Note from the boss man: I’m letting Gianni drive again this week because he tried to thread tape reels through my vintage TEAC deck and somehow created a chthonic mass that resembles a spider-web straight from the heart of hell. One of our other studio helpers and two of the cats are presumed trapped in its shimmering, magnetic corridors. No footnotes this time — I’ve been too busy trying to extricate the Neumann and my void bebe Melissa from the mess without invoking ancient tape gods.
Hallo again, dear readers of Sonic Odyssey! It is I, Gianni Oberhausen, newly reinstated Intern (third class), reporting for my sacred weekly duty: cataloging the ongoing rituals of the music production industry while attempting to dodge solder fumes, furballs, and the occasional Les Paul avalanche. I remain stationed in the garage, now home to what Herr Randall refers to as "The Sacred Pile" — a leaning tower of tone containing, among other things, two defective MIDI patch bays, a pair of long-abandoned TASCAM units that once belonged to Herr Randall's father, and what I now know is not a juice press, but rather an ancient DBX compressor imbued with unknowable studio spirits.
This week, I bring you our customary roundup of Reviews, News, and Trends — all while organizing the literal "boxes of shame," each containing the smoldering remains of failed pedal builds, unloved prototypes, and at least one fuzz circuit that appears to be whispering threats in German(ium).
Let us proceed.
Reviews & Roundups
Xfer Serum 2 Review — MusicRadar
Why the most hyped synth plugin in the world might actually deserve it.
Mackie ProFX10 Go Review — Sound On Sound
Portable, flexible, and surprisingly powerful — is this the live rig cheat code?
Acustica Thing Plugin Review — Sound On Sound
Analog-style tone shaping that’s just... a little weird. In a good way.
Multi-Poly Preset Roundup — Gearnews
A curated collection of great presets across several synths.
History of Yamaha Synths — Gearnews
From CS-80 to Montage — an excellent retrospective.
LANDR Sampler Review — Rekkerd
A sampler that organizes all your sample and also plays samples.
News
Dave Mustaine Still Mad at Metallica — MusicRadar
The beef lives on, 42 years later.
Arturia AstroLab 88 Announced — MusicRadar
Full-size keys and space-ready synth power.
Nordic Audio Labs NU-24K Interface — Sound On Sound
Serious specs and a boutique build for audiophile-level creators.
Arturia MiniFuse Champagne Edition — Sound On Sound
It’s fancy. It’s gold. It’s still a MiniFuse.
Kemper Profiler MKII Revealed — Gearnews
Updated UI and more I/O — the tone chameleon evolves.
Trends
Can a Quantum Computer Make a Hit Song? — Hypebot
Spoiler: the math checks out. The vibe? Still TBD.
Sonic Odyssey Highlights
Week in Review – May 19, 2025
Gianni lives, and we’re still on Google’s radar. Barely.
Top Drum Machines for Electronic Music in 2025
Some old, some new, all capable of boom-bap sorcery.
Thank you, as always, for sharing this strange and wonderful corner of the internet with us. As we enter June, I’ve been advised to hydrate, touch grass, and stop calling cassette tape hiss "vintage warmth." I make no promises.
Until next week,
— Gianni (and the mysterious entity whispering through the spring reverb tank in the garage)
