issue 61 · 2026-09-07 · for people who make house

Thin vocal? This free channel strip's gate expander trick

The gate in Delos Vocal Labs doubles as a downward expander, and it's the reason to grab this free channel strip for thin vocals. Audacity 4 lands with VST3 and a new project format, and Jas-i Khorlo rotates physical models through a glass cylinder.

◢ free & gear

Audacity 4's New Project Format and VST3 Support(free)

The new .aup4 project format breaks backward compatibility, but VST3/AU/LV2 support makes Audacity a quick utility for processing audio through your favorite plugins. MIDI and macros aren't here yet, but multi-track recording is on the way.

5 min read · grab it →

Jas-i Khorlo: Rotating Physical Modeling(free)

Up to 8 resonators model strings, bells, and membranes, with rotating impulse rings that sync to host for evolving textures. The dual multimode filter and reorderable multi-FX chain make it a sound design playground, and it's free.

5 min read · grab it →

◢ the word

▶ The Gate Expander Trick in Delos Vocal Labs

The gate is a stereo downward expander with sidechain key filters that ignore low-end rumble and hi-hat blades—the difference between a cheap headset mic and a usable vocal. Boost 200–500 Hz and run it through the warmth module's symmetric tan saturation to add body.

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♫ In Rotation

Moontalk — Hot Line 84'

— LarryLuxe's pick

📊 The Charts

= #06

ANOTR, 54 Ultra — Talk To You (Extended Mix)

41 days on · ▶ hear

▲ #24

Detlef, Ossey James, Tony Romera — Swagon (Tony Romera Remix)

▲ 70 · 7d · ▶ hear

▲ #27

Eddy M — Madaf4k4 (Original Mix)

▲ 70 · 7d · ▶ hear

▼ #91

Cristina Lazic, Supernova — That's Right (Supernova Remix)

▼ 39 · 1d · ▶ hear

▲ #58

Late London, J. Park — Boots R Quakin (Original Mix)

back on · ▶ hear

Glossary

key tracking — Key tracking is setting a macro or mod envelope to link a synth parameter (like filter cutoff or wet/dry) to the note's MIDI key number so higher notes behave differently than lower ones. You can dial this in on Serum's Matrix by dragging the 'Key' source to a target like cutoff, then setting the amount (e.g., +50%) to make the filter open more as you play higher. — seen in Speedrunning Techno Sound Design 🚀

🔮 Producer Horoscope (for fun) — Your sub will phase-cancel at the exact moment you hit record.

Back to the DAW.

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covered in this issue: jas-i khorlo