Note from the boss man: I’ve been too busy scouring the internet for a mint copy of Sneak 'n' Peek for the Atari 2600, so Gianni the Intern is once again in charge of this week’s intro. He’s still on probation, but I’m choosing to believe in redemption arcs — or at least, in having one less thing on my plate. Also, we’re skipping footnotes this week. I’d blame burnout, but the truth is I’ve been trying (and failing) to resurrect a water-damaged $250 copy of Condor Attack and it’s drained what little will to annotate I had left.
Hallo again, dear readers of Sonic Odyssey! It is I, Gianni Oberhausen, still on double secret probation and currently serving in my role as ErsatzLesPaulKartonSortierpraktikant — a completely legitimate German word meaning “temporary intern assigned to sort guitar cases while contemplating the futility of his choices.” This week’s punishment includes organizing Herr Randall’s extensive Les Paul collection by rarity, weight, and residual cat fur content, and cleaning corrosion from a suspiciously large shipment of Atari 2600 cartridges — all of which, bafflingly, are copies of Combat. I do not understand this country.
Despite my exile to the garage (which smells strongly of orange oil, vinyl, and what I believe is despair), I have returned once again to assemble this week’s collection of Reviews, News, and Trends. It is, as always, my great honor.
Before we begin, I must briefly mention something of great cultural significance: next week is Memorial Day in the United States, and the team will be taking the week off. I, for one, am extremely curious about this tradition. I was told there may be cookouts, sales on mattresses, and possibly the ceremonial lighting of grills. I intend to honor this American holiday by studying regional hot dog variations and practicing my freedom.
Let us dive in, like a freshly recapped console on power-up.
Reviews & Roundups
- Universal Audio SC-1 Microphone Review — MusicRadar
Detailed, clinical, and unmistakably UA — this mic plays it clean and classic. - Steinberg Cubasis 3.7 & Iconica Sketch — Sound On Sound
Mobile music production meets orchestral sketching — surprisingly powerful. - Harrison Mixbus 11 Review — Sound On Sound
The DAW with analog vibes gets another round of polish and performance. - Filterbank Plugin by Rave Generation — Rekkerd
Retro-futuristic filtering with loads of movement and grime.
News
- Dire Straits & the Secret Synth Weapon — MusicRadar
Guy Fletcher breaks down the 80s synth that shaped Brothers in Arms. - M-Audio M-Track Duo Upgrade — MusicRadar
Budget interface gets a refresh with USB-C and better converters. - Brown Sound ‘78/79 by IK Multimedia — Sound On Sound
Chasing the Van Halen tone in a box? This one’s for you. - Arturia MicroLab MkIII Announced — Sound On Sound
Tiny controller, big upgrades — and yes, it still fits in a backpack. - EHX Oceans Abyss Reverb Pedal — Gearnews
Ambient heads, this one’s dripping wet in the best way. - HEDD Audio A-Core Monitors — Gearnews
German monitoring precision enters a new core generation. - Bettermaker Mastering Compressor — Rekkerd
Plugin Alliance drops a mastering-grade tool with polish and punch.
Trends
- SoundCloud Denies AI Training Accusations — MusicRadar
Your uploads are (allegedly) safe — but the trust? Not so much. - LEET AI Synth Project Announced — Synthtopia
Modular, wireless, and Python-based — the open-source synth future is here.
Sonic Odyssey Highlights
- Week in Review – May 12, 2025
Gianni survived another week, and the algorithm finally started paying attention. Catch up on last week’s roundup. - Best Free DAWs for Beginners
A curated list of the best no-cost DAWs that don’t suck — perfect for starting strong without spending a dime.
Thanks for sticking with us — even as our intern continues to mistake vintage gear for sacrificial offerings. Gianni now understands that Memorial Day is not, in fact, a celebration of great American video games, although he has expressed a desire to host a Combat-themed cookout. We’re working on his education.
We’ll be back with fresh content the week after Memorial Day — same Odyssey time, same Odyssey channel.
