NAMM: Taking a closer look at AKAI Max 49, Nord Drum and Casio WX-P1
The Akai Max 49 is unique in the way it combines traditional keyboard controller functions with MPC pads, control voltage support and LED faders.
The Nord Drum is not sample-based, but uses a virtual analog synth engine that’s designed specifically from drum synthesis.
A lot of buzz around the WX-P1 – the first Casio synth release for 20 years.
NAMM: Casio XW-P1 WX-G1
Namm 2012 Casio XW-P1 WX-G1 by Rock oN Report
Official video: Casio XW-P1 Performance Synthesizer
“Introduction to the new XW-P1 Performance Synthesizer from Casio by Mike Martin.” Casio has unveiled two new professional Synthesizers: the XW-P1, a 61 key performance synthesizer equipped with Casio’s exclusive Hybrid Processing Sound Source (HPSS) that meets the needs of the most experienced performing musician, and the XW-G1 groove synthesizer, designed for the DJ and club performer, provides an interactive step sequencer and a sample looper for digitally capturing performance patterns and external instruments. Designed with today’s professional musician in mind, both the XW-P1 and XW-G1 synthesizers are the ideal tools for performing and recording artists alike. With the launch of two new products Casio has re-entered the professional synthesizer market, ultimately demonstrating its commitment to innovation in the marketplace.
XW-P1:
6 Oscillator Monophonic Solo Synthesizer
HexLayer – A single sound made up of 6 components for gig ready splits and layers
Drawbar Organ Mode with 9 sliders, adjustable rotary speaker, key click, vibrato and percussion
400 fully editable PCM based sounds like stereo pianos, vintage electric pianos, strings, guitars, drums and more
Performance mode providing 4 internal or external instrument zones with instant recall of effects, 13 Track Step Sequencer and 16 step programmable Arpeggiators and Phrases
4 real-time controller knobs
Pitch and Modulation Wheels
USB and MIDI ports and a 1/8” stereo line input to connect to an MP3 Player, laptop or tablet
The XW-P1 will be available March 2012 with an MSRP of $699.00
Quotes
Mike Martin, General Manager, Marketing, Electronic Musical Instruments Division
“The XW series are not just new keyboards, they represent a new direction for Casio in the musical instrument business.”
“Casio’s formula of value and quality that has been the foundation of award winning instruments like Privia has been applied to a new product category, and the XW-P1 and XW-G1 are just the beginning.”
“The solo synth has an incredibly deep and powerful design. Among countless others, the oscillators even have access to waveforms from Casio’s original CZ synthesizers. It can create a variety of classic analog sounds, but also has the power to deliver sounds with an aggressive edge.”
‘Everyone is going to be surprised by the expressiveness and range of sounds the solo synth can create, but that is just one aspect of these products.'”
NAMM: More pictures of Arturia’s new MiniBrute Hardware Synth
We had a teaser video of the new hardware synth from up earlier this week, now we have a name, some specs and lot’s of pictures to enjoy, below are some of the key features:
Voltage controlled oscillator
25 key keyboard with aftertouch
Steiner-Parker multi-mode filter
Innovative analog Ultrasaw , Metalizer , Brute Factor technology
14 faders and 29 knobs
Rich interface, CV , Gate , USB , MIDI
Advanced arpeggiator
Rugged metal housing
“MiniBrute is Arturia’s new analog synthesizer. With a pure analog signal path and several innovative features, it sets a new standard for what a hardware synthesizer should be. The pure analog, multi-wave oscillator combined with a huge sounding classic multi-mode filter, and wide range of modulation capabilities will bring new life into your recordings and stage performances. Add to that outstanding features like the Ultrasaw, Metalizer, Brute Factor™, Arpeggiator, LFO with sample & hold, full USB/MIDI/CV connectivity; all of which are housed in a rugged metal enclosure and it is almost too brutal to think about!” – Arturia
For more info: arturia.com
According to sources the analog design was made by on of the french SDIY specialist Yves Usson. [aka Yusynth]. The filter is also popular in the modular community include clones by various manufacturers and the new Steiner Synthasystem modular by Nyle Steiner himself.
More info as we get it 
Two new videos of AtomoSynth’s KOE plexi glass synth
“Hello this is the Koe mini modular, this time making some percussive and weird sounds.
KOE synth voice and KONEKO midi to CV eurorack modules.”
“Hello, this is the Koe desktop mini modular from AtomoSynth, showing some bass and lead sounds.
Koe synth voice eurorack module and Koneko midi to CV interface module. UMX61 midi controller.”
Background info:
This is the KOE module, it is japanese for “voice” because it is a complete synth voice in just one affordable module, it is 28 HP width and needs +/- 12V power.
Main features:
One VCO with square and ramp wavefoms with depth and tune controls, tune control is a ten turn potentiometer which allows you easily set octave, tune and fine tune with
just one knob.
Noise sourse, it can be set to affect the VCO frequency or it can be mixed with the VCO and audio input.
One LFO with square and triangle waveforms is can be set to affect the VCO frequency or the Filter cut off, it also features an output jack.
High pass and Low pass vactrol based filter with cutoff and resonance/peak control, it also features an input jack to control the cut off frequency.
Two Envelope generators: EG1 with decay control which is set to affect the cut off frequency of the filter and EG2 with attack and release controls, set to affect the volume, it has an output jack and input jack for the incoming gate signal.
Also it features an audio input, it allows process any axternal audio signal with the filter and envelopes.
NAMM: Eowave KOMA Bass Synthesizer Announced – full specs
As reported on last week Eowave released a teaser for their new synth – well here we are with all the details
Eowave KOMA Bass Synthesizer, an all-new analog synth – inspired by classic synths from the 1980s.
The KOMA offers the possibility to mix four different waveforms (saw, square, sub, noise). The unit’s 24 dB lowpass filter is also inspired by classical filters from the ’80s, and to this particular sound of the era, Eowave added a touch of modernity with new controls and parameters. The KOMA boasts a 16-step sequencer with four rows: one row for the notes and three that are freely assignable to a parameter of your choice.
The price of the KOMA, as listed on eowave.com, is 599 EUR (approximately $762).
Here are the KOMA specs:
- Oscillator Section
- Main Oscillator:
- Main VCO with 2 waveforms (square and saw), plus Sub (square) and Noise
- The pulsewidth of the square waveform can be modulated by ENV2 or by the LFO
- The main oscillator can be transposed up to 3 octaves
- The main oscillator frequency can be modulated by the LFO or by ENV3
- Glide
- Mix of the 4 waveforms
- Sub:
- Sub (sub can be 1 or 2 octaves below the master freq)
- DESYNC mode enables you to desynchronize and detune the Sub from the main oscillator
- In DESYNC mode, the Sub can be at the same frequency than the main oscillator or 1 octave below
- Filter Section:
- 24 dB resonant lowpass filter for a classical ’80s sound
- Variable cutoff and resonance
- The filter can be modulated by ENV2, KB, LFO
- External audio with a trimmer to feed the filter
- LFO Section:
- The LFO has 8 waveforms (triangle, ramp up, ramp down, square, random, digital noise, staircase up, staircase down)
- Variable speed
- The LFO modulates the VCO, VCF, or PWM
- External MIDI clock synchronization
- ENV1, ENV2, and ENV3:
- ENV1 and ENV2: these 2 envelopes ADSR modulate respectively the amplitude and the filter
- Attack goes from 2 ms to 10 s
- ENV3: envelope Attack / Decay modulates the VCO
-
VCA Section:
- VCA is affected to ENV1
- Memory:
- 4 Banks of 64 sound presets (SAV PRST, SAVE PAT)
- 4 Banks of 64 patterns
- 256 Sound presets
- 256 Patterns
-
Sequencer:
- 16-Step sequencer with 16 LED
- 4 Sections: 1 section for gate and note and 3 sections freely assignable to any parameter of the front panel
- Random feature
- Adjustable tempo
- You can transpose the sequencer via an external MIDI keyboard
- Each line can have a different number of steps to create complex modulations
- Chain up to 8 sequences
- Shuffle feature
- External MIDI clock synchronization
-
Connections:
- Audio In
- Audio Out
- MIDI In
- USB (for software update and MIDI I/O)
More information on the Eowave KOMA will be released at a later time, hopefully this week at Winter NAMM 2012. Keep up with Eowave at the company’s Web site, eowave.com.
AtomoSynth Koe desktop, mini modular
As reported on a couple of days ago – here’s a more deialed video of the KOE plexi synth:
“Hello, this is the Koe desktop mini modular from AtomoSynth, showing some bass and lead sounds.
Koe synth voice eurorack module and Koneko midi to CV interface module. UMX61 midi controller.”
Video: A closer look at the Moog Minitaur
http://youtu.be/4CUMiBDwozQ
Marc Doty, Archive and Education Specialist for the Bob Moog Foundation, gets hands on with Moog’s new synthesizer Minitaur and gives a run down of its features. For specs and purchasing info go to http://www.moogmusic.com/products/taurus/minitaur
Review of the Sketch Synth 3D v 1.0.4
Steelberry Clones got our hands on the newly released Sketch Synth 3D for a review (version 1.0.4). To best describe Sketch Synth 3D you can say that it is both a synth and a control interface that lets you shape and scalp your soundscapes in 3D. You can use it straight out of the box; but sketch synth also offers you the ability to extend and control your other synths in 3D using Midi output and OSC input & output. We made a short test run of the app on an iPad 2 featured in the video below:
Sketch Synth 3D has a quite different and “rough” UI that may take some time to get used to, but once you have gotten used to it, it is fairly easy to jump from different performance and editing modes. The sounds coming from the Sketch Synth 3D are quite intriguing and easy to manipulate. In one sense from a music creation perspective this app is somewhat what you could expect from an updated KORG Kaossilator. To draw sounds in 3D you can use a touchpad, accelerometers and automated envelopes. This gives you control over the shapes that your sounds take on. However, although beautiful and innovative we still feel that the app has some more steps to take before it is a viable alternative – especially seeing that the sketch pad tends to have glitches in the animation, we lack a sense of real flow in the animations. What is nice though is the ability to load samples and effectively manipulate otherwise fairly dry sounding sounds and take you music making to the next level – adding ambient feels to it. You can either use Sketch Synth’s sound engine to apply effects to samples (including wav files of your own), or you can use it to output OSC or MIDI to your existing synths.
New desktop plexiglass analog synth from AtomoSynth – Koe Desktop
AtomoSynth have announced an new desktop plexiglass analog synth – Koe Desktop. Atomo Labs is packaging up the Koneko MIDI to CV converter with their new Koe synth module.
Technical details below. Pricing and availability are to be announced.
Koneko MIDI to CV Eurorack Module Features:
- CV1 PITCH output 0 to +5 Volt range (5 octaves) it comes from a very accurate 12 bit resolution (4096 steps) digital to analog converter DAC, which translates the incoming midi note messages to voltage. It also responds to the pitch bend or pitch wheel control, according to the midi standard it has a range of +/- two half steps.
- Glide effect, it affects the CV1 PITCH output.
- Gate output 0 or +5 Volt. it has a red LED that indicates when there is an active gate signal.
- CV2 output 0 to +5 Volt range, it comes from a 7 bit resolution (128 steps) digital to analog converter, it can be easily set to output the velocity or any controller CC from the midi device.
- PROGRAM button allows you easily set the midi channel just by pushing it and then pushing a note in your midi keyboard, the midi channel will be automatically set and stored even when the unit is turn off. It also allows you to set the controller CC for the CV2 output, just push the Program button and move any controller in your midi device and it will be set automatically.
- Midi In and Midi Thru connectors, allows you to connect many midi devices in chain.
The Koneko Eurorack module is officially ‘available soon’.
KOE Eurorack Module Features:
- One VCO with square and ramp wavefoms with depth and tune controls, tune control is a ten turn potentiometer which allows you easily set octave, tune and fine tune with
- just one knob.
- Noise sourse, it can be set to affect the VCO frequency or it can be mixed with the VCO and audio input.
- One LFO with square and triangle waveforms is can be set to affect the VCO frequency or the Filter cut off, it also features an output jack.
- High pass and Low pass vactrol based filter with cutoff and resonance/peak control, it also features an input jack to control the cut off frequency.
- Two Envelope generators: EG1 with decay control which is set to affect the cut off frequency of the filter and EG2 with attack and release controls, set to affect the volume, it has an output jack and input jack for the incoming gate signal.
- Also it features an audio input, it allows process any axternal audio signal with the filter and envelopes.
See the AtomoLabs site for details.
DATAMASKIN
