There were a raft of new products announced at Superbooth 2019. Here are the ones that caught our eye…and our ear.
U.D.O. Super 6 Poly Synth
U.D.O.’s Super Poly 6 combines FPGA based oscillators and LFOs, with classic analogue VCFs and VCAs, to give the best sounding ‘analogue’ synth we’ve heard since Dave Smith released the Prophet 6. What’s more, it is a true stereo synth…and it’s British. If we had to pick only one thing to take away from Superbooth 19, this would be it!
Korg Nu:Tekt NTS
And if we had to pick two things to take away from Superbooth 19, this would be the second. The first in a forthcoming range of solderless DIY kits from Korg, the Nu:Tekt NTS essentially enables you to build the Dev board for the Korg Prologue into a Monotron style box. Offering one monophonic digital voice and three effects, it doubles as a development tool for the Prologue and Minilogue XD. Although the price hasn’t been finalised, it will be less than a Volca, making it not just extremely powerful, but superb value for money.
Korg Volca Nubass
Korg also announced the Volca Nubass – a vacuum tube synthesizer built around its Nutube tech, that’s designed with acid basslines in mind. #Acieeed
Korg Minilogue XD Module.
Completing Korg’s triode of nu products was a desktop module version of its Minilogue XD.
Novation Summit
Another headline grabber was Novation’s new flagship synth, the Summit, which has two Peaks inside, giving you peak Peak.
Behringer RD-808
Those eagerly awaiting news of the Behringer RD-808 will be pleased to hear that an almost ready to ship version was on demo and sounding great.
Behringer RD-909
Behringer’s RD-909, though still a few months away from shipping, was also on display, and sporting functionality not found on the original.
IK Multimedia UNO Drum Machine
IK Multimedia also showed a drum machine – its brand new UNO, which offers both true analogue and PCM voices, an analogue compressor and overdrive, and performance effects, for just 249 Euros. At that price and sounding as it does, it’s bound to be a hit.
Elektron Digitone Keys FM
Elektron showed a version of its Digitone FM with knobs on…and a keyboard. If you love the Digitone workflow and you love keyboards, you’ll love this.
Rossum Electro-Music Panharmonium
Whenever Dave Rossum, the man who designed chips for SSM and co-founded E-MU, brings out a new product, we’re all ears. He had three new products on display, the Linnaeus Thru-Zero State-Variable Filter , Trident Multi-Synchronic Oscillator Ensemble, and our favourite, the Panharmonium Mutating Spectral Resynthesizer. When it comes to Drum ‘n’ Bass, forget about extreme time stretching on an Akai S1100, the Rossum Panharmonium is the new thing.
Future Sound Systems – STUMM & MAKROW
From one electronic music legend to another, Mute Records’ founder, Daniel Miller, was showing two new Eurorack modules that he has brought to fruition in association with Future Sound Systems.
Ableton CV Tools
On a Eurorack tip, Ableton was showing ‘CV Tools’, a set of 10 MAX For Live devices that provide CV, gate, and clock signals to and from Live 10. Currently it’s a public beta and will see its official release with Live 10.1.
RME M-32 Pro
Ableton CV Tools is at its most versatile with an audio interface that has DC coupled convertors, which, by a happy coincidence, RME offers in its new 32 output 192kHz MADI interface.
Befaco VCMC
Alternatively, for those wanting to integrate Eurorack and MIDI gear via hardware, rather than via Ableton Live, Befaco’s VCMC (which we assume stands for Voltage Control MIDI Control, rather than being a misspelled tribute to Vince Clarke & Martin Gore) lets you do exactly that.
Nektar and Presonus Studio One Integration
The other big software/hardware integration announcement came jointly from Nektar and Presonus who revealed deep integration between Presonus’s Studio One DAW and Nektar’s Panorama controller keyboard.
Gamechanger Audio Motor Synth
For a second year running, the most bonkers (in a good way) thing at Superbooth came from Gamechanger Audio. Last year it was their Plasma distortion pedal, this year it was ‘Motor Synth’, an electrical mechanical synth that uses digitally controlled electro motors in place of oscillators.
MFB 8 Voice Poly Synth
MFB surprised everyone with a prototype of its forthcoming analogue poly synth, which features no less than 3 VCOs and 2 filters, along with 3 Envelopes, 2 LFOs, patch storage and FXs.
Moog Matriach
Moog was out in force, showing, amongst other beasts, its new Matriach, the 4 voice paraphonic for people who want more than a Grandmother, but can’t afford a Moog One; and, of course, said Moog One, for people who can afford one.
Polyend Medusa 2.0
Polyend showed version 2.0 of the firmware for Medusa – the hybrid analogue/digital synth groovebox that it designed in collaboration with Dreadbox.
Dreadbox NYX2
Meanwhile, Dreadbox showed a new version of its Nyx desktop synth.
Steinberg & Mind Music Labs Retrologue
Steinberg showed a hardware version of Retrologue (the retro synth hardware ships with Cubase) as a proof of concept. Not simply a controller, it contains hardware running a very low latency version of the Retrologue VST plug-in. Whether or not it becomes a retail product, however, remains to be seen.
Empress Effects ZOIA
Empress Effects showed its ZOIA, which is everything in a pedal…80 different everythings to be precise, from audio effects to modular synths, to sequencers.
Modal SKULPT & CRAFTsynth 2.0
Modal launched two new synths, which distil functionality from their flagship ‘008’ analogue poly and ‘002’ wavetable hybrid synths, into small desktop units. Skulpt is a 4 voice VA poly synth, whilst Kraft Synth 2.0 is a diminutive mono synth whose size belies its power.
SOMA Pulsar 23
SOMA showed its Pulsar 23, which is a semi modular analogue drum machine that dares to go where no analogue drum machine has gone before. Consequently it is capable of creating everything from conventional pop patterns to out there poly rhythms. Furthermore it is as much a performance instrument as a drum sequencer.
Dubreq Stylophone Gen-R8
Dubreq have been busy reinventing the humble Stylophone as a truly fearsome beast of an analogue synthesizer, which they had on show. Combining an aggressive sound with a touch keyboard it is perhaps best described as a Polivoks in a fist fight with an EDP Wasp.
Analogue Solutions Impulse
Veteran British Eurorack and boutique synth builder, Analogue Solutions, were showing ‘Impulse Command’, their brand new stereo semi modular analogue synth. It features a pure analogue synthesis path built around 2 VCOs, with optional digital effects at the end of that path, plus a sequencer, MIDI and Eurorack integration.
DinSync.org JP-ONE
DinSync.org showed a prototype of its Roland inspired dual VCO analogue synth DIY kit that, in essence, combines the Jupiter 6’s oscillators with the Jupiter 4’s filter, to give what DinSync describe as a monophonic Jupiter. Hence the name JP-One…as opposed to ‘Promars’.
Gotharman’s Musical Instruments Tiny LD
Gotharman showed this cut down version of the Little deFormer 3, which is a 16 part, 8 stereo voice, granular synthesis and sampling workstation powerhouse.
Flame MÄANDER
Flame showed the MÄANDER, a four voice polyphonic desktop Wavetable synth with, unusually, a 12 band filter bank
Sonicware ELZ1
Sonicware demoed the ELZ1, which packs 11 digital synth engines including FM, granular, and 8 bit engines, into a diminutive battery powered unit
Thonk Prok Drums
Thonk showed off the latest updates to their Prok Drums. This range of four DSP based virtual analogue Eurorack drum modules are designed with performance in mind and offer a wide variety of readily morphable sounds.
Pioneer DJ Toraiz Squid Sequencer
Pioneer DJ, under its new production orientated brand, ‘Toraiz’, released a 16 track sequencer, with a raft of functionality that includes 8 voice polyphony per track, scale mode, programmable chord progressions, MIDI, Gate/CV and even Din Sync.
XAOC Devices Sarajewo,
XAOC Devices showed 5 new Eurorack modules – Sarajewo, Jena, Timiszoara, Samara II and Odessa. Of these, the one that really grabbed our attention was Sarajewo, a syncable analogue delay line, with no less than three bucket brigade delay chips. However, it is worth checking out all five modules.
Make Noise Sound Hack Mimeophone
Make Noise was also showing a versatile delay module that lets you ‘colour’ your sound.
Pittsburgh Modular Synthesizers Voltage Research Laboratory
Pittsburgh showed its latest invention – a complete Eurorack format analogue modular synthesizer that answers the call of nature, by taking you back to nature.
E-RM Polygogo Stereo Oscillator
E-RM’s intriguing ‘stereo graphic oscillator’ brought ‘polygonal synthesis’ to the party.
Erica Synths Black Double Bass
Erica Synths showed its new Black Double Bass Eurorack module, which sports two sub oscillators and a low pass filter.
MFB 301 Pro Drum Machine
MFB brought its vintage MFB-301 drum machine back to life in the very small form of the MFB-301 Pro.
Specialwaves Mine S
Specialwaves had on display the DNA to let you build your own bespoke MIDI controller?
Soma Laboratories Enner.
And last, but not least, Soma Laboratories were showing something possibly even more bonkers than Plasma Industries Motor. If you’re ever commissioned to do the soundtrack for a sequel to ‘The Forbidden Planet’, you’ll probably want one of these.
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