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Morphor has announced that the ECHON 6 the world’s first polyphonic synthesizer based around BBD (Bucket-Brigade Delay) resonators — is now available to pre-order.

Each of its six voices features a discrete BBD delay-line resonator that tracks the keyboard, producing organic overtones and complex harmonic depth. The Morphor ECHON 6 will generate anything from plucked and bowed strings, to leads and basses, to big pads and evolving soundscapes.

Other features include comprehensive multi-timbral capabilities, a 9×32 modulation matrix, an analog signal path and a one-knob-per-function design.

Features:

• Feedback system with full analogue audio path
• 6-part multi-timbral architecture
• 6× Full analogue BBD resonators
• 6× True analogue VCO exciters
• 4× LFOs per voice (24 in total)
• 4× Random generators per voice (24 in total)
• Custom voice grouping (up to 6 groups)
• Comprehensive unison control
• Extensive modulation matrix (9 sources × 32 destination parameters)
• Global modulation attenuverters
• 216 user presets (6 × 6 × 6 structure)
• 1× 1/4″ mono jack external input
• 2× 1/4″ jack main outputs (L/R)
• 6× 1/4″ stereo jack voice outputs
• 1× 1/4″ stereo jack headphone output (independent level, pre-master monitoring)
• MIDI DIN In/Out/Thru ports
• MIDI USB-C (class-compliant device, no bus power)
• MIDI fully-remote controllable
• MIDI SysEx support
• Firmware update via USB-C
• 19″ rack-mountable (black aluminum rack ears included)
• VESA-mount compatible
• Kensington security slot
• No display — 100% tactile operation

Audio Demos:

The ECHON 6 is scheduled to ship in early February 2026; pre-orders are open for the first batch, with a MSRP (Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price) of €2,295.00 (including VAT).

Developer Jeremiah Klein has introduced Echo Beach, a new iOS sampler that’s designed to make it easy to get ideas “out of your head and into your DAW”.

Klein says that “Echo Beach does what most samplers don’t – it gets out of your way. No menu diving. No trying to be your entire studio. Just fast, tactile sampling for the subway beatbox, the weird door sound, the melody you hummed at 2am.”

Features:

• 8-Pad Sampler: Load, trim, loop, and play like classic MPCs
• Smart Slice Detection: Auto-chop or edit transients manually
• Built-In Step Sequencer: Program beats and rhythms instantly
• Groove Engine interpolates between 8 templates from quantized to Dilla-esque swing
• Studio FX: Reverb, delay, pitch and revesefor a polished sound
• Factory Sounds Bank (B): Professional samples included to start immediately
• Voice Note Ready: Record directly or import your sounds
• DAW Export: Send stems and/or MIDI with full BPM + time-signature metadata
• BPM Auto-Detection – automatically syncs loops to tempo
• Low Latency playback
• MIDI controller support with MIDI Map mode to customize to your controller.
• Export the session and share

Echo Beach is available now for $3.99.

The original AutoTune, reborn.

Antares has announced a major overhaul of its vocal tuning tool AutoTune, unveiling an updated product line-up that discontinues the existing AutoTune Access and AutoTune Artist plugins and replaces them with a single product: AutoTune 2026.

Antares says AutoTune 2026 is “the most significant update in the software’s history”, rebuilding the plugin “from the ground up” to meet the needs of today’s music-makers.

The plugin introduces an optimized vocal tuning algorithm that the company claims is 35% more efficient at 48kHz, while offering up to 2.3x faster CPU performance at high sample rates. This means users can now run twice as many instances per project without leaning too heavily on their system’s resources.

AutoTune 2026’s interface has been completely redesigned in an effort to create a streamlined and simplified UI that places the core tuning controls front and centre. This is enhanced by a new visual feedback indicator that displays the level of Flex Tune being applied to an incoming vocal signal.

The plugin arrives with a library of presets devised by a list of notable artists and producers that includes Zedd, DJ Swivel, Trooko, Major Seven and Jean-Marie Horvat, a Grammy-nominated mixer and producer best known for his collaborations with Michael Jackson, The Weeknd and Justin Timberlake.

Introduced in 2019, AutoTune’s Access and Artist versions represented the lower tiers of the company’s product line-up, below the more powerful AutoTune Pro ($459). AutoTune Artist ($349) delivered most of Pro’s functionality without a handful of the more advanced features. Priced at $49, AutoTune Access offered music-makers an ultra-affordable way to utilize AutoTune’s basic vocal tuning without any of the bells and whistles found in the premium editions.

At $324 for a perpetual license, AutoTune 2026 delivers largely the same functionality as AutoTune Artist – and a significantly improved algorithm – at a cheaper price point. However, with the discontinuation of AutoTune Access, Antares has limited the accessibility of its core vocal tuning to those unwilling or unable to fork out several hundred dollars or pay a monthly subscription. The most affordable option in the product line-up is now AutoTune EFX+, an alternative edition oriented towards creative effects processing that’s priced at $199.

AutoTune 2026 is also available as part of Antares’ AutoTune Unlimited subscription plan, which gives you access to the company’s entire suite of vocal production tools for $32.40/monthly or $226.80 annually. A free 14-day trial is available.

Here’s the official AutoTune 2026 Tutorial video:

Find out more on Antares website.