MOSS-101 Is a Sweet-Sounding VA Monosynth in a Guitar Pedal Enclosure
More synthesis options than you might expect!
4,1 / 5,0 | 
Looking for a compact but powerful monosynth? Check out MOSS-101, a surprisingly deep virtual analog mono now on Kickstarter.
MOSS-101
After all of the synth announcements at Superbooth25 you might be all synthed out, but don’t relax yet! Here’s another one that looks to be worth your time. Called MOSS-101, it’s a virtual analog monosynth in a guitar pedal enclosure. Don’t let the tiny size fool you, though, as this appears to be a very capable – and great-sounding – little synth.
“I aim to offer an affordable, compact, and versatile instrument, without sacrificing features, ergonomics, or most importantly, fun. I hope you’ll enjoy playing this synth as much as I have,” said developer Andrew John March on the MOSS-101’s Kickstarter page.
Surprising Synthesis
As MOSS-101 is housed in a guitar pedal-style case, it’s small. However, March has gotten around real estate limitations by using a combination of buttons and a single encoder. Press the button to select any of the 42 parameters and use the encoder to adjust it. It’s certainly not knob-per-function, but it is an elegant solution for the size. And, if you need more control, you can always map it to a MIDI controller via MIDI learn.
MOSS-101 features two oscillators with stackable square and sawtooth waves, three octave options, pulse width on both oscillators, and detune on number two, plus a 10-octave pitch range. You also get white or pink noise.
The filter section is surprisingly well-apportioned. It sports a highpass filter based on the Moog Ladder filter, a lowpass inspired by the Korg 35 filter (aka the MS-20 filter), and an Oberheim SEM-alike bandpass – all with resonance.
Multiplex Modulation
In terms of modulation, MOSS-101 has a single LFO and ADSR.
With the LFO, you get triangle, square and random waveforms, with the latter acting as a sample and hold with the white noise generator. There’s also a low and high range toggle, with the high being used for FM.
As for the ADSR envelope, it offers a time range of 1ms to 20 seconds(!) with continuous slope control from logarithmic to exponential. Interestingly, not only can you trigger the envelope with the usual MIDI note on/off events, but also via the square wave of the LFO. You can also click the encoder for momentary triggers. There’s also a drone mode in the VCA whereby the envelope acts as an attenuator.
There are nine total signal paths for modulation. You can attenuate these individually or multiplex them “so each source can be connected to all of its destinations at once, each with its own attenuation,” according to March.
Effects, Memory and MIDI
Looking at the effects, MOSS-101 houses an XOR module for ring modulation-like sounds sourced from the square waves of the two oscillators. There’s also a delay which can sound like a reverb at ultra-high settings on down to a slap-back at slow ones.
Being digital, there are 17 memory slots for capturing not only parameter settings but also MIDI CV to parameter mappings on a per-preset basis. Although there’s no LCD screen, the RGB LEDs will indicate which slots are in use.
MOSS-101 offers both USB MIDI and TRS Type-1 MIDI in and out ports. It can act as a USB MIDI host and power any connected USB MIDI-compliant controller.
Price and Availability
Andrew John March’s MOSS-101 is currently live on Kickstarter and has already reached $6000 of the $7500 goal with 27 days left to go. It’s a good bet this will get funded.
You can get the synth pre-assembled or as a kit:
- Pre-assembled (early bird): CA$150 (~$108 USD)
- DIY Kit (early bird): CA$140 (~$101 USD)
- Pre-assembled: CA$200 (~$144 USD)
- DIY Kit: CA$180 (~$130 USD)
March is hoping to ship in August 2025.
More Information
This might also interest you
