Saw Bench: the $100 analogue hardware synth

By Ben Rogerson
( Future Music )
published

Get a barebones version for even less

You're not exactly short of options if you want an affordable hardware synth, but Tasty Chips Electronics' Saw Bench still catches the eye thanks to its 100% analogue signal path and $100 price.

This single oscillator instrument sports a four-pole diode ladder filter, frequency modulation, two separate ADSR envelopes for the VCA and VCF and an LFO. It can respond to MIDI control and comes with six knobs, two buttons and two toggle switches (four of the knobs can be switched to control one of three different parameters at a time).

Currently the subject of a Kickstarter campaign, $60 will get you a barebones Saw Bench, $80 will get you a DIY model with a case, and $100 will get you the fully-built synth.

(Via Create Digital Music)

Ben Rogerson
Ben Rogerson

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.