Supercritical Redshift 6 – From Modular to Desktop
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Supercritical Redshift 6 · Source: Supercritical
Supercritical Redshift 6 · Source: Supercritical
Supercritical Redshift 6 · Source: Supercritical
Supercritical Redshift 6 · Source: Supercritical
Supercritical Redshift 6 · Source: Supercritical
The new Redshift 6 from Supercritical Synthesizers sees the modular manufacturer branch out into desktop synthesis by making use of their existing technology, multiplied by six!
In a time when manufacturers are looking to innovate under the restrictions of high costs and fewer components, it makes sense to ‘recycle’ what you already have. This may or may not be the case with Supercritical, but with the Redshift 6, they have utilised their existing technology and fashioned something new. Is this something for those of us not tumbling down the rabbit hole of Eurorack?
The Redshift 6 is a six-voice, polyphonic analog synth with digital control and packaged in a smart desktop case. Upcycling or something new and exciting? Let’s take a look…
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The Power of 6
To keyboard or not to keyboard, that is the question that desktop synth designers must often ask themselves. There are a raft of these synths available with a miniature keyboard built-in, not always to the benefit of the user experience. Looking at the Supercritical Redshift 6, there is a heavy emphasis on the hexagonal.
This almost disguises the included, single-octave keyboard, but there it is, doubling up as a modulation destination selector! Buttons are one thing and knobs are another. The Redshift 6 does have a healthy amount of each.
A 2.7″ TFT IPS colour screen delivers all the information and features eight endless and clickable potentiometers to aid quick navigation of the system.
Supercritical Redshift 6
Under The Redshift 6 Hood
Using their Demon Core Oscillator and Neutron Flux filter designs, Supercritical has crammed some decent sonic capability into the Redshift 6. Those six voices each feature a DCO with analog waveforms and the filter is an analog 4-pole state variable affair, also under digital control. The signal chain is fully analog, right up to the stereo DSP effects processor, which can be disabled, should you wish.
Each of those oscillators features different engines ranging from twin-oscillator to supersaws, flanging phase sync engines to transistor organs. Supercritical inform us that new engines can be added via software updates. Now that’s a pretty attractive proposition. The Supercritical Redshift 6 also features flexible gain staging as well as optional voice chaining and each voice can be routed to an individual output on the rear.
Supercritical claim a “modern MIDI implementation” and it also supports MPE.
The Supercritical Redshift 6 From Behind
Talking of the rear, Redshift 6 sports three pairs of audio outs, set up as a main pair and two aux pairs. The built-in DSP FX system will only output to the main outs, however. There are USB and MIDI connections but, surprisingly for a company founded in modular, no CV/Gate options.
Supercritical Redshift 6
More Information
The Supercritical Redshift 6 begins pre-orders today with an MSRP of €1,259. Units will ship in the summer of 2024.
- NAMM 2024 sponsors: REMISE 3
- Supercritical Redshift 6: Supercritical
- Supercritical Redshift 6: Supercritical
- Supercritical Redshift 6: Supercritical
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4 responses to “Supercritical Redshift 6 – From Modular to Desktop”
if this synth uses DCOs, i think “polyphonic analog synth” would be incorrect. you may want to change that to “hybrid synth” or something that acknowledges the digital elements within the architecture.
Junos have DCO as well and are considered fine vintage analog synths.
Besides you would you enable to have a synth with presets without anything digital included?
Roland Juno-6, Juno-60, Juno-106, JX-3P, JX-8P, and JX-10, Elka Synthex, Korg Poly-61, Oberheim Matrix-6, Sequential Prophet 08, to name but a few. All analog synths with DCO’s. A digitally controlled oscillator is still an analog oscillator but it uses a digital counter IC to maintain tuning accuracy.
A digital synth is defined by its use of pure digital oscillators, such FM, wavetables, samples, etc.
DCOs outputs an analog signal the same way VCOs outputs an analog signal. The difference is how the pitch is controlled. There isn’t much “digital” about DCOs, the “digital” part is/was mostly marketing in the 80s when digital technology was all the buzz. A better name would be “crystal quartz clock controlled” rather than “digitally controlled”.