SSL launched SpringVerb, an algorithmic reverb plugin that recreates the sound of vintage spring reverb hardware with way more tweaking options than the actual physical units ever had. The thing gives you three different spring tank models pulled from a tape delay box, a rack-mount reverb, and some gear associated with dub and reggae stuff.
You can morph between single, double, and triple spring setups to mess with how dense the decay sounds, and there's a button that makes the springs bounce for weird sound design moments. The plugin handles modern workflow stuff like tempo-synced pre-delay and frequency damping, plus it has a freeze mode for infinite tails and ducking that responds to sidechain signals.
The intro price sits at 30...
Strymon has just released the Fairfax Class A Output Stage, which marks the beginning of their new Series A analog pedal lineup and draws inspiration from a 1960s Garnet Amps Herzog tube drive that reportedly powered some classic rock tracks. The company designed a miniaturized tube amp circuit featuring a discrete power-amp stage, a JFET preamp, and a custom transformer saturation circuit, all of which operate at 40 volts to ensure proper headroom.
The thing does a clean boost at low gain and compressed saturation when you crank it, plus there's a Sag circuit that goes from light compression to full gated fuzz sputtering. Strymon claims it stacks well with other pedals and feels like an actual amplifier instead of a filtered drive...
Native Instruments just shipped Absynth 6 after working with the synth's original designer Brian Clevinger, and the update brings MPE support plus an AI-powered preset browser that maps sounds on a 2D grid based on how they actually sound instead of making you scroll through endless lists. The hybrid engine still does its granular, FM, wavetable, and subtractive thing with that wild 68-point envelope system, but it handles per-note pitch and timbre control through polyphonic aftertouch.
The preset pack features work from Brian Eno, Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith, and Richard Devine, and the plugin reads patches going back to the first version. You get surround-sound spatialization, microtuning through MTS-ESP, and updated effects like the...
The Audio Firm dropped Furnace, a saturation plugin that mixing engineer Sean J Vincent built with developer Vic Lewis from Fazertone after spending two years shopping his concept around to different companies. The processor gives you three analog-style saturation modes pulled from tape machines, transformers, and tube gear using neural network modeling, and it handles mid-side processing for stereo work.
Vincent bailed on an earlier collaboration because the plugin wasn't matching his vision, but he connected with Lewis this year, and they clicked right away on the direction. The thing does everything from light warming effects to heavy distortion, and Vincent says more plugins are coming from their partnership.
Furnace runs on Mac...
MathAudio pushed out a major refresh of its Room EQ software, bringing it up to version 3.0.0 for a hundred bucks. The audio plugin gets native support for high-resolution displays and lets users stretch the interface by grabbing the corner. CLAP format compatibility arrives alongside a manual curve-drawing mode that works like a standard equalizer when you bypass the automated room correction stuff.
The drawing system responds differently depending on which mouse button you click, with the left one affecting both channels at the same time and the right targeting individual sides. Under the hood, the developers tweaked how the plugin processes audio and takes measurements, though they kept the technical details pretty vague.
President Mnangagwa dropped off 35 vehicles at State House for the Youth Empowerment Ministry with plans to send 72 total rides to district officers around the country. Minister Tino Machakaire grabbed the keys and said that better transportation means youth programs can actually reach communities instead of staying stuck at headquarters.
The government wants every district to have wheels for officers who handle youth-related initiatives. Machakaire thinks the fleet will boost program delivery and engagement across Zimbabwe since staff can finally move around without relying on whoever has a working car that week.
Tinashe Mutarisi shut down his entertainment company's music division while riding in a car headed to a funeral, which left artists like Nisha Ts devastated and turned Zimbabwean social media into a total mess. The businessman said he wanted to pivot toward mentoring entrepreneurs instead of bankrolling musicians, and Nash Holdings released a statement saying the entertainment side was never part of their long-term vision anyway. Some people online claimed artists showed zero loyalty after taking his money, while others said the whole operation was just marketing for his personal brand.
Nisha Ts wrote about how the platform gave her a career and basically shaped everything she became as an artist. The company tried smoothing things...
Six people got busted in Beitbridge after flipping government fertilizer meant for local farmers through the Presidential Input Scheme. The National Anti-Corruption Association spotted folks buying the subsidized bags from scheme beneficiaries and reselling them for profit around the border town. Chemistry Ndou tried running when cops showed up at his place in Dulibadzimu, but got grabbed anyway after police found 70 bags stashed there.
Another suspect named Angeline Chokutaura from Chivhu, was sitting on 120 bags ready to ship when authorities rolled through Mucheche village. She ratted out Taruvinga Manunure as her supplier, and he also ran before getting caught and admitting he sourced everything from scheme participants.
The whole...
The Reformed Church in Zimbabwe wants to boot roughly 2,000 families off two massive farms near Great Zimbabwe Monuments after people squatted there starting back in the early 80s. Owen Shayawabaya from district lands called a meeting with church reps and Chief Mugabe to announce the plan, but the chief said anyone trying this is delusional since his ancestors were already living there when missionaries showed up centuries ago.
Village head Henry Muganhu Makusha went hard against the church for trying to flex colonial-era paperwork on land they grabbed from locals. The properties cover a huge area with two primary schools and over 130 boreholes scattered around, and some locals think powerful political families are using the church as...
