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In the video, synth technician Rob Rosen (Rosen Sound) offers a behind-the-scenes look at the rare Emerson Moog Modular.

Rosen discusses the restoration process and demonstrates some of the features that are unique to Emerson’s modular system. He repaired the system at the request of the Bob Moog Foundation, which will be featuring it at their booth at the 2026 NAMM Show.

This unit is the prototype for the Emerson Moog Modular reissue, created by the late Gene Stopp. Stopp was a Moog modular specialist, and recreated Emerson’s Moog with the help of Moog engineers.

If you’re going to NAMM, make sure to stop by the BMF booth to check it out. Keyboardist Andrew Colyer (Circuline) and synthesists Erik Norlander, Rachel Flowers, and Lisa Bella Donna will be demonstrating the system. In addition, two educational and historical presentations about the modular will be given by Brian Kehew.

The Foundation will also present a TEC Tracks panel, Celebrating the Legacy of Keith Emerson, on Friday at 4 pm.

Visit the Foundation site for their full schedule of events.

Electronic musician Sarah Belle Reid shared a new video, exploring an extremely rare electronic instrument called the Touché, created by Buchla and Associates in 1980.

Filmed at the Buchla Archives in Vancouver – an organization dedicated to the preservation of Donald Buchla’s work – the video offers a rare opportunity to hear and see an instrument that very few people have ever encountered firsthand.

Reid’s video begins with an overview of how the Touché grew out of Buchla’s earlier computer-controlled instruments of the 1970s, including the 300 Series systems. From there, the video offers a detailed walkthrough of Touché’s sound architecture, including many musical demos.

In the following video, below, Reid shares a short live performance with the Touché.

About The Buchla Touché

Only around five Touché are known to have been built, and very few remain functional today. Because of this, the instrument has remained largely absent from both public performance and documentation. Reid’s video helps bridge that gap by sharing the Touché’s sound, design, and historical context with a wider audience.

While Don Buchla is best known for his modular synthesizers such as the 100 and 200 Series, he also created a number of non-modular, computer-based instruments like the Touché that explored new relationships between performance, software, and sound.

The Touché was conceived by Don Buchla in collaboration with composer David Rosenboom. It is a bi-timbral, eight-voice polyphonic keyboard instrument that combines digital sound generation, analog processing, and computer-mediated control.

Ahead of the 2026 NAMM Show, being held Jan 22–24 in Anaheim, California, Roland has introduced the CR-78 Software Rhythm Composer, a plugin emulation of their CR-78 drum machine.

Released in 1980, the CR-78 was what Roland calls “the world’s first computer-controlled programmable drum machine”. It was a transitional device, halfway between pre-programmed organ-top beatboxes and pioneering drum machines like the TR-808 and TR-909.

The machine itself may have had a relatively low profile, but its sound became well-known thanks to the CR-78’s use on hits such as I Can’t Go For That (Hall & Oates), Vienna (Ultravox) and, most notably, Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight.

Now the CR-78 has become the latest instrument from the Roland archives to join the company’s plugin roster, which is available via the Roland Cloud. And not only is it designed to bring the sound of the original hardware to your DAW, but it’s also been enhanced with modern sequencing features, individual sound mixing and tuning, tempo sync, drag-and-drop audio/MIDI support and various other things.

As you’d expect, Roland has gone for an interface that closely resembles the original hardware – you can choose between the wood panel and black vinyl covering variations – and there are direct access controls for rhythm patterns, instrument sounds, shuffle, fills, volume balance, fade-in/fade-out, and more.

Roland CR-78 Software Rhythm Composer Audio Demos:

There’s also a detailed Pattern view where you can fine-tune your rhythms and sounds, and mixer controls can be found on the Kit screen.

If you have a Roland Cloud Ultimate membership, you’ll have access to the CR-78 already, and the Lifetime Key is currently on sale for $49 (regular price $199). It runs on PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX formats.

Find out more on the Roland website.