Sonic State caught up with Korg Berlin’s Lukas Hartmann, who was demonstrating the unique electronically controlled acoustic instrument.
The Korg Acoustic Synthesis_phase8 is an electronically controlled acoustic instrument, that is part melodic synthesizer, part drum machine. At the heart of the instrument are several individual resonators that you can control electronically or by physically touching them.
The Acoustic Synthesis_phase8 is being positioned as a product prototype. Korg plans to officially introduced the instrument next year.
At Superbooth 2024, being held May 16-18 in Berlin, Korg Berlin is showcasing their latest prototype of the Acoustic Synthesis_phase8.
The Korg Acoustic Synthesis_phase8 is an electronically controlled acoustic instrument, that is part melodic synthesizer, part drum machine.
What makes it acoustic? You and the environment interact physically with the instrument. You can even mute, pluck or interfere with the resonators to sculpt the sound.
Here’s how it works:
Acoustic Synthesis unites the sonic richness of real physically vibrating bodies with electronic control.
The vibrating bodies in this prototype are a set of metallic resonators. Their geometries have been tuned so they vibrate at specific frequencies.
Like in a piano, the resonator is hit it with a hammer, except Korg’s hammer is electromagnetic. This provides very precise control over when and how the resonators are struck.
Korg Berlin introduced the phase8’s predecessor, the Acoustic Synthesis_phase5, at Superbooth 2023. The phase5 was positioned as a demonstration of Acoustic Synthesis as a technology.
The Acoustic Synthesis_phase8 is being positioned as a product prototype. Korg notes, “We expect many similarities between this and the eventual product release. While there are details to be ironed out, as we adapt the design for mass-production, expect something along this trajectory.
They plan to debut the production version at Superbooth 2025.
Merkaba Electronics has announced that its String Armonica electro-acoustic synthesizer is now available.
The String Armonica is a hybrid synthesizer that generates sound acoustically using 12 chromatic strings, controlled by an internal polyphonic wave generator. The video demonstrates that the strings can be played by plucking them, and also played via MIDI.
The instrument is based around 36 transducers, two exciters per string and one per string used as a pickup. The developers explain that the wave generator “shoots discrete synth waveforms into each string and resonates the various octave harmonics, similar to if you yell into a piano, and that resonates the harmonics.” But The String Armonica does this precisely, under MIDI control, and using electromagnets to stimulate the strings instead of sound.
The String Armonica offers 48 notes of full polyphony, which sound via the strings via harmonic resonance.
A live demo, showing how the String Armonica can be played via a MIDI keyboard:
As you can see from the videos, the fact that this is an acoustic synthesizer means that its sonic possibilities are constrained by the physical instrument. In other words, it’s always going to sound like a 12-stringed instrument.
But, because the strings are played by MIDI-controlled electromagnets, it can be played in ways that would be otherwise impossible. For example, you can sustain individual notes and then crescendo or decrescendo them, using keyboard or organ technique, and combine that with plucks and mutes on individual strings.
The instrument has true stereophonic output, via 12 individual pickups for each string.
The String Armonica is available now, in limited quantities, for $2950, with free shipping in the US. An initial batch of 20 instruments is planned. Contact them via their website for more information or to pre-order.
