A non-profit, artist-led space in Glasgow. Open Sessions, workshops, and a working collection of synthesizers, drum machines, and effects — bookable, playable, and cared for.
WHAT'S ON
Every booking, every workshop, every event in one place. Open Sessions run regularly — programmes come in cohorts.
Workshop
Sun 23 May · 7 – 10pm
Patch from scratch
Build a sound on the modular wall, start to finish.
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Eight places
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Three hours
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Start from nothing
£25
Book ↗
Showcase
Mon 31 May · 6pm – late
FSOS showcase night
Twelve young makers play what they made this year.
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Doors 6pm
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All ages
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Donations welcome
Free
Book ↗
Open session
Sat 5 Jun · 6 – 9pm
Open session
The whole library, three hours, a librarian in the room.
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Full library access
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Bring headphones
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Members £12
£30 / £12
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Launch
Mon 14 Jun · 6 – 9pm
FSOS volume one
First pressing played end to end, artists in the room.
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Listening room
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Q&A with artists
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Records on sale
Free
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OPEN SESSIONS
Three hours of hands-on time with the full GLOSS collection. No experience needed — librarians are on hand.
Standard
£30
per 3-hour session
Member
£12
60% off · join from £150/yr
Guest of member
£10
when booking with a member
What’s available
The full library: synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, effects, modular systems, and recording gear. Three workstations are set up and ready to go, plus the modular wall. A GLOSS librarian is present throughout to help you find what you’re looking for, demo unfamiliar gear, and answer questions about technique.
How booking works
Open Sessions are released two weeks in advance. Members get a priority booking window for the first 48 hours, then dates open to the public. Sessions run on the hour — try to arrive 10 minutes early.
Membership
Membership fees go straight into keeping the library running. In return: cheaper sessions, first dibs on bookings, and a vote on how GLOSS is run.
Membership is yearly. Renewals open one month before expiry — we’ll email you. Spaces are limited; if we’re full when you apply, you’ll join a waitlist. Applications take 2 minutes and we confirm by email within a few days.
Library
Synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, effects, modular systems, and recording gear. All of it bookable, all of it cared for, all of it built to be played.
A1
Featured instrument · drum machine · 1980 · Roland
TR-808
The drum machine that defined hip-hop, electro, and acid house. Our 808 was donated by a Glaswegian producer who wanted it to keep working. 16 analogue voices, step sequencer, 11 individual outputs — and a librarian on hand for the ten-minute tour.
voices
16
sequencer
16 step
outputs
11
year
1980
maker
Roland
bookable
yes
Featured project
IFTPOG
The Instrument For The People of Glasgow. A modular synthesizer built from donated modules, exhibited at GoMA, now resident at GLOSS. It came here to be played, not preserved — every patch made on it is a conversation between strangers who never met.
Got spare module?
Coming later
The catalogue
A full, browsable catalogue of all 42 instruments — with photographs, specifications, and notes from the librarians — arrives in a later phase, alongside Learn: foundations of synthesis, instrument tutorials, electronic music histories, glossary, and reading list.
Gear in the library MADe BY
Roland
Moog
Korg
Yamaha
Sequential
E-mu
Akai
Elektron
Instruo
Expert Sleepers
Torso
Ableton
Programmes
Where the library becomes a practice. From short introductions to year-long engagements.
Workshop series
Applications closed
ITEM
Introduction To Electronic Music. Six weeks, two levels, hands-on from the first session — not just how to use a DAW, but how synthesis, sequencing and sound design fit together. Half our places are reserved for people who couldn’t otherwise afford the workshops.
— Six 3-hour sessions
— Full library access
— Ableton Live trial licence
— 2 free open sessions
— A finished piece of work
Year-long cohort · 16–25
Next cohort Sept 2026
FSOS
Future Sounds of Strathclyde. Twelve young makers in West Scotland get monthly studio time, one-to-one mentorship, instrument loans, and end the year with a track on a GLOSS-pressed vinyl release. No prior experience required.
— Monthly sessions, Sept – June
— Mentor pairing
— Unlimited open sessions
— Gear loans for home practice
— Travel and childcare support
What programmes have produced
Release · Jan 2026
FSOS Volume One — 12-inch vinyl, six tracks from the 2025 cohort
Partnership · Apr 2026
New instrument partner: Torso Electronics
Announcement · Mar 2026
GSA School of Innovation expands GLOSS collaboration
Showcase · Nov 2025
ITEM Level 2 final showcase at SWG3
Residency · Sept 2025
Beatrice Dillon completes six-week residency
Support Us
Membership is one way in — but there are others. Donate, lend us gear, partner with us, or volunteer your time.
One-off & recurring
Donate
Every pound goes into the library — instrument maintenance, free workshops, bursaries for participants who couldn’t otherwise attend. As a CIC, our books are public.
Donate via Stripe ↗
Instruments looking for a working home
Donate or loan gear
Got a synthesizer gathering dust? We accept donations and long-term loans of synthesizers, drum machines, samplers, effects and modular modules — working or repairable. We don’t accept guitars, amps or PA gear; other organisations do that better.
Get in touch about a donation ↗
Corporate & institutional
Partner with us
Following the model of our GSA partnership, we work with organisations who want sustained engagement with electronic music education in Glasgow. Programme sponsorship, employee workshops, or formal academic partnerships.
Discuss a partnership ↗
Time, not money
Volunteer
Small but useful volunteer roles for events, open evenings, and the FSOS showcase. Especially looking for people with photography, sound engineering, or admin skills.
Get in touch ↗
Contact
We try to reply to everything within a few working days.
Newsletter
New dates, new events, new gear
General
Press
Accessibility
Supported by
Creative Scotland · National Lottery · Youth Music Initiative · Glasgow School of Art · Rubadub · Signal Sounds · Instruo · Expert Sleepers · Torso Electronics · Elektron · Ableton · Seabass Vinyl · The Common Guild
Governance
GLOSS is registered in Scotland as Community Interest Company SC754357. Articles of incorporation, annual accounts and governance documents are public. Fair Work Scotland accredited — all staff paid the Real Living Wage or above.
© 2026 GLOSS · CIC SC754357 · 5 Florence Street, Glasgow G5 0YX
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