What is it?

Modal Electronics has had a turbulent few years, running into financial difficulties in 2023 and consequently undergoing a fairly lengthy restructuring process. This delayed the release of the synth on test here, Carbon8X, first previewed at Superbooth in 2023 and now finally available in 37-, 61-key and module versions.

The company's range of synths has been varied to say the least, from high-end and very well-regarded synths like the 001 to the (much) more budget-friendly Skulpt and Craft Synth. In fact, all the synths have been pretty well received, so it was disappointing to see the company – a UK one at that – in trouble.

However, Modal appears to now be on less choppy waters (under the banner of Hong Kong-based WT Technology Development), and with a more streamlined set of products, which should help make the company's synth proposition much clearer and more attractive.

Argon8 is Modal's 8-voice wavetable synth, packing a lot of the company's 00 synth into a much cheaper unit, while Cobalt8 is the company's more virtual analogue offering.

Carbon8 boasts double the power of these (although the same eight voices of polyphony) and can, in some ways, be seen as a 'best of' Modal synth, packing a lot of sonic punch and clout into a very solid synth proposition.

Performance

One thing you can't ignore is Carbon8X's build quality. This thing feels like it's built to last, with a steel and aluminium body, and could take on any gigging/transport situation… should you have the muscles to carry it. It's not light, put it that way, and if you have to lug a keyboard around, this might be off-putting, but at least you can be sure it's not going to get easily damaged should you manage to venture out with it.

The screen, at less than 4cm wide, is a bit small, but functional, and displays many features, like the envelopes and filters, with graphics not unlike a 1970s amusement arcade, but it certainly does enough without adding too much in the way of frills.

Probably the most important buttons are on either side of it, used for stepping through presets – which we'll cover later – or adjusting any parameter you like. Here you can access the 58 cores for both oscillators, which gives you an idea of how Carbon8X sounds on a ground level.

There are 38 wavetables and 18 algorithms, which give this synth a lot more sonic flexibility than others in its price range. Extra parameters here include a Contour dial to change the timbre of the selected Core, plus the Xmod/XCore. This controls the amount and type of extra cross modulation for oscillator 2, either with Osc 1 as the source or a so-called 'hidden' oscillator.

You can adjust six oscillator modifiers like phase distortion, wave shaping, ring or amplitude modulation – great for extra real-time control and well worth exploring as a sound design option in their own right. It's very easy, for example, to completely rebuild a preset from scratch and create your own right here, and that's before taking advantage of other modulation features.

These are pretty good too, with three LFOs (one with direct controls, two switchable), each with 16 shapes, and three envelopes for Amp, Mod and Filter. You get 12 sources and 55 destinations, but only eight slots to set up, which could be seen as a bit tight, but we'll assume these can be added to with a software update.

Setting these up is easy with the left-hand screen button, although with all selections, you are only given a few seconds to make your changes before the synth reverts back to its previous setting. Not really a problem, just something you might need to get used to.

A Shift option accesses a second layer of parameters on most buttons, and a couple of other nice touches include a joystick which can be (and has been) assigned to popular parameters to adjust in real time (think filter frequency, modulation depth and so on), and a Vintage dial to introduce gnarl and tuning issues just like an old analogue, which this clearly isn't.

Sounds

That said, some of the sounds are surprisingly lush and 'vintage', with lots taking advantage of the up-to-32-step arpeggiator for some full-on, classic synth movement, and even more can be created by way of a 512-note sequencer. Both steal the LEDs from other parameters to show you 16 steps of whatever mode you're in.

Meanwhile, the filter section adds the most diversity, featuring 34 filter types – analogue, digital and hybrid – and large Filter and Resonance dials to make the most of them. Here you get typical HP/LP/BP options plus a huge range of static, ladder, and dual 2-pole filters with continuous morphing.

It's really simple to get a feel of these in action with the screen pulling its weight and enabling you to see the different filter shapes and home in on the resonating frequencies for extra bite, not to mention the Warp dial, which allows you to add extra grit and drive.

A small niggle again comes down to the screen workflow where, as you step through filter types and adjust their frequency, you then have to go back to selecting filter type to keep auditioning – essentially the screen doesn't always seem to return to (or stay at) the parameter you hoped. Again, it's not a deal breaker, just a workflow step or two that you'll need to get used to.

While Carbon8X is clearly a digital synth at heart, it doesn't come with too much in the way of sonic harshness that (if you were our age) you might associate with the medium. In fact, it's right up there with one of our current favourites, Arturia's MiniFreak, in terms of sheer variety of sounds, with impressively programmed presets that you can easily and cheekily make your own, and plenty of hands-on action to call up should you wish.

You'll be tempted by that joystick, for example, and wonder why your favourite keyboard doesn't come with one as standard – Carbon8X makes it such a natural tweaking process. And use it you will to turn some already superb sounds into more dynamic and evolving textures. These are here aplenty, along with other pads, sequences, evolving and pretty nondescript atmospheres, and imaginative key, pluck and bell sounds.

We should also finally mention the three effects engines, each with 26 options to choose from, which add even more to your already bristling list of design options.

Verdict

Carbon8X has some features and workflow niggles, small ones if we're honest, and which might be sorted with system updates. But really, its sound blows these away and we were surprised by how much we were drawn in by what's here sonically, and what you can do with it.

The synth certainly wears its digital credentials proudly and has a character of its own which can really be appreciated by stepping through those presets – few synths boast quite as good a set of sonic adverts as this, and if you do nothing else, audition these sounds in your local dealer if you can.

This character is its clear raison d'etre and big draw, and a necessary one as hardware synths have really got to work for their lodgings in your studio over your plugins. However, it's joining a fairly crowded line-up of digital hardware synths – think Korg and that Arturia (see our alternatives for more) – which all offer a great deal of sonic mayhem for similar or less cash.

However, Carbon8X is pretty unique, even compared to some of the more unruly and 'trying to be out there' contenders, all within a (very solid) package. Of the three Carbon8Xs on offer, we'd probably opt for one of the keyboard versions over the module, simply for the extra controls that make using them much more intuitive, and for not much extra cash, but whatever you opt for, you'll wrestle some fantastic new textures out of it and create some inspiring and cutting-edge sounds.

Alternatives

Specifications

What is it?

The announcement of Telepathic Instruments Orchid heralded a flurry of chat that one might associate with a boutique fashion or limited-run IPA drop. This was in no small part due to the involvement of Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker.

According to TI, the Orchid is a “chord-generating digital synthesizer built on a revolutionary chord logic algorithm and industry-leading, voice-leading technology.”

While the concept of a chord-focused synth isn't entirely new – having its roots in the Omnichord and auto-accompaniment capabilities of ’80s era ‘home-keyboards’ – the Orchid attempts to drag that accessibility into the modern production era.

At its core, it is a 16-voice polyphonic synthesizer and keyboard that promises to translate musical intuition into immediate sonic results, with the intention of bypassing the learning curve of traditional music theory, subverting a user's hard-wired ‘chord memory’, or just as fun a bit of kit for finding new ideas. The idea being that rather than hunting for a major 9th on a standard keyboard, you simply hold a root note and tap a button, and all in a portable, battery-powered ‘ideas machine’ format.

In the flesh, apart from the small OLED screen, it looks like a child’s toy from the ’70s. In use, it perhaps feels like one as well, but more on that shortly.

Performance

The primary draw of the Orchid is its workflow, which, despite some initial cynicism on our part, is fun and genuinely transformative, offering an engaging way to escape a creative rut.

The standout feature is undoubtedly the Voicing Dial. This allows you to cycle through inversions and octave spreads with a simple flick of the wrist, creating harmonic shifts and variations that would usually require greater keyboard and chord proficiency to achieve. If actually deciding on a chord type is too much for you, then it’s easy to select a specific major or minor key and allow the Orchid to choose chords for you by mapping different, but appropriate ones, to each key of the keyboard.

It’s easy to be sniffy about some of this, especially if you are of the more judgmental ‘muso’ persuasion, but we really enjoyed this mode, and there’s nothing stopping you from tweaking chord types as you go.

You can also use the unit as a song-drafting tool to sketch out sophisticated harmonic progressions, and then split the chord, bass, and 'performance' data onto separate MIDI channels to trigger different hardware (or software) instruments. The aforementioned performance elements reflect the Orchid’s ability to turn block chords into something more engaging by allowing it to play them in different ways, with variations that take in ‘strumming’, arpeggiation, harp glissandi and 11 different trigger patterns.

The synth engine features 16-note polyphony and uses Virtual Analogue, FM, and Reed Piano models. The sounds themselves are good, with a solid array of presets, but editing is limited to overall filtering and effects. However, given that this is not intended as a standalone in-depth synth system, the lack of options here allows you to focus on other things and not be distracted by an endless menu of synth-engine parameters.

However, if you do wish to delve further, TI has released Pistil, a synth plugin featuring the Orchid synth engine, with full access to all its under-the-hood parameters – and it allows you to save patches to the hardware. Currently, Mac-only and in Beta, but a promising development, nonetheless.

It’s good to see that there have been some significant firmware updates over the course of Orchid’s development, which expand its features and flexibility. This includes the provision of additional time signatures and more expansive beat and looping options. The loop recorder included here is simple and effective but is only really intended as a notepad for generating one-off ideas. You won’t be creating complex multi-section music pieces here, and there’s no way to access or save anything other than what is in the loop recorder at that moment. Again, the focus clearly is on working in the moment.

Despite its boutique branding, it is disappointing to report that the physical chassis feels surprisingly lightweight and plastic, lacking the structural integrity of some other pro gear. The keyboard feels cheap and lightweight, and the encoders feel a little flimsy.

It is also worth pointing out that we have experienced some occasional glitches in use, and there have been some reported hardware issues on early units – though Telepathic Instruments itself does seem responsive in terms of support on this front.

Verdict

The Telepathic Instruments Orchid is a fun and fascinating, if occasionally charmingly flawed, attempt to rethink the interface between the composer/producer and the synth or computer. It prioritises fun and workflow over 'menu diving', making it the ideal choice for those who want to explore harmony without returning to music school. But it can also act as an ideas generator, or simply a way to find more interesting chord progressions for tracks you might already have started. Even just adjusting the Chord Voicing knob to create different inversions can be very helpful when considering different approaches to enhancing a track.

Compared with something like the Roland Aira J-6, the Orchid is much more interesting from a harmonic perspective and ultimately more useful across a wider range of genres.

Those looking for a controller that includes chord generation functionality could consider the Arturia KeyStep range, but although these excel in other areas, they don’t offer the charm, enjoyment, or inspiration we found in the Orchid, even with its premium price.

Let’s face it, the Orchid is not cheap, and to some, it looks like a toy. That being said, we really like ours. We bought it at full price, and don’t yet regret it. It has proven to be both fun and useful.

Hands-on demos

Telepathic Instruments

Alternatives

Specifications

What is it?

Elektron's music machines are not always obvious devices, marrying synths, drum machines, grooveboxes and sampling together in pretty much whichever way you wish, focusing on everything from dynamic processing (Analogue Heat + FX) to grooves (Model:Cycles), analogue drums (Analog Rytm MkII) to analogue synths (Analog Four MkII).

Tonverk is the company's latest and most-anticipated music box, a polyphonic sampler, sequencer, granular machine, audio interface and effects processor all-in-one. You might be thinking 'sampling groovebox' and you wouldn't be too far off, but there's a not-so-hidden depth to this machine that takes it up a few levels as a sound design tool, with a character that can evolve, twist and shout more than most.

It's dirty, fun, and importantly to us, straightforward to grasp. We've not always enjoyed – sometimes endured – the Elektron user experience, having owned and used many a device over the last three decades. But this time around, Tonverk's larger form factor, extra keyboard and effects give it an edge over other Elektron devices, so while we came for some dirty beats, we went away with a lot more, including a new-found respect for this particular 'sound factory'.

Performance

There's a lot to get across with Tonverk and inevitably we're not going to be able to cover everything here. The modulation alone is worth its own chapter, as is an extraordinary set of sequencing and dynamic features, but focusing on Tonverk's tracks, new effects and architecture – basically how to make a tune – will give you a flavour of what it is capable of.

Tonverk has a total of 16 tracks. The first eight are audio, each with eight voices of polyphony. Tracks 9 to 12 are bus tracks, with tracks 13 to 15 acting as effect sends and track 16 the overall mix. All tracks can also be used as standard MIDI tracks for use with external gear.

Typically Tonverk works by layering up the audio tracks with either preset samples (from a supplied 64GB SD card) or your own. Select a track by holding the Track button – top-left above the very welcome mini keyboard – and one of the first eight track buttons along the bottom. Then you select a 'Source Machine' from the Setup options for the chosen audio track. These determine how the audio is played back and, at the time of writing – they can and have been expanded with system updates – include five options.

Single Player is an eight-voice polyphonic single sample player where the audio is mapped across the keyboard. Multiplayer mode acts like a multisample or soundfont player, able to load in more detailed, velocity-layered sample setups. Subtracks are a huge addition as they are like kits of sounds, up to eight together per track, split across the keyboard.

Think of Subtracks as tracks within tracks, with Tonverk able to play up to 64 sounds simultaneously across its eight tracks, with each block of eight able to access a very comprehensive effects section. However you think of them, they are a big Tonverk highlight, especially given that each Subtrack has its own two filters, an envelope and modulation.

Finally, in addition to the aforementioned MIDI tracks, the last of the Source Machines is the all-new Grainer, Elektron's first granular engine, so an important update that gives Tonverk a lot of its sonic bite, smashing, as it does, a sample into manipulatable grains.

Effect madness

Tonverk's other effects are, quite simply, stunning. You get two insert effects per audio track plus three send effects, with around a dozen types to choose from. These include the usual Elektron compressor, reverb, delay and chorus, plus all-new mostly filter and lo-fi style effects like Degrader, which should be heard to be believed. Its eight assigned parameters can truly smash a sound to pieces which, along with others like Chrono Pitch, prove that Tonverk, while clean if you want it to be, excels at proper filth with some outstanding, dirty options.

You can easily layer two of these effects per audio track, with the flexibility to add up to three more via send effects, found by dialling up each of tracks 13 to 15, and with the level of each adjusted via the main FX page. Tracks 9 to 12, meanwhile, offer four bus tracks for setting up even more flexible routing – like you think you must be needing it at this point – as each also has two more insert effect slots.

All of the main parameters within Tonverk's effects have been mapped to the eight function dials on the top-right of Tonverk, which change function according to what mode you are in, so it's dead simple to tweak each one, and you can quickly set up very complex layered insert and send effects right across your song or parts of it.

Layering more icing onto an already sweet cake, you can also add an Effects Machine to the overall mix of a pattern by selecting track 16 and hitting Func>FX to select – it's basically an effect to add to the entire track. While we're on Track 16, the Mix track, here you can also set your mixer up, adjusting settings across the audio tracks, and also those for Tonverk's two audio inputs.

You can get an overview of Tonverk's potentially complex routing setup by hitting the Shift and Routing/Mute button which offers a simpler view of your setup and allows you to set up the routing for everything. Here, for example, you can set the audio destinations for multiple tracks to the main Mix, four busses or direct out, and you can even send the audio from one of the three send effects to an external effects box, and route the effected signal back into Tonverk's input, which obviously opens the box up to processing with a mountain of external modular or other studio gear.

Other features worth noting are that each track has a sequencer, and effects can be (quite) easily automated to create incredibly moving and dynamic sequences; set sequencer steps, for example, to route to certain effects and levels. You can also control effects in real time using hands-on performance options like freeze and stutter via the function knobs to liven up any live performance.

Sequencing is often where we used to fall down with some Elektrons – here you get Projects with up to 16 songs, each with up to 128 patterns for the 16 tracks. You might struggle with some of the terminology, with sequencing rows and suchlike, but seasoned Elektron users will be at home, and it's probably (OK, likely) more logical than our brain realises. Certainly the recording options – step and real-time plus Grid recording to add trigs – fulfil those composition requirements, and the real-time editing options are endless.

Add in that modulation we mentioned, including a filter, two LFOs per track, effects bus and mix plus a modulation envelope per voice, and you have an almost overwhelming number of options – Tonverk really is just on the right side of 'doing too much'. Yes, some processes can seem convoluted on occasion – mostly because there are just so many options – but it is by no means as complex as it could be for such a flexible beast.

We should also touch on the sampling – this is a sampler at heart, after all – and here you can load in samples from an extensive and high-quality Elektron library (from the SD card). There are 80 multisampled synths here, for example, plus kits, basses, single samples and projects.

Sampling yourself is easy. We touched on how you can route to external hardware earlier, but standard sampling includes an Auto Sampler that makes creating multisamples easy. Select audio via USB or physical inputs, set a number of velocity layers and notes, record and Tonverk maps and layers for you. Finally, an on-board arpeggiator and chord mode add even more creative possibilities should you tire of the rest of the machine's extensive features (you won't).

Verdict

Tonverk has certainly opened our eyes up to 'the Elektron way'. While it follows a similar Elektron path to other Elektron devices, it gels better as a product to us, possibly because its larger format makes everything more approachable. The point of the machine also seems more obvious and a happy compromise between what we expect a device to do while keeping some of Elektron's rather exclusive clubby feel – basically, we've been invited to the VIP area of a bar and are actually enjoying it.

Tonverk, then, is a bit of a triumph to our eyes and ears. We're not surprised that it is so deep – Elektron will always prioritise flexibility and sonic mayhem, while rewarding your time spent diving in – but the fact that we actually get the message and can use it is the real joy.

With an emphasis on the dirtier side of music production – the Grainer machine alone here will suffice – and with a range of effects and routing flexibility that can back this up in any situation, Tonverk has surpassed our expectations in many ways. We started out wanting a box to add some filthy beats to some way-too-nice tracks we've been working on, but ended up pretty much getting this particular sound factory to supply most of the actual tracks.

Tonverk isn't cheap but a) it does cost less than two of our alternatives and b) it's not 2024 anymore. Yes, it's not quite as mobile as it could be, and there are maybe one or two extra button pushes over what we'd like, but if you want in-your-face electronic music productions, Tonverk has the flexibility to be whatever you want it to be, and is easily one of the most inspirational and accessible Elektrons we've used.

Hands-on demos

Elektron

Alternatives

Specifications

Waldorf has announced a new version of its desktop synth Iridium, which ups the power of the original and adds several new features that have been informed, in part, by a collaboration with Aphex Twin.

First launched in 2020, Iridium is based on the same multi-engine design as Waldorf’s flagship Quantum, which combines various complex digital synthesis approaches including wavetables, granular, physical modelling and modulation synthesis.

Although its specs are trimmed down compared to the behemoth Quantum, Iridium is still a hugely powerful synthesizer, offering dual layers with three oscillators a piece, multi-functional digital filters, a hugely capable effects section and a generous array of modulation tools.

Now Waldorf has launched Iridium Desktop Mk2, which appears to double down on all the most impressive aspects of the original.

Notably, Iridium Mk 2 increases the power of the original, with extra RAM for the sample-based synthesis approaches and an improved CPU. This extra grunt allows the Mk2 to up the multitimbral capabilities, now offering four distinct synth layers, rather than two.

As well as adding extra layers, Iridium Mk 2 offers new ways for these multitimbral elements to interact. Like Waldorf’s recent compact synth Protein, Iridium can now cycle through timbral layers in round robin or randomised patterns.

There’s a new synthesis mode on offer too, named Seed, which Waldorf describes as being “inspired by wavetable synthesis, in which each wavetable represents a timbral journey, Waldorf has found a way to base these timbral journeys not only on static waveforms, but also to dynamically synthesize each waypoint from sub-oscillators we called ‘Seeds’.”

The Seed mode can also make use of modulation approaches including FM and ring mod.

Possibly the most eye-catching of Iridium’s new features is its per-note parameter locks. This allows users to assign up-to 16 different parameter settings for each note, effectively letting every played note have an entirely different sound, even going as far as changing the synthesis approach for individual notes.

What makes this feature particularly interesting is the fact that it is, according to Waldorf, “the result of a collaboration with legendary Aphex Twin, a long-term Iridium Desktop user.”

Parameter locks are input simply by holding the intended note and then adjusting the parameter using the Iridium interface. Per-note parameter locks are saved with each synth patch and can be edited using a dedicated UI menu.

This is hardly the first time Aphex Twin has offered a brand a few instrument design pointers. In recent years, the likes of the Korg Monologue and Novation Bass Station II have also benefited a little input from Richard D James.

Iridium Desktop Mk2 also gains an assortment of other new features compared to its predecessor, including expanded flash memory for samples, additional presets and a ‘flavour’ control – again, inherited from Protein – which introduces subtle variations in pitch and tone.

Along with the new model, Waldorf has also released a firmware update for all Iridium and Quantum users that adds universal features including a Mutator patch randomiser, polyphonic arpeggiator and microtonal features.

Iridium Desktop Mk2 is out now, priced at £2,095/€2,399/$3,699. Head to the Waldorf site for more info.

What is it?

Waldorf is a company with an incredible heritage. Rising from the ashes of PPG, the company that brought wavetable synthesis to the masses, Waldorf has always had an uncanny knack of distilling wavetable technology into a format which is both usable, great-sounding, and also incredibly engaging at a musical level.

Recent years have seen an enormous resurgence of interest in Waldorf, thanks to a run of exceptionally powerful synthesizers with wavetable at their heart. The excitement around the Quantum (released in 2019) was palpable, and Waldorf did not disappoint. The same technology and interfacing were employed throughout its Iridium range, appearing in a number of different sizes and styles to suit your budget. However, even the cheapest Iridium attracted a price tag of just over £1,000. Despite the incredible quality of the unit, that's still a hefty investment when software can be so enticing and comparatively cheap.

The only problem is, when it comes to wavetable, there is an awful lot to be said for hands-on control, and almost on cue, Waldorf has just the solution, in a relatively affordable package.

Performance

The Waldorf Protein fulfils its brief perfectly; it's a small desktop device, powered directly from your computer via USB-C, providing perfect hands-on control via 21 pots. Most of these pots are of the fixed variety, with a handful of rotary/push pots, in appropriate locations. There’s also a shift function that doubles the functionality of the pots. As you dive into a section for editing, your path is guided by the parameter next to the pot, with confirmation presented on the sharp-but-small display. The shift button can be latched or momentarily depressed, depending on your style of working.

The Protein architecture is an 8-bit, 8-voice synthesizer, which provides two oscillators per voice. However, it also offers up to four layers, so a patch could conceivably consist of eight oscillators per voice. In reality, the number of oscillators can be less important when it comes to wavetable synthesis, as the interest provided by a single wavetable provides a compelling prospect against the more traditional forms of subtractive synthesis. Arguably, all of the interest lies within the wavetable, and Waldorf does not disappoint.

The two oscillators per voice/layer are identical, being based on the original Microwave 1 ASIC oscillator. Waldorf supplies 64 classic PPG and Microwave wavetables, each with 61 cycles per wavetable. If you require something more subtractive, the last three cycles of each wavetable produce a triangle, saw and square wave, which have their uses for bolstering the resonant colours of some of the wavetables.

Filter noise

Where the Protein differs from some other Waldorf designs is through the use of an entirely digital filter. There have been previous examples of digital filter from Waldorf that have been completely indistinguishable from their analogue counterparts, and the supplied filter adopts a faithful model of the CEM Curtis chip design, and it’s very palatable as a consequence. It is switchable between low and high-pass modes, with accompanying resonance and envelope modulation pots contained immediately within the filter section, alongside the ubiquitous cutoff pot. Of course, filter behaviour is influenced considerably by the wavetable(s) being sculpted, but even with full resonance applied, the resulting colours are nuanced and musical. The heritage of this instrument harks back to the '90s, and to our ears, the filter feels more polished and usable than many filter examples from 30 years ago.

There is also a drive component to the filter, with five different variations which include the grittiness of a tube, diode or just plain ‘crunch’, but in each case, it replaces the filter component, so it may not be entirely appropriate for all settings. In fact, referring to our previous point about the wavetable content, the coupling of drive with a particular wavetable timbre can be incredibly effective, particularly when you factor in layering. As up to four layers can be employed, you can simply mix and match filter or drive colours across the layers.

Also buried within the filter section is a noise generator, providing a number of terrific noise timbres. These range from static, which is essentially white noise, through to clicks and even a Geiger counter. The noise sources described as Burst (of which there are three) provide various short lengths of noise, which are perfect for adding colour to the front of a patch.

Get modded

Wavetable synthesis reacts particularly well to modulation, and Waldorf provides potential for creating plenty of movement. Protein is armed with three ADSR envelopes and two LFOs, at the layer level, with the LFOs offering tempo synchronisation and sample & hold. It's possible to engineer basic modulation from the front panel with a degree of immediacy, but going deeper does require the use of the mod matrix, where up to eight slots are available.

One of the beauties of having hardware control is the fact that you can experiment considerably before cementing your modulation. Even the simple process of employing a sweep across a wavetable can be explored hands-on before committing the modulation routing, making the whole process far more appealing for the end user.

Protein also reacts to polyphonic aftertouch and embraces MPE modulation sources comfortably.

Round robin flavour

One of the attributes of wavetable is that it can sound a little sterile in certain settings and scenarios. Waldorf has engineered a couple of ingenious elements to lessen this outcome, beginning with the ‘flavour’ pot. It could easily be described as an organic or analogue pot; increasing this parameter induces elements of detuning or subtle variation to the wavetable or filter. In an intrinsically digital device, it is really effective.

However, if you are working with a multi-layer patch, the round robin feature is particularly cool. As each note is triggered, the round robin feature can be set to trigger the next available layer, either in sequence or randomised, creating a degree of subtle variation, which works particularly well when working with some of the performance elements, such as the arpeggiator.

Despite being a module-only device, there is no lack of performance features, with the arpeggiator leading the charge, with 16 different rhythmic variations available. You do have to keep a close eye on the screen, though, when selecting your arp parameters, but you can get lost for hours in the beauty presented alongside the round robin feature.

Protein power and connections

The Protein is designed to be a small and portable device, and weighing in at under a kilo, it won't add much weight to a laptop backpack. Connection to your computer, via USB-C, is perfect for both powering and acquiring a direct MIDI connection. There is no audio interfacing via this connection, so you will need to use headphones or connect the TRS stereo jacks, but in this context, the connection will be very tidy. This becomes a little messier if you need to use conventional MIDI sockets, as you will need to use the included trailing adapters.

You can also use an external power supply, such as a phone charger. During our testing, we had Protein powered from a USB hub, and we experienced no issues, either with powering or noise. Waldorf freely admits that in certain circumstances, noise can infiltrate the audio path, and it provides a helpful USB adapter, which will eliminate any earthing issues, resulting in unwanted clicks and pops in the audio path.

Verdict

It won't come as a huge shock to learn that we love the sound of Protein. Despite its price, which is considerably less than other Waldorf devices, Protein stands up incredibly well. We have always really enjoyed the PPG/Waldorf wavetable sound, and Protein really delivers on this front. It’s sonically multifaceted, sounding pure and cutting, or soft and endearing, or you can go full-on wavetable and create exceptionally appealing movement from a single wavetable. What's really interesting is that you can get lost in a single layer for ages, creating the perfect sound, such is the nature of wavetable synthesis. You can then copy and paste a layer to a multi-patch, allowing for editing individually or globally.

Despite the resplendent set of pots and buttons, it still takes a little while to truly discover where things are, and how things react. Workflow begins to speed up considerably once you have an acquaintance with it. Wavetable can also feel a little more labour-intensive in its programming ethos, and the Protein certainly falls in line with this level of expectation, but the trade-off is a very unique-sounding set of patches and the total enjoyment of working with hardware in this scenario.

Hands-on demos

Waldorf

Alternatives

Specifications

Released late last year, Waldorf Protein puts '90s-inspired wavetable synthesis into a budget compact synth.

Rising from the ashes of PPG, Waldorf is the company that brought wavetable synthesis to the masses. Following a run of high-end digital synths such as Quantum and Iridium, Protein is the most affordable Waldorf synth we've seen in some time – landing with a street price of £299/$399/€329.

It also reaches right back into the company's heritage, with a synth engine based around the original ASIC oscillators of the early-'90s Microwave 1.

In our hands-on video, MusicRadar's Si Truss and Simon Arblaster explore how to make a simple patch and why Protein is a compact synth worth getting excited about.

The Hydrasynth from Ashun Sound Machines (ASM) is one of the great synth success stories of recent years. First launched in 2019, the original model was a digital polysynth that put a fresh spin on wavetable synthesis. It won over numerous fans – including us – and spawned both compact and expanded siblings.

Until now, these various iterations have been the only products in the ASM line-up, but now the company has returned with its first non-Hydrasynth product – and it’s probably not what you were expecting.

Diosynth is a wind synthesizer that combines sample and synthesis engines in order to produce a variety of acoustic and electronic tones. It comes with 384 onboard patches that cover traditional wind instruments like various saxes, flutes and trumpets, along with synthesiser tones plus rare instruments including, according to ASM, “contrabass flute, Eb Tubax and Peruvian llama whistle”.

Wind synths themselves are nothing new, having been around since the late ‘80s, but what makes ASM’s interesting is the fact that its sound engine is, in part, based on the excellent sound generation tools of the Hydrasynth.

This means that users can combine four of the Hydrasynth’s wavescan oscillators with two sample playback oscillators, all feeding through a 16-mode filter. These multiple oscillators can be used to create layered and split sounds.

For advanced sound design, the Diosynth can make use of a companion app that runs on desktop as well as Android and iOS.

The hardware itself is, according to ASM, “designed with wind players in mind”, making use of mechanical keys that replicate the feel of real wind instruments, along with breath and bite sensors for expression, an internal gyro, X/Y joystick, two pressure pads and three programmable switches.

Along with a main audio output and headphone output, the Diosynth has DIN MIDI connections, USB MIDI and Bluetooth MIDI capabilities. It also features Bluetooth audio in and a built-in speaker.

The Diosynth is due to ship in December priced at $1,349/€1,449/£1,249. All units include a hard-shell case, cables and a storage stand. Head to the ASM site for more.

FM synths have had something of a revival over the past decade. Electronic musicians are now spoiled for choice when it comes to hardware FM, with the likes of Elektron’s Digitone, Korg’s Volca FM and Opsix, and Yamaha’s Reface DX each putting its own modernised spin on the format.

The latest instrument to enter this fray is The Doppler from Artium Instruments, a new desktop synth that aims to put a tweakable, boutique spin on the FM concept.

Housed in a stompbox-like chassis, The Doppler is a two-operator, 8-voice FM instrument designed with a knob-per-function interface. The synth engine makes use of two sine wave generators arranged in a carrier-modulator relationship.

The modulator’s frequency is quantised and can modulate both the frequency of the carrier and the carrier’s phase, either individually or simultaneously. The synth also has a pink noise generator that can be used to modulate the carrier for additional grit.

According to Artium Instruments, The Doppler is a simple synth designed to be ‘ultra-tweakable’: “It features a single, powerful algorithm, but the magic happens when you start adjusting its parameters. Even the subtlest tweaks lead to big shifts in the overall sound, making every turn feel like a discovery.”

Although The Doppler only has a single ADSR envelope for modulation, there are a few interesting settings that make this more versatile than it first appears. For one thing, the envelope can be switched to affect either just the carrier signal, or both the carrier output and modulation amount. There’s also a Mod Trail control that can alter the attack of the modulator signal.

Aside from the synth engine itself, The Doppler features a tap tempo delay and reverb. These can process both the synth’s own sounds and external audio patched into the rear panel input.

Connectivity-wise, The Doppler features a pair of TRS inputs and a pair of TRS outputs – the left of which can also be used as a stereo headphone output when nothing is connected to the right. There are also two USB ports, one purely for power and one to act as a MIDI host input.

The Doppler is available to order now following a successful Kickstarter campaign. It’s priced at $397.10. Head to the Artium Instruments site for more information.

What is it?

In order for any piece of music gear – or anything else, for that matter – to stand out in this shouty world, it needs an instant USP; one fast reason for you to consider reading on, watching more, or, ultimately, shelling out.

Sonicware is usually pretty good at its messaging, not least with its naming conventions, delivering a set of hardware sound modules where their titles do much of the heavy lifting – Ambient, Lo-Fi, Bass & Beats being the obvious examples.

The company’s new Liven Evoke doesn’t have such an instant ‘oh I get it’ tag, but it does boast an ‘Acoustronic Flux Oscillator’, surely the most unique of selling points this side of Hill Valley from Back To The Future.

“This is what makes time travel possible,” that film’s Doc Brown said of his flux capacitor, and it turns out that Sonicware’s ‘flux’ feature is also linked to time travel. Well, at least sonically anyway.

What is Liven Evoke?

Evoke is so named because it aims to take you on a nostalgic journey, with that core oscillator blending classic synth waves and acoustic sounds – hence the ‘Acoustronic’ name. You then combine the result with a granular effect and ‘Multi-Dimensional’ reverb to deliver ambient washes and drones from distant summer’s gone; timbres of fleeting moments, fragile memories, string orchestral elements, and grainy ambiences. Time travel indeed!

So the module is both evocative and timeless, and we’re certainly getting flux capacitor vibes, but the core oscillator is also named as such because it helps deliver moving tones – both literally and emotionally. They are ‘in flux’, then, with timbres modulating and morphing by as much or as little as you like.

Add in a four-track sequencer, one-finger chord and arpeggiator play, battery power and an on-board speaker, and Evoke could well be the portable music maker that you throw in the back of the DeLorean to use wherever – and, importantly, of course, whenever – you feel teary-eyed and nostalgic, or future inspired.

Performance

Getting around Evoke is pretty straightforward. Starting with that Flux Oscillator, you get a Blend control to mix between the 34 acoustic instrument sounds (chosen with the left dial) and 22 electronic wavetables, selected by hitting Shift>Blend. This Shift button is an important one to find as it opens up the second option shown at the bottom of most buttons and dials. You can also ‘hold’ this with a caps lock-style Function button to its right.

Sounds can be constantly in flux, where you press a note and the selected patch will eventually start modulating backwards and forwards over its duration. This is controlled with the Backtide dial which adjusts the level, but you can also control both the pitch and speed of the modulation. Just with the Blend and Backtide dials, you can pretty much grapple with Evoke’s main USP, then, as the Acoustronic Flux Oscillator comes alive and delivers both its nostalgic time travel journey and moving sounds.

Beneath the four main dials, you get the main synth and effect controls, familiar options to change filter/envelope parameters, track levels, and the dual LFO and effect settings. You can also access the four tracks of the sequencer (see below), octave up or down buttons, and a fulsome one-finger chord mode, which is very easy to implement and change key – another great composing tool.

One feature that we really rate is the extended Hold mode. Normally, hitting the Hold button simply means the notes you play on the keyboard are held on so you can go off and start tweaking the sound with a synth’s knobs. That is present and correct here, but an expanded ability lets you hold notes in each of the four tracks. Hold a string note in track 1, for example, and a pad in track 2 and play some arpeggios in track 3. You get numerous options to add or clear notes and tracks, and it’s great for experimenting with ideas (or even performing) before committing them to the sequencer.

Talking of which, the sequencer on Evoke is surprisingly well featured, a 4-track affair where you can input notes step-by-step across 16 steps or record in real time. You can get a great feel for this feature by running through the 16 on-board patterns (via the Ptn button), which are essentially example tunes playing over four tracks, and a great launchpad for your own ideas.

Where Evoke differs from other similarly featured boxes is that it encourages sound design all the time, and particularly when sequencing. While you can choose individual sounds across each track – piano, cello, whatever – Evoke almost pushes you into sculpting the sounds as you go. You’ll soon find that there’s more on offer than simple filter tweaking here as you can easily make patterns and sequences move and come alive via the Blend, Backtide and Speed controls.

This means you might choose a piano for one track, but then bring in more of a synthesised blend, or add reverb and grain effects to completely transform it. Not only that, but you can modulate lots of parameters to have, say, the Blend control being modulated by one of the two LFOs. This obviously adds a lot of movement but there are also 16 Grain Effect patches to choose from, where different sets of these movements are applied to the effect, allowing you to easily get something that sounds in sync (although getting Evoke and its tracks out of sync is just as chilled).

And this is really where Evoke excels, in its ability to transform sounds and sequences as you go, to create ambient and atmospheric walls of movement, or to be as out there as you like. Start off by bringing a cello to the party by all means, but leave with a goody bag of washes and dreams, all composed as you sit on the back of the bus. Those passengers are loving you now, obviously.

Verdict

Despite Trump’s ‘tarrific’ policies (or because of them – yes, we’re clearly not economic experts), just £229 for Evoke including delivery and tax seems pretty incredible. That’s little more than a high-end plugin for a box with which you can compose full tracks and design fantastic sounds in no time.

Evoke will get you the kind of textures that ‘70s and ‘80s ambient sonic experimentalists would take an age to craft, or the kinds of emotive and evolving pads and strings that more contemporary chilled and synthwave composers dream of – it’s instant Ulrich Schnauss with a side order of Air, basically.

To get that feel from a box costing relatively little is, frankly, astonishing to us, but while it’s a bargain and we absolutely love Evoke – and we really can’t wait to spend more time exploring many more features – we do realise that its cinematic and ambient path is not one for everyone to walk. Harder dance and full range pop producers should probably look elsewhere, and pure software fans can get grainy effects, synths, acoustic instruments and much, much more for their DAWs – of course they can.

But Evoke does have you creating textures and tunes within a few minutes of boot up, and not many DAWs can boast such instant joy. You’ll be intrigued by the USP of the Acoustronic Flux Oscillator, but for once, the marketing speak and fancy names tell it like it is. It’s acoustic, it’s electronic, it’s in flux and it’s great.

Hands-on demos

SONICWARE

Alternatives

Specifications

It’s been a while since we’ve seen any new music production gear released from AlphaTheta, the brand previously known as Pioneer DJ. Back before rebranding, the company released a short run of studio tools under its Toraiz brand name, which it used as an offshoot of its all-conquering DJ product line in order to focus on studio and production tools.

Previous Toriaz releases have included the SP-16, an MPC-influenced sampler equipped with Dave Smith-designed filters, the under-rated AS-1 analogue monosynth and Squid hardware sequencer. Now, six years on from the release of Squid, AlphaTheta has a new music production tool – Chordcat.

Chordcat is a compact, budget-friendly groovebox that puts chord sequencing at the centre of its workflow. It has eight individual tracks each of which can sequence sounds selected from 145 sample-based instruments and 16 drum kits.

Each track has its own polyphonic sequencer with a maximum of 128 steps. These allow for patterns to be input and edited step-by-step or via live recording. Chordcat also allows for basic parameter recording using its XY pad.

Its most notable features, however, are those that focus on chord sequencing. Chordcat features a scale mode, chord function and pre-made chord sets for quickly creating progressions. It also has an innovative Chord Cruiser feature, designed to automatically suggest chord combinations in order to inspire new compositional ideas – particularly handy for those lacking in musical know-how.

I’ve spent some time with Chordcat ahead of its release, although there are a few key features I’ve yet to try. Ahead of a full review, what follows are a few first impressions of AlphaTheta’s latest music making tool.

The hardware

In person, Chordcat is smaller than it looks on screen and is significantly more lightweight and budget-feeling than previous Toraiz releases.

There are good and bad aspects to this. At the positive end, Chordcat is an incredibly convenient feeling piece of hardware – it’s only a touch over pocket sized and very light, meaning that it’s definitely something that can easily be thrown into a backpack and used on the go.

It can be powered by either AA batteries or USB-C, which adds to the portability. Some might bemoan the lack of a built-in speaker, but personally that’s not something I miss – speakers on instruments at this price point tend to be weak and disappointing anyway, and rarely offer an experience that can match connecting to external speakers or headphones.

On the negative front, Chordcat’s interface feels cheap and certain elements are fairly unpleasant in use. The XY pad is the main offender here. It’s a good idea in principle, but in reality the pad is more like a grid of 16 buttons covered by a sheet of plastic, resulting in a very stepped response when adjusting sound parameters. It’s not the smooth, continuous control you’d expect from this form of interface.

If you can get past the feel of some elements though, Chordcat packs a lot of hands-on functionality into its small frame. It also lands at an affordable price point that is likely to mean that many users are happier to overlook some of its less refined elements.

Sequencing

The headline feature of Chordcat is its Chord Cruiser mode. This is designed to automatically suggest combinations of chords. It’s fairly simple to use in operation – the user selects an initial starting chord using the key/scale functions, and then the 16 buttons of the XY pad light up to present a varying number of compatible chords that could work next in a sequence.

These chords can be auditioned using the XY pad buttons. The user can then select their favourites to assign to the buttons along the bottom edge of the UI. Once assigned these chords can be quickly triggered and sequenced with a single button press.

It’s an interesting idea and generally well implemented. Particularly for those lacking deep music theory knowledge, it provides a simple, quick way to discover chord progressions that the user might not have created otherwise.

There is also a selection of pre-defined chord sets, which are separate from the Chord Cruiser mode. The inclusion of these chord banks alongside the automatic Cruiser mode is arguably a little confusing from a workflow perspective – it’s unclear if, or how, these two features are supposed to interact – although I won’t bemoan the extra functionality.

Chordcat’s other interesting sequencing feature is the Running Direction function inherited from the Toraiz Squid. This can be used to alter the direction in which a sequence moves around the grid of 16 steps, with right, down, clockwise and counterclockwise options, along with the option to reverse sequences and have patterns bounce back and forth. This is a really fun feature, and a great way to quickly turn a pattern on its head or alter the way that Chordcat’s eight tracks are interacting.

Sounds

For my money, Chordcat’s weakest element is its sound engine. Although there’s a broad range of sounds on offer, including banks of synth tones, pianos, keyboards, basses and multiple drum kits, the selection within these categories is a little vanilla and there’s little in the way of editing capabilities.

Each sound can have its low pass filter and amp envelope controlled via the XY pad, but there’s not much depth here. The filter has just controls for cutoff frequency and resonance, and the envelope has just attack and release. What’s more, in the case of drum kits, these parameters are shared across every sound in the kit – ie, if you want to shorten the release time on a hat, it will apply to your kick as well.

There are a few effects to add a little character. Chordcat features an arpeggiator, delay and ducker, each of which can be controlled via the XY pad. Kits can have reverb applied via a send too, as well as have their individual levels and pan position adjusted.

It’s not that any of this is outright bad, but it all feels a little lacking in character and sound shaping potential compared to other devices you’ll find at this price point, such as Novation’s excellent Circuit.

First impressions

Given these misgivings about the sound, it would be easy to write off Chordcat. Certainly, as an entirely self-contained unit, I feel its middling sounds let it down.

It is, however, possible to ignore these sounds and focus on the genuinely interesting sequencing ideas. The Chord Cruiser mode is a lot of fun and genuinely inspiring, as is the Running Direction capability. Fortunately Chordcat has both USB and MIDI connectivity, meaning you can quite easily hook it up to one or more devices that make sounds more inspiring than Chordcat’s own, in order to enjoy the best of both worlds.

AlphaTheta has also released a Chordcat Manager application that promises to make it easy to export and import sequences from the device via USB. This is one of the elements I wasn’t able to try when I previewed the device, which is a shame, as I can see it potentially broadening its appeal as a sketchpad for patterns and chord progressions.

While I'm dubious about warming to Chordcat as a groovebox in itself, I can certainly see the potential appeal of it as an on-the-go device to sketch progressions, riffs and patterns, which can then be applied to external hardware synths or in-the-box sounds. The manager application certainly has potential for enhancing these capabilities too.

In short, Chordcat features some genuinely fresh and inspiring sequencing ideas, paired with an underwhelming sound engine. Fortunately though, that latter element can potentially be ignored or tolerated in favour of its stronger aspects. Whether the innovative side of Chordcat is appealing enough to warrant its price – and let it compete with other similarly priced sketchpad tools like Circuit or Ableton Move – remains to be seen. We’ll bring you a full review in due course.

Chordcat is out now priced at €279/$279/£239. Head to the AlphaTheta site for more.

Much like both FM and wavetable synthesis, physical modelling has slid in and out of fashion a few times over the past few decades.

Although the concept of physical modelling has roots that reach back further, its commercial breakthrough came in the early ‘90s with synths such as the Korg Prophecy and Yamaha VL1 that used the concept to create synthesized sounds that more accurately replicated the sound of acoustic instruments.

It was cutting-edge at the time, but PM synths fell out of fashion thanks to their often ‘naff’ sound sets and awkward usability.

Since the turn of millennium, however, we’ve seen a steady stream of new instruments that put a modernised spin of physical modelling, from plugins such as AAS’s Chromaphone and Ableton’s stock Collision device, to hardware like Mutable Instruments Elements or Waldorf Iridium, where it provides part of the digital sound engine.

Pricing

• €990 (excluding tax/VAT)

What is it?

Steampipe is the latest in this continuum. Created by Latvian brand Erica Synths in collaboration with Dutch software specialists 112db, Steampipe is an eight-voice digital polysynth based around physical modelling, in this case used primarily – although not exclusively – to emulate the qualities of wind and string instruments.

As with all physical modelling synths, Steampipe’s sound engine has two main elements to it, an exciter section, which generates the initial attack element of a sound, and a resonator.

Here those sections are labelled The Steam and The Pipe. For this latter element, Steampipe uses a Karplus-Strong algorithm, which uses tuned delay lines to recreate the characteristics of resonant materials in the real world.

This isn’t such an unusual approach in itself – the same techniques were present in early forms of physical modelling synthesizers. Steampipe is distinctive in the specific setup of its Karpus-Strong resonator, however, as well as the hands on controls it offers over its various elements.

Performance

Steampipe is fairly unusual in the physical modelling realm for its abundance of chunky, hands-on controls. The top section of the UI provides control over the exciter section, which can be provided by a blend of DC or noise source, or be switched to an external input.

Along the top row, a set of envelope controls let the user shape this initial noise as well as adjust characteristics including velocity response, keytracking and legato behaviour. The sound also feeds into a low-pass filter, which can be switched between 1-pole and resonant 2-pole modes, the latter of which can be pushed into self-oscillation.

Broadly speaking, this Steam section acts in a way that’s fairly easy to predict for those familiar with subtractive synthesis. The same can’t be said for the Pipe resonator, which has a habit of acting unpredictably even when you get your head around what each of its controls does.

The controls here are divided into three sections, the first affects the decay’s feedback loop, with controls to adjust the decay and release, as well as a more enigmatic ‘push’ control, which alters the interplay between the Steam generator and Pipe resonator.

This feedback section also has controls to adjust the qualities of the saturation applied to the feedback loop, with dials to morph between soft and hard clipping as well as alter the harmonic symmetry of the effect. There are also further options within Steampipe’s menus to alter the harmonic behaviour of this distortion.

Below these controls are a set of options for altering the tuning of the delay line. Here, it’s also possible to split Steampipe’s delay box in two, effectively creating a pair of resonators with different tonal characteristics, which can be good for creating bell-like tones.

Finally, a pair of filter controls adjust the cutoff frequency of low and high pass filters applied to the feedback loop.

None of these controls are entirely unfamiliar in their own right, but given the nature of the feedback loop, the way they behave and interact can be unpredictable. This can work both in favour, and to the detriment of Steampipe.

On the one hand, it makes the synth feel like a genuinely adventurous instrument. Despite being all digital under-the-hood, the chunky controls and raw sound give Steampipe the feel of an organic, responsive instrument, and there are times when making a few small adjustments to an otherwise conventional sound suddenly brings it to life in a vibrant, if chaotic manner.

The flip side to this is that well intentioned tweaks to a patch can often blow your sound design intentions off course. Adjusting the delay filters, for example, sometimes radically alters the tone of a sound in a way that’s difficult to predict. The harmonic controls, similarly, can easily nudge a sound into unpleasant territory, accidentally ruining a sound you had in the works.

The synth’s front panel tuning function comes in handy here, making it easy to recalibrate a sound when necessary.

Pipe dreams

Although the abundance of controls mean that Steampipe is naturally a very hands-on instrument, under-the-hood lies a flexible modulation system, meaning that there’s also plenty of scope for assigning hands-free movement too.

Internal modulation can be provided by the synth’s five individual LFOs, which have a shared front panel control section that allows for easy assignment, along with control over the rate, delay and shape of each LFO.

Steampipe can also assign four different MIDI modulation routings, which can be set up in its MIDI controller menu. As well as allowing for additional movement, this lets the synth be configured to be played expressively using different forms of controller, from traditional keyboard devices to MIDI wind controllers or MPE instruments.

It’s worth noting on the latter front that Steampipe is MPE compatible and will respond to per-note pitch modulation without much need for additional configuration, although controllers need to be configured to use eight MIDI channels, to match the eight synth voices, as opposed to the 16 used by MPE as standard.

The final major element of Steampipe’s sound engine is its reverb unit. This is a digital effect capable of creating long, rich reverb tails, adjusted using the size control.

Stereo and Spin control add width and detuning to the sound, which can help create truly epic tones. The reverb also has parameters for adjusting the low and high frequencies, which are handy for reigning in the effect a little. All told, it's a fantastic sounding digital reverb.

Verdict

The first time I saw Steampipe in action a few years ago, I was intrigued by the concept but a little sceptical of how broad its appeal might be.

While physical modelling can be fantastic for creating specific types of sound, even in the plugin realm it lacks the versatility of wavetable or even FM synthesis. Given that Steampipe is somewhat specialised even within the context of PM synths, does it do enough to warrant its price?

Having spent more time with it, I’m more convinced on this point. Although Steampipe specialises in wind sounds and ‘blown’ textures, it can do a lot beyond this.

Its excellent stock of presets demonstrates this well, taking in a range of mallets and convincing string instruments, but also more abstract synth tones, including off-kilter electronic sounds and rich, harmonically complex drones.

I’ve seen Steampipe described dismissively as looking like a Reaktor ensemble in a box. Technically speaking, this isn’t completely inaccurate – the synth is relying entirely on digital processing and is certainly reminiscent of the sort of experimental device you might find made in something like Max or Reaktor.

However, the abundance of robust, hands-on controls really do work in its favour. Digital or not, Steampipe is one of the most organic, alive feeling synths I’ve tried in a while, even if – thanks to its propensity to knock sounds off on wild, inharmonic tangents – it occasionally feels like it’s trying to pick a fight with you.

In this sense, it reminds me of my pet cat; full of life and personality, and able to convince you that you’re part of a loving, mutually-beneficial partnership, right up until the moment it bares its claws and takes a swipe at you for no apparent reason.

All that being said, Steampipe is not a ‘workhorse’ synth, and remains relatively expensive for a digital instrument. What’s more, I’d argue it really comes to life when paired with an expressive controller, so access to something appropriate – such as an MPE keyboard – is worth factoring into the cost.

On this point, it’s perhaps a shame that Steampipe doesn’t come equipped with a keyboard or playing surface of its own. The desktop format helps to keep the price down, and means users can choose to interact with the synth using a device of their choice. But seeing as it works so well with expressive inputs, a version of Steampipe with its own purpose-built, multi-expression playing surface could have been a real winner.

Hands-on demos

Erica Synths

Alternatives

Specifications

Arturia’s AstroLab is a winning concept – a sleek, stylish hardware keyboard that houses the French brand’s Analog Lab software, allowing users to access its modelled pianos, keyboard and vintage synths without the need to be tethered to a laptop.

We reviewed the original AstroLab when it arrived last year, and came away impressed by its versatile sound set and user-friendly workflow.

However, while the original 61-key, synth action AstroLab worked well for those primarily focused on synth sounds, the lack of an 88-key, hammer action version held AstroLab back from fulfilling its potential as a proper stage keyboard suitable for combining piano, organ and synth duties.

Now Arturia has rectified that with the release of AstroLab 88, a new 88-note, weighted key model equipped with a hammer-action Fatar TP40-L keybed, described by Arturia as an ‘avant-garde stage keyboard.’

Under the hood, AstroLab 88 features an updated CPU, but otherwise makes use of the same Analog Lab-derived OS, offering 40 instruments and over 1,600 presets drawn from the company’s V Collection and Pigments softsynth, along with a versatile set of effects and tools including an arpeggiator and chord and scale modes.

That OS is soon to be updated, with a major update due 17 July that will add features including updated V Collection 11 instruments, playlist transfer between Arturia’s Analog Lab Pro and AstroLab and the ability to send program changes to external devices.

“Every update deepens AstroLab’s performance potential and workflow - so you can play the latest instrument engines and have complete confidence when going live,” says Arturia.

AstroLab 88 is available now, priced at €2499. That price includes the Analog Lab Pro software and a music stand designed specifically for the AstroLab 88. Visit the Arturia site for more information.

Revisit our video review of the original AstroLab below.

Superbooth 25: Polyend Synth was released in late 2024 and immediately became one of our favourite new releases of last year.

In comparison to other Polyend grooveboxes like Tracker and Play, which put an emphasis on sequencing, Synth is all about playability, featuring three multi-functional synth engines that can be controlled using an adaptable grid of poly-aftertouch pads.

Now, ahead of this year’s Superbooth, Polyend has dropped an update for synth, which adds a whole new engine to the instrument. Labelled DWA – Dual Wave Architecture – this new mode makes use of two sample-based oscillators in order to specialise in playable textures and experimental patches.

The two samples used by DWA can be cross-mixed, looped, reversed and randomised. The start and end points and loop position of each sample can be modulated using Synth’s LFOs or envelopes as well as manipulated on-the-fly using the instrument’s control rotaries.

DWA also features a feedback loop for each sample that can create delays or chorus/flanger effects. The delay times of each loop can be modulated, to create stuttering rhythmic effects. The feedback loops can also be set to track MIDI pitches too, allowing for the creation of tunable effects using short feedback times.

The DWA engine also packs a multimode filter, two LFOs and three envelope generators. As with other engines in Synth, all parameters can be controlled by the instrument’s polyphonic aftertouch for extra expressivity.

Alongside the firmware update itself, the 1.3 update comes with a selection of 100 samples and a healthy selection of presets to get you started, although users can also upload their own sounds for use with the new engine.

“Many users were requesting a sample-based synth engine, and we wanted to give them one,” explains Polyend developer Karol Celiński. “We wanted to create something more than just a basic sample-based playback engine and we immediately started to consider how to push things further. I’ve always admired how Andy Stott builds tracks from just a few carefully shaped samples and his minimal, textural approach influenced the design.

“DWA is designed around dual sample layers—similar to our dual-oscillator synths. The outcome turned out to be very playable and expanded the sound design possibilities exponentially.The goal was to design a sample engine with lots of potential for modulation of how the loop plays back, the size of the loop, etc. Synced loops became one of the most unique aspects of this engine, I think it works differently than anything existing. Every looped sample creates a kind of rhythm on its own.

“What started as a simple idea quickly evolved into one of the most inspiring engines we’ve built, and it’s been great to see even our experienced sound designers getting excited by what they’re creating with DWA.”

The 1.3 update also adds a variety of other new features, refinements and bug fixes. Most notable of these are new options to customise the colour coding of the pad grid, as well as new grid layouts that make it easier to play Synth’s three engines simultaneously.

There’s also expanded MIDI capabilities, with a new MIDI Engine that allows users to save and load custom CC mappings, plus support for using poly aftertouch and channel pressure with external devices.

The firmware update and content pack is available for all users to download from the Polyend website. Synth itself is available now priced at $549. Revisit our original review below.

What is it?

The brainchild of company founder Vlad Kreimer, Soma Laboratory has become known for its esoteric electronic instruments. These include Terra, a conceptual synth built into wooden housing to resemble a tree stump, the Theremin-like Flux, which is controlled using multi-polar magnetic sensors, and Messiever, described as an ‘irrational’ radio receiver.

Soma’s best known instruments are those derived from the company’s original breakthrough release, the Lyra-8. The Lyra synths are described as ‘organismic’ instruments, due to the way their design is influenced by the behaviour of living organisms. Their designs are based on individual components that are fairly straightforward, but which interact in unusual and often unpredictable ways.

Alongside the flagship Lyra-8, these general principles have trickled down to the Pulsar-32 drum machine as well as the more compact Lyra-4, which has recently been reissued.

Pricing

• Full price: €360 (excl. taxes)

While it works well on its own, Lyra-4 also pairs up with another Lyra-4, delivering the same sonic power but in stereo.

Whether you want to run solo or as a pair, then Soma has you covered with cases for both single and dual Lyra-4s. Plus, there's also the option of buying a plastic cover

• Soft case (€45)
• Soft case Duo (€60)
• Plastic cover (€45)

All prices exclude tax

Performance

At a very basic level, the Lyra-4 is essentially half a Lyra-8. It’s based around four of the same analogue voices as its bigger sibling, which are arranged in pairs allowing for various forms of audio-rate modulation.

These voices are loosely based around the tone generators found in vintage electric organs, and are controlled by a set of parameters that deviate somewhat from the controls of a standard analogue VCO.

This begins with how each voice is triggered. Rather than use a traditional keyboard, sequencer or MIDI input, the Lyra-4 is triggered using four sensors, each of which consists of two contact points. Placing a finger – or any other conductive material – across these will complete a circuit that triggers the associated voice.

Each sensor triggers an envelope that will respond to the speed and pressure applied to the sensor. A lighter touch will result in a slower attack and less velocity, while more forceful presses result in stronger signal from the triggered voice. These sensors can also be influenced by moisture, meaning they may respond in unexpected ways depending on the conditions the instrument is used in.

Above the sensors are a pair of switches labelled Fast. Each pair of voices shares one of these, which is used to alter the response of the envelopes for those voices. When engaged, the voices have a shorter release time. These work in conjunction with the global Hold control, placed at the top of the unit, which is used to open the envelopes of all voices simultaneously. At lower levels it acts like a release control, but creates an always-on drone mode when raised to a higher level.

Notably, these sensors do nothing to control the pitch of each voice. Instead, pitch is set using individual tuning dials for each voice, in combination with a global Pitch control, which alters the pitch for the whole instrument while maintaining the relative intervals between voices.

The first two voices have a lower range than the latter too, meaning they’re more adept at bass frequencies. The most intuitive way to use the Lyra-4 as a melodic tool is to tune these four voices to different note intervals, essentially creating a four note chord or four points in a scale that can then be triggered using the sensor.

Due to the experimental nature of the synth, these voices aren’t quantised to the chromatic scale and hence can be used for microtonal and non-western tuning systems.

These manual pitch controls are only half the story when it comes to creating sounds with the Lyra-4 though. A key part of the synth’s character comes from the various sources that can be used to modulate these voices.

The voices are arranged in pairs, which share a modulation control, increasing which will dial in modulation of the frequency of those two oscillators. A switch placed above each pair selects the source of this modulation.

In the upper positions, these switches put the Lyra into FM mode, creating a pair of cross-modulation loops where the frequency of the voices are modulated by one another. This modulation happens post-amp envelope, as it would with an FM operator, meaning the level modulation decreases as each voice’s amp decays.

While it takes its cues from the four-operator FM of synths like the DX7, the results here are far less melodically precise and predictable. With FM engaged for all voices, each new touch of the trigger sensors will create weird textural and atonal shifts, particularly evident in the lower frequencies. With the Mod dials all the way up, the routing creates a sort of self-oscillating feedback loop that can create some fascinating modulated drones.

With the modulation selector switches in their lower position, modulation comes from a master modulation source. This can come from one of two places, depending on the position of the Total FB switch. With this disengaged, the Lyra-4’s modulation comes from its Hyper LFO – more on this shortly – but with Total FB engaged the synth’s master output becomes the modulation source, essentially creating a massive feedback loop.

Each voice pair also shares a Sharp parameter. This alters the waveshape created by the voices, essentially morphing from a sine to a square wave. The effect of this, though, is to introduce more high frequency harmonics into the output, so its result is similar to raising the cutoff frequency of a low-pass filter.

The voices share a single vibrato switch too, which engages vibrato across all four voices, although each has its own modulation source, so the vibrato rate differs across the four voices.

It’s worth noting that the Lyra-4 also has a rear panel CV input that allows for the pitch of the voices to be modulated from an external source. While it is possible to hook up an external sequencer or CV controller to this in order to create patterns or play the synth, it’s worth noting that the input is treated as a modulation source and doesn’t adhere to the 1V/Oct or Hz/V formats used for pitch by other analogue hardware.

All of which is to say, if you’re looking for a hardware synth to play precise music lines or generate melodic patterns, this is not it. What the Lyra-4 really excels at, however, is unique modulated timbres, atonal drones and microtonal sequences that seem to reinvent themselves each time you dare to touch the synth.

LFO and effects

Like almost everything else about the Lyra-4, the onboard LFO is a little unusual. Dubbed a ‘Hyper LFO’, the module comprises two simple LFOs that combine to generate a complex waveform.

Each LFO is a square wave and has its own rate control. An And/Or switch dictates where the output of these are added together or multiplied. A Sync switch, meanwhile, can engage cross modulation from one simple LFO to the other.

It’s fittingly complex and unpredictable, but works well as an addition to the Lyra design. Routed to modulate the voices with the envelopes set to Fast mod, it can function a little like a rhythmic sequence and create some nice polyrhythmic percussive patterns.

The final elements of the Lyra’s design are its delay and distortion effects. The delay is analogue, and features a modulator for its time parameter. Depending on settings, this can create short, metallic reverbs, vintage chorus effects or spiralling dub delays. Pushing the Feedback control to maximum provides yet another source of wild self-oscillation in the Lyra signal chain.

The delay also features a rear panel CV input for modulating the time, adding another way to incorporate the Lyra into a wider setup.

Finally, the analogue distortion offers just drive and mix controls, but is capable of radically reshaping the tone of the overall synth. Push beyond half way, the effect creates rich harmonic saturation that floods the mid-range and really suits the tone of the synth. With the output routed to act as a modulation source, it provides yet another way to alter the harmonic quality of the modulated sound.

With the relaunch of the Lyra-4, Soma is encouraging users to experiment with the idea of running two synths side-by-side. In fact, Lyra-4 is now available in both black and white colour schemes, which can be paired together for a ‘yin-and-yang’ effect.

The company suggests using these in a stereo pairing, with one in the left channel and one in the right. Doing so can create some fascinating stereo signals, particularly when using the synths with Hold raised to create drones. It’s also possible to route the output of one Lyra and use it as a CV input to modulate another.

Soma claims that using two Lyra-4s can be significantly different to using a single Lyra-8 – which is essentially two sets of Lyra-4 in a single box. Personally, I haven’t had a chance to try the two side-by-side, but I’ll take the company’s word for this – it’s not hard to imagine how the addition of extra delay and distortion modules, and two Hyper LFOs, could create an interaction that is substantially different from using everything as a self-contained synth.

Verdict

In all, Lyra-4 is weird, and that’s something you will either love or hate. As an experimental instrument, it’s not the most functional tool in the world – this isn’t something you sit down with in order to generate melodic lines you’ve pre-composed in your head, or quickly rustle up a staple synth patch.

There is nothing quite like Soma’s synth designs, and the compact and lightweight Lyra-4 is by far the most affordable and convenient route into the company’s world of ‘organismic’ designs. If noise and oddball sound design are your thing, this is the type of device you can get lost in for hours on end. Just don’t be surprised if your neighbours aren’t best pleased.

Hands-on demos

SOMA Laboratory

Alternatives

Specifications

What is it?

If you have ever ventured on stage as a keyboard player, you will be well-versed with the complexities of keys-based performance; the need to have access to a wide breadth of sounds, has never been more of a challenge.

The new Roland V-Stage is embracing this head-on. It’s a feature and sound-packed instrument, which includes just about everything that a keyboard player could need, in order to perform music from the last 60 years, whether amateur or professional.

Pricing

• 88-note $3,999/£3,459/€3,999
• 76-note $3,499/€3,499/£3,027

The V-Stage range was announced at NAMM 2025 and was one of the biggest releases from the Japanese giant at the show.

Both the 76 and 88 were available for sale from launch, with prices not budging in the short time since the announcement and the writing of this review.

There's not much difference in price, but then, there's not much difference between either model, really. Although 76 semi-weighted keys come out nearly 7kgs lighter than the flagship 88, fully-weighted model.

Performance

It’s difficult to ignore the fact that the V-Stage looks fairly familiar, with its considerable number of red flashes and beautiful red end cheeks. We’re very sure that didn’t happen by accident, but placing visual aesthetic to one side, we had the opportunity to examine both the 88-note fully weighted model, and the smaller 76-note semi-weighted version.

Both models are identical, with the obvious exception being the keyboard size. Housed within a beautifully engineered metal casing, V-Stage comprises four clearly defined sections, which act as the sound sources, described by Roland as Parts: Organ, Acoustic Piano, Electric Piano and Synthesizer. The Synth section is doubled, meaning that you can generate two sounds simultaneously. It’s worth noting that many of the audio effects associated with these Parts, are included within each section, but there is a further separate Total Effects section, residing alongside a Master section, handling the attributes relating to the V-Stage output.

88-note good

Choosing the right size of keybed, for gigging purposes, normally comes down to the singular issue of whether you want a fully weighted keyboard or not? (And will your back cope with the weight, assuming that you don’t all have a roadie to lift it for you!)

The 88-note version is predictably a fully-weighted affair, with a hammer action and escapement, specifically designed to accompany the Acoustic V-Piano section. The semi-weighted 76-note offers a refined velocity detection system, aftertouch and a ‘waterfall’ feel. NB, there’s no aftertouch on the 88-note!

Apart from the missing 12-notes between models, there is a 7kg difference in weight. Undeniably, the piano experience of the weighted keybed is sublime, but that might not be enough if you just need a lighter keyboard. The 76-note playing experience is good, but the keyboard does feel predictably lively, and there is a sense of considerable ‘thudding’, when you find yourself playing with heavy hands.

Pianos, pianos, everywhere!

Turning to the sound engines, we start by engaging with the V-Piano section. This section offers unlimited polyphony, so you’ll never get a sense of note-stealing. Unlike many competitors, the Acoustic Piano section is modelled, rather than sampled. From the player and listeners’ perspective, this means that there is a certain organic nature to the sound, but moreover, you have capacity to change every element of the timbre, down to the most subtle nuance. In editing terms, it is a programmer’s dream. It also means that you can extend beyond simple EQing, which can be really important when playing through a large PA. Big sound systems don’t always respond well to acoustic pianos.

There’s a considerable collection of pre-ordained piano instruments. Alongside the more usual Grand and Upright models, there’s a beautiful new Felt Piano, which has become something of a ‘ballad’ and ‘soundtrack’ favourite in recent years.

The large central display guides your path at all stages, with the electric piano section, located to the right, mirroring the acoustic section to the left. Included here are various incarnation of Rhodes (dictated by year), with Dynos, Wurly’s, various digital and FM-styled pianos, and finally Clavinets. Interestingly, there is no CP-80 Electric Grand here, but you will find representation of this patch within the synthesiser section. It seems strange not to include this in the electric piano section, but there we go!

The EPs are mightily impressive too, but are extended further by the inclusion of Tremolo, MFX and Amp simulators, within the EP section. Selecting sounds is an easy process, through the pressing and turning of a dedicated pot. The crystal clear display tells you everything that you need to know, with the ability to quickly assign Favourites, for speedy retrieval.

Hammonds and more

The organ section also offers unlimited polyphony, as well as hosting a number of different organistic options. There are plenty of Tone Wheel and Transistor-based organs, as well as church-like Pipe organs. Much like the EP section, distortion is baked in to this section, with a dedicated pot to increase the amount of drive.

The Organ section is also equipped with real drawbars. These perform beautifully, although there is no notching on these faders. Slightly disappointingly, these faders are not assignable to MIDI, for use as MIDI controls. However, there is full rotor control, both within the organ section and from two chunky assignable buttons, located on the left-hand side. The Rotor can also be placed under pedal control. We also have to mention that the Hammond playing experience on the 76-note, is really quite exceptional! Runs and glissandos are exceptionally easy to manifest, so this might be a consideration, when choosing model size.

The Synthesiser section could be regarded as fairly basic, but not in sonic variety. The V-Stage ships with 400 ZEN-Core tones, opening a wealth of possibilities through the Roland Cloud. Thanks to the V-Stage’s USB connectivity, you can load model expansion titles, such as the Jupiter-8 or Juno-106. Importantly though, it’s really easy to just activate the section, for the purposes of placing a pad or string sound behind a piano. It’s the kind of thing you can do easily, on-the-fly, which is exactly what you need when playing live.

The onboard synth controls are however a little basic. There are two Attack/Release envelope pots and solitary pot for filter cutoff. You can control filter resonance, but this requires pressing the shift button, while turning the filter cutoff pot! Yep, we know! Why, Roland, why? However, you do get two synth engines for the price of one, and in doubling, you can create some exceptionally large textures.

Practical control

As each section is so clearly defined, it’s very easy to immediately switch sections on and off. Control backlighting is mostly in white, with the part on/off buttons illuminating in red, so you can clearly see where to go to deactivate a part.

With so many sounds and parts in play, you can store any overall patch in what is described by Roland as a Scene. This stores all active sounds and settings, including applied effects. There are 512 Scene locations available, but you can also chain together up to 128, which will prove very useful for building a set list.

In the quest to create the perfect stage keyboard, Roland conducted plenty of research, in discussion with professional players. The net result is a number of useful additional features, such as connectivity for Apple’s MainStage package, which becomes controllable from the V-Stage. MainStage connection is simple, thanks to the USB-C socket on the rear, although there are also USB-A ports, for connecting additional controller keyboards or thumb drives.

Once back home, the V-Stage also provides a built-in audio interface, which connects directly to your computer. There is even a microphone connection on the rear, which you could use live, or use to record at home.

Verdict

The V-Stage is undeniably a superb-sounding and well thought out pro-end keyboard, which clearly has aspirations of capturing part of the market. In use, the sounds are very effective and highly authentic. As a playing experience, it’s right up there!

There is a wealth of live-inspired control, allowing keyboard zoning and layering, guided by the central display. Splits can be instigated anywhere on the keyboard, unlike some competitors, which dictate split points.

Ultimately, whether you choose a Roland V-Stage over anything else will probably come down to the feel of the keyboard. Sonically, it’s as impressive as you would expect it to be, and for our money, we would consider the 88-note model, if you’re playing, is more pianistic. If you are more of a synth and Hammond player, the 76-note could be a game-changer.

Hands-on demos

RolandChannel

Alternatives

Specifications

What is it?

In the early 2010s, hardware FM synths were something of a rarity. Despite the massive success of Yamaha’s DX7 and its various siblings throughout the ‘80s and ‘90s, and the impact those synths had on popular music, by the turn of the millennium frequency modulation synthesis had largely fallen out of fashion.

While it made something of a resurgence in the plugin realm, primarily via Ableton Operator and Native Instruments’ FM7/FM8, for most of the ‘00s and early ‘10s hardware FM synths were thin on the ground.

Around a decade ago, that all changed, with a new wave of modern, affordable FM synths ushered in by the arrival of Yamaha’s Reface DX and Korg’s Volca FM.

One of the key drawbacks to traditional FM hardware was how awkward it was to program. With its ratio-based operators, algorithms and multitude of envelopes, FM synthesis is inherently more fiddly and mathematical than the free-flowing knob twiddling of analogue hardware. Key to the success of the contemporary wave of FM synths is their ability to make interacting with the sound engine more expressive and hands-on.

It’s on this front that Elektron’s original Digitone, released in 2018, really stood out. Its four-operator engine is neither the most powerful or innovative take on FM we’ve seen in recent years, but its approach to sound shaping, which combined elements of traditional FM and subtractive design, along with Elektron’s powerful, dense sequencer, makes for a formidable combination.

Now, following on the heels of last year’s Digitakt II, Elektron has released a direct follow up.

Whereas the update to Digitakt expanded the capabilities of the sampler without fundamentally changing its design – doubling the audio tracks and adding stereo sampling, but not altering the fundamental workflow – Digitone II is a more significant and transformative update to the original.

Pricing

• Full price: $999 / €1049 / £899

Digitone II sees a significant price jump compared to the original at launch, but bearing in mind the increased polyphony, multi-timbral layers and synth/sequencer capabilities, we feel it's fairly priced.

Performance

As with Digitakt, Elektron has doubled the audio capabilities here, increasing the overall polyphony of Digitone from eight voices to 16. Digitone II also significantly enhances the multi-timbral capabilities too though.

Whereas the original featured four independent synth layers, this version allows for up-to 16 independent synth tracks to be programmed using the onboard sequencer, more akin to the 16 audio tracks found on Digitakt.

This has the effect of making Digitone II feel less like a pure synth and more like a full-on groovebox than its predecessor, which is a smart move. I’ve spent a fair amount of time using the original Digitone over the past few years, and increasingly I’ve ended up using it primarily for percussive sounds and rhythmic patterns.

FM synthesis is particularly well suited to creating drum sounds thanks to the way it uses several stable digital waves, each equipped with its own envelope generator. That combination allows for the creation of complex tones with plenty of low-end presence, but also fine control over shape and transient of a sound.

That’s not to say that the original Digitone is only capable of drum sounds – it works very well as a more traditional synth too – but for my money the combination of that percussion-friendly sound engine and the versatility of Elektron’s deep, flexible step sequencer is where you’ll find Digitone’s sweet spot.

Spreading Digitone II’s voices across up-to 16 tracks makes it quicker to program complex multitimbral patterns that combine numerous elements of percussion and melody. This was something that the original could do using various workarounds, allowing the user to go beyond the limit of four available synth layers, but the design here makes for a quicker and more intuitive workflow.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that users are forced to use all 16 tracks. For a more traditional polysynth workflow, it's possible to sequence or play patches using a smaller selection of channels, and Digitone has options for controlling how the 16 voices are distributed and stolen (or not) across multiple tracks.

Ghost in the Machines

As with other recently upgraded Elektron gear, Digitone II now makes use of a system of ‘machines’. These are interchangeable elements that make the instrument function more like a virtual semi-modular.

Here that setup is used to significantly expand the capabilities of the instrument, adding four interchangeable synth engines that can be paired with a new range of filters in a mix-and-match fashion.

The first of these synth engines is named FM Tone, which is the four operator FM engine from the original Digitone, carried across here with no notable changes. As before, it offers a nicely modernised way of interacting with a classic ‘80s-style FM engine.

Although crafting sounds from scratch within the multi-page menus can still be fiddly, the top level controls are well-chosen. These allow the user to do things like make broad changes to operator waveshapes, introduce feedback and blend between A and B output operators. These options make it easy to alter or modulate the timbre of an FM patch without needing to dig too deep into the architecture of a sound.

The remaining three machines add new capabilities to the synth. Elektron is clearly with me when it comes to seeing Digitone’s potential as a drum machine, as the first of these new synth machines is named FM Drum.

Elektron has prior form on this front, as FM synthesis is used as a core element of the company’s Syntakt and Model:Cycles drum machines.

Fundamentally, the FM Drum engine isn’t all that different to FM Tone. Once again, it makes use of a four operator FM setup with envelope controls for each operator. The main differences come in how users can interact with it.

Here, the envelopes for each operator are simple decay-based designs well suited to percussion. The engine also introduces additional features including waveshaping, as well as an additional noise/transient source.

Wavetone, meanwhile, is a two-oscillator synth that looks fairly traditional at first glance, but has a multitude of tricks up its sleeve. Each oscillator can make use of one of two wavetables, allowing them to morph between various waveshapes. The first table consists of simple virtual analogue waves while the second contains waves with more complex harmonics.

These two oscillators can also make use of a phase distortion function that warps the shape of the waveform in a manner similar to pulse width modulation, albeit for any waveform. The Wavetone engine also benefits from a multitude of other interesting features including linear tuning offset, ring modulation and oscillator drift.

Particularly when paired with the synth’s modulation and sequencing tools, it makes for a formidable combination that’s considerably more powerful than a standard two oscillator VA synth.

The final synthesis engine is named Swarmer. This is focused around a primary oscillator accompanied by a cluster of six additional oscillators that can be spread out across the frequency range around it.

Detune and Mix controls allow the user to adjust the balance of this oscillator swarm, while Animate and Noise Modulation options can introduce movement, driven by a hidden array of LFOs or a white noise source, respectively.

In a nice touch, the primary oscillator of the Swarmer machine can be tuned to sit one or two octaves below that of the swarm itself, allowing it to act as a weighty sub beneath the more fuzzy and animated oscillator swarm.

Much like Digitakt II before it, this new Digitone also benefits from an expanded range of filter machines. Here the filter from version one – renamed Legacy LP/HP – is joined by a new morphable multimode filter, a more abrasive 4-pole low-pass, + and - configurations of comb filter and an EQ module.

Only one of these filter modules can be used on each track at any one time – although each track also has a simple Base-Width filter, which is a basic non-resonant low/high pass filter that proves handy for controlling frequency bloat.

The ability to mix and match filter designs with synth machines significantly expands the sonic range of Digitone though. The original’s FM synthesis capabilities were already hugely capable, but the ability to pair oscillator swarms with comb filters or combine percussive synthesis with modulated filtering, for example, creates a hugely deep well of sound design potential.

On the subject of modulation, Digitone II also gains a third LFO per voice – another feature addition that mimics the updates on Digitakt II. The effect is more transformational here though. The original Digitone had two available LFOs for each of its eight synth voices, whereas II now has three available for each of the 16 voices. As a result, the total number of LFOs available rises from 16 to 48.

I’ve always really liked the implementation of LFOs in Elektron gear. The array of features for each modulator strikes a nice balance between immediacy and depth. The additional modulation sources are very handy here too, since many of the new machines – particularly the comb filters and Wavetone synth engine – really benefit from a little movement and modulation.

Effects and connectivity

Along with these sound-creating machines, Digitone II also sees refinements to the onboard effects. Digitone II has delay, chorus and reverb effects, which function as sends. These are fairly simplistic in their design, but each offers enough sound shaping parameters to tailor the effect to your particular project, from tight room reverbs to out-there dubby effect washes. As well as sending individual tracks to these effects – or an external audio feed – the effects can also be sent to one another, which is a nice touch.

Each individual synth track features a digital distortion effect, which can be placed pre- or post- filter. For Digitone II, that’s also joined by new bit rate and sample rate reduction effects, which add an additional, digital flavour of grit to the sound engine.

The synth also features a master compressor, which works well for tying together disparate sounds when using Digitone to simultaneously create beats and melodies. Again, the audio inputs on the rear allow for external audio to be compressed alongside the internal sounds.

This means that Digitone II can function as a pretty neat effects processor even if you disregard its internal sounds (although, given the price point, it’s not worth buying for this purpose alone).

On the subject of external gear, each of Digitone II’s 16 tracks can also be repurposed as a MIDI machine, which allows it to sequence and control external gear, making use of things including the internal LFOs (although MIDI tracks have two of these, rather than three). MIDI has gotten a slight bit easier to use since v1, in that the machine now automatically picks up MIDI CC values.

There are a couple of missing features on the MIDI front that currently hold it back ever so slightly. The arpeggiator and chord mode, both available to internal synths and great for inspiring ideas, can’t be routed to external gear, which is a shame.

It’s arguable that Digitone could benefit from some extra I/O too. Its rear panel has a stereo pair of main outs, stereo pair of inputs, along with MIDI in, out and through. While it’s obviously possible to chain and route things creatively to use Digitone as a hub for multiple hardware instruments, I’d love a few more inputs and outputs to both process multiple tracks of external hardware and individually route Digitone’s own synth layers.

Both of these things are set to be facilitated by Elektron’s Overbridge software – the company’s desktop plugin that allows for full control and audio routing from its hardware to your DAW via USB. As has become standard with Elektron releases though, Overbridge compatibility is yet to be implemented for Digitone II and, at the time of writing, is still in an invite-only Beta phase.

What else?

Beyond these headline changes to the sound engine, Digitone II also adds a number of sequencer upgrades, many of which won't be too surprising to regular Elektron watchers. As with Digitakt, the overall length of the step sequencer is upgraded here from 64 steps to 128. The Euclidean sequencer that has been added to both Digitakt II and Syntakt features here again too, and as with both those machines, it makes a fun and well-suited addition to the Elektron workflow.

There are numerous workflow refinements throughout the design too. Presets are now a little easier to access – although I still find the menus a little clunky, and the various divisions of projects, presets pools etc feels needlessly convoluted for a non-sample-based machine.

As with many of Elektron’s releases, Digitone II walks a fine line between being deep and powerful and needlessly convoluted. What side of that line it sits on will likely come down to personal opinion, to an extent. There are undoubtedly more immediate synths out there – even once you’ve got your head around its multiple views, shift presses and hidden options, Digitone II is an instrument that can easily confuse.

Personally, I’m a huge fan of the depth and flexibility of Digitone II’s synth engines and step sequencer – particularly when it comes to the wealth of sonic shaping accessible via the addition of modulation, automation and randomisation. I must admit that I tend to bounce off of Elektron gear when it comes to creating longer compositions though.

While the extended 128 step length and song mode make it possible to create lengthy, evolving compositions – as many of the stock presets demonstrate brilliantly – keeping track of multiple pages of triggers and pattern variations can feel a little fatiguing. Personally, it’s at this point I tend to bounce ideas down to a DAW to keep things more manageable.

One new feature that does help significantly on this front is the page loop functionality, which makes it easier to focus on a single sequencer page in order to make edits and refinements before moving on.

That said, there’s no shortage of capabilities, and I’m sure those that prefer the hardware workflow – or aim to use Digitone as a hub for live performance – will appreciate the ability to create complex arrangements using the hardware alone.

Verdict

Regular readers won’t be surprised to learn we rate Digitone II very highly. We crowned it our favourite synth of 2024 at the end of last year, and now that we’ve had several months to get to know if properly, that opinion hasn’t changed.

As much as the instrument can feel occasionally overwhelming and confusing, that’s only the byproduct of how much Elektron has crammed into the instrument.

Whereas Digitakt II felt like an expanded take on its predecessor – stuffed with luxury extras and more capabilities, but still fundamentally the same sampler – Digitone II is an exponential upgrade. Not only does it double down on what made the original impressive, but it’s added copious new capabilities.

Version 1 already offered a lot of depth through its capable FM engine, which was built to design a range of modulated synth textures and also a dark horse for drum design. Digitone II can still do all of what its predecessor could, but adds a variety of new flavours to the sound palette.

The new synth engines are at once better for more traditional, virtual analogue sounds, as well as rich digital textures. Although the FM Drum mode doesn’t necessarily add much the original couldn’t do, it certainly speeds up the design of percussive sounds.

In all, this is one of the most varied and powerful hardware synths on the market. Yes, you might get a little confused by the workflow at times, but there are worse places to get lost.

Hands-on demos

Alternatives

Specifications

Korg’s Nu:Tekt NTS-1 was a pleasant surprise when it arrived a few years ago. A DIY synth kit featuring a single monophonic digital oscillator, but with the ability to host custom sound engines created via Korg’s open SDK.

It also featured a multimode filter, envelope generator, three LFOs and an arp, plus an audio input that allowed it to function as an effects processor too.

Now version 2 has arrived. It's still cheap, still a DIY kit, but with some upgraded features. In the video above, MusicRadar’s tech reviews editor Simon Arblaster gets hands on with the mkII, demoing some of its coolest new features, but also wrestling with a few gripes – one of which is likely to be particularly disappointing for owners of v1.

What is it?

OP-XY is a typically divisive Teenage Engineering product that will have TE fans weeping with joy and detractors fuming at its asking price, leaving the rest of us bemused and confused.

That's because on the one hand, it can be seen as a mobile performance instrument with the coolest and sleekest of designs that is capable of jazzing up any groove you (easily) produce and performing it in endless variations at the twist of a gyroscope. Yet on the other, it's 'just' an 8-track multitimbral synth that you happen to be able to put into a large pocket. And one that costs £1,899/$2,299.

Muddying the OP waters further, XY is – depending on where you stand – either an upgraded OP-Z with an OLED screen and many souped-up features. Or it's an OP-1/OP-1 Field that moves on from tape-based sequencing to step sequencing with joined-up features that make it more of an all-round music studio in a box.

The truth is, it has enough going for it to consider it its own boss, so that's how we'll review it and keep those comparisons to a minimum. Which is hard when you unbox XY, as it initially looks and feels like the evil twin of OP-1 Field, very much the darker destroyer with a grey scale finish and none of those friendly, colour by control features of OP-1. It feels slightly menacing, then, but it turns out that it is as logical to use as any OP, not to mention as well-built, and it certainly feels expensive. Just as well…

Performance

Launching straight into create a tune – and you will, trust us – OP-XY works with projects (of which it can hold over ten thousand across its 8GB of drive space) with which you can either create your own with the press of the Project button, or select from a dozen or so pre-baked examples (with more presumably on the way) by pressing the Shift button.

Projects each have eight instrument tracks, including a couple of drum channels, all easily reconfigurable. There are also eight auxiliary channels accessed via the Auxiliary button, one of four main XY modes, the others being Instrument, Mixer and Arrangement for the sequencer setup. The eight aux channels include two for effects (with six effect types each), and several for configuring inputs and outputs (microphone, MIDI and CV), plus a channel each for adding real-time performance effects and setting scales and automatic key signatures by way of the Brain option. Many of these options set XY apart from a standard multitimbral sequencer in that they introduce all manner of performance options, which we'll cover later.

Filling a project with eight tracks of sequences (each of four pages of 64 steps) is as simple as selecting an instrument channel from the eight keys on offer, and either playing a note or sound and choosing a step on which it will appear, or recording live playing with quantise and swing options to tweak. We're not kidding, we had a half-decent tune within three minutes of booting XY up for the first time; it really is that simple. Just press the track number, hit Shift to choose a sound from eight categories (Strings, Pluck, Bass and so on), record in either step or real-time, rinse and repeat on other tracks and you're there.

In our test unit there were up to around 30 preset options per instrument category, as few as eight in the Strings folder, but we'll assume more will become available as downloads. Each sound comes from XY's eight synth engines (including subtractive, piano and wavetable options), and here's why it doesn't really matter about the number of presets, because XY makes tweaking each sound's main parameters to create something new as completely easy as it can be.

XY's cool grey-scale screen gives an often off-the-wall representation of what you are doing across four main editing rotaries – but at least you see something happen – and as soon as you like what you get, save it. You will do both (like and save), but better still, just hit the track number and Scramble option to come up with an invariably great random sound.

More than an 8-track

We're already impressed with both the sounds, their tweak-ability and the ease at which you can create entire tunes, but that four-digit asking price is still casting its shadow, so we have to ask 'what else?', and fortunately we've only just scratched the surface. We touched on the real-time performance options earlier and these are the deal makers/breakers, along with XY's modulation capabilities.

For the latter, on a sonic level you can add four LFO types: Element, Random, Tremolo and Value, with Element being the most interesting as you can select an envelope, or XY's built-in microphone and gyroscope as your mod sources (or a combination of the three). You then get sonic movement literally by moving the device using the gyroscope modulator – a familiar physical option for TE users where moving XY forwards, backwards or sideways can, depending on the instrument engine chosen, alter a sound's parameters – open a filter as you practice your Parisian mime on stage, for example. While we jest, of course, it has always been a cool option although we've not witnessed many TE users applying it live, plus we're old enough to recall German band Trio with their Casio VL-1 on TV back in the eighties, so we're not convinced we want to.

On to the real-time performance options and we'll start with Step Components, the ability to add one of 14 variations to any sequenced step you have recorded. You can simply play these over the top of your sequenced track – hit the track number, press Shift and choose from the 14 options along the bottom keys and you will add repeats, velocity/pitch changes, skip/hold steps and a lot more to your chosen track. All changes can be recorded into the sequence and deleted quite easily. Great fun and again, familiar options for TE veterans.

Not to be confused with Step Components are the 24 punch-in effects on Aux channel 2 that add percussive (bottom keyboard octave) and melodic (top octave) effects to your sequences; again these can be either performed live or baked in per track. These and the Step Components add an almost overwhelming number of performance options that can turn any loop into a song with many (many) variations. Tape is yet another Aux option that adds some real-time intrigue, this time using an audio buffer of your loop to introduce tape style effects to a performance.

Finally we must also squeeze in some words on both Brain and Maestro from XY's many other features. Brain offers key and scale changing and transposing options while Maestro is a chordal/melody generator that allows you to play and record chord and lines with a single key press. Brain uses an intelligent algorithm to determine progressions and is a very useful addition in the Aux department. Both offer yet more ways to vary those sequenced loops so by now it's pretty clear that XY is all about creating and performing complete pieces on the fly, and little out there comes close to its ease of achieving both of these.

Verdict

It's fair to say - and much of the internet will be saying it, as we speak – that you can get an awful lot of music gear for $2,300. A full-sized synth workstation with multitimbral recording will do the same thing but not in as small a form.

A laptop running a performance-based sequencer will do the same for less and in an almost as mobile setup. Products like Synstrom Audio's Deluge will even give you the all-in-one studio-in-a-box approach for less and offer more. Heck, you could even get an OP-Z, an EP-133 and all the Pocket Operator range, and still have change left for the bus fare to Stockholm.

But, as we hope we have conveyed, there's a lot of stuff buried and not so buried in XY that nearly warrants that asking price. Plus we suspect that the more we tell TE's potential customer base about any more logical alternatives, the more they'll ignore us and opt for an XY anyway.

One look at the design and the cool aesthetic, plus the gyration abilities and all of those many live performance extras, and those worries over the price will fade – indeed the fact that the price excludes this device from 'the masses' might even /increase/ its elitist appeal.

So basically whatever we say is irrelevant and we're guessing you've made your mind up already too – we know we have: XY is lovely, cool, does so much but costs too much, and we don't need it if we're being totally sensible and honest. But, yes, we really (really) do want one.

Hands-on demos

Teenage Engineering

Specifications

• Launch price: £1,899 / €2,299 / $2,299
• Keyboard: 24 Velocity-sensitive mini keys
• Polyphony: 24 voices
• Parts: 8 synth engines plus multisampling
• Eight aux channels
• Four filter types
• Effects: 24 punch-in, two channels for insert (choose from six), master EQ, saturator and compressor
• Sequencer: real or step time, 16-tracks, 64 steps, 4 pages, 9 patterns per track, 9 songs per projects, 14 Step
• Components; Arpeggiator and Maestro chord memory functions
• Brain and Tape real-time key and tape effects
• Connections: USB-C, mini audio out, multi-out (audio, MIDI and sync), audio in, built-in mic
• Power supply: via USB-C port
• Dimensions: (W x D x H) 288 x 102 x 29 mm
• Weight: 0.9 kg
• Contact: Teenage Engineering

NAMM 2025: Korg’s Multi/Poly was one of our favourite new synths of last year. Loosely inspired by the company’s classic Mono/Poly analogue synth, the Multi/Poly is a multi-timbral digital polysynth that Korg describes as an analogue modelling synth – although we still think that description undersells it somewhat.

The original Multi/Poly landed in a 37-key unit matching the design of Korg’s Modwave, Opsix and Wavestate. Like those synths before it, it’s now available in a rack-mountable module version too.

The Multi/Poly features four timbral layers, each with four oscillators. These oscillators can make use of virtual analogue waves – complimented by dual analogue modelling filters and envelopes – as well as a flexible wavetable and waveshaping modes. While it’s certainly possible to create some convincing faux-analogue sounds, these various modes can do far more besides this, including rich atmospheric textures, oddball FX and multi-timbral sequences.

Arguably Multi/Poly’s best feature is its Layer Rotate function, which allows the four synth timbres to be triggered in a round-robin manner inspired by the original Mono/Poly. Other feature highlights include an X/Y pad with a fun virtual physics engine, which can be used for creative modulation, a multitude of modelled filter types, flexible effects and a deep multi-lane sequencer.

In all honesty, we feel like the use of the word ‘analogue’ and the Mono/Poly branding is a bit of a misnomer. This is a complex, modern digital synth with a multitude of sound shaping, modulation and sequencing tricks up its sleeve.

The Multi/Poly module is 60 voice polyphonic and equipped with MIDI 2.0 capabilities. In terms of I/O, it has balanced stereo outputs, MIDI connectivity and USB, which allows the synth to make use of Korg’s desktop editor/librarian application.

Essentially, the module is the full Multi/Poly experience, minus the keyboard – which was one of the weakest aspects of the original anyway. The Korg Multi/Poly M will arrive with an RRP of £709. Visit Korg for more.

GAS is a problem, we all know it. Events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday only fuel the addiction. With so many crazy deals flying about it can be a tough time for GAS-heads, especially with Christmas just around the corner.

This time of year is rough for those obliged to buy gifts for others and sate the urge to buy a little something for themselves at the same time.

If you're reading this, unaware of what Gear Acquisition Syndrome is, then you can use this article in one of two ways. You either A) take heed of these words and run… run like the wind. Don’t look back and certainly don’t check out any of the deals below on some of the biggest savings on synths we’ve found this Cyber Weekend, or B) do the opposite. The choice is yours.

The premise here is simple. You have a modest budget of $/£200 to spend on a synth or synths and they have to be special offers. That way, your loved ones still get to enjoy Christmas and you get to feed your addiction in a restrained and sensible fashion, knowing that you nabbed yourself a deal. Think of it as a box-ticking GAS/FOMO exercise.

US Cyber Monday synth deals under $200

UK Cyber Monday synth deals under £200

I get the feeling this year there have been some of the best synth deals during Black Friday and Cyber Monday that we’ve seen for a while. Both US and UK retailers have had some absolute crackers and I think I’ve found another in what might be one of the year’s most misunderstood synth products.

Let’s rewind the clock 11 months and head back to those sun-kissed January days in Anaheim, more specifically, to the launch of the Yamaha Seqtrak at the NAMM show. You can’t deny it, it was quite exciting.

Here’s a company that isn’t as prolific as it once was in the synthesizer space, dropping something akin to the design house of Teenage Engineering. A standalone production groovebox with synth, sampling, drum and sequencing capabilities all wrapped up in a minimalistic design. Very TE altogether, and that’s even before we get to the lack of screen, reliance on an app and a Visualizer feature.

The Seqtrak bedazzled us in its rather lurid orange and light grey colourway, with a more subdued double dark grey version also available. Our interest was instantly piqued and we’ve wanted to check one out ever since, but are still yet to have a really good look.

However, from what we’ve seen around the web, there seems to be a lot of mixed feelings about the Seqtrak, almost reminiscent of when Yamaha launched its Reface keyboards. The Refaces have long since been vindicated and are standing the test of time, but it got me thinking, will we be able to say the same thing of the Seqtrak in a few years?

Unfortunately, my crystal ball doesn’t look that far ahead, but what I can say for sure is that this deal at PMT makes testing those waters far more palatable. The one thing guaranteed to turn folks against a product is a lofty price, so when I clocked the Seqtrak in the double dark grey guise down to a mouth-wateringly low price of £199, I just had to let you know about it.

Now, since writing this article, the price has snuck up ever so slightly to £208.95, but PMT has just dropped a site-wide extra 5% off dropping the Seqtrak down to just £198.50, but there are only a few hours of Cyber Monday left, so you’d better hurry just in case this one disappears.

Waldorf’s Iridium synths are seriously powerful machines. While the top-end Iridium Keys and Desktop have the most bells and whistles, the cut down Iridium Core still has a hell of a lot of power for the money – and right now Sweetwater has it available for just $1,499, which is a full $900 less than its usual price.

The Iridium Core is a 12 voice digital synth with three oscillators per voice. It makes use of a variety of really interesting synthesis approaches, ranging from flexible wavetable and granular capabilities to the unique Particle, Resonator and Kernel synthesis modes. There’s a ton of deep modulation and filtering options on offer too.

Sonically, it owes an obvious debt to Waldorf’s iconic synths of the ‘80s and ‘90s, such as the Microwave and Wave. While it can do the retro-digital sounds we associate with those synths, its advanced capabilities and the inclusion of various subtractive and virtual analog elements mean that it has real sonic breadth.

When we reviewed the Iridium Core earlier this year, we described it as offering “boundless amounts of creativity in the smallest of footprints”. If you’re looking for a deep synth to get lost in, this should keep you occupied for a very long time.

I have been writing music gear deals for Black Friday and Cyber Monday for around seven years now and for the first time, I have found a deal so tempting that I’m going to make the purchase.

Before you think to yourself, “Yeah whatever, mate”, let me tell you, I am one of the stingiest, tight-fisted synth-lovers going. If I buy anything it’s usually secondhand and I’m instantly wracked with buyer’s remorse after every purchase, but I’m already convinced this time will be different.

This deal on the Behringer MS-1 at Andertons is so good that by the time you read this, I would’ve already bought one and before you ask, I went for the black one, because the blue is out of stock and I’m not a fan of the red.

Based on the widely used and highly sought-after Roland SH-101, the MS-1 from Behringer encapsulates some of the charm of the original with some added extras. Although it’s been widely reported that it’s not an exact-sounding replica of the original, it’s still a great-sounding monosynth that can produce some solid squelch.

“Why so cheap?” we hear you ask. Well, this is the mk1 and Andertons are clearing the decks for stock of the mk2, no doubt. Behringer had quietly discontinued the mk1 and announced a new and improved mk2, but availability is still hit-and-miss. Some retailers have new stock availability as far away as June 2025.

Should you wait for a mk2?

First of all, I’m not too fussed about the extra features and secondly, I’m not looking for an authentic copy of the SH-101 either. So coupled with the fact this model is available for delivery now and is eye-wateringly cheap, I’m willing to miss out on the likes of an arp, and the authentic 662 chip used for the VCA in the original.

Yes, the mk1 has been beset with difficulties and is by no means a perfect synth, that said it could be argued that the mk2 isn’t all that perfect either.

It’s Black Friday weekend, a time when we’re all overloaded with deals, offers and bargains. It can seem like the entire world is trying to persuade you to buy new music gear. But I am here to remind you of an important fact – new gear probably isn’t the answer to your problems.

Perhaps you’re struggling to finish tracks and think that you just need more plugins? You probably don’t. Maybe you think your music isn’t good enough because you’re using a digital synth rather than a genuine analogue one? That’s almost certainly not true. Do you think that better monitors will instantly make your mixes sound better? It’s unlikely.

Yes, new gear can help us do things quicker, or explore new ideas, or make the overall music-making process easier. But the fundamental truth is that some of the best electronic music of all time has been made with limited, cheap setups. Essentially, more gear does not necessarily equate to better music.

With all that being said, while I don’t want you to think that you need new gear this Black Friday weekend, you might still want it – and I totally get that. I’m lucky enough to review synths and drum machines for a living, and I know how exciting getting your hands on some new creative tool can be.

Although it's not always the route to better music, getting to grips with a new instrument, controller or effect can be a great way to spark creativity. There’s nothing quite like the feeling of exploring the features and capabilities of something, only to hit upon one of those lighting-in-a-bottle moments, when the pieces suddenly come together and you realise, ‘wow, what if I tried doing *this*!?’

With that in mind, I’ve been searching through this weekend’s best synth and drum machine deals, and these are my recommendations. I won’t promise that any of them will make you a better producer or musician. But if you’ve been waiting for Cyber Weekend to drop your hard earned money on something new, exciting and fun, then these are the deals to check out.

I’m going to focus on hardware gear here, but there’s a lot of solid deals on software about this weekend too, which you can keep tabs on in our Black Friday plugin deals hub page.

US Deals

I’m a really big fan of Korg’s recent 37-key digital synths, which each put an innovative spin on classic synth formats. Modwave II is one of the best in the range. It’s a wavetable synth, loosely inspired by Korg’s cult classic DW-8000, but its approach is genuinely innovative, allowing users to craft custom oscillators by blending different wavetables and applying a range of playback modifiers.

Yes, it’s purely digital. And the plastic build and keybed are nothing to write home about. But there’s so much depth and power to this synth. If you’re looking for an instrument that will have you lost down sound design rabbit holes for hours, this is a great purchase for $679.

Sticking to Korg for a moment, Sweetwater is also offering $10 off for most of Korg’s Volca range this weekend. That’s not a massive discount, but the Volcas were a bargain to begin with – and they’re great fun for the price. Personally, I think the Volca Bass and Volca Drum are the ones to go for. Watch our video ranking below for more.

I’ve been using Ableton Live for almost 20 years and, I’ll be honest, as much as versions 1 and 2 of Push impressed me, I drifted away from both and ended up reverting to using a mouse and keyboard. Push 3 is a different story though – I’ve been using it since before it came out last year, and I absolutely love it.

The MPE pads are fantastic, and Ableton has finally cracked its goal of making a controller that feels like a proper instrument. Paired with expressive presets from Live’s Drift and Meld synths, I find Push really expressive (it’s great for me who is, I’ll admit, not a great keys player).

I have the standalone version of Push, which I really rate, although honestly I think the non-CPU-equipped model would be fine for most users, unless you’re planning on performing live or really desperate to be free of your laptop. Either way, both are available at Sweetwater with some sizable discounts this weekend.

Roland's SH-4d was one of my favourite releases of last year, and Amazon has it down to the lowest price I’ve seen this weekend.

Like a lot of Roland’s current crop of hardware instruments, the SH-4d makes use of the company’s Zen-Core engine, but its unique design sets it apart from the bulk of the company’s Zen-Core keyboards. The SH-4d is a five-part groovebox, with four polyphonic synth channels and one multi-track drum machine. Its sound engine makes use of a mixture of virtual analogue, digital synthesis and sampling in order to offer a spectrum of sounds that range from vintage gear emulations to modern tones and an array of percussive kits.

It’s a unique and creative machine, and personally I find it very inspiring. Its characteristic design means that it won’t suit everyone – the lack of a keyboard being an obvious downside for some users – but for less than $400 it’s a lot of synth power for the money.

Donner is better known for its cheap guitars, electronic drums and pianos, but has recently entered the synth market. The B1 was its debut instrument, which takes heavy influence from Roland’s iconic acid machine the TB-303.

The B1 doesn’t look like much – its grey styling looks more like something you’d use to calculate your taxes – but it sounds seriously great. Its analogue oscillator and filter nail the aggressive tones associated with the 303, and the included drive and delay effects really bring the sound to life.

With Donner’s extra 25% this weekend, you can pick up the B1 for $103.99. Trust me, this sounds way better than any $100 analogue synth has any right to.

UK Deals

Waldorf’s Iridium synths are seriously powerful machines. While the top-end Iridium Keys and Desktop have the most bells and whistles, the cut down Iridium Core still has a hell of a lot of power for the money, and at a price only a little over a grand, I think it’s a bit of a bargain.

The Core is a 12 voice digital synth with three oscillators per voice. It makes use of a variety of really interesting synthesis approaches, ranging from flexible wavetable and granular capabilities to the unique Particle, Resonator and Kernel synthesis modes. There’s a ton of deep modulation and filtering options on offer too.

When we reviewed the Iridium Core earlier this year, we described it as offering “boundless amounts of creativity in the smallest of footprints”. If you’re looking for a deep synth to get lost in, this should keep you occupied for a very long time.

Say what you want about Behringer and its approach to synth emulations – or ‘tributes’ as the company prefers – but you can’t knock it for value. This weekend you can pick up Behringer gear over at Thomann for some ludicrously cheap prices.

There are too many instruments on offer to name all of them, but a few stand out as highlights. At a price of £235, the Sequential-inspired Pro-800 is stupidly cheap for an analogue polysynth. Elsewhere, Behinger’s original synth Deepmind 6 has lots of power and flexibility for its price. A steal at less than £400.

I own the RD-8 and RD-9 drum machines, inspired by Roland’s TR-808 and TR-909 respectively, and I think they’re really solid for the money. Obviously, it’s simply not worth spending the money on a real 808 or 909 in 2024. Roland’s own recreations are great, but what I like most about Behringer’s takes are their satisfyingly chunky size and rugged sequencers. While their current prices aren’t actually a Black Friday deal – they’ve simply come down recently – at under £250 a pop it’s still hard to argue.

Personally, I have no real experience with Behringer’s Eurorack modules, so I can’t vouch for them, but the prices look very tempting. £1,150 for the System-55 is a crazily cheap price for a full modular system.

Version 2 of Elektron’s Digitakt sampler-come-drum machine dropped earlier this year. While v2 is undoubtedly more powerful than the original in almost every way, it doesn’t fundamentally change what made the original Digitakt great. In short, while Digitakt 2 is the best version, Digitakt v1 is still an excellent hardware machine – and because v2 now exists, you can pick up the original for a bargain price.

I have the original Digitakt at home, and although I’ve recently reviewed and enjoyed my time with Digitakt 2, the original still provides a great source of hands-on beat-making inspiration. While v1 has fewer audio tracks, it still packs an excellent, deep sequencer, powerful modulation tools and can work smoothly within your DAW thanks to Elektron’s Overbridge software. For a price below £500, I certainly wouldn’t feel bad about missing out on the latest version.

Arturia’s hybrid MiniFreak synth has quickly become one of my go-to tools. What I love about it is its easy-to-use yet broad digital synthesis engine. This lets users combine a multitude of synthesis approaches, including wavetable, granular, FM, additive and more. These are deep and powerful tools, but MiniFreak’s neat interface and user-friendly mod matrix make programming sounds a breeze.

MiniFreak pairs this engine with powerful, gorgeous digital effects. Its smooth analogue filter is the cherry on the cake.

Andertons has a deal on the stylish-looking all-black Stellar Edition. I’ve seen the original version for cheaper than this, but it’s a nice discount for the special edition and a good price overall.

Novation’s Circuit Tracks has always been a lot of instrument for the money. It has two capable digital polysynth engines, four sample-based drum tracks and four MIDI channels that make it perfect for driving external hardware gear.

Honestly, there are deeper synths out there if you’re interested in sound design – to get the most out of Circuit you’ll need to use the browser-based editor – but this makes a really great hub for a studio setup. Its sequencer is fast and surprisingly flexible too. On top of all this, it’s down to a really low price this weekend.

Arturia Astrolab is one of my favourite releases from the Grenoble-based developer in recent years for two reasons: first off, it scratches that itch of knowing what it would be like jamming a whole bunch of amazing plugins into a standalone instrument and secondly, it’s such a joy to play.

There’s no denying this is one powerful stage keyboard, but one of our misgivings is that you don’t get full control over all the plugins, leaving you wanting more and wanting to dive deeper into V Collection.

It makes sense then, that Sweetwater has teamed up both Astrolab and V Collection X for a mega deal this Black Friday, with the software coming free when you buy the hardware.

Originally retailing for $599, V Collection itself has been given a whopping 50% off and while it’s now only $299 you get it completely free when purchasing Astrolab for $1,599.

This is not the only plugin deal you'll find this weekend, we’re gathering up all the best Black Friday plugin deals on our hub page.

We recently reviewed the KingKorg Neo, Korg’s follow-up to 2013’s KingKorg, and were less than enthusiastic about the lofty price point. Moving away from the 61-key format in favour of the more recent 37-key chassis we’ve become accustomed to with the likes of the Opsix, the KingKorg Neo was remarkably more expensive than its stablemates.

Luckily, Black Friday is here and Sweetwater has cut $200 off the price of a Neo bringing it down to a more respectable $799.

The original KingKorg was developed as a bit of a best-of-Korg’s history and released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Japanese giant. While we had our misgivings about the Neo, there was no denying the sound, build quality and accessible effects made it worthy of live performance.

However, we were less than enamoured by the price. At $999, it felt quite steep for a modelling keyboard of this ilk. This latest price drop at Sweetwater has us pondering the possibility of upping the overall review score.

One of the brighter lights in Korg’s 37-key digital synth range, the Modwave II, is also dropping in price for the holidays. Sweetwater originally made a saving of $100 on this reimagining of the immortal DW-8000 and for Black Friday, has lopped another $30 off. Not bad considering the module edition (without the keyboard) is still retailing at $749.

The good news doesn’t end there as you’ll also find $30 off the Minilogue XD and $10 off practically all Korg Volcas. Sadly, the Volca Sample 2 is the only model not receive a reduction but is already competitively priced.

Roland has released a lot of synths over the past few years, including revamped Juno and Jupiter lines, its Boutique emulations of vintage gear, the pocket-sized Aira Compact range and lots more besides. In my personal opinion, the SH-4d is the best thing in the company’s current lineup – and it’s down to an absolute bargain price on Amazon this weekend.

Like a lot of Roland’s current crop of hardware instruments the SH-4d makes use of the company’s Zen-Core engine, but its unique design sets it apart from the bulk of the company’s Zen-Core keyboards. The SH-4d is a five-part groovebox, with four polyphonic synth channels and one multi-track drum machine. Its sound engine makes use of a mixture of virtual analog, digital synthesis and sampling in order to offer a spectrum of sounds that range from vintage gear emulations to modern tones and an array of percussive kits.

The poly synth parts make use of 11 varied engine types, ranging from virtual analog to simple FM, a neat chord triggering mode, sample-based synthesis, wavetables and a unique oscillator drawing mode. The drum engine, meanwhile, is deceptively powerful, letting the user layer two samples for each sound and apply pitch envelopes for simple drum synthesis. All of this comes housed in a stylish desktop groovebox with plenty of hands-on control.

It’s a unique and creative machine, and personally I find it very inspiring. Its characteristic design means that it won’t suit everyone – the lack of a keyboard being an obvious downside for some users – but for less than $400 it’s a lot of synth power for the money.

Watch our demo video above to see and hear it in action.

Mayer EMI MD850 Vibes: What is it?

Mayer EMI's MD850 Vibes is a synth with a small company Eurorack ethos, but with a spec that undoubtedly has big company aspirations. It's a physically streamlined – although in some ways better – version of the company's MD900 VA and wavetable synth, so boasts that machine's 4-part multitimbral and stereo architecture, Ableton-style sequence clip launching for triggering those multi-part performances, quality effects (up to 10 per part), big modulation specs, sample import and more.

There are less hands-on controls on Vibes, for sure, but more stereo voices (24 as opposed to 16 on the MD900), an additional physical modelling oscillator mode, and a keener asking price. At around £1,950, it's nearly a grand less than its bigger sibling, so Vibes immediately irons out some of the cost criticisms levelled at that machine.

However, the best part of two grand for a VA/wavetable digital synth is still a big ask in the current synth market, but luckily Vibes has enough details and workflow flourishes that can only be found in products designed by smaller companies. Synths designed by committee and made for the masses can be bland – this is by no means that, but an extremely capable workstation with some unique qualities.

Mayer EMI MD850 Vibes: Performance and verdict

Vibes' small form factor obviously means less controls so, as just one example, it loses many of the lovely sliders from MD900, but cleverly gets around this with multi-use encoders and a neat colour scheme linked to that 4-part (plus drums) architecture, so you can easily tell which control is operating what.

The core and pretty slick operating system remains the same as that found in the MD900, where function buttons and a row of mode encoders combine with a not too big/not too small touchscreen to get you where you need to be in a short-ish space of time. Main areas, then, are Effects, Master, Voice and Matrix which double as the Clip launcher/Arranger, Drums and Sequencer/Arpeggiator.

The touchscreen itself is a wonderful and essential addition. It makes going deep into the features easy, or remaining on a top layer for performing as intuitive as that process should be. You can't do things like drag and size notes when programming sequences – editing is done by dial per step – but other functions like the mixer and, perhaps obviously, the clip launcher feel they have been lifted straight from a DAW. Hardware imitating software imitating hardware. We like it.

Overall, then, Vibes has a very tidy workflow once you get your head around its deep but clear architecture, although we did find ourselves hitting buttons twice as there can be a lag. We also found the odd glitch where a filter, for example, didn't work on a part as expected. All these can, we suspect, be ironed out in future OS updates.

Sounds wise, Mayer EMI sees Vibes, as its name implies, as its cooler ideas generator and live performer, and MD900 as its albeit just-as-good live contender, but more of a hands-on tweaking sound design tool. And we'd have to agree, although the sonic tweaking is still possible with Vibes – the modulation options and many ways to stack effects are excellent for exploration.

With its extra sampling capabilities and on-board 'real' sounds, Vibes can sometimes veer a little towards the all-singing, all-dancing vibe of a Korg or Yamaha workstation, which is no bad thing depending on your production standpoint, but can also detract from its filthy techno capabilities – which, it must be said, are its bread and butter.

Good Vibes?

There's a definite niche in which Vibes sits, as it somehow manages to straddle a lot of product categories, not least as a high-end synth and all-in-one hardware DAW. It could even be seen as a groovebox for the 21st century, but is perhaps so much more than that implies. In fact, its only problem is that it could be seen as a jack of many trades, but it actually masters many of them, its only downfall being that if you are a computer-based musician you'll not need at least half of its capabilities.

But as an all-in-one unit for creating ideas on the road or realising them on stage, Vibes has a wide-ranging sonic palette, huge depth, an awful lot of features to tweak and modulate everything. Truth is, it really exists in a space of its own, and can literally be set up anywhere, and act as the core of an electronic performance setup. Ultimately, Vibes is a powerful and curious performance synth from a small company but, in many ways, shows the big boys how to do it.

MusicRadar verdict: A wonderful blend of multitimbral synth hardware with clip style sequencing, wrapped up in a solid, performance-based module. A master of many production tasks that exists in a niche of its own.

Mayer EMI MD850 Vibes: Hands-on demos

SYNTH ANATOMY

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Mayer EMI MD850 Vibes: Specifications

• KEY FEATURES: 4 part VA/Wavetable synth + 14 Drum Instruments; 24 stereo voice polyphony;2 oscillators with 3 modes (Algorithm with 8 waveforms, Wavetable with 50 wavetables and Resonator with 64-band physical modelling); sample/noise oscillator; 2 stereo multimode filters (10 models); 4 ADSRs; 3 LFOs; 1 waveform shaper; modulation matrix (25 sources, 40 destinations; arpeggiator and sequencer per synth part; clip launcher with 7 tracks, drum track and 2 external MIDI tracks.
• CONTACT: Mayer EMI

Korg has recently opened the Korg Gallery at The Musical Museum in Brentford, London. This permanent exhibition is dedicated to the history of Korg synthesizers, from the company’s launch in 1962, all the way up to its current line-up.

To mark the opening, we headed up to the Gallery to take a private tour, guided by Korg’s Luke Edwards. In the video above, he takes us on a whistle-stop tour of the most important and influential instruments in Korg’s history, including ‘70s analogue icons, ‘80s digital innovations, ‘90s workstations, and more.

Synth is the simplistically-named new instrument from Polyend, the Polish developer best known for its Tracker and Play grooveboxes. In some ways, Synth is a continuation of that same instrument line, housed in a chassis the same size and shape as those two grooveboxes and featuring some of the same sounds found in the more recent Tracker+ and Play+ variations.

Unlike those grooveboxes, however, Polyend tells us that Synth is an instrument designed to be played live, with less of a focus on sequencing and more emphasis on playability. To that end, it sports a pad grid capable of polyphonic aftertouch and equipped with innovative scale and chord functionality.

Polyend Synth: What is it?

Synth is, shockingly enough, a synthesizer. More specifically, it’s an 8-voice digital synthesizer that lets users layer and perform with three independent synth engines. Each of these layers can be loaded with one of eight different engine types, each of which is designed to have its own unique palette of sounds.

Four of these are lifted directly from Tracker+ and Play+. ACD, FAT and VAP, are three different flavours of virtual analogue synthesis. ACD takes its inspiration from Roland’s SH-101, with a single oscillator that combines saw and square waves along with a sub oscillator. It also features three different resonant low-pass filter models.

FAT owes an obvious debt to the Minimoog. Its three virtual oscillators share waveshape controls, but a Fatness control allows these to be detuned while the FatnessLFO can be used to introduce an element of analogue-style drift. It also features three resonant filter models seemingly inspired by Moog and Oberheim designs.

VAP is a slightly broader virtual analogue polysynth design. This is based around two syncable oscillators that can each morph between classic analogue waveshapes, each with adjustable pulse width, along with an additional noise source. Again, the filter section features a variety of vintage-inspired filter models, but here also includes high-pass, band-pass and notch modes alongside the low-pass modes.

The fourth engine, WTFM, is a two-operator FM engine that uses wavetables in place of the simple operators of classic FM synths. The engine has three feedback routings as well as character controls that can alter the harmonics of each wavetable. The combined output once again feeds into a filter section with a variety of vintage-inspired modes to choose from.

These are joined by four engines that are new for Synth. WAVS is a two-oscillator wavetable engine with an additional noise source and a ‘retro’ mode. It also has a Warp function that can alter the phase of each oscillator, working in both positive and negative directions.

PHZ is a phase distortion engine. This includes similar Character parameters to the WTFM engine but with the addition of increased modulation capabilities and a variety of options for the method used to modulate and distort the input waveform.

GRAIN is a granular synthesis engine. This has Burst and Cloud modes, altering the way grains are distributed, the former being more staccato, the latter creating more ambient textures. Unlike the engines mentioned above, each of which can be assigned up-to the maximum of Synth’s eight voices, GRAIN is fixed to a single voice – likely due to its strain on the internal CPU. It can, however, function in a paraphonic mode, whereby individual grains can be played at different pitches to create chords.

Similar constraints are placed on the final engine mode, PMD. This is a physical modelling engine that makes use of the open source code developed by Mutable Instruments for its Rings module. This offers control over both the exciter and resonator elements of the engine, allowing for bowing, blowing or struck characteristics and broad control over the type of resonance created. Again, likely due to CPU load, PMD has a maximum polyphony of two voices.

The three engines then feed into a global mixer section that also offers modulation, delay and reverb effect sends. Each effect type has a variety of character models to choose from, along with flexible parameter controls. The effect sends can also be routed to one another within the mixer.

Polyend Synth: Performance and verdict

When we spoke to Polyend founder Piotr Raczyński ahead of Synth’s launch, he described the difference between Synth and its Tracker/Play siblings as lying in the fact that, whereas those previous grooveboxes are very sequencer-focused instruments, Synth is an instrument designed to be played and performed with.

The highlights of Polyend’s product line have often focused around innovative playing and sequencing designs – from its early hardware sequencer Seq through to the unusual approaches of both Tracker and Play – and Synth is another example of this. While its range of synthesis engines is impressive, it’s the manner in which the instrument allows the user to interact with these that’s most impressive.

Synth’s playing surface makes use of a 5x12 grid of pressure-sensitive pads. The general use of these will be familiar to users of devices like Ableton Push or Novation’s Launchpad range.

A playing space for each of Synth’s three engines can be laid out based on a variety of scale modes, in each case with a highlighted root note. All of which is fairly standard, although Synth develops the concept in some interesting ways.

For one thing, the instrument offers a variety of layout presets that dictate what ratio and position of the grid is dedicated to each synth engine. What’s more, Synth can be controlled using polyphonic aftertouch individually for each of its engines, which leads to a wonderful level of expressivity, particularly for playing drone sounds, expressive chords or pads.

As well as fixed scales, Synth can also make use of an innovative Chord functionality. This allows one of the three synths to trigger chords with each pad press, which can be set from a selection of pre-defined chord shapes or custom shapes loaded as Chord Packs. With one engine set to chord mode, the other two engines can be set to follow the chords being played, meaning that the playing grids will adapt to each new chord.

In practice, this means that it’s possible to, for example, hold a sustained bass note or simple pad using these follower engines, and have the pitch automatically follow the chord progression. Combined with the latch mode – engaged by pressing Shift while playing any pad – this makes it possible to ‘play’ three synth parts simultaneously whilst freeing a hand up to adjust synth parameters.

It’s worth noting too, that Synth can output MIDI via both its USB and MIDI ports, which allows it to function as a controller for up-to three synths simultaneously. Alternatively, it will also receive MIDI notes and CCs, should you prefer a more traditional keyboard playing experience.

While the emphasis on playing means that Synth is mostly a ‘live’ instrument, each of the synth engines can also make use of its own arpeggiator or simple sequencer. The arps are fairly flexible, with options to humanise and add swing to the patterns, along with a flexible range of arp styles and groove patterns.

The sequencer is much more simplistic than those found on Tracker or Play. Again, there’s an obvious influence from classic hardware like the SH-101 here. Each sequencer can record a pattern of up-to 64 notes and rests, although these share a single gate length control. This sequence can then be played back at different pitches by pressing any pad on the grid. Unlike Polyend’s groovebox instruments, there’s no way to automate synth parameters within these sequences.

Synth control

It’s also worth mentioning the smart way that Polyend has designed the various synth engines to be controlled from a unified interface. Each engine is controlled via Engine, Filter, ADSR, LFO and Sequencer tabs, with an additional mod matrix accessed via a shift press.

Depending on the engine selected, each of these tabs may have more than one menu to browse through, but these are laid out in a neat and fairly intuitive way that makes navigating the instrument pleasingly straightforward.

Parameters in each of these views are controlled using the 3x3 bank of touch sensitive rotaries. While fully shaping the synth engines can involve browsing through numerous tabs, the bright and clear screen makes it easy to keep track of what’s going on. Within the Engine tab for most instruments, this screen also offers a clear and very useful visual representation of the waveform being generated as you adjust different parameters.

Synth also allows for top-level control of each engine using a trio of macros. For most presets, the first two of these are mapped to alter the timbre of a sound and the movement/modulation, respectively. The third macro, in most cases, is labelled Experiment, and will push a sound into weirder or more atonal territory as increased.

The assignments of these macros can be fully customised in Synth’s menus though. In the same menu, it’s also possible to assign the routing of velocity and aftertouch for each synth patch.

Sonics

Polyend has always excelled at interface and sequencer design, but it’s really upped its synth development game in recent years too. When the original Tracker dropped in 2020, its onboard wavetable and granular synths were a touch rudimentary, but this crop of engines is stellar across the board.

Synth is capable of a broad range of genuinely impressive sounds, from convincing recreations of vintage analogue patches to rich digital timbres. The inclusion of physical modelling, phase distortion and sample-based engines opens up some interesting combinations too, allowing synth to create percussive tones, evolving drones and real-world soundscapes alongside more traditional synth tones.

It’s also worth highlighting the impressive breadth and high-quality of preset patches included, which are testament to both Polyend’s internal sound designers and the impressive array of experimental artists the brand seems to attract.

There are some elements of the design that we’re less enamoured with. On the whole, the hardware itself is impressively compact, and we really like the fact it can be powered easily from a portable battery pack, or via USB at the same time as sending/receiving MIDI. Synth’s single stereo output feels a little stingy though – it’s a real shame that there’s no way to output the synth engines on individual channels. It would have been great to have the audio-over-USB capabilities found on Tracker Mini and Tracker+ to allow for this.

It can also be a little too easy to overload Synth’s CPU when making use of some of the more taxing engine types – particularly the physical modelling and granular generators. This can result in laggy response when adjusting synth parameters, or intermittent audio artefacts. This can be overcome by decreasing the voice count being used across the three engines, but it’s a shame to have to limit yourself in this way. Hopefully Polyend may be able to improve efficiency with future firmware updates.

These are minor drawbacks to what is an otherwise excellent instrument though. Polyend describes this as an instrument designed to be played – more so than its Play groovebox, ironically – and it really delivers on that front, thanks to the confluence of powerful synth engines and smart interface design.

It says a lot that upon unboxing Synth, we were immediately drawn into recording audio demos and capturing synth lines, even before we’d had a chance to read the manual. In all, this is simply an impressive example of smart, thoughtful instrument design, and a late contender for 2024’s best new synth.

MusicRadar verdict: Synth balances varied synthesis engines with smart, thoughtful interface design to create an inspiring, winning instrument.

Polyend Synth: Specifications

• Contact: Polyend
• Key features: 8-voice digital polysynth with three independent synth layers and eight synth engine types.
• I/O: USB C (power and MIDI), MIDI in, MIDI out, 3.5mm stereo jack out (includes 3.5mm stereo to dual mono 6.3mm adapter). Mini SD card port for sample, patch and firmware updates.

Polyend Synth: Hands-on demos

SpiralCasterPlaysPedals

It may have been announced in 1983, but it was in the mid-to-late ‘80s that MIDI really started to have an impact in bedroom music production circles. By then, we had the Atari ST, a computer with built-in MIDI ports, and software sequencers that were capable of taking advantage of them.

Plus, multitimbral synths were getting more affordable, so it was possible to buy just one keyboard and use it to create a complete arrangement.

Which brings us nicely to 1990, when MIDI music-making was established enough to warrant an appearance on BBC 2 - at the time, one of just four terrestrial TV channels in the UK.

In a segment presented by Kate Bellingham and recently posted to the BBC Archive YouTube channel, we see a digital musician, Clive Williamson, demonstrating how he uses just an Atari ST running C-Labs Notator - the forerunner to a little-known DAW called Logic - and a Roland D-10 (a cutdown version of the D-50) to create a new-agey piece that shows off the synth’s familiar ‘80s soundset. The show is called Techno, but the music definitely isn’t.

‘Electronic keyboards”’ like this, explains Bellingham, can be found in “any reasonable music shop,” while Williamson is billed as a man who “composes music and sells his own tapes”.

When asked by Bellingham if a great deal of musical expertise is required to make music using a setup like this, Williamson replies that precisely the opposite is true. “I love MIDI because you don’t have to have a great deal of knowledge - you just have ideas.”

Despite this being an explainer video, there’s some familiar confusion about where the sounds are being generated - at one point, Williamson mistakenly says that “the piano sound is coming from the computer”; he later gets it right when he says that “all these sounds we’re hearing are coming from one synthesizer” - but it’s towards the end that things really take a turn for the bizarre.

After explaining that MIDI enables you to use multiple digital instruments together, William pulls out his “digital horn” - something from the Casio DH range, we think - before inviting Bellingham to jam over his Notator tune on her oboe while he plays the flute, an instrument he was inspired to take up after getting into MIDI music making. Fellow Techno presenter Mat Irvine is also roped in to play MIDI guitar (used to trigger the strings, we think), and then the whole thing just ends as the camera pans out.

It’s all gold, and we can’t help but think that Williamson, Bellingham and Irvine’s trio was the inspiration for The xx, who formed some 15 years later.

Korg has unveiled the latest in its line of compact digital synths, Multi/Poly, a multi-timbral instrument described by Korg as using ‘next generation analogue modelling’.

Much like the Wavestate before it, Multi/Poly’s name and styling is inspired by a classic synth from Korg’s past, in this case 1981’s Mono/Poly. Where the Mono/Poly was a four-voice paraphonic synth, however, Multi-Poly is 60-voice polyphonic, with four distinct synth layers.

SEE MORE: Read our full Korg Multi/Poly review

At the heart of Multi/Poly are virtual voice cards, with oscillators, filters, LFOs, amps, envelopes and portamento all designed to emulate the behaviour of analogue circuitry.

“Just like in an analogue synthesizer, voice cards continue to play even if you’re not hearing them,” Korg says. “Envelopes evolve naturally, meaning if you play a long pad with an extended release time, newly played notes ‘catch’ the envelope at its current state rather than restarting from zero. Oscillators and LFOs maintain phase, while resonance continues to ring out. Pitch drift mimics the subtle instabilities of true analogue hardware.”

As well as emulating the behaviour of analogue instruments generally, Multi/Poly – like other recent Korg synths – includes elements that emulate the filter and amp behaviours of specific vintage instruments. These include models of the MS-20 filters, Moog, Oberheim and Sequential filter designs and, naturally, the filter of the original Mono/Poly.

Despite the virtual analogue tech and its reference to classic Korg hardware, as we’ve highlighted in our review, thinking of Multi/Poly as a virtual analogue synth is something of a misnomer. Along with virtual analogue waveforms, each of Multi/Poly’s four oscillators can also use wavetables or a digital waveshaper.

The synth also has modulation capabilities that go well beyond what an analogue instrument could achieve, with four 6-stage envelopes and five LFOs feeding into a complex mod matrix that can apply modulation processors to alter modulation routings.

Other highlights include Korg’s Motion Sequencing 2.0 technology, which offers independent sequencing of pitch, timing, parameter automation and more. There’s also a capable multi-part effects engine. Multi/Poly also features the Kaoss Physics touchpad first seen on the Modwave, which allows parameters to be modulated across an X/Y space using the movement of a virtual bouncing ball.

Possibly the most distinctive feature here is the Layer Rotate mode, which emulates the way Mono/Poly could alternate its oscillators in a round robin manner with each new note played. Here, however, rather than using individual oscillators, Multi/Poly alternates between its four timbral layers.

The synth hardware itself is similar to that of Korg’s Wavestate, Modwave and Opsix. It features a 37-note semi-weighted keyboard with velocity and release velocity sensitivity. It features MIDI I/O and USB connectivity, which can send/receive MIDI as well as make use of Korg’s Librarian app, for managing patches and uploading user wavetables.

The Multi/Poly is available to pre-order now priced at £799/$899. You can hear it in action in our video review above, or find out more at the Korg website.

Korg Multi/Poly: What is it?

Korg’s Mono/Poly is back… sort of. With its latest instrument, Multi/Poly, Korg is reviving its much-loved 1980s analogue synth, in spirit if not exactly in design or sound. In much the same way that 2020’s Wavestate reworked the basic concept of the original Wavestation, and Opsix significantly built on the basic format of 1980s FM synths, Multi/Poly takes the ideas that made the Mono/Poly unique and runs with them.

The original Mono/Poly was first released in 1981 and, as its name implies, bridged the gap between mono- and polysynth designs. It did this via the inclusion of four VCOs that could be used in a paraphonic manner, whereby each oscillator could generate a different pitch, and one of the most characteristic aspects of the Mono/Poly’s design was the various ways these VCOs interacted. A chord memory mode allowed users to save and trigger four-note chords, while the synth’s sequencer could create riffs whereby each new note was triggered by a different oscillator, resulting in some unique patterns and timbres.

Multi/Poly takes loose inspiration from these design ideas. Korg describes it as an analogue modelling synthesizer, which is broadly accurate – there are modelled oscillators, filters and VCAs onboard – but somewhat undersells what the Multi/Poly can do. It’s also a characterisation that, arguably, risks overplaying the links between this synth and the original Mono/Poly. To be clear, while there are elements of Multi/Poly’s design that directly emulate parts of the Mono/Poly, this is neither a remake nor an emulation of that synth in the traditional sense.

Korg Multi/Poly: Performance and verdict

Multi/Poly is a multi-timbral synth with a total polyphony of up-to 60 voices. Like the Mono/Poly, each of its layers can use up-to four oscillators, but here each voice is fully polyphonic, rather than using the oscillators to play individual notes paraphonically. What’s more, Multi/Poly has a total of four identical synth layers, each with four oscillators available, so the scope of the sounds it can create is exponentially larger.

Each oscillator can make use of one of three oscillator types. These are labelled Classic, which houses straightforward virtual analogue waves, Digital, which is a wavetable oscillator with 200 stock wavetables plus the ability to import more via a librarian app, and Waveshaper. Each oscillator can be shaped using front panel controls, which adjust different parameters depending on the oscillator mode.

For the analogue-style oscillators, the level of manipulation varies on the wave selected. Basic waves can usually only be changed by pitch and, where applicable, pulse-width. Some of the classic waves are structured to offer dual waveshapes though – eg saw/pulse, square/triangle – in which cases it's possible to morph between the two. There are also stacked saw wave options that have controls to adjust the level, detune and phase of the additional waves.

The wavetable mode is similar to that found in Korg’s dedicated wavetable synth Modwave. As on that synth, as well as setting and modulating the position of a wavetable, users can apply a wavetable modifier, which alters the way the sampled waves are played back, affecting the harmonics and tonality. In addition, a morphing function can stretch and compress the waveform in a variety of ways.

Waveshaper, meanwhile, is Korg’s take on the wavefolding techniques often associated with ‘West Coast’ modular synths. In basic terms, this takes a simple waveshape – here a sine or triangle – and distorts it via a modifier, which is a second more complex waveform. The oscillator controls in this case adjust the gain and offset of the modifier wave. There is an extensive list of increasingly complex modifiers to choose from, many of which are lifted from Korg’s ‘90s 01/W workstation, which featured a similar function.

Along with these three oscillator modes, Multi/Poly also features a noise generator, ring modulation, oscillator sync and cross-modulation between the oscillators.

This broad range of sound generation techniques – many of which are overtly digital in their nature – is one reason we’d say it’s a bit of a misnomer to call Multi/Poly an analogue modelling synth. That’s not to say, however, that analogue modelling isn’t present under the hood. Korg tells us that each voice uses a virtual voice card designed to produce subtle analogue-style variations in character, and modelled behaviour for the amp, envelopes, LFOs, portamento and oscillator tuning, all designed to mimic the behaviour of analogue circuitry. These effects can be adjusted and made more or less overt using the synth’s Drift sub menu.

The analogue influence is more obvious in the filter section. Each of Multi/Poly’s layers can make use of two filters, which can be arranged in series or parallel. As with other recent digital synths in Korg’s lineup, each slot offers a variety of filter modes, several of which are modelled on the designs of vintage analogue synths.

Unsurprisingly, the Mono/Poly’s lovely 4-pole LPF is top of the list, but it’s also joined by filters based on the MS-20, models of classic Moog, Sequential and Oberheim filters, and a few more vanilla filter types. Korg’s distinctive Multi-Filter is included too, which can crossfade between two different filter modes. Similar modelling is present in the amp section, again mimicking the same lineup of vintage synths.

As with its sibling instruments Modwave, Wavestate and Opsix, Multi/Poly performs well on the modulation front. It has four 6-stage envelope generators and five LFOs for each layer, all working per-voice. These feed into a highly capable mod matrix that includes modulation processors, whereby each modulation routing can be altered by a secondary input.

There is a lot more to the design of Multi/Poly, but much of it – including the design of the hardware itself – is inherited from other instruments in Korg’s lineup. This includes features such as a capable effect section, with per-layer and master slots, multi-lane Motion Sequencing (see boxout), and patch randomisation.

There are a couple of returning features worthy of special mention. One is the row of front panel Mod Knobs, which are effectively just macro controls, but they prove to be invaluable here, given the depth of the synth engine and its multi-layered nature. When designing patches from scratch, setting up appropriate control configurations for these is the key to getting the most out of the synth’s interface. The Mod Knobs can also be used to adjust the volume of Multi/Poly’s individual layers.

Another notable feature, inherited from the Modwave, is the Kaoss Physics pad. This is a touch-sensitive X/Y control surface that not only lets users blend between four assignable parameter settings, but can also trigger modulation controlled by the movement of an animated ball bouncing around a virtual space. As on the Modwave, it’s a touch gimmicky, but a lot of fun. If anything, the Kaoss Physics pad is more effective here; making use of the four layers and creative modulation assignments means the pad can be used for a sort-of modern form of vector synthesis, which is a lot of fun.

On rotation

Possibly the most distinctive feature of Multi/Poly is its Layer Rotate function. This is influenced by the original Mono/Poly’s ability to rotate oscillators in a round-robin manner as it cycled through a sequence. Here, however, rather than using separate oscillators for each new note, each note is played by the next layer in order. Within the menu, it’s possible to control the direction of the cycle, along with how many layers are used per-note.

It’s a simple idea, but huge amounts of fun and incredibly effective, particularly when combined with the arpeggiator. By, for example, setting up a selection of different analogue and digital-style sound across different layers, or applying different effects or levels of detuning, it’s possible to create some really interesting, characterful combinations. Throw some sound-shaping modulation into the mix using the macro knobs and Kaoss pad, and things can get really interesting and expressive.

Verdict

Aside from the slightly misjudged KingKorg Neo, we’ve been vocal fans of Korg’s recent digital synths, and Multi-Poly is no exception. There is a lot of depth and flexibility here, and as a result it can create a really broad range of high-quality synth sounds.

That said, there are a few points worth addressing. For one thing, those hoping for anything that resembles a reissue of the original Mono/Poly are going to be disappointed. It’s not that you can’t create vintage analogue sounds with Multi/Poly’s engine – it certainly holds its own when it comes to virtual analogue patches – but its capabilities are so much broader than that, and as a result it neither feels nor sounds inherently like the instrument that’s inspired its look and name.

There’s also an argument to be made that, as much as Multi/Poly is broad and versatile, aside from the Layer Rotate function, there’s not a lot here that we’ve not seen on previous Korg synths.

While the sound engine is impressive here, the hardware itself is essentially a reskin of that used for the Modwave/Opsix/Wavestate with slight UI variations. While there are elements of these designs we like, such as the Mod Knob macros and general portability, there are elements of the design we’re less keen on.

The compact layout means a lot of menu diving when setting up sounds, and – despite some attractive wood panelling here – the general feel is lightweight and plasticky, which has become more noticeable as the launch prices of Korg synths have creeped up in recent years (the original Wavestate launched for £699 in 2020).

All that being said, Multi/Poly is a complex and capable synthesizer that can create a vast breadth of interesting sounds. It might not be the reborn Mono/Poly we’ve been dreaming of, but there’s enough depth here to keep even the most demanding synthesist satisfied.

MusicRadar verdict: Those hoping for a Mono/Poly reissue might come away disappointed, but Multi/Poly is a deep, complex and capable synth that’s a lot of fun to get lost in.

Korg Multi/Poly: Hands-on demos

Korg Multi/Poly: Specifications

• KEY FEATURES: 60-voice polysynth making use of a mixture of analogue modelling, wavetable and waveshaping synthesis.
• KEYBED: 37 key semi-weighted action (velocity and release-velocity sensitive).
• I/O: Headphone (6.3 mm stereo phone jack), Output: L/mono and R (impedance-balanced 6.3 mm TRS phone jacks), damper (6.3 mm phone jack, half-damper not supported), MIDI in and out connectors, USB B port.
• DIMENSIONS: 566 mm x 319 mm x 93 mm.
• WEIGHT: 3.5kg.
• CONTACT: Korg

It’s been a busy few weeks for Elektron. The Swedish hardware brand has just dropped updates for its Syntakt and Digitakt II grooveboxes, bringing new analogue sounds to the former and long-awaited Overbridge compatibility to the latter, all while playing down rumours of the imminent announcement of a leaked new instrument named Tonverk. As it transpires, Elektron did have a new instrument ready to announce all along – not Tonverk, but a new version of its synth-come-groovebox Digitone.

While FM synthesis is still at the heart of Digitone II, the update looks to expand the capabilities of the synth engine significantly. Much like Digitakt II, which arrived earlier this year, one of the most notable upgrades here is a doubling of the audio capabilities, raising the overall polyphony from eight to 16 voices. As before, Digitone II is multi-timbral and allows users to split the voice count into four independent synth sounds.

According to Elektron, Digitone II is designed so users can, “pull your sound through the prism and into a spectrum of dazzling tones and timbres.”

To that end, Digitone II introduces a system of ‘machines’, which effectively allow the user to mix and match a variety of synth engine and filter modules, each with its own characteristics and parameters.

On the synthesis front, Digitone II has four machines to choose from. FM Tone is the original Digitone’s four-operator FM engine. FM Drum is a new machine specifically designed for synthesizing percussive sounds, similar to the engines found in Elektron’s Syntakt and Model:Cycles grooveboxes. Wavetone is a two-oscillator synth engine that allows users to morph between waveshapes and adds phase distortion into the synthesis mix. Finally, Swarmer is a super-saw based cluster oscillator with detune and noise modulation controls.

The new filter modes, meanwhile, are similar to those found in Digitakt II. These include a Legacy LP/HP based on the original Digitone design, a new morphable multimode filter, a 24db lowpass filter, parametric EQ and a pair of comb filter modes.

There are improvements on the effects front too, with new sample rate and bit reduction effects, along with overdrive that can be placed pre- or post-filter. Digitone II also gains a master compressor.

Other enhancements from Digitakt II are also present and correct here, including upgraded modulation that now includes three LFOs per synth track and easy routing of external velocity, aftertouch, pitch and mod wheel sources.

On the sequencer side, the original’s 64-step sequencer is doubled to 128 steps, and adds the Euclidean generator present on Digitakt II and Syntakt. Digtone II also adds a variety of other workflow improvements, including improved preset management and song mode.

Digitone II is available to order now, priced at $999/€1049/£899. Find out more at the Elektron website.

This week saw Ableton launch its newest hardware device, Move. Somewhere between a mini version of Push and a hardware version of the Note app, Move is designed to be the perfect sketchpad for Ableton Live, letting users rough out ideas for beats and melodies, as well as capture samples, apply basic effects and record automation.

Move is designed to be easy and intuitive, which it achieves. But there are still a few less-obvious or secondary functions that are easy to miss but can be key to bringing your ideas to life.

To get up to speed with Move’s workflow, we sat down with Ableton’s product specialist Brian to watch him quickly put a groove together. You can watch his tips in the video above or read about them below. We’ve also added in a few tips of our own based on our time with Move.

READ MORE: Ableton Move review

Nudge hits off the grid to add groove

In his first workflow tip, Ableton’s product specialist Brian demonstrates how nudging a few hits off of the quantise grid can help to add a humanised feel to a drum groove. To demonstrate this he layers up three snare sounds. To create a little space between them, he holds down the relevant step on the sequencer and uses the left and right arrow keys to nudge two of the hits so they sit just before or after the beat.

“I'm nudging the notes to move them over to just give it some space” he explains. Finally, he applies some extra groove by holding down the Shift key and accessing the Groove menu. “It’s just to give it a bit more swing, so now we have a looser beat.”

Save your custom kits

Move’s stock presets are well organised by sound type and relatively easy to navigate, but loading user-uploaded samples can be a little more time consuming. Loading a one-shot sample to a Drum Sampler pad involves navigating out of Move’s list of sound types into the User Samples folder, and then finding your sound among your own sub-folders. Hardly a hardship on its own, but annoying to do 16 times in a row.

If you’re likely to use your own samples regularly, we’d recommend taking some time to create and save custom drum kits in advance. Having ready-to-go kits built around a useful combination of sounds will speed up your creative workflow. Saving these to a kit also allows you to configure things like envelope and filter settings, and appropriate send and insert effects too.

Quick switch presets from the browser

As Brian demonstrates in the video, Move offers an easy way to try out new sounds using existing patterns. To see how a drum groove sounds using different kits, simply use the browser wheel to scroll through Move’s various kit options, previewing them as you go. If you want to return to the original, simply hit the Undo button.

Detune vs transpose

When using sampled instruments in move, the first of the touch rotaries is used to transpose the source sample up and down. As standard, this is done by semitones. If you want to make adjustments by an amount other than a whole semitone, however, hold down Shift and the transpose mode will instead detune the sound by cents.

Spice up beats with Playback Effects

The Drum Sampler Playback Effects are one of Move’s strongest features. In our video Brian demonstrates how the pitch envelope mode can be used to add a characteristic bend to a sound.

Other favourite modes of ours include the Stretch function, which can apply granular warp-like effects, reminiscent of old school sampling. The Loop function is great for stuttering repeats too.

Use Capture for quick automation

Move’s Capture function – based on the same tool in Live – is an easy way to recall your playing and turn jammed-out ideas into clips. As Brian demonstrates for us, it works for parameter automation too. Experiment with tweaking settings using Move’s eight encoders, if you hit upon something you like, hit Capture to record the movement as part of your clip.

Automation can be deleted easily, by holding the Delete button and touching the associated encoder.

Turn drum pads into melodies with 16 Pitches

Although Move might initially look like it puts a hard limit on having no more than four melodic parts in any one project, there are actually several ways to work around this. As Brian demonstrates in his third tip, one of the easiest ways to do this is by creating melodic patterns from one-shot samples loaded into one of the 16 Drum Sampler slots of a drum kit.

To do this, simply hold Shift and press the layout button on Move’s sequencer. Now the 16 pads to the right of the kit will light up and can be used to play the selected sample at different pitches fixed to the project scale. This means that any one kit can house up-to 16 melodic patterns each making use of different one-shot samples.

Resample everything!

Move’s ability to resample its main output can be used to significantly expand its capabilities. If you regularly find yourself butting up against the four-instrument limit, try bouncing down riffs, basslines or drum grooves that would otherwise be taking up a full instrument slot to a single pad in a kit. To access this, press the sampling button and use the browser wheel to change the input mode to Resample, then press a free pad to start recording.

It’s worth noting the Move records the full main output, so you’ll need to mute any elements you don’t want to capture. Move doesn’t, however, record the metronome when resampling, so leave this on if it helps with the timing of the recording. If you engage resampling while the transport isn't running, playback will start as soon as you press the pad to start resampling – which can also be useful for timing.

While this is useful as a workaround on its own, doing so can also be an inspiring creative tool. Try resampling sounds with automation and/or effects baked in, then try triggering the recordings at different pitches to hear how it affects the audio. Make use of the Drum Sampler's fantastic Playback Effects too, to loop, stretch or ring modulate your resampled audio.

Slice up samples with multi-pad recording

Move doesn’t feature sample slicing like you would find on higher-end samplers or within Live itself (ie the ‘slice sample to new MIDI track’ feature). There’s a way to work around this, however, using the multi-pad recording function. This allows the user to manually record incoming audio across multiple pads of a Drum Rack.

To do this, enter Sampling mode and press an available pad to start recording. As soon as you want to create a new ‘slice’, press a different pad, and so on. Each time you press a new pad, you will be creating a sample ‘slice’ into a new Drum Sampler slot.

If you’re finding this hard to time correctly, for example, while trying to slice the transients of a fast drum break, try slowing the incoming audio down and then pitching it back up using Transpose once it’s recorded.

RYK Algo: What is it?

The Algo is one of those modules that pops up every now and then that seems to do everything just right. Like the vector wave before it, Algo is a pretty module, as well as a sound source of huge versatility. It’s on the larger size at 18hp but it’s only 25mm deep, so will fit into most skiffs and the layout does lend itself to the hands-on nature of the module, part of its genius. Unlike other FM devices, which have lots of menus and complexity to master, Algo is a really intuitive interface, which takes no time at all to master.

The familiar RYK design is here, with a black face plate and clear labelling. The patch points sit across the bottom, making it easy to access the lovely-feeling encoders and pots.

We really like how Algo displays the relationship between the four oscillators here, with a visual matrix of LEDs that connect the frequency knobs. This is a really clear way to identify what you’re doing, useful as there is no saving of presets offered.

RYK Algo: Performance and verdict

Algo’s four oscillators all produce sine waves but these can be warped from triangle to pulse, either manually or by CV. With no algorithm selected not much happens, but once you choose one (using the red button to cycle through) you start to hear the magic on offer. A little increase in the XM level highlights the changes and you can start to adjust the pitch and level of the four oscillators. The variation here is vast, from soft and pretty to mangled and metallic. That said, be wary of cranking things too high, as at the upper reaches things become a little samey. The sweet spots can be found with subtle changes. 

Modulation is key to FM for a lot of use cases and RYK has delivered here, with mod patch points for each oscillator, one for cross modulation, another for wave folding, as well as the standard output and volts per octave ports.

Learning the effect the different algorithms have takes a little while but once you have that fixed it’s easy to dial in a tone. The octave range button is useful too, saving the need to do that elsewhere.

What’s more is that Algo is stereo, bringing a whole new level of possibility to your patches. The oscillators can be spread over the stereo field and there’s a gorgeous stereo chorus built in as well. The chorus adds some sparkle and extra width and, while not sounding exactly like a Juno, it is reminiscent of that kind of effect. A simple button combo activates the chorus but you get a nice, green LED to remind you it’s on, so you never get lost. This is the same for everything about Algo. The combo of LEDs make it really hands-on and user-friendly. That, along with the sounds on offer make this a fantastic sound source, and one that could easily be at home in any rig.

There are some more advanced options too, accessed by button combos, which the more experimental users may want to explore. But many will be more than happy without touching these.

MusicRadar verdict: For all the FM lovers (and wave folders) out there, Algo is a joy. It doesn’t take long to learn and once you do the range of tones you can find is enormous.

RYK Algo: Hands-on demos

RYK Modular

The Unperson

Cinematic Laboratory

mylarmelodies

RYK Algo: Specifications

• KEY FEATURES: Four through zero oscillators. Harmonic intervals. Fine tune, or fixed frequency options for each oscillator. Amplitude OR frequency/V/OCT CV inputs for each oscillator. 9 FM algorithm combinations. Wave Shaping and three types of Wave folding. Multi Stage vari-speed high quality chorus effect. Stereo output, with pan control for each oscillator in the stereo field.
• CONTACT: RYK

SYNTH WEEK 2024: Preset synth patches are either a boon or a bane, depending on one's programming prowess. For many ‘serious’ synthesists, they represent something of a cop-out - easy selections of spoon-fed solutions to impress the inebriated denizens of the local Holiday Inn lounge. 

However, the vast majority of keyboard players depend on presets to compose and record their arrangements.

It's not a coincidence that the first synth ever to enjoy truly blockbuster sales was packed with excellent presets. Indeed, Yamaha's fabled DX7 was also notoriously difficult to program, and virtually single-handedly kicked off the third-party patch industry.

It's often the case that an instrument is defined by a handful of presets - Korg's Wavestation being a good example. Chocked to the brim with complex, motion-filled, rhythmic soundscapes, it's a safe bet that few people bought a Wavestation for its bass and Clav sounds.

Some presets have been so heavily used (and abused) that they have become instantly recognisable, shouting above the din of the popular music that they helped to define. Let's take a look, then, at 10 of the most famous preset patches, the synths on which they were supplied, and the songs that burned them into our cultural consciousness.

1. Sync (from the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5)

Before Sequential Circuits unleashed the Prophet-5 in 1977, synthesizer presets were a rarity – most often relegated to non-programmable instruments like ARP's Pro Soloist. Sequential's slick combination of patch storage and polyphony ensured the P5's popularity, with a then-impressive 8000 units being sold, many to big name performers.

One such player was Greg Hawkes of The Cars, who promptly exploited one of the Prophet's wicked oscillator sync presets for the memorable riff that propels the band's Let's Go, the lead single from their classic Candy-O LP. This ripping, nasal lead patch would - like many of the Prophet's presets - become wildly overused in the years following the instrument's release. 

2. Vox Humana (from the Moog Polymoog Keyboard)

Released in 1975, the original Polymoog was a 71-note synthesizer that offered organ-style divide-down polyphony and a miserly eight presets. Troubled from the start, this cantankerous instrument nevertheless found favour with a number of high-profile users, Rick Wakeman among them.

It was, however, the second, pared-down version - the Polymoog Keyboard - that would burn its sonic signature into synthesizer history, thanks to one its additional presets – the fabled Vox Humana patch.

This sound was much-loved by Gary Numan, figuring prominently on The Pleasure Principle. It is, in fact, the very first sound on that album. Ideal for mournful leads and low, scrubbing string pads alike, it's easy to see the appeal.

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3. PPG Choir (from the PPG Wave 2.2/2.3)

When Wolfgang Palm unleashed his PPG Wave synthesizers back in 1981, few had heard their like before. A devilishly clever combination of digital wavetable oscillators and analogue filters, only the moneyed elite could afford them.

Consequently, though relatively few of them were sold, those that were seemed destined for the charts. Many of the instruments' presets would become identified with the New Wave of the ‘80s, the famous PPG Choir being but one example.

Tangerine Dream used the haunting metallic vocal patch on their epochal Exit LP, and Depeche Mode would drop it into See You, from their second LP, A Broken Frame.

4. E. PIANO 1 (from the Yamaha DX7)

Few synthesizers have ever had such a lasting impact as Yamaha's DX7. From its stellar playability to its sterile, knob-free front panel, it was nothing like the analogue instruments that dominated the synthesizer market in 1983.

It certainly didn't sound like anything else. With its crisp, spiky percussion, crystalline bells and clinical basses, it was the perfect antidote to a decade of analogue waveforms.

Unfortunately, the instrument that ushered in digital synthesis would bring with it a nearly impenetrable architecture consisting of operators, algorithms and unusual envelopes, all accessed through tedious menus and a diminutive display. Good thing it was loaded with presets, then. Indeed, most DX7 players never bothered making their own sounds, and a third-party patch industry grew up around the instrument.

That didn't stop far too many balladeers from employing the now-famous DX Rhodes emulation, a sound that would become an obligatory inclusion in every keyboard workstation for decades to come.

5. What The (Hoover) (from the Roland Alpha Juno)

Upon its release in 1985, Roland's Alpha Juno was a harbinger of things to come. Retaining the Juno name that had previously been associated with inexpensive, slider-laden polysynths, the spartan front panel of the Alpha Juno lacked the immediacy of its predecessors. Nevertheless, at $895, it was more affordable than the Juno 106 that came before it.

Upon its release, it found favour with many a cash-strapped musician, but it would be future secondhand buyers who would hone in on a single preset called What The - a buzzing sonorous blast that would become widely known as the ‘Hoover’.

6. Digital Native Dance (from the Roland D-50)

Wildly successful upon its release in 1987, Roland's D-50 offered a new take on subtractive synthesis that combined sampled attack transients, synthesized waveforms and a smattering of looped samples that could be mixed, filtered and processed by built-in EQ, chorus and reverb effects. It was a brilliant recipe, gobbled up by a staggering 200,000 musicians worldwide.

Subsequently, a number of D-50 presets wound up on the airwaves, though none so instantly recognisable as Digital Native Dance, a skittering atmospheric patch that started life as a novelty whipped up by one of Roland's PCM engineers. Lead patch programmers Eric Persing and Adrian Scott were duly impressed, using the loop to create what would become the D-50's signature sound, which would be used by everyone from OMD to Miles Davis.

7. LatelyBass (Yamaha TX81Z)

The 4-operator TX81Z was yet another synthesizer that was largely unappreciated in its day only to become popular among dance music producers years after its release.

Much of its newfound notoriety rests squarely on this biting bass sound. Unashamedly digital, the LatelyBass patch would wind up in countless Italo disco tracks as well as a fair few pop songs. Producer Eliot (Spice Girls) Kennedy was reputed to keep a TX81Z around solely for this sound, while Babyface's dual, detuned TX81Zs are said to be permanently dialed in to the patch. And, of course, there’s Madonna’s Vogue.

8. Universe (from the Korg M1)

Released in 1988, Korg's M1 forever changed the synthesizer industry. Designed as an all-in-one workstation, the M1 offered multisampled instruments of unprecedented realism and matched them up with a sophisticated multitrack sequencer and a comprehensive selection of digital effects.

Never before had so much production power been crammed into one instrument. Relatively convincing pianos, organs, basses and guitars, full drum kits with velocity sensitivity, and loads of evocative synthetic timbres made the M1 the synthesizer to own.

It sported plenty of now-cliched presets, including Universe, one of the finest choir patches anyone had heard at the time. Even Queen - who once proudly proclaimed their records free of synthesizers - couldn't resist the call.

9. Ski Jam/The Wave Song (from the Korg Wavestation)

If any ROMpler had the power to transcend the limitations of sample-playback synthesis, it was the Wavestation. Why, then, did so many players feel the need to get stuck on Ski Jam, the very first - and utterly identifiable - patch?

Mind you, a few may have jabbed the right-most cursor button a couple of times, landing on The Wave Song, a nearly identical demonstration of the instrument's powerful wavesequencer, but it amounts to the same curious lack of imagination.

Admittedly, programming the Wavestation could be an exercise in frustration, and the sound is indeed very cool, but this particular rhythm was ubiquitous in the early 1990s, finding its way onto loads of pop songs, soundtracks, and seemingly every local broadcaster's station ID.

10. The Super Saw (from the Roland JP-8000)

Virtual analogue synthesizers aren't exactly thin on the ground these days, but once upon a time they were a new and exciting rarity, promising an idealised version of classic analogue synthesis in a modern, stable and dependable package.

Roland's JP-8000 was one of the very first such instruments to hit the scene. While paying homage to instruments of the past, the JP-8000 included many modern niceties such as the ability to remember knob and slider movements and the soon-to-be overused Super Saw waveform, which consisted of seven detuned sawtooth waves played back from a single oscillator.

A much-imitated sound, Super Saw patches would become a favourite of trance producers.

• Read more: All the latest synth news and features at Synth Week 2024!

SYNTH WEEK 2024: When it comes to synth plugins, there's a huge amount of choice out there – an almost bewildering array of options, in fact. But, as many as there are, it always seems to be the same old synths that grab the headlines. And, yes, we might be responsible for that, bigging up the Serums and Massives of the synth world all the time (and, actually, mostly for good reason). 

But it's time to redress that, and give some praise where it is due to the underdogs; the synth VSTs that deliver the goods in spades but perhaps don't get the recognition they deserve. 

So without further ado, let's do just that, with seven great synths that may have flown slightly under your radar.

1. SPC Plugins ArcSyn

SPC Plugins describes ArcSyn as "unexplored sonic territory', so it's probably apt that we include it in our list of under-explored synths. 

On the face of it, ArcSyn might well be just another virtual analogue synth, but SPC claims that it's anything but. And, after checking out its capabilities, we think the company might have a point.

Rather than emulating classic synths, ArcSyn forges its own path, aiming more towards the capabilities of a massive modular setup, with rich and diverse sounds from both the analogue and digital domains.

As such, yes, you can get lovely arpeggiated bass and lead lines, but there are also tearing digital and dynamic pads, evolving wavetable-like atmospheres by way of its LFO wave sequencing, and a lot more. 

There are 500 such varied sounds on show to demo the synth's wide capabilities, and a nicely-structured UI that means you won't have to scratch your head as you get around the synth. 

ArcSyn costs £69 of your hard-earned cash, but that's money well spent on a plugin that the masses might not have discovered yet. Well, until we publish this, that is.

More from the SPC Plugins website. 

2. Surge XT

Surge XT is a synth that is so 'under the radar' that we didn't even realise we had it installed in our plugin folder. It's a 3-oscillator subtractive synth that includes both linear FM and wavetable synthesis. You can also run your audio through it as an effect, but the best bit about it is that it's completely free.

The synth uses a 'two scene' architecture so you can split and layer patches, and you get quite a few of these to start with: some 2800, with over 700 wavetables to power them. 

The three oscillators have 12 algorithms each to choose from, including Classic, Wavetable, Sine, FM2, FM3, String, Modern, Window, Twist, Alias, S&H Noise and Audio Input. There are a couple of filters, too, each with eight types, and you even get 16 effects (4 inserts for each of the two scenes, 4 sends and 4 master).

That's a good set of stats in anyone's book, and means those 2800 sounds are incredibly varied. 

And shall we say it again? Surge is free. So yes, it's totally underrated, and we've even convinced ourselves to actually use it. 

More from the Surge XT website .

3. Sonic Charge Synplant 2

Synplant has always had a pretty bonkers concept behind it. You grow branches from a tree to make different notes and noises, and no we haven't been smoking some of the leaves from it. That really was the methodology for version 1 of the synth that we loved way back in 2009!

Synplant 2 now uses artificial intelligence – and if ever there was ever going to be a synth to adopt that tech, it was this one – to synthesise any audio you import. It then comes up with variations of that sound – with some variations being closer than others – so you can essentially design other sounds very quickly using a target source. 

We've tested it and it's a bit hit and miss on more complex sounds, but is a fantastic way to come up with completely new sounds very quickly. 14 years on and this synth is 'a real grower'. (God, we're good. And available for weddings, anniversary parties, retirement dos, etc.)

Synplant 2 costs €149 and there's more info from the Sonic Charge website.

4. Dawesome Kult

We reviewed Dawesome Kult back in March and described it as 'the synth of the year' even then, so confident were we that people would be beguiled by its 'Strange Attractor' oscillators and wild sounds. The truth is they probably weren't, as Kult is an oddball synth, but still one that deserves much wider recognition. 

Dawesome is programmer Peter V, who is highly regarded for both the Abyss and Novum plugins. Kult sticks to his unusual UI design ethos, but throws in those Strange Attractor oscillators, easy AM and FM synthesis, and plenty of modulation. 

Really, Kult is all about making both graphical and sonic changes in real-time and is one of those synths where you'll learn how it works just by doing that. You'll also be hitting the Save button a lot while you do it, because it is such an inspiring synth.

Kult is an amazing sound design tool, then, and deserves to be used by more than those 'in the know' or, as you might say, 'in the cult of Kult'. (Yes, noted: 'could do better.')

Kult $129 costs and you can get more info from partner developer Tracktion's website.

5. UVI Falcon 3

Put this in the pile labelled 'does too much' or 'blinded by features' because UVI's Falcon – as highly rated as it actually is – could never be rated highly enough, simply because it does so much. 

Falcon is a multitimbral synth workstation in software, which takes a fantastic semi-modular approach. It might not have the simplest UI, but it is certainly a lot more straightforward than it should be, given the huge feature set on offer.

The core idea is to employ around 20 different synthesis and sampling oscillators with over 100 effects, modulation and a series of 70 customisable scripted generators and processors, plus over a dozen modulators. There's even a sizeable library of content to load in, and many optional sound packs. 

Basically, if you can do it in any other synth in software, you can (very probably) do it in Falcon. The only reason that it isn't more of a standard synth app, and one used by more people, is that it does almost too much.

Yes, ok, maybe the UI is a little off-putting and the whole setup can be daunting to get your head around, and yes it is a bit pricey, too (although not for what you get). But if there was one plugin you had to fly on to a desert island, it should probably be this.

Falcon costs €349 and you can get more info from the UVI website.

6. The TAL range

Yes, lazy. Now we're including whole ranges of synths, but when it comes to TAL (that's Togu Audio Line) Software, we're talking top quality plugins at pretty rock bottom prices. Patrick Kunz has been producing plugins for what seems like forever, and we've been writing about them for almost as long. 

Patrick also seems to love Roland synths, with many of his seven instruments being based on Roland classics like the Juno-60 (TAL-U-NO-LX), Jupiter-8 (TAL-J-8) and SH-101 (TAL-Bassline 101). 

There is a semi-modular synth in TAL-Mod, and even a bunch of freebies in the form of five different effects (plus some older synths that only run on 32-bit systems). 

TAL's effects tend to cost just $25 + tax, with the synths weighing in between $60 and $80 (for the Jupiter), which we think represents pretty good value. 

We'd love to see Patrick apply his undoubted skills to emulate some less Roland-based classics, or even something entirely new, but in the meantime, these are some of the best value and finest-sounding plugins out there, let us Tal you. 

More from the TAL website.

7. The Tone2 range

We don't mind admitting that sometimes – just sometimes – our heads are turned by a good-looking synth plugin with a fabulous name. Yes, we should be judging an instrument on how it sounds but, well, we're pretty shallow as humans go. 

So imagine our joy when we stumbled across Tone2's website. With colourful synths called Icarus, Warlock, Electra, Rayblaster and Nemesis, this is basically Middle Earth or Blade Runner… with synths. We have to say, what more could you ask for?

And what synths. We reviewed RayBlaster here and loved its innovative Impulse Modeling Synthesis. Nemesis, meanwhile, delivers a new and exciting take on FM; Warlock is a well-spec'd but easy to use waveform synth; and Electra is, according to our very own Computer Music magazine, a "hugely versatile synth that can excel in any genre". 

Tone2's synths are also used by some of the biggest names out there including Depeche Mode, Skrillex and Aphex Twin, but still don't seem to be on the top of many a synth wish list. 

They can be expensive – typically $199, although Warlock is just $69 – but Tone2 releases many regular (and very good) updates so these could well be the tones you have been looking for. 

More from the Tone2 website. 

• Read more: All the latest synth news and features at Synth Week 2024!

Released in 1983, Yamaha DX7 might now be considered a classic, but it’s had its share of detractors down the years. Not least because, thanks to its button and menu-based interface, it was notoriously difficult to program.

Musician and YouTuber Pierre Piscitelli, though, argues that “so many people hate this thing” for another reason - specifically, the DX7’s super-schmaltzy electric piano tone. 

Originally intended to be an FM-generated replacement for the Fender Rhodes sound, this gained popularity among ‘80s and ‘90s balladeers precisely because it doesn’t sound like that, and offers something different.

In more recent years, the DX7 has been reappraised, and some of its other crystalline synth sounds have become electronic music staples, but Piscitelli argues that, for a lot of keyboard players and music listeners, it’ll always be synonymous with that EP.

And, let’s face it, said sound is a bit of a classic, and has actually undergone something of a renaissance itself as modern producers have mined the music of the ‘80s and ‘90s for musical inspiration (check out the piano in the The 1975’s Somebody Else, for example).

In celebration of the DX7 piano, Piscitelli has put together a list of the 10 greatest DX7 song intros, ranging from Whitney Houston to Beyonce. See if you agree with his choices by watching the video above.

SUPERBOOTH 2024: ASM’s HydraSynth was already a prime piece of synth real estate, and its curb appeal has been further increased with the launch of a 5th Anniversary Silver Edition.

There are actually two models - the Hydrasynth Keyboard 5th Anniversary Silver Edition and Hydrasynth Deluxe 5th Anniversary Silver Edition - each of which is limited to 200 units. So, as well as looking desirable, they’re also very collectible.

Behind the new liveries, the synths are fundamentally the same as the standard-issue models, but each one does come with an exclusive patch bank.

Announced in 2019, the original Hydrasynth Keyboard is an eight-voice, three-oscillator, polyphonic aftertouch polysynth that enables you to morph between waveforms using multiple modulation sources. The Deluxe model ups the ante by offering 16 voices, a 73-note full-size keybed and oodles of I/O.

Prices for the Silver Editions Hydrasynths are $1,649/£1,799/€2,049 for the Keyboard and $2,149/£2,299/€2,649 for the Deluxe. 

Find out more on the ASM website.

SUPERBOOTH 2024: It seems obligatory now that any new FM synth should come with the promise to make its sound generation method “fun” - instruments such as Yamaha’s DX7 helped to burden FM with a reputation of being anything but - and so it is with Love Synthesizers’ First Love.

To be fair, it certainly looks like quite a laugh, with a handheld videogame-style design that incorporates a touchscreen and a simple control layout. It looks like there are four knobs that spell out the word ‘love’, plus a collection of buttons, one of which has a globe icon on it that indicates some kind of Wi-Fi support.

There appears to be a built-in speaker, too, and the display shows a selection of waveforms that you presumably have control over. In fact, we’re told that you have “unprecedented realtime control over the intricate variables of an FM synthesizer in a fast-flowing, user-friendly manner.”

Sounds good to us - we’ll let you know if it’s as simple and entertaining as its creators think after we’ve had a play. You can sign up for email updates on the development of the First Love on the Love Synthesizers website.

Cherry Audio Pro Soloist: What is it?

There was a time when the DAW du jour was a home organ, nestling in the corner of your lounge, waiting for Uncle Larry to spin a tune. But what would add a synthetic dimension to all those Bossanovas and Cha-Chas? A lead-line synth from Alan Robert Pearlman.

The ARP Pro Soloist came two years after its original sibling, the Soloist. Originally designed as a synthetic string, wind and brass solo section, to nestle on top of your home organ, the ‘Pro’ model refashioned the preset original to include editable control. It’s therefore fitting that Cherry Audio has not only adopted the Pro Soloist for its latest software reincarnation project, but in true Cherry style, increased its potency exponentially.

Cherry Audio Pro Soloist: Performance and verdict

The software Pro Soloist journey begins with a hearty collection of the original sounds, accessed through the Performance panel page. The quality of the analogue modelling is exemplary; the sense of nostalgia is heart-warming, providing a simple period-piece which could prove useful in certain settings. However, that’s a mere entrée to the main event.

Flick over to the Edit page and you’ll find that you have immediate access to the nuts and bolts of each sound. Despite its humble origins, there’s nothing simplistic about the output. We’re in the subtractive domain, where the signal begins within the VCO section. Two volume pots labelled Saw and Square allow the blending of the initial signal, alongside additional features; the Saw can be multiplied into a SuperSaw, while the Square can be pulse-width modulated, either manually or from a LFO or Envelope source. 

The signal is then uniquely routed to a high-pass filter, followed immediately by a Resonator Bank, where five sets of exceptionally rich resonators may be applied to colour the signal. It’s at this stage that the Resonators input signals from the filter or amplifier sections, inducing feedback which injects some amazing colouration into proceedings. 

Adding to this sonic character, the filter bank can create exceedingly throaty and organic filter colours, and that’s before it even reaches the main filter section, which supplies a beautifully modelled 4-pole ARP filter. There are numerous filter modulation sources, which include either envelope, LFO and velocity. In true ARP fashion, two envelopes are supplied; one full ADSR, and a more simplistic AR envelope, much like other ARP synths, such as the Odyssey or 2600.

Turn the page

If you had been hoping to take your modulation programming further, it’s then possible to turn to the Modulation Matrix, which allows the comprehensive routing of every conceivable source to one of 58 destinations. You can also route via performance controls, if you’re looking for momentary activation from a mod wheel or similar control element. 

You also have the option to work in single, double (layered) or split modes. As you go on to access these latter modes, a lower panel will appear, duplicating the controls for a second round of programming, upon selection of the appropriate layer.

The third and final page exposes an equally comprehensive set of effects and an arpeggiator. Included effects range from phasers and flangers to distortion, delay and reverb. These all have an extensive armoury of control, to sculpt the back-end output.

Banking the filters

We’re all used to the common concepts of subtractive synthesis, where you take a harmonically rich source and send it through a filter, removing the harmonics that you don’t want to hear. Sure enough, Cherry’s Pro Soloist supplies both a beautifully wispy high-pass filter, along with an incredibly weighty 24dB low-pass filter. 

Even at this more simplistic end of business, the attention to the modelling of the filter weight is impressive, resulting in a very employable sound. However, the Resonator Bank adds another huge dimension, allowing the creation of up to five different harmonic characteristics, which then feed the low-pass filter. This is one of the secrets of the machine’s design, as it allows the highlighting of certain harmonics, in order to help replicate the sounds of acoustic instruments. This was useful in a pre-sampling era, but in contemporary hands it’s more of a creative component that can bring something unique to your sound.

More solo!

Cherry Audio has included the original synth’s name and branding in this marvellous recreation, but the flipside is that that in itself may promote a small amount of confusion. The good news is that you can use Pro Soloist as ARP intended, as a monophonic machine, with acoustic similarities and tendencies, but you can also open up to full polyphonic operation, with broad-ranging editing, which is an unexpected and welcome surprise. Armed with 450 presets, Pro Soloist has the capacity to impress with its scope for diverse sounds and creativity. You might even say that it’s actually less of a soloist and more of an almighty chorus.

MusicRadar verdict: Cherry Audio is on a crusade, providing superbly different synths at attractive prices. An incredible gem; not to be missed.

Cherry Audio Pro Soloist: Hands-on demos

Cherry Audio

Audio Tech TV

Alex Reid

CatSynth TV

Cherry Audio Pro Soloist: Specifications

• macOS 10.13 or above. macOS 13 Ventura supported. 64-bit required. Native Apple M1 or greater processor support, including Ultra. 3.4 GHz Quad-Core or M1 CPU with 8GB of RAM recommended.
• Windows 7 or above (including Windows 11), 64-bit required. 3.4 GHz Quad-Core computer with 8GB of RAM recommended.
• CONTACT: Cherry Audio

If you are old enough to remember the '80s, then the classic clip of Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Thomas Dolby and Howard Jones playing the Grammys in 1985 will send you right back, slap-bang back into the middle of the decade of mullets and handheld synths. 

And if you’re not old enough to recall this ‘colourful’ time, then watch and learn youngling. This is the decade you missed, summed up in just under five glorious minutes. 

Yes, this video of Stevie , Herbie, Howard and Dolby playing a synth medley at the 1985 Grammy Awards is the most ‘80s thing ever committed to video, historians will probably confirm later today. In fact it wouldn't have been any more '80s even if Glenn Close had come on stage and boiled a rabbit in a pan while they played. 

It’s a performance that features four of the most well-known keyboard players of that era coming together on stage at the 27th annual Grammy Awards to play a medley which became known as 'the Great Synthesizer Showdown of ‘85'. 

Why did it happen? Well, we'll come to that later. For the moment, sit back and just drink it in. To witness these synth icons in full flow always makes our day – year, even (certainly Christmas) – and to get a lesson in synth history from the compère of the show (which you can see below)... well that’s just the icing on the ‘80s Black Forest Gateaux. 

We’ve been digging around the photo archives for that particular Grammy Awards show and it gets even better. Or at least even more '80s. Here’s the winner of Best New Artist Grammy, Cyndi Lauper, being carried by Hulk Hogan. Of course she is!

And in the interests of this story being more related to music production – and not just an excuse to look back and laugh at history – here's producer and songwriter Terry Britten picking up one of two awards for Record of the Year and Single of the Year with Tina Turner, for What's Love Got To Do With It.

And more '80s feels with Lionel Ritchie picking up an Album of the Year Grammy for Can't Slow Down. 

But as curious and '80s as the four-headed mega performance was at the top of this story, for us, the entire show was stolen by compère John Denver who introduced the whole performance with a lesson in synth history. John Denver on synths! Watch him intro the piece in this extended cut.

He correctly pronounced Moog 'Mogue, not Moog' and then detailed the intricate processing power of the synthesizer and its main aim of replicating real instruments. (Incorrect, really, but that's what people wanted them to do back then, so we'll let him off this time.) He then correctly pointed out the pioneering importance of Wendy Carlos before introducing the wonder quartet.

“There's no doubt that when the musical history of the 20th century has been written, one of the major chapters will highlight the influence of electronic keyboards,” Denver said.

“And that a section will be devoted to Stevie Wonder, who helped bring them into the use for pop music; to Herbie Hancock, who elevated [synths’] use in jazz to an incredibly new level; to Howard Jones and to Thomas Dolby, whose exciting use of electronic technology is helping to shape the music of the ‘80s.

"Sit back and hold on your seats, folks. This place might really explode!”

Indeed it did, and that was completely the desired effect according to Howard Jones. In 2020, he revealed the story behind the event to Yahoo, stating that the Grammys organisation wanted to celebrate the 'arrival' of the synthesizer. 

"The Grammys really wanted to mark the arrival of electronic instruments and sort of give it, I don’t know, a bit of credibility," Jones said. "And they wanted to use great legends, like obviously Stevie Wonder, and some new voices as well, like me and Thomas Dolby.

"It was a kind of celebration of keyboard players using new technology and making great music with it. I think it was a great move, and I think it really did mark a sort of turning point for electronic music."

"You have to remember," he continued, "that Queen used to put on one of their albums: 'No synthesizers at all used in the making of this record.' When you start out doing these new things, there’s always going to be a reaction. I suppose that’s just the way it’s always been. 

"But that [Grammy] moment kind of swept that away. I think people were like, 'Oh wow, these are musicians and they’ve got brains and they write; they’re just using a different instrument.' So I think that was a moment that changed things."

Jones also admitted that, as impactful as the performance undoubtedly was, not all of it was live. 

"I don’t think anybody would have been brave enough to play everything live," he said. "So we played some things over the top of it, and then the rest of it was pre-done in studio. I think that’s the only way to have achieved it for the Grammys. I think it would have been very risky otherwise!"

So there you have it: bonkers, brilliant and, as it turned out, quite an important event in the history of the synth. Maybe we can get Ricky Gervais to give a lesson in sampling to the assembled victims if ever he decides to do the Golden Globes again. 

Loopstyler is a pocket synth and sampler with (at least) 32 notes of polyphony, sampling, multitrack sequencing and looping. It fits in your pocket, plays like a Stylophone, sounds like a dream and will cost a couple of hundred Euros. We want one right now. 

Phonicbloom makes some crazy looking music gear, including a 'tuneable electronic tongue drum' (called Wing Drum) and Glo, the Polyphonic Whale, which is an ambient music producer that utilises environmental sounds around you. Of course it does. 

The company's latest device is Loopstyler, which you can play like a classic Stylophone. Use it as a tape looper, or program with a multitrack sequencer. Phonicbloom even claims it's an audio interface and MIDI controller, too, making it pretty much everything you can imagine in one pocket-sized unit. 

Loopstyler manages to cram in several sound engines including FM, Karplus‑Strong, granular and subtractive synthesis. But if these aren't enough, just sample in your own sounds and max out the supplied SD card. There are effects, too, and these can be added per voice or globally. 

There are four play modes on Loopstyler. Easy Play lets you select a sound from the 'vast' library, choose a scale and play the device like a Stylophone. Tape Loop sounds very interesting as you can loop recorded samples, and control playback using an accelerometer and a light sensor. 

The third mode is the multitrack sequencer where you build a track note by note and across multiple tracks using internal sounds or sampled sources. Then, finally, you probably have to be an advanced user to fully exploit 'Expert Programming', where you can sequence, arpeggiate, modulate, and more. The extensive manual is recommended for this one.

Loopstyler isn't available yet – Phonicbloom says it's likely to be ready in two to three months – but preorders are being taken and the price is €175 plus tax. 

More info on Phonicbloom's website.

Toontrack EZKeys Synthwave & EZX Expansion: What is it?

Many things in life are assured; night following day, and paying your taxes to name but two, but we could also mention Toontrack, which reliably creates useful products and expansions, for its ever-popular band-in-a-plugin software.

This time, it’s Synthwave that gets the Toontrack treatment, with the release of two expansion packs designed to fulfil your every whim, at least in terms of ’80s synth and drum sounds.

The branding ‘EZKeys Synthwave’ pretty much tells you everything that you need to know, but what’s less clear is how far you can go with this expansion.

You’ll need a copy of EZKeys, to act as host for this pack. If you don’t own EZKeys, there is an option to buy the application alongside the expansion, and of course once you have it, you can access all of the other EZKeys libraries.

Toontrack EZKeys Synthwave & EZX Expansion: Performance and verdict

The EZ remit is to assist producers or musicians, who are looking for inspiration in both sounds and phrases. Bizarrely, MIDI phrases do not ship with this pack as standard, meaning that you’ll be reliant on your own stylistic performances, or need to spend an additional €29 on the associated Synthwave MIDI notes and phrases pack. 

However, the expansion pack itself is filled to the brim with classic ’80s synth sounds. All sounds are categorised by menu, including basses, keys, leads, pads and more. There is a guitar category, but these are all synth-derived, with chord thrashing removed at source. 

The sonic quality of the content is excellent, being drawn from a plethora of vintage ’80s synths, ranging from analogue Roland Jupiters, to digital and FM-based Yamaha DXs. It’s all production-ready but with limited access to editing. 

Edit controls and parameters are patch-dependent, reflecting the chosen sound. You’ll generally have access to a global low-pass filter (cutoff control only), delay and reverb, with the occasional appearance of chorus or the release phase from the envelope. 

One thing we did notice is that the filter pot operates in reverse to what you might expect; when to the left, it’s open, and to the right, it’s closed! 

EZX Expansion

The ideal companion to EZKeys is the Synthwave expansion for EZDrummer 3 or Superior Drummer 3. You’ll also need either of these two packages in order to install Toontrack’s EZX expansion libraries. 

It may not surprise you to learn that this pack also contains a vast array of sounds, sourced from electronic drums and drum machines from the ’80s. Linn drums reside next to 808s and 909s, with 440 fully produced sounds which are ready-to-go. The 20 mix-ready kits are also accompanied by MIDI content; it’s a useful startpoint to select one of these kits, and then run the associated MIDI track, indicated by the same track and kit name. It’ll give you an instant ’80s feel, with minimum hassle. 

Within EZDrummer, you can also swap out different drums or other elements from within a kit, and while EZDrummer offers a basic amount of editing, Superior Drummer provides far more capacity for editing and controlling drum sources, such as control over a drum’s envelope.

The mixer page provides plenty of options for refining a selected kit, although for our money, the sounds are a cut above the average collection of electronic drums sounds, packing plenty of punch, albeit with a very stylised ’80s slant. 

Playing in pairs

These two expansion packs could be regarded as another completed tick on the Toontrack to-do list. Notably, the sonic content is exemplary, across both expansions, but the lack of sound editing, particularly within the EZKeys domain, might prove challenging to more seasoned synthesists. 

MusicRadar verdict: Given the popularity of Synthwave, these expansions are on-trend and sound fantastic, with a ton of sonic diversity.

Toontrack EZKeys Synthwave & EZX Expansion: Hands-on demos

Toontrack

HollywoodFloss1

Production Expert

Shootie School 

Toontrack EZKeys Synthwave & EZX Expansion: Specifications

• EZkeys: macOS 10.10 or higher, Intel or Apple silicon processor, 2 GB RAM. Windows 7 or newer, Intel or Athlon processor, 2 GB RAM. 4GB of free hard disk space. Audio Unit, VST 2 or AAX host application (64-bit on Mac). Standalone version included.
• EZX: 90 MB free disk space, 4 GB RAM (8 GB or more recommended).
  A working EZdrummer 3.0.5 (or above) or a Superior Drummer 3.3.5 (or above) installation.
• CONTACT: Toontrack 

Erica Synths Zen Delay Virtual: What is it?

The original Zen Delay landed in hardware form back in 2019. This desktop effect unit was a design collaboration between Latvian gear brand Erica Synths and venerated UK electronic label Ninja Tune, with label founder and Coldcut member Matt Black contributing to the design. 

The hybrid device combined a five-mode DSP-based delay effect with an analogue filter and valve-based distortion. We were impressed, concluding that its varied elements amounted to one of the most creative hardware effects in recent years.

Now Erica has released a plugin version, described as “not a replacement for the Zen Delay hardware but an addition to it”. This translates to a digital version that replicates the features of the hardware but also adds a variety of new settings and features.

Erica Synths Zen Delay Virtual: Performance and verdict

On the whole, the emulated elements sound pretty faithful to the hardware. Naturally, the DSP delay is ported over seamlessly, while the filter and drive make the transition to the digital realm with satisfying heft and grit intact. 

A certain amount of the tactile, hands-on ethos of the original is obviously lost in the transition from hardware to plugin; the joy of the original came from manually cranking the drive, feedback and tweaking the unsynced delay time, which is less satisfying using a mouse/keyboard. 

Fortunately, the main controls can be controlled via MIDI, CV, and it’s worth trying this to replicate that hardware experience.

Any shortcomings are, however, made up for by the added features. Most significant is the addition of onboard modulation via a pair of LFOs routed to delay time and filter cutoff. 

The lack of modulation was one of our few criticisms of the original hardware, and being able to create evolving patches adds considerably to the flexibility here. Along with the expected rate, level and waveform parameters, each LFO is also equipped with cross-modulation of both its frequency and amplitude. 

Combined, these allow for a broad range of effects, from subtly shifting dub delays to extreme and gnarly resonant freakouts.

The digital delay function has been significantly enhanced for the plugin version too. This gains a variety of new settings allowing users to change the bit rate, sample rate and white noise level. This is great for creating hard, crunchy digital effects and adding lo-fi character to a mix.

There are other functions added for the plugin version. There are more options for synced delay timings, including dotted and triplet timings. You can also alter the routing of the delay and filter, allowing for the filter to be placed in the feedback loop. 

Beyond this, Zen Core Virtual also benefits from the ability to save and access presets, with a varied selection of interesting treatments included from Erica’s sound designers. 

On the negative side, the plugin UI feels slightly dated and is lacking the slick convenience of rival creative delays from the likes of Arturia or FabFilter without features like in-built tutorials or visualisation for the LFOs. 

This aside though, the virtual version of Zen Core is a worthy counterpart to a killer creative effect.

MusicRadar verdict: One of our favourite hardware effects gets a worthy plugin counterpart that’s great for creative sound shaping.

Erica Synths Zen Delay Virtual: The web says

"It’s not especially cheap, but it sounds superb and expands on the hardware in meaningful and useful ways that maximise its sound design credentials."
MusicTech

Erica Synths Zen Delay Virtual: Hands-on demos

Erica Synths

Alberto Rizzo Schettino

Erica Synths Zen Delay Virtual: Specifications

• KEY FEATURES: Virtual delay plugin with five delay modes, analogue-style low pass filter and various modulation tools.
• CONTACT: Erica Synths

Considered by many to be the underrated dark horse of the vintage Roland Jupiter polysynth herd, the Jupiter-6 is getting some deserved time in the spotlight thanks to a new plugin emulation from Cherry Audio: the Mercury-6.

Released in 1983, the Jupiter-6 might have had two fewer voices than the Jupiter-8, but it set itself apart by offering an aggressive true multimode filter with 24dB/oct lowpass, 24dB/oct highpass and 12dB/oct bandpass modes. This harder edge makes it great for creating biting techno and electro.

Other notable features included support for multiple simultaneous waveforms in the oscillators and extensive modulation possibilities courtesy of the two LFOs and cross-mod capabilities. There were solo and poly unison modes, too.

Cherry Audio’s reboot promises all of this, while also addressing some of the Jupiter-6’s limitations. To wit, Mercury-6 offers velocity sensitivity, an improved split mode, and a layer mode that enables you to stack two different sounds simultaneously with per-layer stereo panning, detuning and sustain.

Polyphony has been upped to 16 notes - a no-brainer, really - and not only does the arpeggiator emulate the original’s down/up mode, but it also has a new random mode and MIDI tempo sync. Chord memory enables you to save multiple notes to a single keypress and play them back, and the aforementioned LFOs have a retrigger for LFO-1 and an always-on option for LFO-2, both syncable to MIDI tempo.

There’s now a dedicated effects panel that offers access to the distortion, phaser, flanger/chorus, delay and reverb processors, while further features include per-layer drift control, 500 presets and MIDI mapping.

Mercury-6 looks like a fine marriage of the vintage and the modern, then, and if Cherry Audio’s previous emulations are anything to go by, it should sound pretty good, too.

Find out more and download a demo on the Cherry Audio website. Mercury-6 runs on PC and Mac in VST/AU/AAX formats and is currently available for the introductory price of $49 (regular price $69). 

We live in an age of presets, and that’s a good thing. Sure, some might tell you that relying on presets is in some way cheating but having access to a vast array of premade and readily available sounds is not only inspiring but also a massive time-saver.

There are, however, considerable benefits to knowing how to build your own synth sounds from scratch. For one thing, with the resurgence of cheap analogue gear, we’ve seen a rise in synths that forego the inclusion of presets entirely, which can present a challenge for anyone not familiar with building a patch from scratch. 

More significantly though, understanding the core principles of how classic sounds come together can be of significant use even to those who rely largely on presets. Sure, your favourite synth might come stocked with a wealth of usable and inspiring sounds, but even the most generous library is never going to tick every box for every track you’ll ever work on. 

What happens when you discover a patch that is almost perfect but needs a little reshaping to work with your project? It’s moments like these when it’s invaluable to have a grasp of what makes a synth patch sound the way it does – how changing an oscillator type can alter the timbre of a sound, how to set an envelope to change a stab into a pad, or how effect types can drastically change the style of a sound.

In this article and a number of others linked below, we’ve selected 15 classic, bread-and-butter patches that make great go-to resources to have at your disposal. These are straightforward, transferable sounds that can make jumping-off points for a variety of more complex ideas and approaches. More importantly, they’re selected to give an overall grounding in the key elements of patch design.

A quick recap

Although creating sound from synthetic means (ie, not from the mechanical or physical movement) is not a new technique – it in fact extends back to the earliest days of experimentation with electricity – it is only really since the early 1980s that it has come to dominate whole genres of commercial music. This perhaps explains our current ‘vintage analogue’ fetishism – especially for a select band of synths produced between 1978 and 1984.

Subtractive synthesis is the usual starting point for those new to synth programming. This is explainable for a number of reasons – one that it was the dominant synthesis method of the first wave of commercial hardware, and another (perhaps more importantly) being that the concepts it uses are easy to understand and applicable elsewhere. 

Nowadays when the term ‘analogue’ is applied to a synth, it usually means it is based around certain fundamental subtractive synthesis building blocks. So why ‘subtractive’? In essence, because you start with something harmonically rich, and remove areas of the frequency spectrum using audio filters. 

The source of all this harmonic niceness is the oscillator section – in ‘proper’ analogue synths usually consisting of a few simple waveform types (square/pulse, sawtooth, triangle, sine etc). These all have their own distinct timbre, based on their different harmonic signatures.

Harmonic history

All sound can be reduced to a series of sine waves changing in level over time. Most common musical sounds have a frequency make-up that, as well the main frequency, includes frequencies at fixed ratios to this, the fundamental. The more of these harmonics that are present, the ‘richer’ the sound. 

The ‘subtraction’ is taken care of by a filter section that usually features a low-pass filter (LPF), though other filter types may also be present, including high-pass (HPF) and band-pass (BPF). Besides describing filters in these terms, we are usually given information about how severely they roll off frequencies at the ‘cutoff’ point, measured in decibels per octave (dB/oct). For example, an 18dB/oct HPF with its cutoff control set to 500Hz will reduce the level of anything at 250Hz (one octave below) by 18dB.

To create a sound that evolves over time, we use envelope generators. These create rising and falling control signals that can be used to alter filter cutoff, amplitude, or any other parameter. To this we might add LFOs to create vibrato or other faster cyclical modulation.

Since the arrival of affordable digital electronics in the 1980s, synths began to use digital oscillators with increasing numbers of waveforms. This eventually moved on to the larger scale sample storage systems used in ‘ROMplers’, that by this time had also digitised the filters, envelopes – everything in fact. 

However amidst this, manufacturers also seized on ‘digital’ methods to realise synths such as the Yamaha DX7 (FM synthesis), Korg Wavestation (wave sequencing), Kawai K5 (additive), among many others. Some of the techniques behind these systems were not new, but digital power allowed them to be realised in a commercially usable way. Flash forward several decades and current technology gives us easy access to all of these approaches: sometimes even several at once! 

5 patches you need to know

1. Synth drone

Creating a drone is, in theory, incredibly basic. It simply involves setting a synth’s amp envelope to being ‘always on’. There are several ways to go about this. Lots of synthesisers let users raise the amp level independently of any envelope, creating an instant drone. 

Alternatively, if your synth keyboard has a ‘hold’ function, you can use this to create a lingering note while keeping hands-free for tweaking parameters. In your DAW you could program either a single long note throughout your track length or, probably easier, a shorter looping one, then set your synth to ‘legato’ mode, so the envelopes aren’t retriggered with each new note. 

These approaches will create a boring static sound though, and the key to making drones work is movement. Slow modulation and lots of it is the order of the day – try routing LFOs to alter oscillator shape and pitch, or filter cutoff. The more parameters you can modulate, the more interesting the results.

2. Synth snare

Much like analogue kicks, classic drum machine snares are easy to replicate with a simple synth. Select a triangle wave as the first oscillator source and modulate its pitch with an envelope that provides just a little ‘bend’ during the Attack portion. Use a white noise generator as a second sound source and set a volume balance between this and the triangle wave. 

Then, use an amp envelope with no sustain, and decay is set to produce a more ‘snare like’ volume shape. To add more body to the sound, add a third oscillator – a duplicate of oscillator 1 but pitched down by 12 semitones. Finally, add some subtle distortion or saturation. There’s the basic snare sound done!

3. Synth hi-hats

Synthesising a hi-hat is incredibly easy – simply set a white noise generator as your source and use an attack/decay amp envelope to adjust the length of your hat as needed. To get rid of unnecessary frequencies, a high- or band-pass filter is a good addition to a hat patch. 

To create the interplay between short closed hats and longer open ones, try routing one of your synth’s LFOs to the decay length of the amp envelope. Sync this LFO to your project tempo, program an eighth or 16th-note hat pattern, then experiment with different shape and rate settings to create a groove that suits your track.

4. Percussive synth arp

Arpeggiated synths are a staple of electronic music; think Donna Summer’s I Feel Love or the theme tune to Stranger Things. While there’s no such thing as a set ‘arp sound’, these kinds of riffs work best with a percussive ‘pluck’ sound that’s simple to create. 

Any oscillator type will work – try a square/pluck for a vintage arp or stacked supersaw for something more EDM-like. The key is shaping a snappy amp envelope with 0 attack, a short decay and some release to taste. Use a similarly shaped envelope to modulate a low-pass filter, and adjust the amount of filter modulation to add movement and progression.

5. Synced lead

Hard sync is the ‘locking’ of one oscillator to another, so that the ‘locked’ oscillator’s waveform is retriggered every time the master oscillator repeats its wave cycle. The resulting sound is brash, with a strong attack. This is a classic approach for getting hard-hitting lead sounds. 

Set your synced oscillator pitch to -12 semitones below that of the master osc. As you play or trigger your riff, sweep or modulate the synced oscillator’s pitch to create searing timbral changes. This approach sounds great coupled with other approaches, like basic two oscillator FM or wavefolding – anything that can allow you to get creative with the relationship between the two synced oscillators.  

10 more...

• How to make an acid bassline
• How to make a reese bass
• How to make a house organ
• How to make an analogue-style kick
• How to make a Minimoog-style bass
• How to make an ambient pad
• How to make a rave chord stab
• How to make synth sweep FX
• How to make synth strings
• How to make a synth choir

This week, we're publishing a series of tutorials that cover the most essential, bread-and-butter synth patches that should be in every aspiring synthesist's arsenal, as part of our guide to the 15 synth patches every producer should know. Today, we design synth sweeps for use in build-ups and drops.

If you’ve ever so much as switched on your radio and heard dance or pop music, you’ll be familiar with a sweep effect. 

They’re the transition sounds used to build or release tension, usually coming just before or after the start of a new section, such as a drop, chorus or breakdown. The most common of these would be ‘risers’ – sounds that build up, creating drama before a big change – but the opposite effect, ‘downers’ are equally commonplace.

The principle behind a synth riser is simple: create a sound, often simply using a white noise oscillator, then run it through a low-pass filter, and gradually (or quickly) automate the filter cutoff so that it ‘opens up’ to create an increasing rush of drama. However, as with any basic synthesis technique, creating a ‘pro’ effect comes down to nuance and polish. 

Let’s explore some of the easier ways to take risers off their well-trodden path, looking at effects that can shape a sweep in more interesting ways. 

Let’s create a simple sweep, using Arturia Pigments. We’ll use a noise generator as our sole oscillator source, feeding into a low-pass filter with a small resonance bump. 

Sweeping the cutoff frequency of the filter creates the effect we’re after. We can either do this manually, automate it in our DAW or modulate it with one of our synth’s LFOs or envelopes.

The riser sounds undynamic and very dry, so let’s add reverb and delay. For consistency, one approach we could use is to send the sweep to existing auxiliary effects we’re using on other parts of our track. 

Next we add a compressor on the white noise sound, sidechaining this from our kick drum. Now the riser feels more ‘in time with the groove’.

Now that we’ve created a bread-and-butter filter sweep we can try a few creative effects to put a more unique spin on the sound. First we add a vintage-style phaser to introduce even more movement. 

Modulating the rate of this adds to the dramatic tension of our FX. Overt distortion or bitcrushing can work well here too, resulting in a change of timbre as the sweep reaches its climax.

We can put an alternative spin on these sweep effects by using a pitched oscillator instead of a noise source. To do so, we return to step 1, and swap our noise generator for a basic analogue-style oscillator creating a simple saw wave. 

As well as sweeping the filter cutoff, we can modulate a sweep in the oscillator’s pitch to increase tension, using an envelope with a long, slow attack stage.

The same effect treatments we used on our white noise sweep can be applied to this pitched version. 

One additional tool that can add width and presence to the sound is unison. This adds detuned copies of the rising saw wave, thickening the sound. Many plugin synths also offer the ability to spread this effect across the stereo field.

While these sweep techniques are very simple in principle, there’s a multitude of ways to play with the sound, such as using different noise or oscillator types, and altering filter styles and resonance settings. 

The key is to create a tone and movement that works in context, building tension and movement in a way that suits your track.

Over the coming days, we'll be publishing a series of tutorials that cover the most essential, bread-and-butter synth patches in every aspiring synthesist's arsenal as part of our guide to the 15 synth patches every producer should know. Today, we take on the analogue-style kick.

Many producers use premade samples, often captured from classic hardware. This captures the exact sound of the unit, but also means that you’re stuck with the sample’s particular timbre and pitch curve. 

For realistic drum kit sounds, a sample or recording will always offer more realism. However, electronic drum machine kicks are commonly created using fairly simple synthesis approaches that can be easily replicated in a synth and doing so offers a more customisable approach. 

The kick we’ll create is in the same ballpark as a classic 808 – a weighty kick that could also be used as a bass part – but with a few adjustments it can suit a variety of different styles. For further flexibility, try layering a synth kick like this with a sampled attack or top layer for extra depth.

The actual kick sound from the original 808 is made using a resonating CV trigger – essentially a short pulse in a feedback loop. However, it’s simple to recreate most of its character using a simple subtractive synth (any with a filter and a few routable modulation sources will do). A basic sine oscillator gives us a clean sound that works well as a start point.

According to the original 808 manual, the kick was supposed to be tuned to 56Hz – the equivalent of a slightly sharp low A in note terms. In DAW terms, anything between E0 and C1 on a piano roll will sound about right. Feel free to experiment though. At this stage we’re simply looking for low-end weight; we’ll add mid-range punch next. 

The key to turning this into something kick-like is the use of envelopes. The first is a short A/D envelope, routed positively to course oscillator pitch, and used to create a snappy ‘punch’ at the start of the sound. 

The key parameters are decay and modulation. More modulation will result in a more audible punch. We want a short decay; too long will sound ‘bouncy’, but too short can be clicky.

Next we turn to the amp envelope. This will shape the overall length and volume of the kick. We’ll keep the attack near minimum so our kick maintains punch, but beyond this there’s no right or wrong settings. 

Shape your kick to suit the pace and tone of your track. A short decay with a little sustain will help to add body, while long release will introduce that classic drawn-out, 808-style sub.

Effects bring this kick patch to life. A little saturation will go a long way to helping the sound gel, while more overt distortion can help a sub-heavy kick cut through a mix. Compression will help shape your kick too. We’re using Pigment’s multiband compressor to add further low-end weight and emphasise the attack punch. 

Pro tip

Long 808 kicks have a clearly defined pitch, although their tuning isn’t quite stable and rises and falls as the decay trails off. Replicate this using a slow sine or triangle LFO, set to retrigger with each kick, and routed to introduce a subtle drift in oscillator pitch.