WORLD OF MUSIC ; PORTABLE KEYBOARD - Latest Portable Music Keyboards, Synthesizers and Music News

Superbooth 2026: Knif Audio’s Knifonium Modular FX is a 5U-format modular system focused on processing external audio, rather than generating sound.

The initial configuration includes a dual-channel microphone preamp, phaser, filter bank, bucket-brigade delay, and spring reverb, along with utility modules such as a sample & hold/envelope follower, output section, and power supply.

Most modules are designed with dual-channel architectures, allowing stereo signal processing. The system emphasizes modular routing and hands-on control, with individual modules offering dedicated controls and modulation options.

The design uses vacuum tubes throughout much of the signal path, with supporting circuitry added where needed due to practical considerations like space and heat.

Features:

• 5U modular effects system designed for external audio processing
  • Tube-based signal path combined with transformers and inductors
  • Seven-module configuration, including:
  • Dual-channel tube microphone preamp (with Lundahl transformers)
  • Dual phaser with multi-stage phase shifting and LFO
  • Dual filter bank with inductor-based filtering
  • Bucket-brigade delay with tube stages in the feedback path
  • Stereo spring reverb with shielded tanks
  • Sample & hold and envelope follower module
  • Output/phones and power supply modules
• Dual-channel (stereo-capable) design across most modules
• Integrated modulation sources (LFOs, envelope follower, S&H)
• Combination of tube and solid-state components for signal handling
• Designed for studio use and modular system integration

Here’s a first look:

Knif Audio has not yet announced pricing or release dates for Knifonium Modular FX. The system is expected to be demonstrated at Superbooth 2026, with additional details to come.

Melbourne Instruments has released Nina firmware version 3.0.0, an update that adds the complete Mutable Instruments Braids synth engine.

The Nina synth’s new Macro Oscillator Mode firmware update adds 45 synthesis waveform models, using open-source code from Émilie Gillet’s extremely influential Braids synth module. The new mode dramatically expands Nina’s sonic capabilities, unlocking a wide range of synthesis options.

All 45 synthesis models run across 12 polyphonic voices, each of which can be additionally shaped by a dedicated, overdrivable analog filter. This means that you can now layer Braids oscillators and analog VCOs across four multitimbral parts, morph between presets and sequence everything.

You can preview the update via the video, embedded above, by sound designer PROTOVOLT.

Features:

• Analog VCO emulation
• Additive and digital synthesis
• Vowel/Formant synthesis
• 2-operator FM
• Simulation of string and wind instruments
• Wavetable synthesis with smooth XY interpolation
• Filtered, colored, and pitched noise
• Granular synthesis
• Electronic drum sound simulation

The Nina Macro Oscillator update is available now as a free download

At Superbooth 2026 – scheduled for May 7-9, 2026 in Berlin – SOMA Laboratory founder Vlad Kreimer will officially introduce the latest in his line of unique synthesizers, the Enigma.

Enigma features a new type of user interface, with the sound controlled by the position and movement of metallic objects placed on the instrument’s surface.

Details on pricing and availability are to be announced