AudioLove

The Ensoniq SQ-80 is one of our favourite digisynths (at least from the more affordable end of the spectrum… we’re not saying no to a PPG Wave any time soon). In many ways straddling the analogue / digital divide, the SQ80 and its forerunner the ESQ-1 make a virtue of combining digital waveforms, short digital samples, and analogue resonant filters, into a very warm and rich-sounding package that nevertheless has that unmistakeable early-digital sheen to its sound. Grafting little attack samples on to grainy digital sustain waves and then running the whole lot through the filter leads to instant gratification time and time again – it’s a lovely synth to program (love that big vacuum-fluorescent display!), has a ton of really useful modulation routings, and its velocity capability and full stereo output make it a responsive and rewarding synth to play, too. We have a real soft spot for this machine.

The marvel of PatchVault brings you more classic synth patches for 20c a pop!

Hurrah for the Korg PolySix: an affordable, portable analogue polysynth with nice simple controls and a surprising amount of sonic potential. On the surface it’s a one-oscillator machine, but there’s a very useful sub oscillator for beefing up your patches, plus excellent Bucket-Brigade style effects for thickening the sound (the standout here is the Ensemble effect, which is wonderfully sweet and sweeping)… plus the awesome Unison, which stacks all six voices for massive leads and basses.

As you’ll know if you’ve taken a glance at our PatchVault DX5 sounds or our DX Keys Deluxe EPs, the Yamaha DX5 is one of those instruments that’s a good deal more than the sum of its parts. Nominally, of course, it’s two DX7s in one big box – which would make it on a par with Yamaha’s later DX7IID, for example. In practice, though, the DX5 and the 7IID sound distinctly different: the 7IID is cleaner, crisper and shinier, while the 5 is thicker, richer and somehow “more brown”. This is the result, largely, of the hand-picked 12-bit DACs used in the 5, which bring what we feel is a welcome dose of warmth to the FM synthesis on board.

A friend of Jay Dee (aka J Dilla)’s and a mainstay in the Detroit house music scene, legendary producer and drummer Dez Andrés created a groovy pack worthy of his collaborator's legacy. Check out his companion pack to the Fantastic Sounds of Jay Dee.

'Migo Thangs' by Big Citi Loops brings you nothing but the most innovative Trap, Hip Hop, Gangsta and Urban loops, plus MIDI files. This pack is inspired by artists such as Quavo, Future, Lil Pump, Murda Beatz, 21 Savage, Drake and many more.

We’re big fans of Ensoniq: the ESQ-1 and SQ-80 combine a lovely early-digital tone with a simplicity of programming that leaves most other 80s digisynths in the shade. Add in that big vacuum-fluorescent display and a ton of context-sensitive soft buttons, and you’ve got something that’s fun to play, fun to program and sounds fantastic.

A warm, mellow analogue drum machine. Super-mellow analogue drum machine • Thick, warm sounds with individual kit piece control • Built-in syncable preset rhythms to take you back in time

Regal Rhythm is a very simple drum box with a typical vintage analogue sound. The six on-board preset rhythms cover the kind of staples you'd expect from more of a home-orientated (rather than studio grade) piece of kit, and there's a slightly fuzzy, soft-edged tone to the whole thing that can work very nicely for chillout, downtempo tracks. It also comes in a neat royal red colour scheme that should cheer up anyone's morning – and check out that real wood veneer ????

All-analogue bass from the super-cool Hohner Bass 3. A closet classic – the wonderful little Hohner Bass III • Three combinable preset sounds • Tweakable effects and envelope controls bring it all to life.

Something that was weirdly great about the 80s was the emergence of “things that are also other things”. For example: pencil erasers that also smell of candy. Or toy cars that are also toy robots. Or school calculators that are also tiny synthesisers.

When it comes to drum machines, Roland have been in on the action right from the start. With the TR-808, they helped define EDM and hip-hop, while the 909 swiftly became a staple of the techno / house movement. But by 1986, old analogue beatboxes were making way (sometimes by being slung in skips) for the crispy 'realism' of digitally sampled drums. Everyone and their drummer cousin wanted a set of Simmons pads and a brain, and of course Roland were only too happy to provide.

The Wersi Drum Composer CX5 is an early digital drum machine with a punchy, aggressive sound that was clearly intended to poach on Simmons's territory. Physically, it's a monolithic slab of grey metal and plastic livened up by dozens of LEDs and a cool, Ensoniq-style vacuum fluorescent display; sonically, its low-bit-depth samples make for gritty, compressed loops that can add a really hefty foundation to a track. (It's no relation to the Yamaha CX5 music computer, by the way; that's a totally different monolithic slab of grey mid-80s metal and plastic!).

Total Samples brings you 65 Massive Presets ideal for the most Brutal Dubstep. Featuring Bass, Leads and FX. Chainsaws at the ready? Then let's begin... Take a lesson in sound design from a talented up and coming producer. Equipped with an electric drill in one hand, and an axe in the other, they have managed to forge together wobbles and screeches from bits of animals that should never have been put together.

'Pump Beast' is another banger that is a guaranteed hit maker with sounds inspired by Lil Pump, Gucci, Migos, 21 Savage, Future and Metro Boomin. Big Citi Loops are back with another banger that is a guaranteed hit-maker.

Alternative-universe steampunk Victorian musical box! • Hundreds of samples for natural variation and character. • Sound design courtesy of synthesised FM tones, sample reverse and forced-pitching controls • Note-off samples for clunks, clicks, whirrs and chiffs