The Sound Lab: 3 Cool Pieces of Gear for Creative Sound Exploration – Perfect Match!
Build Your Own Sound Lab and Discover Entirely New Sonic Territory, No Lab Coat Required
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The Sound Lab: 3 Cool Pieces of Gear for Creative Sound Exploration - Perfect Match! · Source: GEARNEWS
Into sound research and sonic experiments? Then today’s edition of our Perfect Match series is exactly for you. We’re showing you gear for building your own sound lab and discovering entirely new sonic territory. No lab coat or safety goggles required though.
The Sound Lab: Building Your Own Setup for Creative Sound Exploration
Gear for Your Own Sound Lab
Sometimes it’s genuinely fun to play mad scientist and stumble onto sounds and ideas that would never surface in a typical workflow, some sound research and design in your own personal sound lab, basically. A studio should always double as a playground for creative experimentation, but maybe you’re after a few new extras that push things a bit further off the beaten path.
That’s exactly why we’re introducing a few pieces of gear that invite experimentation and encourage straying from well-worn paths. These products complement each other nicely in our view, but they also stand in for comparable gear that could work as a solid alternative. Don’t take these picks as gospel, think of them as inspiration instead.
We’re covering a soundbox plus a budget-friendly alternative for acoustic sound play, two genuinely unusual synths built for experimentation, and two versatile, high-quality effects pedals for extra sonic magic. Let’s get into it.
LeafAudio Microphonic Soundbox MKII: An Electroacoustic Experimental Instrument for Your Sound Lab
[Image: LeafAudio Microphonic Soundbox MKII, an experimental instrument for your sound lab]
You could technically build something like the LeafAudio Microphonic Soundbox yourself, if you’re into DIY builds. The Microphonic Playground* plus two add-on packs* gets you something close to a starter kit for that. The Microphonic Soundbox MKII, though, packs everything into one set, so you can dive straight into your new sound lab.
Inside the wooden enclosure sit two contact mics and matching preamps, rounded out by various elements built for generating sounds and noises. A mounting rail on the side comes with M3 threads for attaching springs, metal strips, rubber bands, or basically whatever else you can think of. Two metal rods, three springs, and a five-tine kalimba come included in the box, and those add-on packs mentioned above let you expand the set further.
A 1/4″ input handles external piezo pickups, and there are two line outs with switchable high/low levels. Channel 1 works as a standalone preamp for other instruments, while channel 2 keeps outputting whatever the soundbox itself is generating.
The soundbox is essentially a source of fresh sounds you can then process and mangle however you like in your new sound lab. Sounds come from scratching, tapping, bowing, or plucking, and yes, you can absolutely grab a violin bow if that’s your thing.
The Microphonic Soundbox demands some creativity and definitely shakes up studio routine a bit. Worth a look here at Thomann*. If you’re after a similarly experimental approach involving motors, sensors, and CV integration, check out the KOMA Elektronik Field Kit.
KORG phase8, or a Pickup-Equipped Kalimba
A soundbox is a great source of new sounds and noises for your sound lab, but maybe you’re in the mood for something a bit more melodic instead.
That’s where these two options come in, and you might not have either on your radar yet. First up, the admittedly not cheap but genuinely one-of-a-kind KORG phase8. This is an actual synthesizer running on an electromechanical principle, complete with eight swappable metal resonators.
This eight-voice polyphonic sound generator even packs a built-in sequencer, which honestly isn’t something you’d expect from this kind of concept. You can play phase8 via its built-in keys, or drive it over MIDI or CV instead.
The resonators play a central role here and can even be retuned to your own preferences. Great for sound-lab experiments too: you can “prepare” the tines with all sorts of small objects.
Those metal tines on the KORG phase8 can be struck, plucked, or worked with different materials entirely. The Air and Shift controls give you even more ways to shape the sound further.
The KORG phase8 is a genuinely unusual instrument, and in a way, a real experiment from the manufacturer itself. Which is exactly what makes it fit so well into any curious sound scientist’s lab. Grab the phase8 here at Thomann*, and you can also check out my own hands-on phase8 review right here on GEARNEWS.
Calling the phase8 an overpriced kalimba would honestly be selling it short. The design here is way too unique for that comparison to stick. So don’t take it as irony when we now suggest a pickup-equipped kalimba as the budget-friendly alternative.
Sure, the price gap is massive, and yes, you’re trading away some capability. But there’s still plenty you can pull off in a sound lab with one of these, especially with a built-in pickup already on board. A simple 1/4″ jack gets this little instrument straight into your recording setup, and running the sound through effects is just as easy. Suddenly, a fairly plain acoustic sound turns into something entirely new. Some kalimbas even ship with built-in effects alongside the pickup. A few options here at Thomann*.
Semi-Modular West-Coast-Style Synth: Moog Labyrinth
A synth adds a proper sound generator to your sound lab, and something genuinely unusual like the Moog Labyrinth fits particularly well here, especially if you already own a more “normal” synth for comparison.
Plenty of wild synths could fill this slot, the drone-focused Lyra series* from SOMA Laboratory, for instance, or a granular playground like the Tasty Chips GR-MEGA. Erica Synths also brings some genuinely gorgeous (and pricey) sound generators to the table with SYNTRX II, Steampipe, and the Perkons HD-01 drum machine. Systems like Intellijel Designs Cascadia are worth a look too, but the Moog Labyrinth somehow lands right in that sweet spot in the middle.
For a Moog synth, Labyrinth is genuinely unusual, built around West Coast synthesis ideas made famous by Don Buchla. Thanks to its semi-modular format, Labyrinth pairs easily with other modular or semi-modular gear, letting you push things even further.
A dual signal path, cross-modulation, a ring modulator, a noise source, a wavefolder, a filter that sweeps continuously between lowpass and highpass, two generative sequencers, and a handful of other neat features add up to nearly endless new sounds and grooves. The 32 jacks aren’t just for wild patching either, they handle processing external signals too, meaning you could send sound straight from your soundbox through here.
Moog Labyrinth is an exciting, genuinely unusual synth that makes a great addition to any sound lab. Available here at Thomann* / Sweetwater*.
Effects for Your Sound Lab: Eventide H9 Max Harmonizer
To round out this Perfect Match for your sound lab, we’re suggesting an effects unit that enriches these new sounds and adds another dimension to them. Admittedly, the Eventide H9 Max Harmonizer looks a bit more tamed and traditional next to the LeafAudio Microphonic Soundbox and the Moog Labyrinth.
There are more experimental FX alternatives out there, sure, something like Bastl Instruments Thyme+* or a Hologram Electronics Microcosm come to mind. But the Eventide pedal is more universal by comparison, which makes it genuinely useful outside your sound lab too, for guitar and plenty of other instruments.
H9 Max counts artists like Richard Devine and Suzanne Ciani among its users, along with names like Steve Vai, Jimmy Page, Frank Zappa, and Eddie Van Halen, past or present. Over 50 effect algorithms give you plenty of room to get creative and experiment, and tap tempo or MIDI sync keeps everything locked to the beat if needed. The H9 Max (here at Thomann*) is a genuinely great addition to your sound lab, or step up to the Eventide H90 Harmonizer* for even more power.
Meris Ottobit X as a Companion or Alternative to the Eventide H9
A great companion, or alternative, to the Eventide H9 is the Meris Ottobit X multi-effects pedal. The manufacturer describes it as a modular engine for texture and sound destruction, dripping in 1980s nostalgia. Bitcrushing, stutter and glitch effects, a VHS-style delay, reverb, filters, pitch shifting, preamps, and modulation are all in here.
Ottobit X rounds things out with a vinyl-scratch looper and tape-stop effects. Plenty of the effects come in multiple types too, which makes the pedal even more versatile. Both input and output handle stereo signals, another reason this one fits so well into a compact sound lab. MIDI support is on board as well, which we’re genuinely glad to see. Grab the pedal here at Thomann*.
Verdict: Why This Gear Is a Perfect Match
In your sound lab, you get to play around off the usual paths, dig into unfamiliar sonic territory, discover new sounds, and put those results to work in your own creative output.
The LeafAudio Microphonic Soundbox MKII produces sounds you probably won’t get out of traditional instruments. Just as exciting is the still-fairly-new KORG phase8, an electroacoustic synth with a built-in sequencer and plenty of interesting options for exciting sound-lab setups. As a budget alternative, a pickup-equipped kalimba is worth a serious look too.
Take whatever these noise and sound generators produce and record it, or run it through an experimental synth like the Moog Labyrinth, which is already a massive playground for discovering new sounds on its own.
Pair that with an effects pedal like the Eventide H9 Max, which puts the finishing touches on everything and opens up whole new sonic territory of its own. A pedal like the Meris Ottobit X slots in perfectly, either as a companion or as an interesting alternative.
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