Author Archive

Ambient Music On Moog Subharmonicon + Make Noise Bruxa

15 Mar, 2026  No Comment


Synthesist Pipo Ferreira shared this ambient performance, featuring the Moog Subharmonicon + Make Noise Bruxa.


Technical Details:

The performance also includes some melodic piano from the Disting NT and field recordings + FX from an iPad. All sequenced by the Subharmonicon, except for Moog DFAM percussion.

 

Free Retromulator Update Add Wurlitzer 200A & Yamaha OPL3 Emulations

14 Mar, 2026  No Comment


Retromulator – a free hardware synthesizer emulation plugin – has been updated to version 1.2.

Retromulator 1.2 features two new hardware cores: the Wurlitzer 200A physical model piano and Yamaha OPL3 FM synthesis, along with expanded Akai S1000 browsing and import capabilities.

Here’s what’s new:

New Hardware Cores:

  • Wurlitzer 200A: Physical model piano via OpenWurli, ported from ~3,000 lines of Rust to C++ and integrated directly into the JUCE plugin framework. Models the tine, pickup, and tone bars of the classic electric piano with per-voice physics.
  • Yamaha OPL3: FM synthesis via Nuked OPL3 v1.8 cycle-accurate emulation by Nuke.YKT, with SBI instrument loading, folder-based bank browsing, and zip import support.

Other Improvements:

  • OpenWurli settings panel with live parameter editing via combo and navigation pill.
  • Akai S1000 browse folder mode with auto-slice drum mapping and state persistence.
  • Akai S1000 ISO/BIN/CUE disk image loading.
  • CC20 global tuning support with auto-slice and tuning state recall.
  • Import/Export/Delete and drag & drop support for all cores.
  • Engine author credits in synth selector.
  • Bug fixes.

Retromulator is available as a free download for Windows, macOS (including Apple Silicon), and Linux in AAX, AU, VST3, and standalone formats.

 

Arturia MicroFreak Review – ‘It’s Surprisingly Deep!’

13 Mar, 2026  No Comment


The latest Woody Piano Shack video features a review of the Arturia MicroFreak synthesizer.

While the Arturia MicroFreak was released back in 2019, it has evolved significantly since then, and since many of the early reviews. And the MicroFreak is not now only available new, but is also readily available used, starting around $250 USD.

Woody shares his thoughts on the MicroFreak, and calls it a ‘super synth’ for the price. What do you think? Share your thoughts in the comments!

*Note: The video is a little unclear about this, but the MicroFreak does have polyphonic aftertouch. And for a more in-depth overview, see this complete guide to the Arturia MicroFreak.

 

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