At Knobcon 2024 – held in Chicagoland September 6-8, 2024 – Texas Euro maker Synthesis Technology announced that it is back in business and shipping their first new module.
Founder Paul Schreiber had announced in 2023 that, after 27 years, he was retiring from the modular synth business and shutting down Synthesis Technology.
We also talked to Schreiber at Knobcon, and he told us that Analogue Haven basically gave him an offer he couldn’t refuse. He plans to release a series of limited edition modules, with AH handling sales and distribution.
“I have been nudged by Shawn at Analogue Haven to get back into Eurorack modules design and limited production,” he explains. “Today, we are announcing the E490 Ladder VCF, a design I first did on the MOTM-490, then the Frac 1490, and now for Euro. This new implementation is based on new dual and quad matched transistors and WIMA polypropylene capacitors. Even though new, careful attention was given to matching all the quirks of the original Moog 904A.”
The Synthesis Technology E490 Ladder VCF is a 10hp, Moog 904a inspired 4-pole lowpass filter using modern transistors, but exactly matching the characteristics of the original. Using new, matched dual and quad transistors allows the E490 to have lower noise and better tracking than the 904a, without changing the ‘quirks’ in the sound.
Audio Demo:
Schreiber already has plans that go beyond E490. He told us that he’s working on the E430 Morphing State-Variable Filter, an evolution of his SEM-inspired filter for the MOTM platform.
He is also considering creating a new version of the Synth Tech E520 Hyperion Effects Processor that would essentially pack all of the original’s effects into a module that’s half the size and cost of the original.
The Synthesis Technology E490 Ladder VCF is available now, via Analogue Haven, for $249. Find out more info on the SynthTech website.
