ableton Live to turn them in to a track. If FL Studio is your DAW of choice, take a look at how Kody creates a track with the same sample pack using Novation FLpad. If you want to download the pack yourself, visit https://novationmusic.com/articles/fl..."
"Meet the Deftaudio Eurorack MIDI-BLE Interface, a compact 4HP MIDI hub that connects your computer, hardware synthesizers, and wireless MIDI controllers into one unified setup.
Three MIDI connections, one module
USB MIDI 3×3
Connect directly to your computer or iPad. Class-compliant operation means no special drivers are required.
2x TRS MIDI ports
Connect your favorite hardware synthesizers, sequencers, and controllers. Each port can be configured for TRS MIDI Type A or Type B.
Bluetooth LE MIDI
Connect wirelessly to iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, and Linux BLE-MIDI applications. Play from your tablet or controller without running another cable.
Smart MIDI routing
Two operating modes let you configure how your equipment communicates:
Green mode: Direct USB-to-TRS routing with a shared wireless and USB MIDI connection.
Red mode: Merges the two TRS MIDI ports so connected hardware can share MIDI data.
"Ambient music where repeating phrases overlap with reverberant synthesizer performances.
This piece was created with the Prophet-10, OP-1 field, and reface CS.
On the Prophet-10, a slightly modulated synth pad is performed and processed through the blueSky with reverb.
On the OP-1 field, a phrase is played using the built-in ENDLESS sequencer. The MOOD MKII is used to occasionally shift the pitch, while the MICROCOSM adds the MICRO LOOP effect and reverb.
On the reface CS, a single-note phrase is performed using the FM oscillator. The output is processed through the NIGHTSKY with reverb and filtering.
The piece begins with the OP-1 field phrase. The reface CS is then layered over it, followed by a low synth pad from the Prophet-10.
🎵 [Gear Used in This Video]
Synthesizers Sequential Prophet-10 Teenage Engineering OP-1 field Yamaha reface CS
