WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD

discoDSP Retromulator Brings Back 7 Classic Digital Synthesizers

9 Mar, 2026 No Comment

discoDSP has introduced Retromulator – a hardware synthesizer emulation plugin designed to bring legendary digital synths back to life through cycle-accurate low-level emulation of the original hardware chips.

Retromulator emulates the original integrated circuits at the hardware level. The virtual analog synths run on a cycle-accurate Motorola DSP 56300, while the Yamaha DX7 runs a full emulation of its Hitachi HD6303R sub-CPU and Yamaha YM21280/YM21290 EGS/OPS chip set. Each synth executes its authentic ROM firmware exactly as it did on the original hardware.

Version 1.0 is the initial release, supporting seven classic synthesizers, including the Yamaha DX7, Access Virus ABC/TI, Waldorf MicroQ, Waldorf XT, Nord Lead 2X, and Roland JP-8000. A valid ROM is required for each synth, in addition to Retromulator.

Retromulator runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux as AU, VST3, and Standalone. It’s built on Gearmulator, an open-source synthesizer emulation project by the dsp56300 team.

These are the supported synth engines:

Access Virus ABC and TI emulation with sysex patch loading and ROM preset extraction to bank combo.
Nord Lead 2X (N2X) emulation with per-program sysex navigation, edit buffer patch support, and output level correction by summing DSP A and DSP B voices at full scale.
Roland JP-8000 (JE-8086) emulation with ROM preset extraction, patch browsing, multi-performance bank loading, and AU MIDI latency fix running at 44100 Hz.
Waldorf MicroQ and XT emulation via dsp56300 cycle-accurate DSP engine with folder-per-bank ROM loading.
Yamaha DX7 emulation via VDX7 — full hardware-level emulation of the Hitachi HD6303R sub-CPU, Yamaha YM21280 EGS (Envelope Generator), and YM21290 OPS (Operator) chip set with 16 KB firmware ROM and 32 KB factory voice data.

*Note: Retromulator requires the original ROM firmware from your own hardware to operate each synthesizer. Visit the site for details.

Retromulator is available to use with no feature restrictions and no commercial use limitations, distributed under the GNU General Public License v3.

Purchasing a license supports ongoing development and entitles you to priority technical support.

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E-mu Modular System Back After 45 Years

9 Mar, 2026 No Comment

Mos-Lab has announced the availability of their E-mu Modular replica – described as “a faithful interpretation of the legendary E-mu modular system.”

The original E-mu modular – designed by Dave Rossum and Scott Wedge – was introduced in 1973, and was in production until 1981.

Two preconfigured systems are available:

Main System (top photo):

VCO x3
Universal Active Filter
VCA x2
Dual Envelope Generator
Lowpass VCF
Resonant filter x2
Filter Controller
CV LFO x2
Ring Modulator
Digital Noise
Sample & Hold
Mixer
Multiple
KOV _ MIDI to CV / GATE

Top System (above):

T/S/P VCO x3
Universal Active Filter
VCA
RING MODULATOR
CV LFO
Digital Noise
Sample & Hold
Dual Envelope Generator
KOV _ MIDI to CV / GATE

In addition to the systems, individual modules area available.

“Every detail has been carefully considered to respect the spirit, sonic character, and technical rigor of the original E-mu Systems designs,” they note. “We are delighted to finally share this completed project.”

The Mos-Lab E-mu Modular replica is available now, with modules priced starting at 130,00 €, and the Top System priced at 3620,00 € and the Main System at 6340,00 €. Custom systems are also available.

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Look Mum No Computer – Eins, Zwei, Drei

8 Mar, 2026 No Comment

Synth DIYer and Youtube influencer Look Mum No Computer (Sam Battle) is representing the UK in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. Battle has released his entry to the competition with his song Eins, Zwei, Drei.

The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual international song competition held since 1956, organized by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

Eins, Zwei, Drei (German for “One, Two, Three”) is described as “a song about escaping the soul-crushing boredom of the nine to five, into a world of dreams and endless possibilities.”

Participating countries—primarily in Europe, but also including others like Israel and Australia—choose a musician or band to represent the country, and submit a song to be performed live. They compete to be the finalist in two semifinals, and then a Grand Final: