Synths

The original Erae Touch was one of the more interesting MPE controllers to come out in the last few years. But it's been on the market for less than three years. So it was something of a surprise when Embodme showed up to NAMM 2024 with Erae II, the next iteration of its customizable controller with significant upgrades and one unexpected new feature.Now, it's important to note that the version of the Erae II I was able to test out was very early prototype. There were a few bugs, the construction definitely had some rough…

Roland’s synth lineup seems a little odd at times. It doesn’t really offer much in the midrange. Its only two pure synthesizers in the $500 to $800 space are the 13-year-old Gaia SH-01 and the eight-year-old (and objectively hideous) JD-Xi. The company has mostly been focused on its miniaturized classics in the range and building out its lineup for the last few years. The company’s doesn’t perfectly fill this gap in the lineup, but it’s a big step in the right direction. It’s a synth-focused desktop groovebox with lots…

Such is the long shadow of Covid that this is effectively the live launch of Hannah Peel’s acclaimed album Fir Wave, even if it comes nearly two years after it was released, and long after it was shortlisted for the 2021 Mercury prize. She explains tonight that it wasn’t even meant to be a proper LP: she was initially asked to remix a 1972 KPM album of library music called Electrosonic, created by BBC Radiophonic Workshop luminaries, but Peel became so immersed in the project that she ended up creating seven completely…

Image Credit: Terrence O'Brien / Engadget The filter is probably the star of the show, by the way. Often it’s what brings the most character to the sound of a synth, and this one delivers. It’s variable state, going from low pass, to band pass to high pass. But it can also combine those…

Image Credit: Terrence O'Brien / Engadget In fact, after years of mostly making more laidback and ambient styles of electronic music, I found myself dialing in harsh, blown-out guitar tones, a la Nine Inch Nails Broken to jam along with Pērkons. I was transported back to my high school…