MusicRadar Tech

What is a producer? In an age of bedroom studios, DIY recording and remote collaboration, it's a term that's increasingly hard to define. With production and songwriting credits for Adele, Kae Tempest, Stormzy and more, Fraser T Smith is better qualified to offer an explanation than most... Watch the full interview on our youTube channel: youtu.be/ElL4WlkFWGU?ut…

The H1 Essential is the simplest and cheapest unit in the range, and yet it still packs a punch in terms of features. It’s a clear winner on portability and ease of use, and at €119/£99, it offers fantastic value.

How to make 8-bit video game sounds in your DAW with a free synth trib.al/7K8LK05

NAMM 2025: Scaler 3 promises to widen the feature set of one of our favourite songwriting tools trib.al/ELSuzIF

“We quite like the CR-78 hats, but you can use anything else that adopts a similar lightness of touch”: How to create a low-key ambient techno beat in your DAW trib.al/VPZG6sZ

“The biggest and best all-in-one modular step sequencer, offering flexibility and playability”: Analogue Solutions AS500-SEQ review trib.al/9euEvRo

“Nile's riff on Get Lucky is a classic example of a funk riff, where the second of each 16th-note duplet is slightly delayed”: Locking down the theory of groove trib.al/ysfcoPB

“It’s by no means necessary to attend a music production school to have a career in electronic music - this is, in fact, a relatively new concept”: Opinions vary on the value of music production schools in 2025 trib.al/2zeZoE9

Use this classic free Computer Music synth to generate bubbling movement across your track trib.al/unYH5ab

“At certain points in music history it became fashionable to place accents on certain beats”: How to score a drum part trib.al/721qHff

“In a world where AI is starting to impact in so many areas of tech, it is notable and perhaps refreshing that this gets no mention in this release”: Steinberg Cubase Pro 14 review trib.al/PY33kkn

Best iPad for musicians and producers 2025: My pick of Apple tablets for all levels of music maker trib.al/7WttROs

Make your instrument recordings more dynamic with this slick modulation hack trib.al/4V4qcsU

“A lot of times Prince’s drums were LinnDrums. That wasn’t a human playing the drums on some of the Prince songs. That too was a machine”: will.i.am says that musicians should be inspired by AI in the same way that he was inspired by Prince trib.al/1yMqhVA

NAMM 2025: New MIDI-integrated Rhodes pianos merge old-school craft with extended expression via polyphonic aftertouch trib.al/egfVPbs

How to get this classic Sega-inspired synth for free and use it to create next level chiptune sounds trib.al/GsRrHw2

“They're poised to have a breakthrough year”: Can Shazam really predict music's next superstars? trib.al/sPAX4io

“It's rare to encounter a song from the last 70 years or so that doesn’t involve it in some way”: How to work with reverb effectively trib.al/1eFk4aj

"For me, it was essential - even though nobody has ever asked me what my qualifications are”: Should you consider music production school? trib.al/rI8ohM9

“I’m not the technical producer, I’ve learned how to use a compressor but I haven’t learned why it does what it does”: Revisiting the intuitive production skills that made Avicii a superstar trib.al/bae4jBc