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Fender has announced the launch of Fender Studio, a “connected music ecosystem” that comprises both software and hardware, launching several new products while bringing a number of existing PreSonus products under the Fender Studio name.

The headline here is that Fender is rebranding PreSonus Studio One Pro as Fender Studio Pro 8 and relaunching the DAW with new native amp and effects plugins, a revamped interface and much more.

Fender Studio Pro 8 keeps the essence of PreSonus’ well-established DAW intact while integrating a variety of new features and enhancements. The new Fender Mustang Guitar and Rumble Bass plugins offer guitarists an extensive selection of 39 guitar amps and 18 bass amps alongside 125 modelled effects pedals.

The DAW’s interface has been given a significant refresh, with a new Arrangement Overview providing a complete bird’s-eye view of every session and allowing users to navigate arrangements with zoom, pan and highlight tools. This is joined by Channel Overview, a view that combines key parameters of a mixer channel in a single horizontal interface.

Studio Pro 8’s new reverb effect, Studio Verb, combines a broad range of rooms, chambers, halls and spaces with an intuitive spectral display. The Impact drum sampler and Sample One sampler plugins have also been updated with new fade-in/out controls, slicing tools, tempo options and a new modulation matrix.

Alongside this, Studio Pro 8 features Chord Assistant, an intelligent songwriting tool that offers chord recommendations based on existing progressions, while a new AI-powered conversion tool transforms audio files into editable MIDI notes for creative rearrangement.

In addition to the Studio Pro launch, Fender has announced that PreSonus’ Quantum HD and AudioBox Go audio interface lines will also be rebranded under the Fender Studio banner, bringing the existing PreSonus designs into Fender’s newly-launched ecosystem with a few minor tweaks, such as new Fender-designed instrument inputs.

Alongside the rebranded interfaces, Fender has also announced the launch of Fender Motion, a MIDI controller designed to integrate tightly with Fender Studio Pro that’s compatible with any DAW.

Two models have been unveiled, Motion 16 and Motion 32, both of which feature RGB polyphonic FATAR® pads, illuminated encoders and touch strips, along with timeline navigation and session controls. Fender 32 has 32 pads arranged in a keyboard-style layout with a larger screen, while Fender 16 is a more affordable option with a 4×4 grid of pads.

Additionally, Fender has also unveiled an update to Fender Studio, its free entry-level recording app launched back in May last year, that introduces seamless cross-platform compatibility between Fender Studio and Fender Studio Pro.

“For more than a decade, Studio One Pro has set the standard for modern music production,” said Max Gutnik, Chief Product Officer at FMIC in a press release.

“Its balance of power, creativity and ease of use has inspired countless artists and shaped how music is made today. With Fender Studio Pro, we are taking those celebrated features and enhancing them with a modernized interface, Fender’s award-winning amp and effects models and new intuitive workflows and capabilities that make creating music faster, more inspiring and more connected than ever.”

Fender Studio Pro is available now and priced at $199.99/£169.99 for a perpetual license, or $19.99/£19.99 for a monthly subscription. Upgrade options are available for existing users.

Fender Motion 16 is priced at $269.99/£279 and Fender Motion 32 is priced at $329.99/£369, and both will be available in Spring 2026.

Find out more on Fender website.

Ahead of the 2026 NAMM Show, Electro-Harmonix has introduced Effects Interface Hardware Plugin.

As recording technology has become cheaper and more accessible, the line between guitarists and producers has become increasingly blurred. With its new Effects Interface Hardware Plugin, Electro-Harmonix is aiming to make bridging that gap easier than ever.

The Electro-Harmonix Effects Interface Hardware Plugin® is a first-of-its-kind piece of equipment purpose-built for making use of pedals and other physical guitar equipment with your DAW easy and seamless.

Additionally, the Effects Interface breaks your favorite plugins out of your computer for use in your full guitar rig. No need for special converters or direct boxes, the Effects Interface handles your signal and delivers it with care between your hardware and software via a simple USB-C connection

This can be done in one of two ways. In its Hardware Plugin mode, the Effects Interface acts as an external effect loop, routed via its associate plugin that sits in a DAW’s insert chain.

Alternatively, in Pedalboard mode the Effects Interface can be used to incorporate software effects into a hardware chain. Here audio is sent into a DAW through the input plugin, processed using any software effects, and then sent back out to an amp or pedalboard.

The inputs and outputs are designed to operate at pedalboard-friendly levels, allowing audio to travel to and from a chain of effects pedals without the need for additional converters or DI boxes.

According to EHX, “Effects Interface handles your signal and delivers it with care between your hardware and software via a simple USB-C connection.”

In either mode, the device’s foot switch can be used to bypass the effect like a traditional stompbox.

The Effects Interface has stereo inputs and outputs, but can also operate in dual-mono mode, allowing users to set up two different effects routings simultaneously.

The level of its inputs and outputs can be controlled via both the hardware and software UI. The device also has a headphone output with its own volume control allowing for direct monitoring.

As well as being used as part of a stompbox effects chain, the Effects Interface can also function as a traditional audio interface for recording and monitoring via its ins and outs.

While the device is primarily aimed at guitarists, it’s not hard to imagine how it might also appeal to synthesists and bedroom producers looking for an easy way to take sounds out-of-the-box for a little hardware processing.

The Effects Interface Hardware Plugin operates in 3 distinct modes:

• Hardware Plugin Mode: Send tracks/signal from your DAW through you pedals/hardware just like you were using a plugin.
• Pedalboard Mode: Run your instrument into your DAW, through your plugins, and back out to your signal chain, effectively turning your plugins into a pedal.
• Audio Interface Mode: use the Effects Interface as a traditional 2-in/2-out USB audio interface

The Electro-Harmonix Effects Interface is out now, with a US street price of $359. Visit the EHX site for more information.

Developer Cristián Vogel of NeverEngineLabs has introduced WaveKitchen, a new macOS application that’s designed to help users of wavetable synths create great-sounding tables.

Wavetables created in WaveKitchen can be used in Bitwig, SurgeXT, Waldorf, Kyma, Max, Ableton and other synths.

WaveKitchen lets you choose from a wide array of signal generators, blend in your own audio, or import other wavetables to refine or transform into something new.

The application also automatically renders native Finder icons for every waveform you create. Each wavetable becomes a visually clear, easy-to-recognize resource.

WaveKitchen is available now for $40.

Visit the NeverEngineLabs site for details.