The concept of an acoustic synthesizer may sound like an oxymoron, nevertheless it’s precisely the kind of surprising ideas that Korg Berlin was created to pursue. This unbiased, R&D-focused division was cofounded in 2020 by Maximilian Relaxation and Tatsuya Takahashi, the person behind the Volcas, Minilogue and numerous different fashionable classics. But it surely has remained fairly quiet since its inception. That modified this week at Superbooth the place the staff confirmed off its first prototype the Acoustic Synthesis_phase5.
In contrast to a conventional synth that makes use of oscillators, the phase5 makes use of tuned metallic forks. These forks are specifically designed to supply particular basic notes and overtones. And for the reason that core sound technology right here is an acoustic resonator, it has sure qualities a traditional synth doesn’t. As an example it is going to suggestions like a guitar when held close to an amp and ring when struck on its aspect. Takahashi instructed Fess Grandiose of Reverb, “we’re attempting to type of seize this rawness of devices, whereas being on the identical 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 basic word, or the basic and the overtones, or simply the overtones. The overtones will also be modulated with an LFO making a sound that may solely be described as a sea sick bell.
On the whole 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 surely additionally type of appears like what you may anticipate of a singing bowl patch on a ’90s sample-based synth. It is a contact otherworldly.
Proper now the phase5 is only a prototype and it is more likely to keep that manner. Proper now Korg Berlin is just gauging curiosity within the expertise. And if it looks like there is a marketplace for this kind of unusual hybrid acoustic synth, then it is going to discover methods to develop it additional right into a completed product.
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