Music Production

TL;DR - Suno v5.5 (March 2026) is the most expressive model yet, and three personalisation features finally make the platform usable as a real workflow: Voices (clone your own verified singing voice), Custom Models (fine-tune v5.5 on your own catalogue), and My Taste (lightweight preference learning for everyone). The Warner Music deal is now visible in the product - older models are being deprecated, free accounts have lost commercial download rights, and the ownership language has softened from “you own this” to “you have commercial rights.” Best used for demos, stem libraries, and personal sound signatures; still risky for releases that need clean copyright provenance. ...

AI music generation has gone from novelty to legitimate production tool in eighteen months. In 2024 the conversation was “is this cheating?” In 2026 the conversation is “which one do I subscribe to?” Four tools dominate the space right now, and they are not interchangeable. Here is how they actually compare when you sit down and try to make music with them. The Contenders Suno - text-to-song with the best vocal synthesis, now with a full DAW (Suno Studio). Udio - the main challenger to Suno, popular for instrumental and genre-accurate output. AIVA - symbolic composition (MIDI-first), aimed at composers and scoring. Riffusion - spectrogram-based generation, strong for loops and experimental textures. Round 1: Vocal Quality Suno - still the leader. The v5 model handles vowel shapes, breath noise, and consonant articulation with a realism that was science fiction two years ago. Mikey Shulman has talked about this at length and the voice personas feature makes it easy to nail a specific tone. Udio - close, sometimes better on stylised delivery (rap cadence, country twang), but less consistent. AIVA - does not generate audio vocals at all. MIDI only. Riffusion - can produce vocal-like textures but not coherent lyrics. Not a vocal tool. Winner: Suno, with Udio a strong second for specific genres. ...

The DAW landscape in 2026 looks different to the one I wrote about last year. AI-assisted stem separation is now table stakes, generative co-writers are embedded everywhere, and the “cloud DAW” idea has finally stopped being a novelty. Whether you are sketching your first loop or mixing a full band, here is where I would start in 2026. Ableton Live 12 - Still the Creative Sandbox Live 12 is still the current major version in April 2026, now at 12.3 with 12.4 landing as a free update for Live 12 users. The recent releases have brought Stem Separation in Suite, Splice integration, Bounce Groups, and the new Auto Pan-Tremolo. The Session View remains unbeaten for rapid sketching and live performance, and Max for Live continues to be the quiet superpower that keeps Live feeling fresh a decade on. ...

Modular synthesis can feel overwhelming at first. There are dozens of modules, hundreds of cables, and infinite ways to patch them together. But underneath all that complexity lies a simple truth: modular synthesis is about understanding how audio flows from one place to another, and learning to shape that signal at every step. If you’ve ever felt lost looking at a Eurorack case, this post is for you. We’re going to break modular synthesis down to its essential building blocks - the modules that do the heavy lifting in almost every patch. ...

The landscape of software synthesis has undergone a massive shift over the last two years. While the legends of the 2010s are still present, 2026 has introduced a new generation of “intelligent” instruments that bridge the gap between complex sound design and intuitive creativity. Here are the top software synths currently defining the sound of 2026. 1. Xfer Serum 2 (The Evolution) After years of anticipation, the successor to the most popular wavetable synth in history has finally matured. Serum 2 maintains the workflow we love but adds a “Neural Resynthesis” engine. You can now drop any audio sample into the oscillator, and the AI will reconstruct it as a fully morphable wavetable with uncanny accuracy. ...

In the realm of software synthesizers, few names command as much respect and anticipation as u-he. And among their legendary lineup, Zebra has always stood out as a chameleon – a semi-modular powerhouse capable of almost any sound. Now, with the long-awaited arrival of Zebra 3, the beast has truly been unleashed, promising to redefine what’s possible in digital sound design. This isn’t just an update; it’s a complete reimagining, building on the strengths of its predecessor while pushing the boundaries of flexibility, sonic fidelity, and user experience. ...

When Native Instruments entered preliminary insolvency in late January, it felt like a seismic moment. Two months later, the picture has gotten clearer - and in some ways, more complex. The company has now moved into formal insolvency proceedings, and simultaneously revealed it’s in active merger and acquisition talks with multiple interested buyers. This isn’t a bankruptcy death spiral; it’s a controlled restructuring. But it raises harder questions about what went wrong, and what salvation might actually look like. ...

The Yamaha DX7 wasn’t the first synthesizer. It wasn’t the most powerful. It wasn’t the cheapest. But in 1983, it became the most important instrument released that decade - and arguably the most influential synthesizer in history. By 1989, over 200,000 units had been sold. Today, it remains the second-best-selling synthesizer of all time (after the Casio VL-Tone, which was technically a calculator with a synth). Here’s why that matters: the DX7 didn’t just change synthesizer design. It fundamentally altered how modern music sounds. ...

A selection of my music production work from March 2026. Browse other months All Tracks

If you’ve ever compared a Behringer Model D or Poly D to a classic Moog, you might have thought: “Wait… that looks exactly like a Minimoog!” Yet somehow, Behringer isn’t breaking any laws. How does that work? The answer lies in the fascinating intersection of patents, copyright, trademarks, and trade dress - the legal forces that shape hardware synth design. Patents: The Clock Ticks Out Patents are the most obvious form of protection for inventors. They grant exclusive rights to an invention for a limited time - usually 20 years. Once a patent expires, the invention becomes public domain. ...