Get yer synth news here! Hot, fresh synth news! Fancy a taste of a Waldorf Microwave? How about a new sequencer from Analogue Solutions? It’s all here in the latest Synth Journal.
Waldorf Microwave Teaser
Waldorf has been running a tantalizing teaser video on its various pages. Featuring the Microwave, the company’s first product, it states, “Legends never die.” Is Waldorf going to re-release a hardware version of the Microwave?
For those not up on their synth history, the Waldorf Microwave was originally released in 1989 and was something of a reboot of the PPG Wave, complete with original wavetables and analog filter.
A new hardware version of the Waldorf Microwave could be cool. However, the company already has the M, which is like a modern Microwave in tabletop format. The smart money is probably on a plugin. Waldorf doesn’t have a software version of the Microwave yet. Although that certainly looks like a photo of hardware in the video.
Excited to see where this goes.
Richard Van Hoesel Speak & Glitch GND-1T
I have fond memories of playing with a Texas Instruments Speak & Spell as a kid. Of course, we never played the game properly. It was much more fun to bash on the keys until it started spitting out gibberish. Given how popular circuit bending these things is, I’m sure I’m not the only one who abused my Speak & Spell.
Developer Richard Van Hoesel has gone one further and made a new, Speak & Spell-inspired instrument. Called the Speak & Glitch GND-1T, it features an emulation of the original game’s TMS speech synthesis chip and uses this as the basis for an instrument with synthesis, drum and effects capabilities. With a touch screen, resonant filter, overdrive and echo effects plus MIDI clock, it’s fairly deep. Synthesis modes include formant, vowel, glottal, speech, rhythm, groove, circuit bent, glitch and complex oscillator.
Richard Van Hoesel’s Speak & Glitch GND-1T isn’t for everyone but for fans of speech synthesis and experimental music and noise, it looks like a dream come true. It’s available directly from Richard Van Hoesel for AUD $869 or AUD $908 with hard case (both include worldwide shipping).
Analogue Solutions AS500-SEQ Sequencer
Analogue Solutions’ AS500-SEQ may look familiar to some. That’s because it’s a reboot of the company’s Megacity sequencer just in a smaller desktop form factor with some general enhancements and improvements.
If you don’t know the Megacity, AS500-SEQ is a standalone analog sequencer. Using CV rather than MIDI out, it has no note quantizing. It does, however, have 64 steps, which you can run in one long sequence or as two, 32-step ones.
Whereas most sequencers run in a row from left to right, AS500-SEQ has columns, with patterns falling vertically before moving to the next column. It has jumps to advance to the next column, as well as a Fill mode, which turns the right 32 steps into fills and variations.
AS500-SEQ also features two CV outputs with range and glide, four gate outs, clock divide modes and a voltage-controlled clock.
AS500-SEQ sells for £999.00 excluding VAT. It’s available directly from the company.
AIR Music Technology TimewARP 2600 Update
There are many software emulations of the ARP 2600 out there. Arturia, Cherry Audio and Korg all offer digital recreations of the original semimodular synthesizer. Air Music Technology, better known now as the in-house plugin designer for the Akai MPC series, also offers one – and it’s the only version endorsed by Alan R. Pearlman himself.
Called TimewARP 2600, AIR has overhauled the software, giving it eight-voice polyphony and advanced digital modeling. The company says that many original ARP engineers had a hand in developing TimewARP 2600.
The software has an introductory price of $49.99 good until the end of August 2024, when it goes up to $99.99. There is also a special upgrade price for owners of the original software.
ARP Foundation ARPs For All Residency
Speaking of ARP, the Alan R. Pearlman Foundation has announced a residency for artists: “What would you do with a studio full of rare synthesizers + state-of-the-art recording gear + room and board for five days?” What indeed!
The residency is a collaboration between the Alan R. Pearlman Foundation’s ARPS For All program and The Record Co., a recording and performance facility in Boston. The chosen artist will get access to a room full of vintage ARP synthesizers, including the only publicly available ARP 2500 in the US. They can use the facilities in any creative way they see fit. The ARP Foundations suggests that could be, “a full album, a single song, a synth-backed video project, a series of synth tutorial videos or another concept that inspires you to create.”
“This Residency is a natural expression of our goals,” says the ARP Foundation. “While creating a unique musical work with our support, our chosen recipient will inspire emerging musicians to follow their own muse, making use of the same classic ARP synths. Through this program, the recipient will have the opportunity to not only take an important next step in their own career, but also to give something back to the music community.”
Along with access, the lucky artist will also receive five days of studio time at The Record Co., hotel accommodations, a per diem for meals and more.
There are three residency time slots available from October 2024 to March 2025. Interested parties should apply at the ARP Foundation residency page (below). The deadline to apply is September 16 2024.
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