Welcome to the Cableguys Blog!

Guides, tutorials, interviews and other editorial goings-on - yes, we're also a blog now…

November 13, 2026, by Ronan Macdonald

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

You already know Cableguys for industry-standard plugins such as ShaperBox, HalfTime and Kickstart – but what you probably don’t know is that I and two other members of the team (Lee and Joe) have all previously held the position of Editor at the late, great Computer Music magazine.

Published by Future Publishing from 1998-2024, CM was the world’s best-selling music software magazine, delivering a vibrant monthly mix of tutorials, news, reviews and interviews. It also featured a cover disc (remember those?) packed with exclusive free samples and software – including Cableguys WaveShaper CM and Curve 2 CM!

(It’s no coincidence that we’ve all ended up at Cableguys, of course, but that’s a tale for another time…)

With such a wealth of experienced writers onboard, we’ve long held the ambition of launching an official Cableguys editorial outlet, to serve as a trusted resource for knowledge-hungry musicians and producers.

Well, the Cableguys Blog is that outlet. We aim to make it an essential part of the Cableguys line-up, and a valuable source of music-making information and inspiration in its own right.

You’ll have already seen the expertise I’m talking about in Joe’s videos on the Cableguys YouTube channel. With the Blog, we’ll bring you equally high-quality guides, features and more.

And we’re off to a flying start, with plenty to get your teeth into right from the off, including:

The No-Nonsense Guide to Sidechaining and How to Hear Sidechaining: Take control of your low end with this most fundamental of production techniques.
10 Ways to Make Your Drums Hit Different: Tricks and ideas to bring beef to your beats.
4 Wave Editing and Envelope Tips for ShaperBox: Get more from your modulation.
How to Build Tension Like a Pro: 3 riser design techniques with which to up your dancefloor game.
Interviews with electronica legend Richard Devine, Brit production wizard Aubrey Whitfield, OneRepublic producer John Nathaniel, and videogame soundtrack composer David Levy.

We’d love to know what you think of our new endeavour, and what sort of content you’d like to see us put on the Blog next. Let us know by mailing us at contact@cableguys.com.

Ronan spent 35 years at the forefront of music and music technology journalism, including running Computer Music and Rhythm magazines. Now, as Cableguys’ Head of Editorial, he’s bringing his production expertise and technical insight to the blog, exploring Cableguys plugins in depth to find every workaround and creative angle – so you don't have to.