Today, Roland introduces the Mood Pan, a unique electronic hand percussion instrument, inspired by the acoustic handpan.
If there was a ‘yoga synth’, the Mood Pan might be it. It features a variety of presets, based on instruments popular in new age music, including ‘singing’ bowls, tongue drum, handpan and sitar. There’s a knob to customize the scale, including major and minor, but also Indian, Japanese and ‘Dreamy’.
It’s designed to be able to be used completely standalone, with a built-in speaker and the ability to run on standard AA batteries.
It also features built-in environmental sounds and can be used to stream music via Bluetooth.
Roland Mood Pan Audio Demo:
Features:
Versatile electronic hand percussion instrument and sound system for meditation and musical exploration
Expressive sound and playability, backed by Roland’s leading electronic percussion technologies
Nine touch-sensitive pads that can be played with the fingers
Special control pad for adding expressive qualities to certain sounds
Built-in speaker with rich, full sound and a headphone jack for quiet playing sessions
Handpan, tongue drum, gamelan, singing bowl, and other preset tones, plus four user slots with selectable sound variations
12 tuning styles for authentic cultural sounds
Enhance the sound with natural ambience and interesting effects
Background music function with four modes and soft synthesizer pads, didgeridoo, and nature sounds
Bluetooth for streaming songs from your mobile device through the onboard speaker
USB-C MIDI for triggering sounds in music software on computers and mobile devices
Mood Pan Plus app for selecting user sounds, adjusting pad sensitivity, and more
Powered by six AA batteries or USB-C
Mood Pan Styles (Scales):
The Mood Pan can also play itself – with a unique Background Music function:
The Mood Pan has a street price of about $660, and is expected to be available in July 2025.
AudioKit Pro has released AudioKit Synth One J6, a professional-quality iOS synthesizer that they built as a labor of love.
Here’s what they have to say about it:
“We built Synth One J6 for people who are often left out. Many students and aspiring artists have mobile devices through schools or other programs, but those devices cannot install paid apps. We wanted to change that. With Synth One J6, anyone can explore, learn, and create music right away.
The interface is intuitive and welcoming. Each function has a dedicated slider or knob, making it simple for beginners and deep enough for pros. You’ll find arpeggiators, sequencers, lush reverbs, tape delays, warm choruses, and over 400 inspiring presets created by talented sound designers worldwide.
Built by volunteers who deeply value music education and accessibility, this app ensures everyone, from classrooms to community programs, can start creating music instantly.”
Features:
Completely free – nothing to buy
400+ Presets
Control it with a MIDI Keyboard, MIDI Learn to map your controls to the app
FX: Glorious Reverb based on Sean Costello’s code (Valhalla plugins Plug-ins), Analog Tape Delay, Chorus, Crush, and more.
3 LFOs, over 60+ possible destinations, almost everything can be modulated. LFOs can even modify other LFOs
Dual Assignable Touch Pads, manipulate FX in real time
Reader Karol Pokojowczyk (Caught In Joy) shared this live Berlin School style synth jam, Shelter in Sound, featuring four Moog synthesizers: the Moog One, Micromoog, Matriarch and Messenger.
Karol Pokojowczyk takes an old-school approach, recording his performances live to reel-to-reel, using a variety of hardware synths.
What Pokojowczyk has to say about Shelter in Sound:
“If the world feels loud lately, this is your shelter.
Shelter in Sound is my most intimate work to date – a live performance on four analog Moog synthesizers, captured directly to reel-to-reel tape spinning just behind me.
It’s a space to drift, to breathe, to feel.
A quiet voyage through sound – intergalactic, yes, but always safe.”
Shelter in Sound is available on Bandcamp. You can preview it below:
