Keytars come in for some serious stick so how about a shift in the paradigm and have a synth you can strum instead? I mean, it worked for the Omnichord!

Keytars for the Win!

Everybody loves to hate keytars. Being a teen in the 80s means that I love them. I could finally strut my stuff on stage like the guitarists and get all the girls. Obviously, that NEVER happened. Ah well, maybe Elyra from BLL Instruments will change all that?

Elyra from BLL Instruments – What Is It?

At first glance, Elyra looks like a plank of wood with a large white plate glued on the top. However, look more closely and you can start to see there’s more to it than that. The body of the instrument is indeed a lovely piece of wood. Into this is carved all the recesses needed to accommodate the technology.

The playing surface comprises two strumming areas, a fretboard that contains the “strings” and a chord area. Beneath (or above?) these areas are the controls for the Elyra which includes an OLED screen. The buttons are “soft” buttons, i.e. their function is defined by what’s on screen.

To play the Elyra, you can sling it over your shoulder to strum like a proper guitarist, or you can lay it down on a flat surface and use it more like the aforementioned Omnichord. I am certain comparisons will be made between the two.

The Elyra Synth Engine

Things continue to get more interesting with the synthesis engine. Made by Kodamo, the team behind the brilliant EssenceFM and the very cool MASK1, it is a virtual analog affair with some FM thrown in for good measure. With 16 voices of polyphony, shared by all tracks, it is also 16 part multitimbral. The Elyra comes loaded with 256 factory presets and 1024 user presets.

There are 15 oscillator waveforms to choose from as well as the FM capability. Separate pitch and amplitude envelopes are joined by a 2-pole -12dB/Oct low pass and a 4-pole -24dB/Oct high pass filter. A pair of LFOs give you plenty of modulation options. There’s also a healthy complement of digital FX.

The onboard sequencer allows you to construct patterns of 256 steps. Each ‘project’ can contain 128 patterns. The SD card has the capacity for 999 projects. Power comes via a 5V USB port.

More Information

Despite the obvious Omnichord comparisons, Elyra has a much more capable and distinctive synth engine. It can also be played in several different ways. Will become a new way for keyboard players to traverse the stage? Who knows, we might see more guitarists delving into synthesis!

Elyra from BLL Instruments is available now via their website for $1,099 USD or €1,199 EUR.

• BLL Instruments Website
• More from BLL Instruments

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Softube Model 82 is a groovy attempt to recapture those SH-101 club sounds of 1990s techno and it’s a lot of fun. Now only €19 with our exclusive code.

Softube Model 82 deal

Now available for €19 with coupon code PBNL53 at Plugin Boutique.

Softube Model 82

Available for €19 (with coupon code “PBNL53”) at

Model 82

[Originally posted on 8th June 2022] Softube never likes to say what synthesizer it bases its emulations on. But in this case, it’s clearly the Roland SH-101. While the synth was produced in the early 80s, the vibe Softube are going for is set firmly in the club culture of the 1990s and they nailed it.

Both the Model 72 and the Model 84 were brilliant, so I’m expecting great things from this emulation. The idea is to try to capture the feelings as well as the sound of this synth. Softube says something about “Rock & Roll Science” which conjures up images of trashed laboratories and professors snorting coke off each other’s arses. But it could also mean that the designers have gone beyond the attention to detail and inhabit some kind of heart and soul emulation. Or maybe let’s get a grip on ourselves and enjoy it as a mono synth with a couple of waveforms, a cool filter and a useful envelope.

Softube went to a lot of trouble to model the sequencer and arpeggiator in the hope of instilling Model 82 with that elusive inspiration and improvisational quality.

No software emulation would be complete without some extras. The interface has been optimised for a quicker workflow, and velocity and aftertouch have been stuck in. And there’s a new Drive knob for a bit of saturation and some stereo enhancements.

Honestly, it looks and sounds totally brilliant and while it’s been done before I always enjoy Softube’s take on these things. I’m also loving the crappy signs of wear on the GUI.

Modular

The other groovy thing Softube does is pull the synthesizer apart into individual modules that can then run inside Softube Modular. And so you get the VCO, LFO, VCF-VCA, FX and ENV as separate patchable modules.

This is also brilliant.

So, for €79 Softube has nailed the Roland SH-101 in software form with all the right nuance and extras. Great stuff.

• Softube Model 82 webpage.
• More from Softube.
• Available from Plugin Boutique via this affiliate link.

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Everyone’s favourite indie plugin developer, TAL, launches TAL-Pha which emulates the late 80s Roland classic, the Alpha Juno 2 and its rack-mounted sibling.

In the Days of the Hoover

The original Alpha Junos (there were two) were somewhat of an anomaly when they were released. The synth landscape had become distinctly digital. Yamaha’s DX7 had ushered in the new age three years previously. Everyone and their mother were scrambling to be the latest digital king of the castle.

And yet Roland seemed hell-bent on sticking with analog synthesis, albeit enhanced by digital technology. It wouldn’t be until a year or so after the Alpha Juno 2 that they’d finally dip their toe into the digital waters with the D50. In doing so, they pretty much killed the aforementioned DX7.

Alpha Junos would find a home with the young and creative minds behind the emerging dance music wave of the late 80s and early 90s. No doubt fuelled by their low secondhand prices and their ability to play chords with a single key, Alpha Junos became highly sort after.

TAL-Pha from TAL Software

And now we can relive those days at a fraction of the cost of the original, courtesy of TAL Software. Their new plugin, which has been the subject of some speculation over the last few days, launched today. Using an MKS-50, Roland’s rack version of the Alpha Juno 2, as a model, they have faithfully recreated this modern classic.

As well as adding modern features and functions, it nails the sound of the original. Better still, it can read and convert sysex from the original (Alpha Juno 2 and MKS-50). And if you own an original of either of those units, TAL-Pha can be used as a software controller/editor/librarian!

TAL-Pha gives us everything about the original that made it so popular. DCO’s, and LFO that can operate at a very slow rate, PWM, comprehensive VCF, VCA and those all-important chord memories. On top of that, we get aftertouch, and MPE support, multi-mode arpeggiator, individual tuning for the DCOs (which makes them VCOs!) and support for microtuning.

There’s a comprehensive FX section and a stereo unison mode that can stack up to seven voices. Surprisingly, or maybe not, there is no on-screen recreation of the much-maligned data wheel!

More Information

The plugin is available as in VST, VST3, AU, AAx and CLAP flavours and will work on 64-bit Windows, Linux and Mac systems, including Apple Silicon.

TAL-Pha retails for $80 USD but has an introductory discount of 20% meaning you can pick this up for a mere $64 USD. A demo version is available.

• TAL Software Website
• More from TAL Software

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Polyend have been making some very cool stuff recently. The Polyend Play+ and Tracker Mini are just two great examples. These two portable powerhouses have got you covered for sampling, sequencing, synthesis and effects. And now, for a limited time, they are both available with €100 off over at the Thomann store!

Polyend Play+ and Tracker Mini On Offer

The Play+ is a hugely powerful tool that encompasses a sequencer that can drive both its internal sound generation and external gear too. Its large surface is dominated by 8×20 RGB-coloured pads that can be used for sequencing or firing off sounds and loops, Ableton style. There’s a good size screen for ample user feedback and plenty of knobs for deep control.

The Polyend Tracker Mini harks back to early, non-linear sequencing days. I never fully got into trackers as I started out with the more traditional linear ways of making music. But there is a large tracker fanbase out there. Polyend clearly saw a market and leapt right in. Featuring a built-in sampler with its own mic, you can use your sounds as well as those provided to create your music on the go. The integrated battery means you’re not tied to your desk and can make music anywhere.

More Information

Both of these devices are available at Thomann with a healthy €100 discount. But hurry, it’s a limited deal!

The Polyend Play+ is available for €699 EUR, down from €799 EUR

Polyend Play+

Customer rating:

(3)

Available for 699.00 € at

The Polyend Tracker Mini is available for €599, down from €699 EUR

Polyend Tracker Mini

Customer rating:

(9)

Available for 599.00 € at

The deal is on until February 29th 2024, whilst stock lasts. Get in quick because these will fly off the shelves.

• Deal at Thomann  (affiliate)
• Polyend website
• More about  Polyend

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Moog overhauls your bottom end with the fat, punchy and dynamic Mariana bass synth. It borrows liberally from the Taurus, Sub Phatty, Minitaur and Model D and yet finds depth in its own identity. Now with 50 % off!

Deal

You can currently get the software synthesizer plugin Mariana with a price reduction of 50% off the original price – check here at Plugin Boutique (affiliate)!

Moog Mariana

Available for $ 57.66 at

Mariana – Review

It should seem odd to feel excited by the arrival of another software instrument from a company famous for its dedication to hardware. But Moog has consistently produced superb software instruments that can brilliantly innovate like the Animoog or lovingly replicate like the Model 15 and Model D App. The recent MoogerFooger effects plugins even challenged the way plugins can interact within a DAW. Who knew that such a classic old manufacturer could push so well into new concepts? And so I met the arrival of Mariana with a good-sized bucket load of glee.

It’s a Bass Synthesizer

First and foremost, Mariana is designed as a bass synthesizer. It gathers all the low-end tones and deep waveforms like dark clouds brewing for a storm. The front end is so remarkably familiar (almost boringly so) that you have no inkling of the immense pressure of movement about to be unleashed upon your speakers. By golly, this has some punch.

Mariana is actually two synths layered on top of one another, identical, combined and yet fiercely independent. Each synth features a dual oscillator, sub-oscillator, multi-coloured noise generator, high and low pass filter, and a separate filter for the sub. Each synth has three LFOs, envelopes for the filter and amplifier, a separate modulation envelope and two random generators. It’s all mixed together through effects and various forms of saturation and compression. To say it’s meaty is an understatement.

Dual Oscillations

The foundation of the Mariana can be found in the interplay of the three oscillators. Our primary sound source is the Dual Oscillator, which houses two VCOs with shared waveform selection and Duty Cycle. The Duty Cycle is interesting in that it pushes that PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) sound on all five waveforms, not just the pulse wave.

OSC 1 takes the lead, and you can set the frequency to plus or minus 7 semitones. OSC 2 follows diligently along until you want to push it off the rails. You shift timbres by moving the OSC 2 waveform to 360 degrees out of phase. Or you can introduce some subtle detuning to find beats and wobbles or shift it anything up to 7 semitones away for instant dyads. An Octave switch can throw OSC 2 up one or two octaves, bringing in a whole load of new harmonics. Alternatively, you can enjoy the deliciousness of locked waveforms by hitting the Hard Sync button. Glide gives you more than enough slides between the notes, and Key Reset switch will ensure everything starts together on a new note if that’s what you want.

Voicing

A Voicing panel gives you some choice over how the oscillators respond to the monophonic nature of the synth; whether they retrigger, play legato or “Add” which uses the current envelope value as the bassline for retriggering. The Dual OSC SPREAD knob pushes the oscillators left and right for a gorgeous stereo image. And finally, an Accent button drives some more energy into the envelopes when you hit high velocities.

The Dual Oscillators are completely thrilling. Often, a monosynth will pull your focus to the filter, but there is so much tonal potential in the oscillator section that you find yourself spending a lot of time here. But we’re not done yet.

Feeling the Sub-Oscillator

The final piece of the oscillator puzzle is the SUB OSC. Commonly, this is a square wave oscillator set one or two octaves below the main oscillator, but here we have more things to explore. You’ve got three waveforms, phase shifting, and a choice of one or two lower octaves or a Linked lower octave, which will follow any tuning changes of OSC 1. With a bit of thought, you can set all three oscillators to different notes for some very cool chord action.

I should mention the Noise generator because, like so much of Moog Mariana , it has more than what we normally expect from a synth of this kind. The knob is centred on the full frequency spectrum of White noise but then tilts into the lower frequencies with Pink and Red and higher frequencies with Blue and Purple. Noise for every occasion.

All four sound sources are mixed through the Mixer section. The manual says that pushing the levels above 7 will introduce a small amount of overdrive. I would say that other than the increased loudness, there’s a tiny bit more instability, but nothing to write home about. But then, the waveforms are not entirely pristine to begin with. They are imperfectly shaped, scarred with the insecurities of detailed analogue emulation, and full of character in all the best possible ways.

Let there be Filters

For the main oscillators, we have a pair of resonant Moog filters doing exactly what you imagine them to. Both the low pass and high pass filters have fully modulatable cutoff and resonance controls and a bipolar knob to control the amount of the hard-wired filter envelope that’s being fed to the frequency.

The lowpass filter is tantalizingly smooth, carving its way artistically through those frequencies and with not too much drop-off as you push up the resonance. The resonance builds up layers of brightness all the way round to approaching 8, when it starts to collapse into self-oscillation. But it’s not an instant fall into turmoil; you have a whole area of spasm and cliff-edge tension before it whistles its way to a perfect sine wave. With all the sound sources turned down, you have a perfectly playable if slightly flat, sine wave oscillator. The High Pass has a lot less ambition but does a great job of pulling down the boominess and introducing higher tones.

We have some options on the signal routing through the filters, which give a very different result. The default is Serial, which runs the two main oscillators and the noise through the low pass and then the high pass, giving you bandpass opportunities when both filters are engaged. In Parallel mode, the same sources go through each filter independently, and the result is mixed together. In HPF Noise mode, the main oscillators go through the low pass, and the Noise is routed to the high pass.

Crossing over

The OSC CROSSOVER is an interesting function that feels a lot like you are crossfading between the main VCOs and the Sub. In fact, as you turn it right, it applies a low pass to the Sub, or if you turn it left, it applies a high pass to the VCOs. It effectively isolates the sub-oscillator and drives the sound apart so that the sub sits flat at the bottom, leaving the higher frequencies and stereo image to the VCOs.

Finally, the last control on the Synth page is the filter for the Sub Oscillator. The Sub gets to have its own journey through the synth and can enjoy the benefits of highpass, bandpass or lowpass sculpting.

There’s a huge amount of tonal capacity in these filters. The separation of the sub gives it its own life and character rather than just being in a supporting role; it could be its own synth! Sometimes I wish I could run everything through the one filter or, perhaps, link the cutoff controls together so I do not have to work quite so hard. But this is no time to get lazy; the versatility is amazing.

CNTRL Page

All the usual modulation functions have been relegated to a separate CNTRL Page for each synth. They carry the ADSR envelopes for the Amp and Filter, a six-stage Mod Envelope, three LFOs and a pair of Random Voltage generators. While the Amp and Filter envelopes are hard-wired, pretty much everything else is fair game in the Modulation engine, which we’ll come to in a minute.

The LFOs have five wave shapes with phase shifting, sync and keyboard reset options. The rate goes from a nicely slow 00.5Hz up to a decent 50Hz, but there’s no real opportunity for a bit of audio rate modulation or FM synthesis, at least from the front panel. Maybe we’ll find something in the Modulation engine to help with that. The Modulation Envelope lets you add in up to two seconds of delay and stick a Hold stage between Attack and Decay. The Random generators produce various voltage values based on either Sample & Hold, audio rate noise or Perlin Noise, with or without slew to take off the edges.

All of the modulation modules can be in use throughout Mariana, which has the potential to get overwhelming. Fortunately, Moog has included a Modulation Summary panel on the right that lists all the current sources and destinations. It also holds onto the ones you’ve tried and turned off again until you ask it to clear disabled connections, which is something I find very useful.

There’s movement all over the place

Almost everything can be modulated. The one thing I’ve noticed that can’t be, are any of the waveform selection controls, which is a little disappointing as swapping wave shapes can add a dramatic amount of difference to a bassline. But let’s not dwell on the only missing thing and get stuck into how full and fabulous the modulation engine is.

Right-click any knob, and the modulation panel pops up on the left side and lets you add any of the available sources of modulation to that control. You’ve got all the modulators from both CNTRL pages, and you’ve got Global Modulators such as velocity, keyboard tracking, mod-wheel, aftertouch, release velocity and MPE’s magic third dimension if you’re using an MPE Controller. There’s also a bunch of Control Voltage options that we’ll come to separately.

Each source has an expanded panel that lets you enable it and set the amount of modulation in positive or negative directions. This is also reflected in an animated ring of colour around the knob itself. But there’s a lot more going on in this panel. You can add a second modulator to scale the depth of the first modulator. It’s like running your LFO through a VCA and letting an envelope control its level. And finally, you have a long list of Functions that you can use to transform the modulation. There’s scaling, offsetting, range limiting, filtering, slewing and even bouncing ball physics to play with.

In-depth modulations

The detail here is quite extraordinary, with acres of space to either let your modulations run wild or precisely craft them to your exact requirements. The depth and versatility are superb, and the visual feedback in the panels is helpful. However, in trying to find something to moan about, there’s a small design decision that drives me a little nuts. When you allocate a modulation source and close the expanded window, the list of modulators shows you what’s active and puts what looks like a little knob alongside displaying the modulation amount. But it’s not a knob; it’s a cruel tease that doesn’t let you change anything. Clicking on it just reveals the expanded panel in which you can change the modulation amount, but that’s twice as many clicks as needed. Why not make the knob a knob?

CV Modulation

Mariana’s Control Voltage aspect is completely fascinating. Sadly, it has nothing to do with hardware CV routing or patching your external modular synths into the fray; instead, this has to do with CV routing between different Moog plugins. This feature was introduced with the MoogerFooger effects plugins, which allowed you to route CV from one plugin to another.

This means you can route Mariana’s LFO to something like the feedback on the MF-104S Delay, or the Random source to the animation pattern on the MF-105S MuRF. You can go the other way, bringing the LFO from the MF-102S RingMod in to control the Mariana’s filter cutoff. You can also do it between different instances of Mariana.

Although you could wonder why you’d need any additional modulation considering the wealth of movement you already have within Mariana, the concept of internal, inter-plugin CV routing is simply brilliant. I’m not sure how Moog has pulled it off, but it’s the sort of functionality that ought to become standard in every software synth and plugin.

Let’s hear Moog Mariana

With your oscillators sounding awesome, your filters throbbing, and your modulators moving the heck out of everything, it’s time to turn our attention to where it all ends up: at the output.

The Output page is split into three. You’ve got Synth 1 and 2 Effects sections on the left and right and a chunky-looking Summing section in the middle.

For both synths, there’s some pretty heavy saturation. You can choose from Tube, Tape or Drive and then pile it on until your speakers fall apart. The three types are quite distinct, particularly when dialling in just a little bit, although I’m not sure it understands the nature of “a little bit”. Looking at the waveforms on a scope, the Tube saturation pushes higher and louder while the Tape pushes wider and fatter, and the Drive lops the top off. All of it is juicy, dripping with warmth and thoroughly satisfying.

The next bit is, for me, at least, a bit odd. Synth 1 has a delay effect, and Synth 2 has a chorus. Both are great effects, really nice, modulatable and interesting, but why have only one on each synth? Why can’t they be global effects or send effects where you can route some of each synth to them? And there’s no reverb, which, on one hand, makes the Mariana feel very full-on all the time, but on the other, gives it a rather stark dryness.

All the summing

In the Summing section, we have individual level control over each synth, with panning and an overall volume control. In the great-looking VU display, we have Correlation showing the phase difference between the left and right channels and Gain Reduction from the compressor. The compressor does a great job of squashing everything together, and then you can use the FET emulation to introduce some feedback to push up the volume to a remarkable level of epic punchiness.

Conclusions about Moog Mariana

You can get some huge sounds out of this thing. It’s all the way analogue without even a hint of digital cleverness. The superb 200-plus presets are a testament to that. Did I mention that there are two synthesizers in here? Most people would be completely happy with one and then perhaps load up another instance if they needed more layers of tone. But having two built-in together gives it another, fuller dimension and encourages you into more adventurous sound design. It also lets you use them in a dynamic duophonic mode if you want.

The sound is as fat and grungy as any hardware bass synth needs to be. There’s no need for a vintage knob to dial in the instability; the grit is baked in from the start. The way the oscillators interact is really satisfying, and then you’ve got this other, deep-natured animal running around in the shape of a sub-oscillator, which doesn’t just underpin the sound; it becomes its own entity. This is a thoroughly awesome analogue synthesizer.

If you run Mariana standalone, you also get a little configurable touch keyboard, which works brilliantly on Windows touch screens and probably on the iPad too. You can emulate pressure by where you touch the key or by sliding your finger/mouse forward and backward.

Moog Mariana: Annoyances?

However, it does have its annoyances. The indicators on the knobs are hard to see. Moog appears to be aware of this because there’s an option to turn on thick white “knob position highlights”, but they tend to ruin the vintage look of the thing. Unless you’re on the Output page, there’s no indication that anything is being played, not even a MIDI activity LED. I’ve lost time fiddling with the panel of one synth only to find I’m playing the other one while this one is muted. Maybe the Mute buttons could be duplicated into the toolbar, or perhaps the Synth tabs could flash green when it’s played so you’d have a better sense of what’s going on.

Overall, the interface is beautifully classic but it’s also a bit dull and samey and could perhaps use some of the Grandmother’s colour to better highlight the sections. The MIDI Mapping is also just slightly tucked out of the way, just enough to be annoying. However, you can save mappings for each preset and even share them, which is very cool.

These things are mere trifles compared to the riot at your fingertips and do little to detract from enjoying the ride. Mariana manages to lean heavily into classic hardware while exploring some new thoughts of its own. It’s highly familiar, vastly modulatable and has the bone-rattling power of the bottom end of Moog’s fattest tones. This isn’t a synth; it’s a reckoning.

• Moog Music website.
• More from Moog Music.

Moog Mariana Bass Synth

Available for €52 at

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The Boutique Call nobody asked for is happening as hip and trendy fashion house Supreme lend their design skills to a couple of mini Roland units.

When Street Fashion Meets Music Tech

In recent years, Roland attempted to popularise their oft-imitated trade dress of their 808 and 909 drum machines. There were authorised sneakers and jackets and the like. There was even a tram featuring 808 imagery.

Now it seems it’s the other way around. Supreme, who my kids tell me are some trendy sort of streetwear fashion house in New York, have styled out a couple of Roland Boutique units. Music tech history is lightly peppered with such things. Mostly, it’s custom jobs for major artists.

We’ve had units available in multiple colours. The Behringer TD-3 and RD-6 spring to mind. Nothing but a weak sales ploy, in this correspondent’s opinion. However, there must be a market for it, just one that doesn’t remotely appeal to this old man!

White Lines

As part of their Spring/Summer 2024 Accessories preview, Supreme have taken two Roland Boutique’s, namely the TR-08 and the JU-06A, painted them white and slapped their logo on them. The latter has been paired with the K25m, also painted white. The TR-08 doesn’t look too bad. They’ve inverted the main body colour and that of the area surrounding the step buttons.

This looks ok because it contrasts nicely with what we already know. However, the JU-06A fares less well. Also coloured white, they’ve slapped the Supreme logo right across the front panel. This makes looking at the already painfully small UI even more so.

Just A Paint Job

In terms of features, these units are the same as the originals. Just more brightly coloured. The only thing that may slightly be improved is your street cred. Or, in my case, greatly reduced.

More Information

Information on these units is as sparse as the colour palette that Supreme have used. Supreme say that the Spring/Summer 2024 collection goes on sale on Thursday 15th February, 17th in Japan & South Korea. No price, however. Just a few pretty pictures and ladles of ridicule and praise in equal measure, no doubt. The sound of wallets being drawn from pockets by hands still damp with beard oils and man-bun bands grows in the distance.

For those not fussed about a new paint job, the originals are still available and, no doubt, priced a bit more sensibly than these will be.

Roland JU-06A

Customer rating:

(54)

Available for 399.00 € at

Roland Boutique K-25m Keyboard

Customer rating:

(90)

Available for 109.00 € at

Roland TR-08

Customer rating:

(81)

Available for 389.00 € at

• TR-08 and JU-06A at Supreme
• Roland’s website
• More news from Roland

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Korg’s sample-based workstation the M1 is one of the best-selling synthesizers of all time. Along with Roland’s D-50, it finally put analogue synthesis to bed and heralded in a new age of shiny digital music. But is it still relevant in the 21st century? 

Korg M1

Cast your eyes (and ears) back to the late 1980s. The race to develop a new kind of digital synthesis had been on since 1983 when Yamaha unleashed the DX7 on the world. FM was out though since Yamaha had exclusive rights over the patent. Sample synthesis would end up being the big thing, with Roland finally dropping the popular D-50 in 1987. However, Korg would significantly up the ante the following year with one of the most popular synthesizers of all time: the M1 Music Workstation.

The clue to its popularity was in the name Workstation. Yes, its 16-bit PCM sounds were incredible, and its multi-effects section was a revelation. It also had drum samples – a first for a synth – plus a serviceable sequencer. But by bringing all of this together, Korg had invented an all-in-one machine that could take you from initial sound programming through to finished song. It was a revelation and it flew off the shelves.

Korg M1: Welcome To AI Synthesis

Korg’s M1 was sample-based, although it was not a sampler. Taking what they had learned with their DSS-1, Korg created a sample synthesis system called AI. Standing not for Artificial Intelligence but the (honestly rather awkward) Advanced Integrated, it combined multi-sampled waveforms, computer-generated DWGS waves replicating standard waveforms, sampled attack portions like on the D-50, and others. Korg managed to cram these 16-bit sounds into a measly 4 MB of ROM but users could purchase additional sounds on ROM cards.

The 16-voice, eight-part multitimbral M1 was more than just a basic ROMpler though (that branch of synths didn’t actually exist yet). This was a true synthesizer, just with sampled sounds as the source. It was ones and zeroes through and through. With two digital oscillators, a digital lowpass (though non-resonant) filter and three multipoint digital envelopes, there was a lot you could do to change sounds – although the presets sounded so good, most did not (see below for more).

Korg M1: You Gotta Work

While the M1 undoubtedly sounded good, it was the workstation aspect of it that set it apart from the new wave of digital instruments like the D-50. First of all, it had a proper multi-effects section, with two slots for delay, reverb, chorus, Leslie, distortion, EQ, and more.

It also had a sequencer. It was limited though, with only space for 10 songs and 100 patterns. Reviews of the time bemoaned the lack of floppy drive although you could save to an optional RAM card. However, it was good enough to get by on, and the presence of drums plus multiple outs made it very attractive as an all-in-one production solution.

Korg M1: The Sound Of The ‘80s

The combination of high-quality sounds and workstation features made the M1 exceedingly popular with musicians of all kinds. It could do bread-and-butter patches with a level of realism that was astonishing for the time. Thanks to its multi-samples, there was no chipmunk effect on higher notes; everything sounded as it should. This was especially apparent in Piano 16’, which launched a thousand Italian piano house records (and of course Madonna’s “Vogue“). Organ 2 was another popular preset, especially on house records.

The M1 also did ethereal marvellously well. From patch 00, Universe, with its undulating choir sound and background textures, through to many others, it sounded like a fantasy dream of unicorns and faeries come to life. New age musicians caned it, as did film and television composers, making it the go-to synth for everything from big-budget Hollywood movies to corporate training videos.

To ensure that the M1 had a solid set of sounds, Korg put together a world-class team of sound recorders. As chronicled in Sound on Sound, this group included composers and session musicians, often employing unusual techniques. For example, they sampled the sound of blowing over a large sake bottle. “It made a really low tone that was deeper than most other blown‑bottle samples,” said Jack Hotop, Korg sound programmer, in the article.

Korg M1: Impact and Subsequent Models

While Korg hasn’t confirmed actual sales numbers, general estimates put overall sales of the original M1 at 250,000 units over a seven-year run. For perspective, consider that the original Minimoog Model D moved only around 12,000 units.

As Roland did with the D-50, Korg took advantage of the M1’s popularity and pushed out a number of follow-up models. These included the M1R and budget M3R rackmounts. Korg also released the M1EX plus the M1REX rackmount, both with sounds from the T-series, a relatively unpopular M1 successor line. More successful was the 01/W, which built on M1’s AI synthesis. Called AI2, it added more effects plus an unusual digital waveshaping feature.

Korg M1 In The Modern Age

My personal relationship with the M1 has been complicated. At the time it came out, I was obsessed with industrial bands like Skinny Puppy and Throbbing Gristle. The last thing I wanted was realistic acoustic sounds and gentle new age pads. My musical output soon moved to techno which, again, was not very M1-friendly. I’ve since come to love the sound of Korg’s AI though and am the proud owner of an M1R.

The world at large, it seems, still loves it too. The Organ 2 preset is just as hot as ever thanks to the comeback of UK garage. And, for electronic music producers of a certain age, M1 sounds are the perfect blend of plastic and nostalgia.

If you’ve decided that you can’t live another day without an M1, you may be surprised by current used prices (I sure was). Thankfully, there are a number of modern alternatives that are much kinder on the wallet. Korg make a software version, the Korg Collection M1, with all of the data and sounds from the M1, M1EX and all 19 cards. There’s also an iM1 for iOS and iPad.

If you’d rather have hardware, there’s no modern synth recreation (yet – Korg, we really need an M1 Volca) but the Wavestate does have some M1 sounds in it. Korg has also made M1 sounds available for Nautilus owners.

KORG M1 Plugin

Available for $99.99 at

Korg Wavestate MkII

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(1)

Available for 899.00 € at

Korg Nautilus 61

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(13)

Available for 1,799.00 € at

More information

• Read about the history of Korg
• All about Korg
• All about synthesizers

*Note: This article contains promotional links that help us fund our site. Don’t worry: the price for you always stays the same! If you buy something through these links, we will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support!

The post Classic Gear: Korg M1 – The final nail in the analogue coffin? appeared first on gearnews.com.

Access has reportedly discontinued the production of the Virus TI synthesizer after 15 years. This marks the end of an important chapter of modern synth history. As of now, it is unclear if there will ever be a successor.

Access Virus TI: End of an Era

According to a report by Amazona.de, developer Christoph Kemper has confirmed that the company ceased the production of the Access Virus TI2 several months ago. The manufacturer now focuses on the popular Profiler amps sold under the sister brand Kemper.

When the original Virus appeared in 1997, it was part of the first wave of virtual-analog synths that emulated analog circuitry using digital DSP technology. The Virus TI2 series, comprised of the four models Keyboard, Polar, Snow, and Desktop, was released from 2009 onwards. This means that the Virus TI2 enjoyed an unusually long and successful production run for a synthesizer. It has now reportedly come to an end.

Besides its powerful synthesis capabilities, the Virus TI’s killer feature was the namesake “Total Integration”. The synth came with a plugin editor that not only enabled remote control and automation of all parameters from the comfort of your DAW, it also sent an audio signal from the synth directly to the computer over USB. At the time of its release, this level of integration was unheard of. Along with its massive sound, it’s what made the Virus TI a studio staple that can be heard on countless hits. The synth also remains a favorite of live players to this day.

Beginning in 2011, however, Kemper focused more and more on his equally groundbreaking modeling amps. As the years went by, it appeared that developing a successor to the Virus TI wasn’t particularly high up on his list of priorities. And now, the manufacturer has reportedly decided to close this important chapter of synth history forever. Whether there will ever be another Access synth remains to be seen. In the meantime, check out our recommendations for Access Virus Alternatives.

More about Access

• Access website
• Report on Amazona.de
• More from Access

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Modular without the modules? Here’s a convenient way to get into modular synthesis. We’re looking at some of the best semi-modular synths for starting your own patch-lead spaghetti empire.

Semi-modular synths first rose to fame with instruments like the Roland System 100, ARP 2600, the EMS VCS 3 and Synthi AKS, and the Korg MS-20.

Although these instruments are revered for their sound, they provided a different approach to sound design than the workflows of classic subtractive synths like the Minimoog.

Choosing the Best Semi-Modular Synths

Semi-modulars differ from regular analogue keyboards and desktop modules in that they provide CV I/O for the various sections of the synth. This enables the oscillator, filter, and envelopes to interact with each other as well as with external instruments.

This allows a huge range of real-time tweaking, which makes them especially useful in electronic music production workflows. Also, many of the semi-modular desktop units you’ll find have their own sequencer, which means you can get creating straight away.

Behringer Crave

If you’re looking for analogue sounds, the Behringer Crave provides a great entry point into semi-modular synths. You get plenty of patching I/O (18/14) and sound-shaping capabilities, plus the VCO chip is based on the CEM3340 which was used in classic synths.

In addition, the 32-note step sequencer and arpeggiator means you can immediately begin creating synth patterns. The Crave offers poly-chaining, and there is a good deal of connectivity for incorporating it with other gear in your setup.

• More from Behringer

Behringer Crave

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(596)

Available for 189.00 € at

cre8audio East Beast and West Pest

Keen on exploring East Coast and West Coast style synthesis? cre8aduio and Pittsburgh Modular have created the perfect duo that allows you to experience the quirks of these two opposing schools of thought in synthesis.

• With the East Beast you get the classic East coast design with a multimode filter
• Meanwhile, the West Pest offers unique features like wave folding, FM, and an LPG-like dynamic section similar to the Taiga

Both are equipped with sequencers, mini button keyboards, and the versatile multimode modulation routing tool. You can also use either of these as Eurorack provided you have 40 HP of space.

• More from cre8audio

cre8audio East Beast

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(13)

Available for 239.00 € at

cre8audio West Pest

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(17)

Available for 249.00 € at

PWM Malevolent

The Malevolent is a simple keyboard-orientated semi-modular synth with a great layout, which makes it a nice choice for beginners. The design feels somewhat familiar, with a few similarities to the Korg MS-20.

You have all the basic necessities, including two oscillators, two envelopes, and an LFO, as well as distortion if you’re looking to get crazy. In addition, the internal arpeggiator has both MIDI and CV outs which makes the Malevolent useful for controlling other gear.

• More from PWM

PWM Malevolent

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(8)

Available for 479.00 € at

Pittsburgh Modular Taiga

It provides a huge amount of creative controls, but the layout of the Taiga is still straightforward enough to get going without having to RTFM. From the extensive 3-oscillator sound generation section to the analogue delay, each section has its own corresponding CV I/O below the controls.

What’s more, there’s a preamp with overdrive below the mixer, a multimode filter, and a dynamics controller. There’s no step sequencer per se, but the MIDI to CV interface allows you to easily sequence patterns from your DAW or another sequencer.

• More from Pittsburgh Modular

Pittsburgh Modular Taiga

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(6)

Available for 739.00 € at

The Moog Studio

With the Moog Studio, you get a complete modular desktop system, with 3 unique synthesizers neatly racked up and a 4-channel summing mixer and 3-way power supply unit.

• The Mother-32 is a single oscillator synth with a 32-step sequencer and a 4 x 8 patch matrix
• The DFAM is a percussion synthesizer with a simple 8-step sequencer and a 3 x 8 patch matrix
• The Subharmonicon is a 2-oscillator synth with an 8-step polyrhythmic sequencer and a 4 x 8 patch matrix

*Each unit offers Eurorack compatibility in a 60 HP format.

• More from Moog

Moog Sound Studio: Semi-Modular Bdl

Customer rating:

(11)

Available for 2,399.00 € at

More about the Best Semi-modular Synths:

• Everything Semi-modular
• All about Eurorack

*Note: This article contains promotional links that help us fund our site. Don’t worry: the price for you always stays the same! If you buy something through these links, we will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support!

The post The Best Semi-Modular Synths for your Studio Setup appeared first on gearnews.com.