Loopop

Hi! I'm having a hard time describing what Waldorf's Crema is in a single sentence, so you'll just have to watch the whole video :) OK OK if you insist, in a nutshell, it's a combination string/wavetable/FM synth, but all unified under one interface with minimal controls. All the details, with plent

Hi Akai is updating the MPK Mini Plus: There's a better arpeggiator, better chord modes, and a very broad range of software integrations, the broadest I've seen in a MIDI controller, and they're certainly leveraging their acquisition of Native Instruments. That said, along with the software focus, t

Hi! A new touch matrix control, full-size keys, more dedicated knobs/buttons, and all the fantastic synth engines of the original - spoiler: there's nothing mini about Minifreak 49... except my review, which I tried to keep concise, as I will this message! Yours, Ziv (posting a mini review of mega-f

Hi, Technically, Memento from Enjoy Lab is a multi-effect with multiple engines, delay, granular, multi-head playback, and reverb, with a lot of hands-on control. But there's something about the sum of the parts that makes it more - the big touch strip on the bottom (which also doubles as an MPE con

Hi! Short and sweet this time - Novation is releasing FLpad - the FL Studio version of their grid controller. If you use FL Studio - this is worth a look! In the video, I go over what it does and compare it to FL Key 2 and Akai's Fire. All my best, Ziv (spilling the juice on Fruity pads on a youtube

Hi! As WaveShaper tier members on Patreon know, my book updates are often what would otherwise be a Patreon-exclusive video, and this month's update started like that. Convolution is a technology normally associated with reverb, and this month's new chapter was (and will be) all about pretty wild no

Hi! Shown at Superbooth and now coming out officially, there's more to Elektron's new Outbox 8 than meets the eye. It's the first-ever (to my knowledge, at least) audio interface that can act both as a USB device (which all the others do) and as a USB host (!). This means it can "create" physical an

Dear WaveShapers! New chapters are kind of like Patreon-only videos, and this month we've got a whole new chapter plus a cool little synth trick inspired by the Siren's song in Nolan's Odyssey, so it's like a video plus a bonus short! The main new chapter this month is called "Lock, Suggest, and Con

Hi! After a short vacation and a couple of weeks with the flu - I'm back! (though you might hear a bit of leftover raspiness in my voice...) I've been waiting a while to explore the Slim 21, not just because it's a nice, portable Continuum that now doesn't cost quite like a used car, but mainly beca

Dear WaveShapers, Well, this has been an interesting month for the channel, and for me personally! Four months ago, I bought my first 3D printer to explore what the fuss is about. I put together my cable management trays and printed a bunch of those (and the obligatory fidget toys and dragons), and

Hi! TL;DR: Here's a link to the app: https://loopopmusic.com/loopop-synth-stand-synthesizer-and-pedal-board-generator Background...: A few months ago I bought a 3D printer - I believe these will be commonplace in the future, and using one is a skill I wanted to have. 3D printers used to be a hassle,

Dear WaveShapers, If you've been here for any amount of time, you know I'm a fan of expressive controllers/synths like the Continuum, Osmose, LinnStrument, and others. Their interfaces don't just allow for additional expression, but also open up a totally new way to interact with synths - the potent

Hi! Eventide's Gen 2 H9 is here - a lot has happened since the original H9 Max - 22 new algorithms, a granular and vocal engine, and more. I don't typically cover multi-effects pedals on the channel, but I think this one is worth a look as a great pairing for synths. I spend almost 20 minutes of the

Hi! This could have been a relatively short and boring "the other shoe fell" video, as the MPC One and Key 37 got the same new CPU as MPC Live 3 and XL, but then Akai went ahead and added one of the more interesting updates to the platform (which works on Gen 1 MPCs as well) - the ability to use syn

Hi! Unlike with synths, where I think a direct comparison is often difficult, you can and should consider MIDI keyboard alternatives using a checklist. Waveshaper tier Patrons already know there's one in my book - and in this video, I explore Arturia's new Minilab 37 with that in mind (obviously wit

Hi! My book started as a summary of tips and ideas in my videos, and over time, it overtook the content in my videos with plenty of book-only exclusives. A while back, I added this tip/trick/idea to the book, but I felt like it needed a companion video, so I decided to sneak this short video in. IMH

Hi! As I was preparing a drum synth kit in my recent review of Iridium, it dawned on me - my book doesn't have a chapter about drum synthesis with specific recipes, and worst of all, it doesn't tell you how to synthesize a cowbell! "Incomplete" truly was not false advertising! Well, this month's upd

Hi! Almost every time I review a synth, the pros and cons section mentions Iridium as a comparison for a synth that ticks most of the boxes. Waldorf's Iridium Desktop MK2 is the first of a new generation of synths, introducing a new oscillator (generator type) called seeds, per-note locks (not per s

Hi! To make this video, I went on a journey - no, not Superbooth Berlin, one much more perilous - to learn FL Studio. When Novation told me they were coming out with a new version of controllers for FL, I decided it was a good opportunity to see what the FL fuss was about. I have to admit I was surp

Hi! Blackbox 2 from 1010music is here, and while it's about the same size as the original Blackbox, the overall experience is more like a "Bento mini". Speaking of which, Bento has come a long way since my video review of their prototype last year, so if you're curious how it's come along, you'll ge

Dear WaveShapers! MPE has been a pretty big topic in my book for a while - what it is technically, and a buyer's guide - but now that MPE controllers have become ever more available, perhaps it's time for a chapter on how to actually design sounds for it - or at the very least adapt existing presets

Hi! Expressive E is releasing Osmose CE - a MIDI controller-only version of the MPE keybed in their Osmose synth, along with a companion preset plugin with 900+ presets, based on the excellent synth engines in Vital, Phase Plant, Dune 3, Noisy 2 and more. All the details in the video, and attached a

Hi - I hope you're all doing well! If you're on the WaveShaper tier (or considering upgrading...), introducing my fourth web app - with a whole bunch of 2D scopes on one screen - including an oscilloscope, spectrum analyzer (with the option for dual mono spectrums), tuner, and stereoscope. My first

Dear WaveShapers, I hope you're well! Attached are 18 multi-sampled sounds of DMNO by UDO. As usual, they're multisampled every 3 semitones to give you a high-quality snapshot of this synth's character. They're here for you in the following formats: 1. As a single big file using DecentSampler - down

Hi! UDO's latest synth DMNO is here - it's in many ways an evolution of their current line, but also its own thing, setting aside strict simplicity in favor of features, play modes, dual filter configurations, power, and a screen! Like Super Gemini, it's got dual controls, one for each timbre (with

Dear WaveShapers, This month's update is a new chapter about one topic, the most underrated sampling source: Your ideas! "What are you talking about?!" I hear you say. Am I proposing some sort of mind-reading AI? Not at all. When we think of sampling, the first thing that comes to mind is grabbing a

Hi! OK, my 16 Pad Auto Sampling web app is live and available for the WaveShaper tier Patrons here. You can also always go to my site (loopopmusic.com) and look under the Patron apps tab A few important notes! The video manual is in my MPC Sample video at this time point. This web app generates regu

Hi! MPC Sample is here - you've heard the rumors/leaks, and all the details are in my video. As I was exploring it, I discovered it can be significantly enhanced with an autosampler, because its chops can be sequenced directly from the sliced pad, without exporting/extracting first, so I put togethe

Hi! Novation's Launch Control MK3 is here - it's got the screen and endless encoders from the XL, updated DAW support, custom modes, and more. It's great value for money, IMHO, if you need a bunch of knobs to control stuff; all the details are in my review. It doesn't have morphs, randomization, or

Dear WaveShapers, I don't have a solution for world peace, but I can offer an alternative to doom scrolling - here are a few ideas to spend some quality time making music/with your synths, in this month's update: A way to fake polyphonic aftertouch on a regular keyboard. Admittedly, there's a little

Hi! If you've been around the channel for a while, you've seen the KeyStep 37 in many of my videos - it's by far my most-used controller because it's compact, has 3 full octaves so it doesn't feel cramped, doesn't get in the way, has a few knobs to control a parameter here and there, and is fun and

Hi, I really enjoyed making this one! I bought my first MIDI controller decades ago, and it was a boring big thing with keys, knobs and faders, and was a nightmare to program. Since then, MIDI controllers have been getting more smarts, increasingly larger screens which mostly led to a more user frie

Dear WaveShapers! I'm particularly excited about this month's update, which is, literally, a whole new chapter in Patron benefits! Over the past year or so I've been "coding" (using AI, I can't take credit for writing actual code) various apps for my own entertainment and the channel. You may have s

Dear WaveShapers, I hope you're well! A bit of behind the scenes on the making of this one: typically, I multisample an instrument every 3 semitones across a 5 octave range. Since Phase8 only has 8 independent sound generators (the resonator and driver pair), I instinctively wanted to include them a

Dear WaveShapers, I hope you're well! Attached are 19 multi-sampled sounds of Leviasynth by ASM. As usual, they're multisampled every 3 semitones to give you a high-quality snapshot of this synth's character. Leviasynth can do "normal synth sounds" - I didn't include those; rather, these are more ev

Hi! My last video for the NAMM rush is about Korg Berlin's Phase8. Unlike other launches, this synth has evolved in the public eye, and now I've got a final production version to explore with an actual serial number. I was quite surprised. Korg pulled off an interesting synth with an innovative appr

Hi! Well, the leaks are true - and now it's official - MPC XL is here: it's big, it's got MPCe pads, a touch strip, and plenty of buttons. What's more impressive to me is how Akai are handing the MPCe pads on the software side. We've seen plenty of controllers and instruments with XY sensors - these

Hi - I hope you had a good weekend! Kicking off this week is literally something massive - Leviasynth from ASM. It's not a Hydrasynth MK2, but rather something different based on the same interface and some shared components. It's an interesting take on a new interface style for operator synthesis,

Hi! First NAMM drop (of 4!!) is here: Korg's KOASS PAD is back in the form of KPV, and interestingly, if you're up for the menu diving, it's now a user-programmable multi-effect (along with other updates). Unlike the NTS-3, where you've got to code and compile to create your own effects, KPV lets yo

Hi, I'm sneaking this one in just before the NAMM rush... Before I published this video, I checked, and 19 (!!) of the top 20 Billboard songs have an Atmos/Spatial mix/master. If you want to get in on the game, this video is for you :) I already made a video about how the top billboard producers are

Dear WaveShapers, I hope you're all doing well - the December 2025 book update is here! Like Hollywood movies, if a music tech product is anywhere near successful, there’s a good chance that a company will follow it up with a sequel. The good news is that, unlike Hollywood, more often than not, musi

Hi! This might be the last video for the year, so, while not going out with a bang, might as well go with a subsonic boom... Long-time viewers of the channel know I prefer synths in my studio to drywall, at the known cost of nasty bass modes here and there. That's why I've steered away from adding a

Dear WaveShapers, I hope you're well! Attached are 21 multi-sampled sounds of Protein by Waldorf. As usual, they're multisampled every three semitones to give you a high-quality snapshot of the character of this synth. They're here for your enjoyment in the following formats: 1. As a single big file

Hi! 8-bit Protein is on the menu for this week! Waldorf is no stranger to 8-bit wavetable synths, but it is at this price point. Protein costs even less than Blofeld and is focused on hands-on controls, affordability, and 8-bit sounds. All the details are in the video, and I've attached 10 minutes o