After another amazing Superbooth event last week, I felt that this week’s collection of Sounds and Presets should reflect some of the gear and manufacturers on show!
Phew! Last was a riot! Every year, I get back from Superbooth and say ‘never again!’, such is my level of exhaustion. And then on the Sunday, I yearn for it all over. Superbooth 2025 cannot come soon enough.
So seeing as my head and heart are still in beautiful Berlin, I thought it was appropriate to base this week’s selection on some of Superbooth ’24’s highlights. Check out these beautiful little sonic packages for some excellent synthesizers!
Exotic Wave ‘Vintage Fusion’ for Cherry Audio PS-3300
As soon as you enter the grand foyer of the main building at FEZ, the first stand you are always greeted with is that of KORG. Their inflatable semi-igloo can’t be missed and this year there was an extra special exhibit. Yes folks, it was (I believe) the European debut of the spectacular PS-3300 FS hardware synth.
This stunning recreation of the KORG classic took pride of place, albeit in a glass cabinet. Sadly, KORG’s representatives were only allowing ‘people of note’ to play it briefly, and even then, it wasn’t fully operational, this still being a prototype. KORG recently announced a limited production run.
So whilst those of us with minimal budgets could only look on in wistful admiration, we could console ourselves with the fact that we can have a brilliant recreation of this beast in software, courtesy of Cherry Audio. And it is with this instrument we find our first sonic offering.
Vintage Fusion, by Exotic Wav, is a collection of 53 presets for the CA PS-3300 which features some beautiful Lo-Fi and very 70’s textures. From weird ambient tones to some lovely, melodic pads and atmospheres, this bank really shows off how great a job Cherry Audio did with the PS-3300.
Vintage Fusion is available to buy now from the the Exotic Wav Webstore for just $10 USD.
UDO Super Gemini Signature Patches by Dave Mackay
Buy British! That’s what the U.K. Government has been telling the inhabitants of this island nation for the last few years, post Brexit. Well, if you subscribe to that point of view and have a love of amazing synthesizers, you won’t go wrong with this combo!
George Hearn has built his company, UDO, into a force to be reckoned with. The Super 6 took the world by storm, and last year he followed it up with their flagship Super Gemini. This bi-timbral, 20-voice hybrid behemoth is a synth player’s dream and a sound designer’s paradise. This year, George debuted the Super 8, a kind of halfway house between his two previous synths.
Dave Mackay is a British pianist, keyboardist, writer and producer, based in Los Angeles. He has toured worldwide with his solo show and performed/recorded with many artists including Brandi Carlile, Annie Lennox, Joni Mitchell, Art Garfunkel, Theo Katzman, Sarah McLachlan and Rufus Wainwright. He’s also a dab hand at sound design!
Although the Super Gemini has two 10-voice engines that can be stacked or split across the keyboard, Dave has constructed each of these 64 patches as single layers allowing you, the user, to pick and choose your own combinations.
The pack consists of 8 Pads, 8 Synths, 8 Basses, 8 Plucky Synths, 8 Percussion, 4 Keys, 4 Leads, 8 Arps and 8 Experimental Sounds. The pack costs $45 USD and is available directly from Dave’s website.
Ephilion Signature Sound Set for Modal COBALT8 by LFO.store
One of the highlights of Superbooth ’24 for me wasn’t a brand new synth, although there were many of those at the show. No, it was simply a company being there and proudly displaying their wares after a tumultuous 18 months.
Modal Electronics has been through the wringer, it is fair to say. After going into administration, they re-emerged in 2024 under new ownership, led by Christian Stahl, and are now starting to ramp the business back up again.
Existing models will be returning to production and the long-awaited CARBON8 will be available soon. It was really great to spend some time with Christian, Peter and Barry and feel their passion and enthusiasm for the future. So what better way to celebrate than by highlighting a superb sound pack for the brilliant COBALT8.
Ephilion is one of three COBALT8 sound banks that LFO.store produce. Created by Otto K. Schwarz, this bank covers all ‘basses’. And leads, pads and FX too. Ok, enough of the Dad jokes! This sound set really shows off what an amazingly versatile synth COBALT8 is. There is something for everyone contained here.
And at a mere $15 USD, you won’t break the bank feeding these lovely sounds into your COBALT8, 8X and 8M units.
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Image Sources:
- Cherry Audio PS-3300: Cherry Audio
- UDO Audio Super Gemini: UDO
- Modal Electronics COBALT8: Modal Electronics
