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Nina, the at-the-time mysterious synth which monopolised much pre-NAMM talk earlier this year, is finally about to be release soon, with pre-orders now open ahead of a December 2022 shipping date.

That pre-show video was mainly driven by the motorized automation in an anonymous teaser video – self-turning knobs! – but there’s many more features.

The most notable non-knob features are the variable shape oscillators, which can continuously morph wave-shape between triangle and sawtooth and the hackable Open Source software running on a Raspberry Pi 4 with Elk Audio OS.

Features

• 12 Voice Polyphony
• Fully analog signal path
• Motorized recallable and automatable control panel using long-lasting zero wear encoders with the feel and precision of analog pots
• Variable shape triangle oscillators. Continuously morph wave-shape between triangle and sawtooth to find new timbres. Different to a traditional blend
• 4 pole transistor ladder VCF with modulatable resonance
• Huge voice-level filter overdrive
• Digital Wavetable Oscillator
• Sampling capability
• Deep Modulation Matrix. 16 sources to 27 destinations
• Patch morphing for complex expressive effects
• Stereo 4 Quadrant VCAs with Infinite Panning effects
• Onboard digital effects
• Multitimbral, layered, split, or overlapping
• Hackable Open Source software built on a powerful Raspberry Pi 4 running Elk Audio OS

Now, the first run of 500 units is up for pre-order, with a $500 discount on the first 100 secured, or $250 off of any order before 1 Nov. 2022. Thereafter, NINA   #CommissionsEarned will set you back $3500.

Find out more on the Melbourne Instruments website.

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‘Inspired by the Moog CP3’. ADDAC System deliver their take on a modular classic. Their new Eurorack mixer module promises to be “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”

The Moog CP3 is a modular classic. The ‘Console Panel 3’ features four inputs, simple dial controls for level and a pair of outputs. There is a simple click filter and four CV inputs for modulating signals.

It’s that simple, but this module plays a big part in creating the famous Moog ‘big sound’ with propensity to head into overdrive, fattening up sounds, being particularly effective for adding high end fizz to sine- and sawtooth-based wave shapes.

In long-established Eurorack form, ADDAC’s new ADDAC713 Stereo Discrete Mixer is a fully discrete analog mixer “that is a wolf in sheep’s clothing”, promise its makers.

In addition, they promise “a dark, snarly soul behind the control panel that will take your sounds into a new realm of gritty, gnarly growls.” Sounds perfect.

The new unit was initially developed as a stereo percussion mixer with mono inputs and panning:- note that panning and stereo are absent from the CP3, however, the developers expanded the idea giving stereo inputs to the first three channels while keeping the fourth in classic mono.

The four gain controls can be driven to extremes while the Feedback Gain control can overdrive the entire mix. As feedback increases, the audio bias reference also moves up so that at extreme levels it offsets the entire signal until it begins clipping producing a gate effect.

Metering enables you to see just how far you are pushing it – is provided by two LEDs on the output.

In addition, there is the CP3’s ‘Anti Click’ switch on board, which adds a low pass before the output (in three different selectable flavours) to smooth out any nasty blips.

The ADDAC713 Stereo Discrete Mixer is available now, in a fully-built box priced at €220. The DIY self-build kit would be available soon.

Find out more on the ADDAC System website.

MIDI Association has released details of an ongoing, industry-wide initiative, by over 50 MIDI Association companies, to develop MIDI 2.0 products and services.

In spite of the challenges created by the pandemic, MIDI Association members have collaborated to create a variety of tools for working with MIDI 2.0:

Yamaha Corporation has funded the development of MIDI Workbench, a software tool for MIDI 2.0 testing and compliance, developed by Australian Andrew Mee.

Andrew Mee has also updated firmware for the TB2 Groovesizer, an Open Source MIDI 2.0 hardware synthesizer developed by Jean Marais, a South African living in Taiwan.

Canadian-based company AmeNote, founded by industry veterans Mike Kent (Chair of the MIDI 2.0 Working Group) and Micheal Loh (founder of iConnectivity) has designed ProtoZOA, a flexible Raspberry Pico based prototyping tool for MIDI 2.0.

To accelerate MIDI 2.0 development, the MIDI Association has helped fund ProtoZOA’s technical development and donated ProtoZOAs and TB2 Groovesizers at no charge to any MIDI Association member who wanted to join the prototyping effort.

These tools work together for prototyping and testing foundational MIDI 2.0 features such as the new Universal MIDI Packet, MIDI-CI Discovery, Profile Configuration, Property Exchange, USB MIDI 2.0, and MIDI 1.0 to 2.0 Translation.

With these advances, companies around the world now have software and hardware tools to build and compatibility test MIDI 2.0 products.

Amenote developed the ProtoZOA using Raspberry PICO CPUs, because they are openly accessible and affordable.

ProtoZOA is a USB MIDI 2.0 device that software developers can use to test with their MIDI 2.0 applications. Its firmware provides source code that hardware developers can incorporate into their own MIDI 2.0 devices. MIDI Association members are currently helping to test, and optimize the ProtoZOA code.

“Our plan is to release most of the ProtoZOA source code as Open Source with a permissive license.” noted AmeNote’s Mike Kent. “That will allow even non-MIDI Association members to use the code to develop MIDI 2.0 products.”

“These MIDI 2.0 prototyping efforts highlight what is truly unique about the MIDI Association,” stated MIDI Association president, Athan Billias. “Since MIDI’s genesis, companies that are traditionally fierce competitors have chosen cooperation as the best way to solve difficult problems—and to contribute those solutions at no charge back to the global community, for the benefit of musicians, artists, and engineers everywhere.”