Today, Behringer introduces the Surges “Ultimate Liquid Filter” for Eurorack modular systems.
The Behringer Surges is an 8HP voltage-controlled “liquid” multi-mode filter, based on the Mutable Instruments Ripples. Mutable founder Émilie Gillet retired in 2022 and made the company’s designs available as open source via Github.
Like the original, the Behringer Surges is an analog filter with switchable 2-pole and 4-pole slopes, for both band-pass and low-pass outputs. The Surges appears to be a straight clone of the Ripples, with a few compromises in build quality (smaller knobs, no panel washers) to make it more cheaper to manufacture.
Features:
Voltage controlled multimode filter which provide high-pass, band-pass and low-pass. The slope of the band-pass and low-pass output is switchable (2-pole or 4-pole)
Based on Mutable Instruments Ripples
“Liquid” and musical tone coloration reminiscent of SH/Jupiter filters
Loudness compensation with increased resonance
Wide frequency range from 18 Hz to 18 kHz
Purely analog circuitry based on 2164 and 13700 semiconductors
Eurorack specs: 8 HP, 35 mA +12 V, 35 mA -12 V
The Behringer Surges is ready to ship, with a street price of $49. There’s typically a month or two lag between Behringer making their shipping announcements and general availability at their Super Partner retailers.
Today, Waldorf introduces Microwave 1 for iPad, an emulation of the original hardware Microwave synthesizer.
The original Microwave “defined hybrid synthesis at its best”, with its combination of wavetable synthesis with analogue filters. Now Waldorf Music brings this instrument back as a standalone iOS app, as well as in the iPadOS AUv3 plug-in format.
Waldorf says that the Waldorf Microwave 1 Plugin was “painstakingly recreated from the original hardware, with all its idiosyncrasies and wonderful singularities.”
Waldorf says that this was a multi-year effort, and that they analyzed and modeled the original instruments down to the finest sonic details of every aspect of the hardware.
Microwave 1 for iPad Intro Video:
Only the first generation of the Microwave and also the Waldorf Wave were based on a custom developed integrated circuit called the Waldorf ASIC. In combination with the legendary Curtis filter chips and a very unique 68k CPU based controller software, the ASIC defined a very special flavor of wavetable sound unparalleled. The ASIC was designed with the help of Wolfgang Palm, a pioneer of wavetable synthesis.
As the original, the app runs the internal synthesis with the sampling rate of 250 kHz, regardless of the DAW sampling rate. The recreated digital waveforms have been bit-by-bit compared with the original to be 100% identical.
Even the old-school digital-to-analogue converters of the original hardware were modeled, with their non-linearities and tone shaping color which were leading into the two Curtis filter chips variants used for the revisions A and B of the original hardware. The plug-in allows further for artificially detuning and recalibrating of the analogue components.
But the Microwave 1 iPad app goes one step further: Its modern graphical user interface reveals many aspects of the synthesis engine which were hidden before in the original hardware by its minimal interface.
Users can also now edit existing wavetables and create new ones. All the original wavetables are available, with their control structures and the full original waveform catalog.
Even the more exotic feature like tuning and velocity tables have been implemented and can be edited in the UI. All the original factory single and multi-mode sounds are contained in the app in combination with new and modern sound presets. Original MIDI and Sys-Ex dump files can be imported, so you can load patches from the original hardware. Moreover, the app can be used to control the original hardware are a graphical editor.
If you an owner of a Microwave first generation, the app allows you to take your vintage hardware virtually with you wherever you like. The Microwave 1 iPad app can also be used as a standalone app as well as in the iPadOS AUv3 plug-in format.
Korg has unveiled the latest in its line of compact digital synths, Multi/Poly, a multi-timbral instrument described by Korg as using ‘next generation analogue modelling’.
Today, Korg introduces the multi/poly synthesizer, a new synthesizer in their opsix/wavestate format that offers 60-voice polyphony, three types of oscillators, Kaoss Physics, Motion Sequencing 2.0 and more.
Korg appears to have learned from the reception of its initial synths in this format, which were praised for their deep synth engines but criticized for the synth’s relatively lightweight build. The new synth more of a premium build, with thick wood end caps, and metal front and back panels.
Inspired by the classic KORG Mono/Poly, the new KORG multi/poly is an analog modeling synthesizer, and is the first instrument to use Korg’s latest analog modeling technology. While Korg reached back to the Mono/Poly for inspiration, the multi/poly is a completely new design, with capabilities that go far beyond the original. And, just as important as the vintage influence, the multi/poly builds on capabilities from other instruments in its compact synth line, like the wavestate and modwave.
What they have to say about the multi/poly synth’s capabilities:
“It’s like a polyphonic modular system in a compact, hands-on package – a limitless playground for synth players and sound designers. Create hardware mash-ups with East-coast, West-coast, and wavetable oscillators and a wide selection of newly-modeled filters. Make them come alive with models of different envelope, VCA, and portamento circuits.
Virtual voice cards produce organic timbral variation. Layer Rotate triggers new Programs with each press of a key. Plus Kaoss Physics, Motion Sequencing 2.0, massive modulation, and more.”
The multi/poly features analog modeling that goes beyond traditional virtual analog to more closely model a vintage analog synth engine. At the heart of Multi/Poly are virtual voice cards, with oscillators, filters, LFOs, amps, envelopes and portamento all designed to emulate the behaviour of analogue circuitry. The result is that each voice has a slightly different character, creating naturally rich timbres. You can dial-in in as much or as little of this variation as you like, and do individually for each sound.
Just like in an analog synth, the Virtual Voice Card also continue to ‘play’, even if you’re not hearing them. Envelopes keep evolving, so that if you play a pad with a long release time, newly played notes “catch” the envelope at its current level instead of restarting from zero. Oscillators and LFOs maintain their phase, and resonance continues to ring. Each oscillator’s pitch can also drift slightly over time, modeling the slight pitch instabilities found in analog hardware.
Envelopes are an often-overlooked factor that contributes to the unique sounds of vintage synths. The multi/poly includes envelope curvature presets for the Mono/Poly, MS-20, “Mini,” “Pro,” ARP Odyssey, and more. Also, analog VCAs don’t respond evenly to voltage, and have different thresholds for turning on and off, which in turn has a strong effect on the Amp Envelope’s character. So, the multi/poly features modeled VCA responses from the Mono/Poly, MS-20, Mini, Odyssey, and Prophet 5, as well as a linear option.
Classic analog synths had different approaches to portamento, too, and so the multi/poly has six different portamento models to choose from.
The synth also has modulation capabilities that go well beyond what an analogue instrument could achieve, with four 6-stage envelopes and five LFOs feeding into a complex mod matrix that can apply modulation processors to alter modulation routings.
Other highlights include Korg’s Motion Sequencing 2.0 technology, which offers independent sequencing of pitch, timing, parameter automation and more. There’s also a capable multi-part effects engine. Multi/Poly also features the Kaoss Physics touchpad first seen on the Modwave, which allows parameters to be modulated across an X/Y space using the movement of a virtual bouncing ball.
Possibly the most distinctive feature here is the Layer Rotate mode, which emulates the way Mono/Poly could alternate its oscillators in a round robin manner with each new note played. Here, however, rather than using individual oscillators, Multi/Poly alternates between its four timbral layers.
The synth hardware itself is similar to that of Korg’s Wavestate, Modwave and Opsix. It features a 37-note semi-weighted keyboard with velocity and release velocity sensitivity. It features MIDI I/O and USB connectivity, which can send/receive MIDI as well as make use of Korg’s Librarian app, for managing patches and uploading user wavetables.
The multi/poly also has a dedicated Editor and Librarian, for Mac & Windows, which can streamline sound design and managing your sound library.
Korg multi/poly Overview:
Korg multi/poly Audio Demos:
The Korg multi/poly synthesizer is available now and Amazon site, priced at $899.99
