Lying somewhere between organic and artificial in its sound, the vocal synth Pipa - available as both an iPad app and a Mac and Windows plug-in - is genuinely new and refreshing.

The post Pipa is a unique vocal synth plug-in and app that’s supremely fun to play [Hands-on] appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

It really sounds like we want our drums to beat us up. Anyway, Diablo Lite, a new free plug-in from Cymatics, is all about harder-hitting drums - and it in fact is some nice boutique software.

The post Freebie watch: Diablo Lite is built to make drums punch, slap, and hit harder appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

The wonderfully mysterious analog LYRA-8 synthesizer world now has an unofficial digital cousin - and it's free-or-pay-what-you-can for Pure Data (and cross-platform AU and VST).

The post LIRA-8 reimagines the LYRA-8 organismic drone synth in Pd, VST, AU free – donationware appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

You deserve some instant ambience - ready to pour over your sounds like so much maple syrup. Hell, yeah - and download this now, as it's free only in December.

The post Texture is a free, rich granular reverb plug-in with mid/side for Mac, Windows appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

It's one of the all-time great chorus effects - and now you can bite off just the chorus of the Roland Juno and use it as an effect, for free, with this giveaway from Arturia. We've got that - and one competing free chorus, for good measure!

The post Arturia’s Juno-6 chorus recreation is free this week as a plug-in appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

Modular Santa Claus is here, just in the Nick of time. Boutique Scottish Eurorack maker Instruo is dropping a big range of modules in virtual form on VCV Rack - for free. Here's what's inside and where to get started.

The post Free Eurorack holiday – all these Instruo modules are now on VCV Rack; here’s a guide appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

The OP-Z's ultra-minimalist, candybar form factor hides some serious synthesis, sampling, and audiovisual powers - and now new live visual/VJ functions, too.

The post OP-Z VJ: app from Teenage Engineering adds video powers appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

Bitwig's new 808 freebie is massively multisampled and uniquely integrated with Bitwig Studio - which opens up the possibility of playing bass lines on it or integrating it with modular patches in The Grid.

The post Bitwig adds a free 808 – multisampled and 808 bass and Grid patch ready appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

It's the strange, warm warble and distortion of a mixtape that had been taped over too many times and left in a hot car - now in your mixes, for free.

The post Add free tape grunge and warble to your sound with MRX90 for Reaktor appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

It's the ultimate open source ugly duckling story. Once an awkward, esoteric tool, Blender has grown into a 3D modeling and animation standard that's slick and pretty - and free.

The post Blender 2.9 is here, as free 3D powerhouse gets boosts from Intel and NVIDIA appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

Freesound4live brings the incredible and eclectic open sound community freesound.org right into your Ableton Live session – so you can access sounds and new inspiration quickly, for free. The Max for Live device is the work of Alessandro Aylesim Miracapillo. And this is both convenient and unlike any other sample tool. You can browse, search, […]

The post Free sounds and samples in Ableton Live, powered by commons and community appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

Hack your Launchpad! Novation's new r_cycle lets you design your own layouts and interactions, and even turn them into instruments and effects, all in the free Pure Data environment.

The post Novation Launchpad now has a free set of tools in Pd to hack your own controllers appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

The MacBook Touch Bar just got a new use. From the maker of the excellent iPad app Samplr, this free utility makes a multi-touch sample player - and it's surprisingly capable.

The post Samplr’s creator made a free sample player for the MacBook Touch Bar appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

Discover the wonders of the QUAD ALGORITHMIC RHYTHM module from Frozen Wasteland. We'll learn how to compose rhythms, trigger them live, and more - all with free modules and VCV Rack.

The post Step by step: rhythms and polyrhythms, even advanced ones, for free in VCV Rack appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.

Apple's announcement of moving the Mac from Intel to ARM is no surprise. But here are the details most relevant to your tools - and why we're in a new era on both the PC and the Mac.

The post With ARM and the Mac, a new landscape for music, creative app developers appeared first on CDM Create Digital Music.