https://wearethemusicmakers.co/latest Music tech and AI in music: the news that matters, what we think about it, and a directory of the tools. en-us Sun, 01 Nov 2026 15:30:00 GMT https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/virtual-instruments-explained https://wearethemusicmakers.co/learn/virtual-instruments-explained Virtual instruments are software instruments inside a DAW that turn MIDI notes into sound. They come in two families: synthesizers, which generate sound from oscillators and filters, and sample-based instruments, which play back recordings of real instruments. Because the notes and the sound are separate, you can swap a piano for strings without rewriting a note, and an AI DAW can do the swap from one sentence. Sun, 01 Nov 2026 15:30:00 GMT We are the music makers daw-101dawvirtual-instrumentssample-librariesai-daw https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/optigan-software-recreates-optical-sampler https://wearethemusicmakers.co/news/2026/10/optigan-software-recreates-optical-sampler DSP Bricks has released Optigan, a software version of the 1971 organ that played looped recordings from optical discs. It ships with all 40 original Program Discs, adds independent pitch and speed, and costs €49. Fri, 30 Oct 2026 04:30:00 GMT We are the music makers pluginssamplersvintage-emulationvirtual-instruments