Sanjay C storms back into the news bunker with a whirlwind of synth drama, gear drops, and plugin surprises. Native Instruments is in the hot seat after mass layoffs, Nullify aims to show you how streaming mangles your mix, and the MD7 tries to bring motorised madness to your fingertips. All this, plus a new mastering shortcut and a headphone that actually wants to leave the house. Strap in, it’s a proper kit-carrier’s news blast.

Beyerdynamic DT 275 PRO, Mach Devices MD7, MusikHack HyFi, Native Instruments Maschine, Native Instruments Reaktor, Native Instruments Traktor, Nullify

2. August 2026

SpectreSoundStudios

SpectreSoundStudios Goes Nuclear: Head Rush Flex Prime Wrecks the Amp Sim Status Quo

SPARKY

SpectreSoundStudios just dropped a truth bomb on the overpriced amp sim market, and the shrapnel is called Head Rush Flex Prime. Forget dropping your life savings on a shiny box with a famous logo—Glenn Fricker’s latest video puts a $450 street weapon right up against the top shelf, and the results are anything but polite. Expect savage comparisons, relentless honesty and enough open-source firepower to make the old guard sweat. If you thought you needed a Quad Cortex to sound pro, it might be time to check your wallet—and your assumptions.

Head Rush Flex Prime, Neural Amp Modeler, Quad Cortex

2. August 2026

Molten Music Technology

Molten Music Technology Goes Full Throttle: July 2026’s Sonic Mayhem

SPARKY

If you like your synth news served hot, messy, and with a British accent, Molten Music Technology’s July 2026 Monthly is your buffet. Robin Vincent is back – caffeinated, irreverent, and dead set on blitzing through a mountain of new hardware, plugins, and wild community projects in one breakneck episode. If you’re after dry press release recaps, look elsewhere. Here, it’s all about what slaps, what’s weird, and why the DIY crowd might just save your next studio night. Dive in for glitchy reverbs, brutal hardware and a rallying cry for real human creativity.

Analogue Solutions Filtopia, Arcaico Stigma, ATOV Punkbuss, Audio Spices Anise, Broekn Labs ChopGrid, Dev Ocean Modular, Erica Synths Razornator, Ethereal Electronics Shooting Stars, Flat Six Modular Shroud of Turin, Hampshire Electronics Cerberus, Jagger Software Ph@Controller, Jasmine & Olive Trees Doppler and Door, Kael Alden Headspace, Mach Devices MD-7, Martinic TG100 Reverb, Moddict Modular Orphiser and Poet Selector, MPE Insight, Noctalune Audio NoctaTape, Raredata Compa, Rhodes Clav Pro, Samplescout, Sampleson Aeronaut, Soundpaint Looper, Stranis Focus, Stronghand Audio Archangel, Synido TempoKEY K32 Play, THRP – The Human Response Project, Tim Exile Karst, Timo Rozendal Filler, Tremodular Interactive build guide, Trilling Synths Darp, Tunary Instruments Argish and Silt, XAOC Skopje Dual Quantizer

2. August 2026

Sweetwater

Sweetwater’s Pedalboard Gauntlet: Mitch Gallagher’s 23-Pedal Rave Bunker

SPARKY

Mitch Gallagher from Sweetwater throws subtlety out the window and slams 23 pedals onto a single Gator Vertex Tour Elite board. This video is a pedalboard arms race with no budget cap and no genre boundaries—just pure tone territory. We get cable chaos, tight fits, and enough stompboxes to make your amp weep. Sweetwater’s signature helpfulness meets a gearhead fever dream. Guest players add fuel to the fire, and the whole thing is a love letter to everyone who’s ever said, “just one more pedal.”

BOSS GE-7 EQ, Catalinbread Many Worlds, Dunlop DVP5 Volume (X) 8, EarthQuaker Devices ZEQD-Pre, EBS Flat Cables, Electro-Harmonix Nano Pog, Empress Effects Compressor MKII, EVH 5150 Overdrive, Gator Vertex Tour Elite, Ibanez TS808HW v2 Tube Screamer Overdrive Pro, IK Multimedia TONEX ONE, J. Rockett Audio Designs The Jeff Archer, JHS Unicorn V2, Keeley Fuzz Bender 3, Origin Effects Halcyon Blue, Peterson StroboStomp Mini, ProCo FAT RAT, Red Witch Plurious, Revv G3 V2, Source Audio Ventris, Strymon Lex, Universal Audio UAFX Flow, Walrus Audio Canvas Power 15, Walrus Audio Polychrome, Wampler Metaverse, Xotic XW-1 Wah Pedal

Inside Yamaha Synths: A Decade of Montage Innovation

1. August 2026

Yamaha Synths Official

Inside Yamaha Synths: A Decade of Montage Innovation

LYRA

Yamaha Synths Official brings together developers and power users to mark ten years of the Montage platform—a digital flagship that’s redefined what a stage keyboard can do. From deep motion control to FM-X and AN-X sound engines, the conversation dives into how Yamaha’s architecture choices have kept Montage ahead of the curve. With guests like Kier Darby and John Melas, we get rare insight into the evolution, key features, and real-world workflows that make Montage and Montage M so formidable in both studio and live environments.

Yamaha Montage, Yamaha Montage M

1. August 2026

AudioPilz

AudioPilz Goes Dumpster Diving: The Cheapest Synths That (Kinda) Slap

RILEY

Ever wonder if you can cook up bangers without burning your wallet? AudioPilz dives headfirst into the bargain bin, putting a crew of synths under $100 through their paces. Expect wild quirks, janky connections, and some sounds that’ll have your neighbors dialing animal control. This is streetwise gear for broke beatmakers, and trust me, it’s a ride full of cheap thrills and chaotic jams.

Lodewijk Vos: Fragile Violins – Where Strings Drift and Breathe

1. August 2026

Lodewijk Vos (LØ)

Lodewijk Vos: Fragile Violins – Where Strings Drift and Breathe

LUMINA

In a world of static orchestral perfection, Lodewijk Vos invites us into the liminal space of Fragile Violins—a boutique string sampler that exudes imperfection and movement. Here, strings don’t simply play; they converse, shiver, and unravel into textures that feel both haunted and alive. Vos’s cinematic sensibility and minimalist studio ethos coalesce in this walkthrough, where every articulation becomes a new landscape. This isn’t just about sampling—it’s about sculpting air, bending light, and discovering the emotional ghosts that linger between the notes.