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Synthstrom inform us that Deluges shipped from today will now feature an OLED display.

The update means that the Deluge can now display multiple lines of text and more than four letters on a screen at one. Existing Deluge owners can upgrade to the OLED display, too.

Project Manager Ian Jorgensen notes that “To reflect the cost and development associated with the new screen and the rising manufacturing costs in the synth industry, we’ll be raising the price of the Deluge incrementally over the next 12 months.”

Here’s what they have to say about the Deluge OLED display:

“A very deliberate design choice, the Deluge has, till now, featured a rudimentary 7-segment display. Rohan had always seen the Deluge as an instrument first, a tactile tool that relied on your ears, was intuitive and had its user spending time making music, not diving through menu after menu.

We’ve always acknowledged that the screen does have shortcomings especially in regards to the management of large sample collections, but the trade-off at encouraging users to resort to listening and experimenting is why the Deluge has been such a radical and inspirational tool for hordes of people.

While there is still no ‘need’ for a screen showing more complexity, we realize the time to introduce one is now. With the Deluge being a far more complex beast than we ever anticipated, Rohan has worked out how to incorporate an OLED screen into the current hardware, not only for all future sales, but for any existing user who wishes to update their Deluge too. More details on that below.”

The Deluge is available now, with the pricing as noted below:

• Sept 9th, 2022: $1249+ shipping
• From Jan 1, 2023: $1329+shipping
• From April 1, 2023: $1399 + shipping

Upgrades are available for $149 plus shipping and other associated costs.

Native Instruments has announced that Komplete 14 is now available to pre-order, with an expected release date of September 27th, 2022.

What’s new in Komplete 14:

• KONTAKT 7 makes it easier than ever to find the sounds you want, with an improved HiDPI browser and revamped Factory Library.
• Dabble in any genre, from the cinematic flavors of CHOIR: OMNIA, LORES, and PIANO COLORS, hip hop vibes of 40’S VERY OWN DRUMS AND KEYS, and the powerful randomization and layering of PLAYBOX.
• Explore over 100 Expansions with the latest Play Series instruments
• Sculpt your sounds with studio shine from Plugin Alliance and Brainworx, and add final polish with iZotope’s Ozone 10 Standard.

In addition, Kontakt 7 will launch in October 2022 and is included with Komplete 14 Standard and above.

Komplete 14 is available now to pre-order, with several options: Select ($199), Standard ($599), Ultimate ($1199) and Collectors Edition ($1799), the latter now containing 27 orchestral and cinematic instruments, 19 synthesizers, 48 sampled instruments, 15 percussion tools, 32 effects and 103 expansion packs. Upgrade options are also available.

Extralife Instruments has just put the ER-99 right up in your grill/browser. Roland’s second most famous drum machine is emulated online.

Extralife Instruments has released a free online software emulation of Roland’s TR-909 drum machine.

All the drum sounds are generated using WebAudio API synthesis techniques, while the hi-hats, crash and ride cymbals are derived from samples. There’s a familiar interface, with the 16-step sequencer along the bottom and sound adjustment controls spread across the top.

In between there are various global controls. You can make your pattern up to four bars long, which equates to 64 steps, and adjust the tempo, accent, swing, compression and overall volume settings.

ER-99 comes with a selection of sequence and sound presets, and you can also create and save your own. You can take it for a spin on the Extralife Instruments website.