Developer Momo Müller has introduced a third-party patch editor for the Sequential Prophet-5 Rev 4 synthesizer.
Details on the patch editor are limited at the website, but it is available for both Mac and Windows.
The Sequential Prophet-5 Rev 4 patch editor is available now for $7/€6,90.
Oslo-based composer and artist Koka Nikoladze shared this demo of Drone Box No. 1, the latest in a series of custom music machines.
The Drone Box is MIDI-controlled, and generates sound using stepper motors. Objects can be attached, to act as acoustic resonators and modify each voice’s sound.
Nikoladze says that they made the video to inspire other synthmakers.
What they shared about the Drone Box No. 1:
“This is my Drone Box No. 1. It’s a four-voice physical synthesizer, for drones and more.
The sound is produced by turning stepper motors that sit on the wooden box. Different objects attached to the motors change the character of the sound. Selecting and attaching the objects is like physical mixing. A pinecone adds rich buzz and makes the sound more like a square wave synthesizer, an egg doesn’t do much and leaves the work to the box, a paper cup makes the sound rounder and a brass coil provides resonant overtones. I exchange objects all the time.
You can control the box with MIDI, either from a keyboard or from a computer. There is also a clever automatic voice management mode, so you can improvise without thinking which motor to turn. I’ve added pitch bending, vibrato, different kinds of tremolo and some other expressions”.
Nikoladze has plans to add additional performance features, along with a second iteration of the box with a button that will play a playlist of MIDI files from an SD card.
Watch the video and share your thoughts on it in the comments!
AudioKit Pro has introduced SAGA Synth for iOS, a new app that they describe as a “super-fun retro 16-bit video game synth.”
AudioKit Saga Synth is inspired by a classic 16-bit games console, the Sega Mega Drive (or the Genesis if you live in North America).
Featuring samples from no less than five Yamaha YM2616 soundchips – the one that was used in the Mega Drive – plus the first-edition version of the MEGAfm synth, Saga Synth is an 16-bit nostalgia fest. It comes with more than 300 presets – many of which have game-specific names that give you a good idea of what you’ll be getting – and includes Brian Funk’s 16-bit soundpacks, which were previously exclusive to Ableton Live.
An overview of SAGA Synth from Moby Pixel:
Saga Synth is the first instrument to be built using AudioKit’s new, more stable code. Sounds are created using two layers, there is a free-running step sequencer, and the preset library includes synth, drum and FX patches. There are some suitably chiptuney effects, too, including the appropriately named Sonic Blast overdrive.
You can use Saga Synth either standalone (a built-in audio recorder enables you to capture your retro musings) or as an AUv3 plugin. Ableton Link is supported, as well.
Features:
Find out more on the AudioKit Pro website. Saga Synth is available now for the intro price of $2.99 through January 31st (normally $14.99).
