The thought of an acoustic synthesizer may sound like an oxymoron, however it’s precisely the form of sudden ideas that Korg Berlin was created to pursue. This unbiased, R&D-focused division was cofounded in 2020 by Maximilian Rest and Tatsuya Takahashi, the person behind the Volcas, Minilogue and numerous different trendy classics. But it has remained fairly quiet since its inception. That modified this week at Superbooth the place the workforce confirmed off its first prototype the Acoustic Synthesis_phase5.
Unlike a conventional synth that makes use of oscillators, the phase5 makes use of tuned metallic forks. Those forks are specifically designed to supply particular basic notes and overtones. And because the core sound technology right here is an acoustic resonator, it has sure qualities a regular synth doesn’t. For occasion it should suggestions like a guitar when held close to an amp and ring when struck on its facet. Takahashi instructed Fess Grandiose of Reverb, “we’re trying to kind of capture this rawness of instruments, while being at the same time, controllable like a synthesizer.”
So that is the “acoustic” half: metallic tines that ring, resonate and decay, nearly like a Fender Rhodes. The synth half comes from the magnets contained in the phase5 that enable it to maintain simply the elemental observe, or the elemental and the overtones, or simply the overtones. The overtones will also be modulated with an LFO creating a sound that may solely be described as a sea sick bell.
In basic the sound it generates within the quick demo video above is sort of distinctive. It does have a ringing, vaguely Rhodes-like high quality to it. But it additionally type of feels like what you may count on of a singing bowl patch on a ’90s sample-based synth. It’s a contact otherworldly.
Right now the phase5 is simply a prototype and it is prone to keep that means. Right now Korg Berlin is just gauging curiosity within the expertise. And if it looks as if there’s a marketplace for this form of unusual hybrid acoustic synth, then it should discover methods to develop it additional into a completed product.
…. to be continued
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