You most likely know you don’t want high-end gear to make music. However let’s be actual — some {hardware} can mild up your creativity in a manner software program generally can’t. It is likely to be a mind-bending synth, a slick new controller or a reimagined traditional. And, relaxation assured, 2025 has already seen a ton of latest, thrilling merchandise which are certain to get you impressed.
Perhaps you’re looking out for a chunk of equipment to make your studio a little bit extra attention-grabbing this 12 months; a brand new MIDI keyboard, a robust outboard compressor and even only a distinctive synth. MusicTech’s reviewers have spent the 12 months thus far getting hands-on with the freshest {hardware} on the market — right here’s the gear that’s made an enduring impression, and that we expect you must try.
READ MORE: MusicTech’s favorite plugins of 2025 — thus far
I’ve by no means heard something fairly just like the Beetlecrab Tempera
I used to be blown away by the Beetlecrab Tempera. The instrument is, at coronary heart, a granular sampler, however one which’s uniquely performable, due to an 8×8 grid of touch-sensitive cells. Every cell represents a portion of a pattern and lights in certainly one of 4 colors when touched, and every color represents an unbiased granular engine that extracts its grains from the cells lit in its color. Taking part in Tempera is an astonishing expertise. As with every sample-based instrument, the outcomes are derived from no matter sounds are loaded, however the scope for creating variations and sonic prospers by interacting with the cells is one thing solely new. I’ve misplaced hours to Tempera, exploring sudden timbral avenues while revelling in its revolutionary quirkiness. I’ve by no means seen — or heard — something fairly prefer it!
Tempera opens solely new home windows into artistic sound design, turning easy audio samples into expressive and deeply interactive sonic parts with which to craft devices, jam beats, and discover otherworldly soundscapes.
After I reviewed the Tempera, there was one key takeaway: “Put merely, Tempera could possibly be the most effective instrument ever created for producers of soundtracks and ambient music.”
Heat Audio WA76-A and WA76-D are merely chic
Heat Audio by no means fails to impress with its inexpensive recreations of traditional gear, and the corporate delivered a double whammy with the WA76-A and WA76-D. Primarily based on two revered variations of the UREI 1176, the brand new fashions can be found each as conventional mono items or, within the case of the A2 and D2, twin channel/stereo. The 76-A fashions replicate the sound of unique late Sixties items, whereas the 76-Ds mimic the smoother and fewer noisy traits of a mid-70s revision.
In my overview of the WA76, I famous: “Heat Audio’s excellent construct high quality and worth for cash is a given as of late, so the extra flexibility of switchable impedance, high-pass filter and the Moist/Dry management makes both model a must-hear audition alternative should you’re out there for a traditional 1176-style compressor.”
It’s ironic that again within the days of 24-track analogue recording, all of the engineers had been obsessive about noise discount, therefore revision D. However now within the clear digital age, it’s usually good to inject a little bit noise and saturation for an analogue vibe. That’s why the ‘Blue Stripe’ WA76-A will get my vote!
Soma Labs Lyra-4
I’m a sucker for an excellent drone. I unabashedly love Lou Reed’s Metallic Machine Music, and am an enormous fan of ambient artists like GAS and drone steel act Sunn O))). The Soma Labs Lyra-4 is an instrument designed with drones in thoughts. Like I stated in my overview of the Lyra-4, it isn’t going to be for everybody, and also you received’t attain for it on a regular basis. However while you desire a actually electrical drone that sounds prefer it’s about to flee the audio system and do your listener bodily hurt, there are few devices higher suited to the duty.
The Lyra-4 interface can be visceral and bodily in a manner that different devices aren’t. There’s no keyboard — as an alternative, you bodily full electrical circuits along with your physique (or one thing else conductive).
It’s simple to dismiss the Lyra-4 as only a cut-down model of the Lyra-8, an unimaginable however costly instrument. However by sticking to the necessities, the Lyra-4 retains the worth cheap. And affordability is vital while you’re speaking about one thing this area of interest.
Roland V-Stage 88 — the final keyboard you’ll ever want?
There are surprisingly few high-end stage keyboards that actually get to the center of what a reside participant wants once they’re performing. Limitless menu diving is certainly out, however real-time controls, sensibly organized, are most undoubtedly in. The V-Stage 88 is a hefty beast for certain, and never cheap, nevertheless it’s a category chief for actual gamers.
With 4 separate sound engines — piano, EP, tone wheel and ZenCore synth all from Roland’s first-rate libraries, its prime panel controls present precisely what you should tweak and play superb keyboard devices on stage, whereas around the again it has a wealth of ins and outs each for reside and studio work. Its solely critical competitors is Nord’s Stage 4, which prices extra and arguably isn’t as simple to make use of in a reside state of affairs.
Critical gamers will inform you {that a} keyboard that feels implausible to play will make them play higher and need to play extra. That’s a uncommon factor, and the V-Stage undoubtedly has it. As I stated when I reviewed it: “If your small business is music, the V-Stage simply is likely to be the final efficiency keyboard you ever want.”
Arturia KeyLab 88 MK3 is a mammoth controller
Arturia’s KeyLab 88 mk3 bestows MIDI management with all of the tactile pleasure and playability I may ever need as an instrumentalist; with beneficiant quantities of DAW management, a full-colour display and a stunning keyboard design, it’s the king of MIDI controllers in 2025. I put in my overview that “it’s such a pleasure to play that it’s going to allow you to max out the potential of your plugins, much more than you assume,” — and I actually meant that.
This mammoth MIDI controller is the crowning glory for any remotely computer-leaning studio setup. With a stunning, absolutely weighted Fatar TP/110 hammer-action keybed, a bunch of useful DAW management options (with customized mapping for various DAWS), a choice of tactile controls reminiscent of pads, faders and rotary encoders, and quite a few efficiency options reminiscent of Scale Mode, Chord Play and an onboard arpeggiator, it units new requirements for software program management. And did I point out the picket sides?
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