Black Corporation’s Jupiter-8-esque ISE-NIN synth is almost ready for prime time

(Image credit: Black Corporation)

You might struggle to pronounce its name - “ee-seh-nin” is the way to go, apparently - but the good news is that you can definitely pre-order Black Corporation’s イセーニン (or ISE-NIN) synth, and it should be here in a matter of weeks

Inspired by Roland’s Jupiter-8, we first heard about the ISE-NIN last year, and it was scheduled to be released by the end of 2021. However, logistical problems and a delay in part delivery meant that this date was missed.

The ISE-NIN offers eight voices, each of which comprises a fully-analogue voltage-controlled oscillator, analogue low-pass/high-pass filter, a noise generator, two ADSR envelopes and a VCA.

Two different presets can be layered, though by doing this you’ll limit the number of voices to four. Each layer can have its own fully assignable velocity and poly-aftertouch controls and global MPE settings.

The ISE-NIN can be controlled via MIDI and can store 10 banks of 128 presets. There’s also microtuning and an arpeggiator.

The full desktop version of the ISE-NIN costs $3749; a $1,199 deposit is required to pre-order it, with the balance to be paid when it’s ready to ship. This is expected to be in March. The PCB kit version costs $999 and requires a $299 if you want to pre-order it.

You can find out more and place your order on the Black Corporation website.

Black Corporation ISE-NIN — (Image credit: Black Corporation)

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.