Nina, the at-the-time mysterious synth which monopolised much pre-NAMM talk earlier this year, is finally about to be release soon, with pre-orders now open ahead of a December 2022 shipping date.
That pre-show video was mainly driven by the motorized automation in an anonymous teaser video – self-turning knobs! – but there’s many more features.
The most notable non-knob features are the variable shape oscillators, which can continuously morph wave-shape between triangle and sawtooth and the hackable Open Source software running on a Raspberry Pi 4 with Elk Audio OS.
Features
12 Voice Polyphony
Fully analog signal path
Motorized recallable and automatable control panel using long-lasting zero wear encoders with the feel and precision of analog pots
Variable shape triangle oscillators. Continuously morph wave-shape between triangle and sawtooth to find new timbres. Different to a traditional blend
4 pole transistor ladder VCF with modulatable resonance
Huge voice-level filter overdrive
Digital Wavetable Oscillator
Sampling capability
Deep Modulation Matrix. 16 sources to 27 destinations
Patch morphing for complex expressive effects
Stereo 4 Quadrant VCAs with Infinite Panning effects
Onboard digital effects
Multitimbral, layered, split, or overlapping
Hackable Open Source software built on a powerful Raspberry Pi 4 running Elk Audio OS
Now, the first run of 500 units is up for pre-order, with a $500 discount on the first 100 secured, or $250 off of any order before 1 Nov. 2022. Thereafter, NINA #CommissionsEarned will set you back $3500.
Oberheim OB-X8 is a new design that combines the three different voice architectures of the classic OB-X, OB-Xa, and OB-8 synths into a single instrument. The individual filter types and other unique characteristics of each model have been faithfully reproduced, along with an 100% analog signal path.
“It’s an exciting day for Oberheim and for musicians anxiously waiting for the OB-X8,” said company founder Tom Oberheim. “We’re proud to reintroduce the Oberheim sound in a new instrument. But even more, we’re proud that we’ve been able to combine the voice architectures of the various original OB series synths in a way that gives players unique new sounds and capabilities that even the originals didn’t have. It’s an amazing-sounding instrument.”
The Oberheim OB-X8 offers broader synthesis options and expressive capabilities than its predecessors, including:
Additional SEM filter modes add high-pass, band-pass, and notch functions to the classic OB-X filter
Vintage knob allows variable amounts of voice-to-voice variability to emulate the behavior of vintage instruments
Velocity sensitivity adds expressiveness to volume and filter
Spitfire Audio has introduced Originals Epic Choir, a new software synth that features the sound of a 50-piece large-scale ensemble of London’s finest vocalists, recorded in the hallowed (Lyndhurst) Hall at London’s legendary AIR Studios.
“Originals Epic Choir features 50 singers, which is the biggest ensemble of voices that we’ve recorded yet,” notes Spitfire Audio in-house composer Homay Schmitz. “It’s been recorded at AIR Studios’ Lyndhurst Hall, so you get those beautiful acoustics; with it also being a former church, you get the singers in a traditional habitat as well.”
Features:
50-piece ensemble
Recorded at Lyndhurst Hall, AIR Studios — home of blockbuster scores
Three bespoke signals (Close, Tree, Ethereal)
Split into two sections — Sopranos & Altos / Tenors & Bass — both sections offering identical articulations
Classic shorts and longs, as well as ‘episodic’ vowel blending textures and short staccato syllables, alternating between vowel sounds
Presets:
Sopranos & Altos: Long Ahh — A long sustained note, sung on the vowel sound “ahh”
Sopranos & Altos: Long Mmm — A long sustained note, hummed on the consonant “mmm”
Sopranos & Altos: Episodic Combo 1 — A long episodically changing sustained note, blending between a combination of different vowel sounds, for a textural and shifting sound
Sopranos & Altos: Episodic Combo 2 — A long episodically changing sustained note, blending between a combination of different vowel sounds, for a textural and shifting sound
Sopranos & Altos: Short Staccato Syllables — A short, sharp sound, sung on one of up to seven different syllabic sounds
Sopranos & Altos: Short Staccato Syllables (keyswitch) — A short, sharp sound, sung on one of up to seven different syllabic sounds, with keyswitch functionality to change between specific syllables
Tenors & Basses: Long Ahh — A long sustained note, sung on the vowel sound “ahh”
Tenors & Basses: Long Mmm — A long sustained note, hummed on the consonant “mmm”
Tenors & Basses: Episodic Combo 1 — A long episodically changing sustained note, blending between a combination of different vowel sounds, for a textural and shifting sound
Tenors & Basses: Episodic Combo 2 — A long episodically changing sustained note, blending between a combination of different vowel sounds, for a textural and shifting sound
Tenors & Basses: Short Staccato Syllables — A short, sharp sound, sung on one of up to seven different syllabic sounds
Tenors & Basses: Short Staccato Syllables (keyswitch) — A short, sharp sound, sung on one of up to seven different syllabic sounds, with keyswitch functionality to change between specific syllables
Controls:
Reverb — A realistic Hall-style impulse response
Release — A release trigger which only applies to long patches
Tightness — This cuts further into the note to make it tighter and only applies to short patches
Signals:
Close – Valve spot mics summed together for a direct and upfront image of the string ensemble.
Tree – A decca tree microphone array, giving a spacious and enveloping sound.
Ethereal – A treated signal (saturation, reverb, EQ) which adds texture, brightness and width to the vocals, while retaining an organic feel
It is available now as an AAX-, AU-, VST2-, and VST3-compatible plug-in, supporting Native Instruments’ NKS (NATIVE KONTROL STANDARD) for Mac (OS X 10.13 – macOS 12) and Windows (7, 8, 10, and II — latest Service Pack)
