Erica Synths Pikocore XL DIY Kit, Sample Logic GrainScaper, Native Instruments, More: Synth Journal
The best of the rest of this week's synth news.
Erica Synths Pikocore XL DIY Kit leads the pack of this week’s Synth Journal.
Synth Journal
Erica Synths Pikocore XL DIY Kit
The busiest company in synthdom, Erica Synths, is back with another new release after just having dropped the Echolocator in March. This time it’s the Pikocore XL DIY Kit, a do it yourself lo-fi sample mangler based on the Infinite Digits Pikocore.
The Erica Synths Pikocore XL has the same functionality as the Raspberry Pi-powered original but in a more playable and robust form factor. It can hold eight minutes of 8-bit 33kHz monophonic samples and is tempo-synced, with a selectable BPM between 60 and 300 and beat-synced effects like stutter, retrig, gate and tunneling.
The Erica Synths Pikocore XL DIY Kit is a complete kit with all the parts and components that you need. It’s also open source so you can hack it yourself if you’re so inclined.
Now available for €160. The Erica Synths Pikocore XL is limited edition so get yours now if you’re hankering to mangle.
Anukari 3D Physics Synthesizer
I love physical modeling, and I firmly believe it’s the future of synthesis. Or the immediate future, at any rate. So imagine my delight when I got a message about Anukari, a long-in-development 3D physics synthesizer plugin.
Rather than recreate the sounds of existing instruments like violins, Anukari lets you build up custom instruments out of virtual components like masses and springs. You get a variety of exciters too, from the expected like mallets and bows, to the unexpected, like virtual oscillators and even external audio. Yes, you can use Anukari as an effects processor.
It’s got LFOs, envelopes, automation and MPE, and it even shunts some of the processing off to your GPU so your CPU doesn’t overload. Pretty cool.
Anukari is available from the company website. It’s regularly $140 but you can get it now for $70.
This Is Noise Gamma Mini Synth
Looking like a cross between a MIDI controller and a video game controller, Gamma Mini Synth from This Is Noise is the latest in a real explosion of chord synths.
Gamma Mini Synth’s twist is that you get a chord section and a melody section, each with seven buttons. Choose a scale, and it maps the notes to the buttons. You can give the two sections the same sound or different ones.
It’s also a synth synth, with 10 oscillators, four waveforms, low- and highpass filters and ADSR. You also get a clutch of effects like chorus and tremolo. There’s even MIDI out for sending chord shapes to your other gear. Oh yeah, there’s a Tamagotchi-style virtual pet on the LED screen too.
Pre-orders start May 1. There’s no price info yet but if you give them your email address you’ll get a $50 off coupon.
Sample Logic GrainScaper
The granular synthesis sector is very close to the saturation point. As someone said in the YouTube comments for this product, “One more granular synth and there will be more of them than reverb plugins.” However, GrainScaper from Sample Logic looks to be pretty good – and maybe even the only granular synth you’ll ever need?
Drop a sample into the plugin and go at it with four separate grain modules. You can modulate each module, and there’s also a cool XY spatial controller to change the various controls over time. You also get built-in master effects and can use it as an instrument or effect.
There’s no trial version, unfortunately, but it does sound good in the audio demos. It’s regularly $99 but you can grab it now for $69.
Native Instruments Crosstalk Modular
Native Instruments will be at Superbooth25 this year. Hopefully, it will have some cool new Kontakt instruments to show. Until then, Crosstalk Modular is a new Kontakt instrument from Native Instruments and 10 Phantom Rooms. This follows on from their RSI 1 instrument, which similarly blends samples of synthesizers with some fun Kontakt sound design tricks.
The big selling point of Crosstalk Modular – aside from the modular samples themselves – is the Crosstalk functionality, which lets you blend between the four different layers of samples. Think of it as vector synthesis but with step-sequencer control over the layer amplitudes.
For smooth changes, there are three sound variations per preset that you can morph through with your mouse or mod wheel. You also get seven macro controls to adjust parameters across all the layers, like filter and FM. These are different for every preset.
Crosstalk Modular is on sale now for $79.20 but is normally priced at $99. It requires Kontakt 8 but will work on both the full version and Kontakt Player.
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