Synths

Feeling upset that you missed the Voyager? Well, worry not as Moog have just announced a new semi-modular synth- the Mother 32!

Two Moog Mother 32s in the 2-Tier Rack

From their press release:-

"Mother-32’s semi-modular design means that no patching is required to create powerful analog sound. This allows musicians of any experience level to quickly begin making music. Synthesists will enjoy exploring the extensive 32-point patchbay, which unlocks truly expressive, unique and complex synthesis capabilities. The patchbay also provides access to a wealth of sounds and functionality including an assignable CV output jack, MIDI to CV conversion, external audio input, a second voltage-controlled mixer, sync, and multiple unit expandability.

Onboard sound sources include a powerful 10-octave analog oscillator with variable pulse width, and an analog white noise generator. The signals from each sound source are then blended together by a voltage-controlled mixer for dynamic sound creation and manipulation. From the mixer, sound travels through a Moog Ladder Filter with selectable low pass and high pass filter types.

Musical creation and programming is executed via Mother-32’s comprehensive 32-step, voltage controlled sequencer or external MIDI controller. There are two sequencing styles available, allowing each user to quickly create new musical ideas with ease and familiarity. A total of 64 patterns can be stored and recalled from within Mother-32’s memory bank.

Mother-32 is an expandable analog ecosystem that allows multiple units to easily be mounted and patched together for extended synthesis capabilities."

We're taking pre-orders now and hope to have some in on the first run...

One of the new products announced at NAMM this year has been the Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators. They’ve created quite a bit of a buzz already and they’re something that we’re looking forwards to seeing here ourselves.

For those that don’t know, Teenage Engineering are a Swedish design company, most famous within the music world for their OP-1 (as seen on a certain Swedish House Mafia track). It is a fresh approach to what music creation is about.  Just listing the spec doesn’t really do it justice, (for the record, the OP-1 contains 9 synth types, 7 stereo effects, built in sampler, 5 different sequencers, tape-style editing and a 4 channel mixer, an FM tuner and a built in battery that last 16 hours in use and 2 years in standby). It’s not until you start to play with it that you start to appreciate the attention to the creative details… ever wanted to etch-a-sketch a sequence? How’s about throw some notes into a tombola and see what plays?

The fundamental difference with the OP-1 is that it’s workflow is built around performance- it compels you to experiment, to commit ideas down and move on. It is creativity as art, challenging you to move out of your comfort zone, to try out new things, accept mistakes as part of the process and move on.

With this ethos in mind we can’t wait to welcome the new Pocket Operators! Retailing at less than £50, these little boxes are each dedicated to one task alone- rhythm, bass and melodies. Featuring an array of buttons and a couple of knobs a piece and sporting their innards on display… Multiple synth engines in each, built-in sequencers and the creative use of the LCD displays, these units promise to bring a bit of that Swedish creativity to even more people…

Shipping in March/April time, we’re taking pre-orders on them and we will have them on display at our show room as soon as they land.

http://www.giraffeaudio.com/products/brands/teenage-engineering.html