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Universal Audio launched its Volt series of audio interfaces in 2021, promising “classic studio sound” at an accessible price point and providing an affordable alternative to the company’s popular Apollo X line.

Five years on, the company is unveiling the second generation of Volt interfaces, a six-strong range split between the Volt Gen 2 and Volt Max lines, stretching in price and I/O from the $149 2-in/2-out Volt 1 Gen 2 through to the $499 12-in/6-out Volt 4P Max.

The headline addition is UA’s Tone Shaping Preamps, which offer three switchable character modes at the input stage. Warmth, Focus and Shine modes emulate vacuum tube, solid-state and British Class A designs respectively, applying analogue-style colouration before the audio reaches your DAW.

The three Volt Max models (Volt 2 Max, Volt 4 Max and Volt 4P Max) go further with Max Processing, a set of six “one-touch” compression presets based on UA’s well-loved emulations of 1176, LA-2A and VCA-style compressors.

Though the first-generation Volt 76 series featured 1176-style analogue compressors, these have been dropped in Volt’s second generation and replaced with onboard digital compression (exclusive to Volt Max) that provides a broader variety of styles. UA says this runs in real-time with no added latency, and that the preamp modes and compression presets can be paired up for more than 18 tonal combinations per channel.

The entire Volt range has also received a visual refresh, ditching the retro wooden side-panels in favour of a sleek and minimalist design that’s closer to the Apollo range with its muted grey colour scheme.

Every model, save for the entry-level Volt 1, features a handy full-colour Smart Display for monitoring levels and settings at a glance. These models also benefit from smart features such as Auto-Gain and Clip Protection, and can automatically detect mic, line and instrument sources for quick and easy set-up.

All six interfaces are USB bus-powered and capable of 32-bit/192kHz conversion, with ADAT input and MIDI I/O on the Volt 4 Gen 2 and all three Max models. The Max line also adds a built-in talkback mic, and the Volt 4 Max and 4P Max feature speaker switching.

As with the previous generation, there’s a generous software bundle included. The UAD Volt Studio Bundle gets you 15 plugins: UA’s LA-2A and 1176 emulations, Showtime ‘64 and Lion ‘68 amp sims, Anthem and PolyMAX synthesizers, Topline Vocal Tune and more. Also included is UA’s recently-updated Luna DAW, Celemony’s Melodyne Essential and a three-month trial of FL Studio Producer Edition.

“Every artist has a sound they’re chasing,” Universal Audio CEO Bill Putnam Jr. said in a press release. “We want Volt Gen 2 to give people the confidence to explore that sound, experiment, and keep creating, whether they’re recording their first song or working on their tenth album.”

Getting Started with Volt Gen 2 + Volt Max:

Find a full breakdown of I/O and pricing for each model in the range below.

• Volt 1 Gen 2: 2-in/2-out, $149/£120/€139
• Volt 2 Gen 2: 2-in/4-out, $219/£170/€199
• Volt 4 Gen 2: 12-in/6-out, $299/£240/€279
• Volt 2 Max: 10-in/4-out, $299/£260/€299
• Volt 4 Max: 12-in/6-out, $399/£345/€399
• Volt 4P Max: 12-in/6-out, $499/£430/€499

Find out more on Universal Audio website.

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Here’s everything you need to know about Novation’s latest collaboration with FL Studio maker, Image-Line

Novation has announced the launch of FLpad & FLpad Mini, a pair of MIDI pad controllers designed specifically for FL Studio that promise to bring producers and musicians “new ways to get hands-on with their projects”.

FLPad and FLPad Mini take design cues from Novation’s Launchpad X and Launchpad Mini, but the company is keen to emphasize that they aren’t just reskinned versions of those controllers, and both models have been designed from the ground up to integrate with FL Studio’s unique workflow.

Both controllers are equipped with an 8×8 grid of RGB-backlit pads for finger drumming, step sequencing and playing melodies. FLpad is a larger grid controller with velocity-sensitive pads, and FLpad Mini is a smaller, more portable and budget-friendly version aimed at those working with more compact setups.

Both FLPad and FLPad Mini feature a 64-pad grid is lined on two sides with dedicated controls for transport, undo/redo and a number of FL-specific functions. You can navigate the Channel Rack and Step Sequencer; create, select, clear and duplicate Patterns; switch between Pattern and Song modes and adjust levels using the controller’s Channel Rack Mixer mode. Custom layouts can be designed to suit your own workflow in Novation’s Components app.

FLpad follows the FLkey 2 MIDI keyboard controller range launched back in May, another product of Novation’s ongoing partnership with Image-Line, the maker of FL Studio.

Both FLpad and FLpad Mini are bundled with six months of access to FL Studio Producer Edition, along with several instruments and effects from UVI, GForce and Klevgrand.

Image-Line launched FL Studio 2026 back in July, an update that introduced an agentic AI chatbot to the DAW, along with a redesigned Flex synth and cloud-based project backup.

“We’re proud to partner with Image-Line once again and build on the momentum of FLkey 2 with a new line of hardware controllers,” Novation’s Mario Buoninfante said in a press release.

“Through our previous collaborations with Image-Line, we’ve gained a deep appreciation for what makes this DAW so beloved of beatmakers. This understanding has led us directly to FLpad — a grid controller made specifically to augment FL Studio’s unique workflows in intuitive and inspiring new ways.”

Key features

• Made for FL Studio: Get hands-on in the Channel Rack, sequence drums and melodies, play parts live, and create Patterns directly from FLpad.
• Make beats in the Channel Rack: Select and trigger your samples directly from the pads. The full-size FLpad features velocity-sensitivity for expressive playing.
• Step-sequence your ideas: Quickly create and edit melodies, basslines, and drum patterns for up to four instruments at once.
• Play drums live: Tap in drum patterns with dedicated layouts for FPC, Slicex, and Fruity Slicer.
• Perform basslines, melodies, and chords: Note mode allows you to play and sequence melodic instruments — either locked to your chosen scale or chromatically.
• Build tracks with Patterns: Develop your ideas directly from FLpad. A dedicated view makes it easy to create, select, clear, and duplicate Patterns.
• Edit every note directly on FLpad: Get hands on with FL Studio’s Graph Editor, directly from the grid.
• Control the Channel Rack mixer: Turn FLpad’s grid into a row of faders with Channel Rack Mixer mode.
• Dedicated transport controls: Stop and start playback and recording, undo actions, and more from FLpad’s buttons.
• Make it your own: With Novation Components, it’s easy to make your custom layouts for FL Studio — or your other software and hardware.
• Everything you need to make beats: FLpad comes with six months of FL Studio Producer Edition, a selection of instruments and effects, and finger-drumming lessons from Melodics.

What’s the difference between the two controllers? FLpad Mini is perfect for grab-and-go beatmaking or as a permanent fixture in a compact setup. The larger FLpad features bigger, velocity-sensitive pads, making it the best choice for expressive finger drumming or melodic playing.

What can the NEW FLpad do?

Available now, FLPad is priced at $219.99/£179.99/€168.06 and FLpad Mini is priced at $139.99/£99.99/€92.43.

Find out more on Novation website.

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Spitfire Audio has teamed up with composer, producer and music technologist BT for the release of Phoenix, a hybrid software synthesizer that brings together samples from BT’s private archive with wavetable and FM synthesis, a versatile effects engine and extensive modulation capabilities.

Equipped with 16 voices of true stereo polyphony, Phoenix is built on six synthesis engines: a spectral wavetable engine, a six-operator, 34-algorithm FM engine, and a multi-sampled instrument engine with a broad sample library covering strings, brass, woodwind, choirs, guitars, pianos, and percussion from Spitfire Audio’s library, alongside more experimental sounds from BT’s own collection. These are joined by a dedicated transient engine, a sub-oscillator and noise oscillator.

Phoenix’s wavetable engine is built around a “stereo-from-the-ground-up” architecture with two independent synthesis chains per-voice across both left and right channels. This means that key parameters can be can be independently modulated across each channel, creating complex spatial effects. There’s also a deep cross-modulation bus with 20 modes spanning FM, AM, ring modulation, phase distortion, wavefolding and more.

The synth’s modulation engine comprises 37 sources in total, routed via a matrix with no fixed slot limit. You get multiple four-stage curve sequencers, five-stage envelope generators and LFOs with freely drawable waveforms, alongside four random generators that draw on sample-and-hold, noise, stochastic models and libraries of rhythmic patterns lifted from BT’s Stutter Edit plugin.

Paralleling the modulation engine in its depth, Phoenix’s library of effects features 37 processors, spanning multiple styles of reverb and delay, along with a multimode filter, chorus, flanger, phaser, tape emulation, saturation, distortion, multiband compression, and – as is to be expected in a BT plugin – glitchy rhythmic stutter effects.

That’s not all: you also get a 128-step sequencer and arpeggiator with probability control, and Phoenix is MPE-compatible, giving you per-note control over all five dimensions of expression when used with an MPE controller. All in all, this looks like a beast of an instrument, and one of the most ambitious projects we’ve seen from Spitfire Audio in a long time.

“This is true cross-synthesis,” BT said in a press release. “I’ve spent my entire life exploring synthesis modalities, built on the back of giants, to be sure, and combined and augmented this way, none of this existed before, not even in a related form. This is a dream inspiration engine fully realized.”

Watch a conversation between BT and Spitfire Audio’s Paul Thomson below:

Currently priced at an introductory discount of $239 USD, Phoenix is available for macOS and Windows in VST3/AU/AAX formats. The synth currently requires an active internet connection to operate, but Spitfire Audio says it will be introducing offline operation in a future update.

Find out more on Spitfire Audio website.

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