Developer Christian Halten shared this interview with Simone Fabbri of Frap Tools about the creation of their new keyboard synthesizer, Magnolia, described as a ‘West Coast Polysynth’.
The Magnolia is one of the most interesting new synths introduced at Superbooth 2025. Frap Tools showcased two pre-production Magnolia synthesizer keyboards at the event.
Magnolia is an 8-voice analog through-zero FM synthesizer. Options include waveshapers, wavefolders, and analog linear through-zero FM – features associated with the “West Coast” synthesis world – in addition to analog oscillators and filters.
Frap Tools expects to release the Magnolia synthesizer at the end of summer 2025.
They note that the release version “may have a more refined interface, it will feature digital effects, and some of the features currently under evaluation may disappear.”
At Superbooth 2025, Love Synthesizers introduced the First Love – a compact instrument that fits in a backpack, has a battery option, built-in speakers, headphone output and a 4×4 live looper.
They say it’s “Perfect for sound-designing and composing, wherever you want to be.”
Features:
4 Parts Multitimbral
Flexible Modulation
2x Stereo/4x Mono Ouput
Riff Arpeggiator
Microtonal Tuner
Multiple Effects, including reverb, delay & chorus
4×4 looper
Sync In/Out
Polyphonic
MIDI In/Thru
Patch Sharing
USB-C & Wireless connectivity
Headphone Out
Battery Option
Built-in Speaker
First Love is available to pre-order, priced at €419,00.
One of the more unusual introductions at Superbooth 2025 was the FRAKnoise Melancholytron – a new instrument designed to let you explore melancholic sounds.
“Can you build a synthesizer that always sounds melancholic?” asks developer A//ard Krijger. “Yes. I did it. Even a happy melody can still sound melancholic on this one.”
Here’s what FRAKnoise shared about the Melancholytron:
“The Melancholytron is a book with illustrated melancholic stories. When you buy the book it comes with a synthesizer developed by A//ard Krijger, Joran Jessurun and Edwin van den Oetelaar.
This instrument produces melancholic sounds, that fit the stories, or any melancholic music you want to make with it. Suitable for film-, game- or any kind of music that needs a touch of melancholy.”
The Melancholytron is expected to be available June 28, 2025. Details on pricing and availability are to be announced.
