WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD - Latest Portable Music Keyboards, Synthesizers and Music News

One of the more unusual introductions at Superbooth 2025 was the FRAKnoise Melancholytron – a new instrument designed to let you explore melancholic sounds.

“Can you build a synthesizer that always sounds melancholic?” asks developer A//ard Krijger. “Yes. I did it. Even a happy melody can still sound melancholic on this one.”

Here’s what FRAKnoise shared about the Melancholytron:

“The Melancholytron is a book with illustrated melancholic stories. When you buy the book it comes with a synthesizer developed by A//ard Krijger, Joran Jessurun and Edwin van den Oetelaar.

This instrument produces melancholic sounds, that fit the stories, or any melancholic music you want to make with it. Suitable for film-, game- or any kind of music that needs a touch of melancholy.”

The Melancholytron is expected to be available June 28, 2025. Details on pricing and availability are to be announced.

SynthCube has announced that they’ve acquired Synthesizers.com – the company behind the modern Moog format modular synth standard.

SynthCube has an online business, in addition to their physical store in Waltham, MA. They already have an active Moog format business, featuring designs from Frequency Cdentral, Hexinverter, Synthetic Sound Labs and others. They also offer a wide range of DIY options.

The addition of Synthesizers.com’s line, though, promises to massively expand the range of options that they offer for Moog format modules.

They shared the news via ModWiggler forum:

“We are happy to announce here that Synthesizers.com will be joining our portfolio of synthCube brands here just outside of Boston. We spent the weekend packing all of the assets, inventory, demo units etc into trucks and will be taking the next few weeks to get everything set up again in our shop.

We owe much gratitude to Roger Arrick for the initial effort to design and start the company in the first place, to James Allen and others who took on Dotcom when Roger passed it along to them, and to the most recent owners for their stewardship of Dotcom in the interim.

If you’re a designer / maker of dotcom/MU 5U modules, we hope that this helps re-energize interest in your products too… frankly, the more options that customers have, the better for those customers and for the format itself. Part of how we will measure success is NOT by how many makers we put out of business, rather it will be how many makers will now grow faster, and how many new makers might come in and create more dotcom/MU 5U innovations?

We’ll post more details about future plans here and in other channels when we have some time, and we look forward to hearing your feedback, ideas, and suggestions on how best to inspire and support the current generations of Dotcom users and how to improve the products and solutions for the next generation as well.

We know Dotcom/5U won’t ever be as popular as Eurorack, and that’s OK; BUT we are equally confident that there will always be a place for high quality, large format, serious synth instruments and modules and 5U will be around for the long haul. How does that saying go? ‘We liked the product so much we bought the company.’

Monika and Chris”

Details are still to come at the SynthCube and Synthesizers.com sites.

Today, Akai announces Force 3.5 – a free update that they call their biggest update yet.

New in Akai Force 3.5:

• Plugin Instruments and Effects: FORCE now supports new plugin releases from AIR, Akai Pro, and Native Instruments (MPC Editions), offering seamless integration of professional-grade sounds directly within the standalone system.
• MPC Stems separations for sampling, remixing and mashups: Users can isolate vocals, drums, and music elements from tracks, ideal for sampling, remixing, and live performance creativity. (MPC Stems License Required)
• Tempo automation, follow actions, and new arrangement tools: Advanced performance sequencing empowers users to create evolving arrangements and dynamic live sets with greater control.
• MPC sequence import, advanced keygroup synthesis, and warp algorithm choice: Offers expanded compatibility and flexibility with MPC workflows, enhanced sound manipulation, and precise audio warping.
• New modes: Main Mode, XL Channel Strip, Sounds Mode, and more: Upgrades navigation and workflow efficiency, giving users better visual control and faster access to instruments, tracks, and mix parameters.
• Significant speed boosts including faster sample loading and expanded export options: Streamlines production by reducing load times and offering more ways to export stems and sessions efficiently.
• Native Instruments Plugin and Expansions MPC Editions compatible with Force. Users can purchase – Analog Dreams, Cloud Supply, Nacht, Sway, Homage, Lone Forest, Faded Reels, Hazy Days, Rare Vibrations, Global Shake

Akai Force 3.5 is available now as a beta release.