Roland Celebrates Grand Opening of U.S. Flagship Store in New York City

Press release follows:

Roland Corporation CEO Masahiro Minowa and Roland Americas CEO Manuele Barbini joined artists including DJ Jazzy Jeff, Mdou Moctar, Prince Paul, and more to officially open Roland Store New York City in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District

NEW YORK, NY, October 13, 2026 — Roland Corporation, a global leader in electronic musical instruments and music technology, celebrated the grand opening of Roland Store New York City, the company’s first standalone retail location in the United States. The invitation-only opening celebration at 414 West 14th Street brought together artists, industry leaders, media, business partners, and special guests for an evening of live performances, a ceremonial ribbon-cutting, and a first look at the new destination, which brings Roland, BOSS, and Drum Workshop (DW) together under one roof.

Masahiro Minowa, CEO and Representative Director of Roland Corporation, and Manuele Barbini, CEO of Roland Americas, led the evening’s welcome and ribbon cutting, officially opening the store and marking the latest milestone in Roland’s The Future. Redefined. Then. Now. Next. campaign. Originally introduced during the 2016 The Future. Redefined. global launch event, the Roland Aerophone and BOSS Katana products celebrate their 10th anniversaries this year, marking a decade of innovation that has expanded creative possibilities for wind players and guitarists alike. Special anniversary editions of both instrument lines are showcased at the store, with the anniversary Katana models available for purchase exclusively at Roland’s flagship stores in New York City, London, and Tokyo.

“New York has long been a place where new sounds, ideas, and creative movements take shape, and tonight we were proud to officially make it home to Roland’s U.S. flagship store,” said Minowa. “Roland has always been committed to pushing music forward, and celebrating this opening alongside so many talented artists is the spirit we hope this store will share with musicians and creators for years to come.”

“Tonight was about the musicians and creators who make New York such an important part of the global music community,” said Barbini. “Seeing artists bring the store to life on its first night shows exactly what we built this space for: a place where musicians, producers, and creators can explore the latest DW, Roland, and BOSS innovations, connect with our team, and be part of a new creative hub for the city.”

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Brooklyn Synth & Pedal Expo Returns with Over 100 Brands to Discover - October ‎17–18

video upload by Sanjay C

Video from last year's show above.

Press release follows:

"BROOKLYN, NY — The Brooklyn Synth & Pedal Expo, perhaps the biggest East Coast event dedicated to electric and electronic gear for musicians with over 100 brands on display, returns to Greenpoint on October ‎17–18, transforming a 7,000-square-foot warehouse into an immersive playground for music creators.

Presented in partnership with the legendary synth store Three Wave Music and local up-and-coming guitar shop Tonewolf, the Expo offers a strictly in-the-headphones experience — letting attendees demo the latest synthesizers, effects pedals, and modular gear from over 100 brands in a noise-friendly environment.

Nestled in one of Brooklyn's most vibrant musical corridors, the show is expected to draw more about 2,000 visitors, a mix of musicians, producers, and gear enthusiasts.

"Intro to Synthesis" Workshops
This year, the Expo expands beyond its large exhibition floor with a new lineup of educational workshops focused on synthesis — from hands-on patch-building sessions to deep dives into modular workflows, led by working artists and builders. A schedule of the workshops will be announced soon.

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rare birds: MXR Model 113 Digital Delay

video upload by ohm-studi-ohm

"When I first heard of this 1976 digital delay I excepted a lo-fi, harsh and dark delay. I was so wrong... This unit sounds surprisingly warm and clean for a digital fx of that era. Of course if you select the 2.5 Khz preset (which gives you up to 1280 ms of delay if the unit has 4 memory modules like this one) it's very lo-fi. But up to the 10khz preset its really clean.
And I didn't expected it to be such a great modulation fx. You can get anything from chorus, phaser, flanger to ring modulation.
Delay signal can be phase reversed by pulling the mix knob, which is what you want for modulation fx, and the sweep frequency also has 2 modes you select by pullling the knob.
The delay time can be externally adjusted, by mean of CV signal or a simple expression pedal. The later works great with guitar when the unit is in phasing/flanging settings, as the pedal acts like a kind of wah pedal. Here are some examples of what you can achieve with this unit. Though I didn't demo it, this delay sounds also great on keyboards.

00:00 Roland CR78
07:38 Squier Jagmaster"

E-mu Emax II Rack: Why He Bought a Vintage Sampler

video upload by Ian Dixon

"The E-mu Emax II Rack is a 1990 vintage sampler with 16-bit sampling, digital resonant filters, 16 voices and that classic E-mu sample-library character.

In this video I explain why I bought an Emax II Rack, how it fits into the E-mu Emulator family, and what makes this 2MB version with a Gotek drive interesting today. I look at the history from the original Emulator through to the Emax II, load sounds from the Gotek/sample library, play through factory-style patches, explore the filter and envelope controls, and talk about why vintage samplers still feel different from modern software.

This is partly a first look, partly a vintage sampler demo, and partly the start of a new Emax II journey: building a usable sound library, tagging useful sounds, sampling my own material and finding out what this classic rack sampler can add to modern tracks.

Timestamps
00:00 Intro and music
00:15 E-mu Emax II Rack overview
00:39 Emax and Emulator history
01:03 Emax II specs and 16-bit sampling
02:06 Front panel and loading sounds
02:37 Gotek drive workflow
03:30 Sampling rates, filters, SCSI and MIDI
04:23 Exploring the sample library
05:08 Loading Grey Sounds Volume 1
06:45 Brass sounds and loading workflow
07:10 Emulator library sounds and synth-style editing
07:55 Digital resonant filter and Q
08:34 Filter envelope experiments
09:50 Synth-style modulation and envelopes
10:14 Sampling, looping and editing options
10:57 Piano, guitar, vocal and classic library sounds
14:26 Building a personal Emax library
15:08 Tagging sounds and using the library tool
15:48 Reflections on vintage digital samplers
16:26 Comments, resources and wrap-up"

Open Source Programmable Guitar Pedal using STM32

video upload by GuitarML

"Project Link: https://github.com/GuitarML/GuitarPed...
Walkthough of my custom STM32 based digital guitar pedal. I give an overview of the features, and then dive into the project hardware and software. I also show a demo of the included Reverb/Delay.

00:00 - Pedal Features
4:25 - Open Source Project Overview
5:58 - KiCad Schematic
10:35 - KiCad PCB layout
16:55 - STM32CubeIDE and code
23:05 - Reverb/Delay Effect Demo

Patreon:
/ guitarml"

These Plugins Sound AMAZING… Except One

video upload by Keith Crosley

"Space Age Strings, Traveler 1.1, Arturia MiniFreak V, and Liminal Space 2 RC6: three plugins I'm excited about, and one that's... fine. Your old pal Keith demos vintage strings, custom wavetable import, Bloom and reverse reverb, and gloriously backward shoegaze. Grab your mod wheel for another episode of your favorite talky synthesizer content show!

First up: Authentic Soundware's Space Age Strings, with gorgeous legatos, vintage ribbon-mic character, and serious Mancini energy. We pair those nine violins with Liminal Space 2's new Space Age Scoring Stage preset and compare the library's built-in reverb with some algorithmic spaciousness.

Then we revisit Traveler! Version 1.1 fixes the big wavetable-workflow frustrations from my previous review: now I can point it at my existing KRC Mathwaves folders without duplicating gigabytes of content. Cue polygonal bells, Morlet wavelet vowels, and a much happier Keith. We also try MiniFreak V's new user-wavetable import. It's great to have it, but I've got opinions about the workflow, the effects, and whether the software version floats my boat.

Finally, we explore my Liminal Space 2 RC6 reverb for macOS and Windows: MIDIverb II-inspired Bloom sounds, reverse-style swells, ACTUAL reversed audio, and instant imaginary Cocteau Twins guitar with Native Instruments' Electric Sunburst Deluxe. We build Bloom effects on piano, shape them with curves and wavetables, and explore Reverse Capture's Diffuse and Clear modes. Then we get dark and wobbly with Clockwarp and the new Vulture 224 filter, inspired by Alex at Vulture Culture. Woot!

Disclosure: Authentic Soundware kindly supplied Space Age Strings; this is not paid placement. I purchased Traveler myself. Liminal Space 2 and KRC Mathwaves are my own products. Liminal Space 2 is demonstrated in RC6; the RC7 Follow feature is teased for a future video."

You can find wavetables and additional resources by Keith Crosley available at https://www.wavetables.lol.

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Bastl Thyme+ Sound Demo (no talking): A digital tape machine!

video upload by Synth Codex

"In this video, I run a few different audio sources through the Thyme+ to show off its range: from subtle tape warmth and classic stereo delays to aggressive pitch modulation and rhythmic glitches. No talking, just raw audio directly from the unit.
The Bastl Thyme+ is a hardware audio processor built around a digital tape-delay engine with multiple reading heads and dedicated modulation sources named Robots that can automate almost every knob on the panel.

Chapters:
00:00 FM Synth
01:23 Glitchy Drum
02:01 Cinematic Key Synth
03:51 Electric Guitar

Gear used:
Korg Volca FM2
Critter & Guitari Organelle S2
Arturia MicroFreak
Electric Guitar

#bastlinstruments #effectpedals #delay"

Casio SK-8 Sampling Keyboard + Patch Bay + Pitch Mod

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this Reverb listing

"Rare 1987 Casio SK-8 8-bit sampling keyboard modified with a unique raised console featuring a 20 point ROM modulation patch bay, four illuminated preset effects switches and an illuminated pitch control. This is an otherworldly instrument which will inspire any alternative electronic musician and sound designer. Reed Ghazala named his modified SK units 'Aleatrons' due to their random, unexpected nature so nothing is obvious here- when the patch matrix is in use, the keyboard itself doesn't always function as you'd expect while the modifications open up a world of experimental audio possibilities, far outreaching Casio's original intentions. The pitch controller is switchable and can drop sampled sounds to crashing, aliasing lows.

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Organic Forms & Sonic Shapes Vol. 2 by Particle Bunni

"Particle Bunni is an ambient-electronic collaboration between multidisciplinary artists Terrance Stearns and Grayson West.

Blending electronic sound generation, guitar, analog instruments, voice, and field recordings, the project explores the intersection of mysticism, psychoacoustics, and digital folklore."

particlebunni.com

Ranger FX Snare Trap Rhythm Device

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.
video upload by Noise Generator

Note the video above is from 5 years ago. This appears to be the first post to feature the Snare Trap.

via this listing

Additional Perfect Circuit listings

via Ranger FX:

"The Snare Trap is a drum machine you play guitar or synth/keyboards through! It’s designed to be used either on the desktop – by hand – or on the floor – by foot. The drum sounds are bass drum, snare, and hi-hat, and these can be individually triggered externally by a CV – so it’s very useful for modular synthesists.

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Roland GP-16 + Synth Sounds

video upload by General Midi Guy ⚡

"Just running some synth sounds through this guitar fx unit to hear what it sounds like. Dont remember what synths were used as i recorded this a few months ago :p but it might have been a behringer boog module.

What is good about this Roland effects unit is that its 100% old digital (i think) :p it also sounds good with guitar but more fun to use synthesizer etc.."

And the Casio:

Casio Rave Stabs
video upload by General Midi Guy ⚡

"Must be some old classic rave track using these fantastic casio sounds? Do they all have the same sounds or are there casios with other sounds, have tried a bunch but many have the same sounds if they're from the same era anyways :p"

Wildwood Lightning by Wildwood Soundworks

video uploads by Wildwood Soundworks


"Wildwood Lightning is a handmade digital sampler, sequencer and synthesizer designed and produced by Wildwood Soundworks in Penn Valley, California. It provides the following features:

Sampler - record your own samples or use standard WAVE files.

Sequencer - compose on up to 16 channels with channel mute and solo.

Synthesizer - produce polyphonic audio with a sample based synthesizer.

Touch Pads - play notes, select chord and drum patterns and strum with touch sensitive pads.

Display - view notes and channels or navigate menus to select from numerous features.

Multiple Views - create and update your songs using piano roll, song or step views.

Multiple Menus - discover features and create or edit your song with 14 menus.

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Wildwood Express by Wildwood Soundworks

video uploads by Wildwood Soundworks

Note the Wildwood Express is now on v3 with v3.2 coming. The videos above are from 2 years ago, but have not been featured on the site before now.

"Wildwood Express is a handmade digital sequencer and synthesizer designed and produced in Penn Valley, California.

It features:

Color LCD Display
1 Octave Keyboard
8 Octave Range
24 Touch Pads
12 Function Keys
16 Channels (w/Mute + Solo)
128 Instruments
18 Full Color LEDs
Rotary Encoder
USB MIDI Input + Output
Pattern Generator
Strum / Autochord
Song Editing + Overdub
microSD Card Storage
USB Storage"

Playlist:

1. Express v02 MIDI File 01

This video shows you how to open and play a MIDI file:

1. Navigate menus
2. Select a MIDI file
3. Play the MIDI file
4. Select note view (piano roll)
5. Select song view (all channels)
6. Select step view
7. Navigate through song a note (MIDI message) at a time
8. Use Channel Display setting to control which channels are displayed

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The Clearing — 60 Minutes of Live Deep Listening & Slow Soundscapes (Summer Solstice 2026)

video upload by Greg Wilder

"On the summer solstice — Sunday, June 21, 2026 — a chapel in Keene, New Hampshire became a room for deep listening.

The Clearing is an occasional non-denominational sound environment: 60-90 minutes of live, slow-moving music composed and improvised in real time, meant for rest, presence, and one another's company. No screens. Nothing is asked of you, except to be present.

This was the first gathering of The Clearing, held on the longest day of the year.

On this occasion, some attendees sat quietly in chairs. Others lay on the floor with yoga mats and meditation cushions. Some did self-guided meditation or gentle yoga. Others simply listened. An adjoining parlor offered tea and conversation between friends and neighbors. The evening ended with a lively Q&A with the audience.

The music draws from the deep listening practice of Pauline Oliveros, the sustained-tone traditions of Éliane Radigue and La Monte Young, and the sacred sound lineage of Hildegard von Bingen through New England hymnody — all filtered through the electronic instruments of Greg Wilder and Alison Wilder.

—
PERFORMERS
Greg Wilder — pipe organ, electronics
Alison Wilder — guitar, voice, electronics

LOCATION
United Church of Christ in Keene
23 Central Square, Keene, NH 03431

INSTRUMENTS
Chapel pipe organ (single rank) • Analog & digital electronics from the studios of Greg Wilder and Alison Wilder

DATE
Sunday, June 21, 2026 — 5:00–6:30 PM (Summer Solstice)

—
LINKS
The Clearing → https://gregwilder.com/the-clearing/
Alison on The Clearing → https://alisonwilder.com/the-clearing/
Greg Wilder → https://gregwilder.com
Alison Wilder → https://alisonwilder.com
Doctor Body (Bandcamp) → https://doctorbody.bandcamp.com
Too Much Music Podcast → https://toomuchmusicpodcast.com
UCC Keene → https://ucckeene.org
Greg on YouTube → / @drgregwilder "

Sound Workshop Introduces Flexur - Expressive Synthesizer Based on the Trautonium

video upload by Sound Workshop

via Sound Workshop

Easy to pick up, hard to put down.

Two Trautonium inspired floating touch bars allow for continuous volume and pitch control. This expressive interface is paired with a streamlined knob per function synth, so you can start playing right away. Despite the constrained feature set, the sensitive bars allow for weeks, months, and years of rewarding practice.

Go as complex as you like

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lil' dream organ wenge/walnut/oak small batch

video upload by ellitone instruments

Video re-uploaded as ellitone - lil’ dream organ - walnut and wenge *limited edition*
Video re-uploaded as ellitone - a day out with the lil' dream organ (walnut)

"*small batch - only 8 available - made from wenge/walnut/oak wood

ellitone.com

The ellitone lil' dream organ is a limited edition battery-powered polyphonic digital synthesizer with built-in amplified speaker.

Featuring 8 wooden Touch Bars, 16 oscillators, 8 selectable musical scales, and a collection of 50 waveforms to explore and blend using the ‘infinite tone’ knob. the lil dream organ is a fun and powerful electronic instrument capable of many tones and textures, simple enough for a youngster or beginner to operate.

Controls:

-‘infinite tone’ knob blends and mixes 2 separate layers of waveforms together. Each layer consists of 8 oscillators and each layer has its own unique selected waveform. As you turn the knob fully clockwise or fully counterclockwise, a new waveform is chosen from a collection of 50 waveforms and applied to one of the 2 layers. This means that you are infinitely blending in-between new combinations of waveforms continuously.

-musical scale select switches. 3 toggle switches at the top of the device are used to select one of the 8 musical note scales. These three switches operate using binary logic. With 3 switches, we have 8 unique combinations of switch positions (on/off/on…off/off/on…etc). Each one of these 8 possibilities selects a different musical scale to explore using the wooden Touch Bar keyboard notes.

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NEW BEHRINGER UB-1 PATCHES: The 100 All-New Sounds [Vol. 1-3]

video upload by ULTIMATE PATCHES

"ALL-NEW FOR BEHRINGER UB-1 MICRO: 100 ULTIMATE PATCHES, PLUS FREE PATCH PACK

Ultimate Patches created all of the premium-quality factory presets that ship in the UB-1. Now, Ultimate Patches releases the next-level UB-1 Ultimate Patches (Volumes 1-3): 100 all-new patches for the UB-1 Micro, with classic sounds from the past, present and future: Soaring leads, thumping basses, paraphonic polys, strings, brass, percussion and fx as well as classic non-synth instruments including electric guitar & basses, acoustic pianos, wurlitzer electric piano, classic 60s/80s organs, voices, world / orchestral and more!

The three-volume set spans genres of 70s, 80s & 90s synth classics as well as cinematic, orchestral, hiphop, pop, vaporwave, retrocade, latin, R&B, reggae, jazz, chiptune, reggaeton, dubstep, tech/deep/retro house, trance, modular, experimental, synthwave, retropop and others.

Pricing & Availability:
Available now as an instant digital download at ultimatepatches.com starting at $9.99 per volume or just $19.99 for all 100 sounds.

Free Patch Pack
There's also a free 15 patch Taster Pack now available (no registration required): https://www.ultimatepatches.com/free-synth-presets-patches.html"

ellitone - lil' dream organ - (small batch)

video upload by ellitone instruments

"*small batch - only 7 available -

ellitone.com

The ellitone lil' dream organ is a limited edition battery-powered polyphonic digital synthesizer with built-in amplified speaker.

Featuring 8 wooden Touch Bars, 16 oscillators, 8 selectable musical scales, and a collection of 50 waveforms to explore and blend using the ‘infinite tone’ knob. the lil dream organ is a fun and powerful electronic instrument capable of many tones and textures, simple enough for a youngster or beginner to operate.

Controls:

-‘infinite tone’ knob blends and mixes 2 separate layers of waveforms together. Each layer consists of 8 oscillators and each layer has its own unique selected waveform. As you turn the knob fully clockwise or fully counterclockwise, a new waveform is chosen from a collection of 50 waveforms and applied to one of the 2 layers. This means that you are infinitely blending in-between new combinations of waveforms continuously.

-musical scale select switches. 3 toggle switches at the top of the device are used to select one of the 8 musical note scales. These three switches operate using binary logic. With 3 switches, we have 8 unique combinations of switch positions (on/off/on…off/off/on…etc). Each one of these 8 possibilities selects a different musical scale to explore using the wooden Touch Bar keyboard notes.

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360 Systems Digital Keyboard Mk II (MIDI)

Note: links to listings are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

morgan fisher · 360 Keyboard

via this Vemia listing

Click the auction link on top when you get there for additional listings.

"360 SYSTEMS DIGITAL KEYBOARD Incredibly rare early 8-bit sample-based keyboard (1982-1984, only 200 made). This is the Mark 2 type, with MIDI. Excellent condition apart from light scratches on the wood panels. Comes with printed manuals (1st and 2nd editions), parts catalogue, service history (maintenance done since the current owner bought it in 2005 - and since then only played it in his home studio). 12 of the 16 voice sockets contain voice chips as follows: 1 Flute / 2 Gut String Guitar / 3 Bass Guitar / 4 Slap bass / 5 Electric Guitar / 6 Electric Piano / 7 Clavinet / 8 Saxophone / 9 French Horn / 10 Trombone / 11 Dark Trumpet / 12 Bright Trumpet.

All functions are working fine except for one problem: This is an 8-voice keyboard, but if you play more than 6 notes at once, the 7th note produces a distorted sound. It seems that the 7th out of the 8 voices is faulty (doubtless due to deterioration of a vital part - no physical damage has been done to this carefully used machine). If it can be fixed or muted, you will have an incredible instrument with rich, organic tones. In any event it is perfectly playable if you respect the current voice limitation.

LISTEN! You can hear the sound of this actual instrument (arpeggios played with all 12 voices from bottom to top of the keyboard) HERE: [embed above]

Quote from a well-known pro user: 'It sounds AMAZING, the only sampler with enough character to rival a Mellotron or Chamberlin. My favorite French horn patch of all time!'"

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The Crow Hill Company Introduces the THE SH*T SYNTH

The Sh*t Synth - Walkthrough video upload by CROW HILL XTRAS

Press release follows:


The Crow Hill Company turns to extensive and rare collection to turn out THE SH*T SYNTH as compendium of 48 circuit-, wave- and sample-bent instruments

EDINBURGH, UK: The Crow Hill Company is proud to turn to its own extensive and rare collection of hardware to turn out THE SH*T SYNTH — available as a compendium of 48 circuit-, wave- and sample-bent instruments inspired by some of the Edinburgh-based enterprise’s eclectic musical favourites (spanning the likes of Aphex Twin, Boards Of Canada, Joe Maus, Jon Brion, Laurie Spiegel, Radiohead, Throbbing Gristle, and Yazoo) to create something that they collectively ask: is it just shit or ‘the shit’? — as of April 7…

Whatever way anyone chooses to read into the titling of THE SH*T SYNTH as the latest entry into The Crow Hill’s ongoing ORIGINS series of sample-based virtual instrument plug-ins, one thing is for sure: it readily represents a broad selection of three categories of 16 workhorse instruments each, effectively wrapped up into a single plug-in designed to bring a cohesive approach to making music more edgy, lo-fi, retro, and — swimming against the technological tide of so-called progress — decidedly AI (Artificial Intelligence) slop-free. From pianos to strings, plucks, beeps, bass, and pads, the compendium that is THE SH*T SYNTH has been lovingly sculpted by the Edinburgh-based enterprise’s media composer and ‘samplist-in-residence’ Christian Henson to take the hassle out of making existing sounds less refined, catering to those looking for an entirely new bank of Mellotron-style sounds as well as synths that have been long forgotten — for good reason, too!

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