The innovative keyboard design invites new playing techniques and covers the full range of a grand piano with the possibility to tune each note with an accuracy of 125 steps per semitone. To achieve this range with such a simple keyboard we designed a unique system of pitch shifting using four additional sensors. Pressing different combinations of them will result in 16 variations of keyboard transposing, including up to 3 octaves up and down, fifth, fourth, third, tone etc.
Not only do you get the full range of a grand piano in a very compact design, TERRA also offers an entirely new and different approach to playing melodies and chords.

The keyboard consists of 12-note sensors with velocity and pressure sensitivity allowing for the manual creation of slow attack and vibrato, 4 dynamic sensors for timbre modification and control, 4 pitch-shifting sensors and 2 hold sensors for holding the state of the timbre and note sensors.

Inside TERRA there is a three-axis motion sensor for creating a variety of different modulations by simple intuitive movements of your hands and body.

TERRA is digital and contains 32 complex synthesis algorithms. Each algorithm has been carefully designed to be a complete and flexible musical instrument on its own, ready for learning and playing in its own unique way. The goal is to free the musician from long exhausting programming, setting hundreds of parameters for creating one timbre, and instead putting the focus directly on music and performance and following your imagination and inspiration.

TERRA offers the best of both worlds: the direct intuitive tactile connection from acoustic instruments and the flexibility and versatility of synthesizers. TERRA inherits design principles from LYRA-8 and also contains application of the new principles that were announced for ReFLEX, exploring the future of synthesis.

TERRA has an extremely simple interface that gives you instant access to all its functions in several touches, including saving and loading the 96 presets that are stored directly on the playing sensors. TERRA has no display. Instead it shows and lets you dial all necessary data on the 6 LED-sensor triangle in the center.

TERRA has a built-in FX processor so the stereo output is ready to use, making it a perfect stand-alone performance instrument. While the sound generation is digital, TERRA has a unique custom-built and top quality analog part that makes it sound rich, natural, clear and powerful at the same time.

The housing of TERRA comes from a 3 pieces of wood, making each instrument unique and slightly different. We also draw your attention to the fact that joints between different parts of the wood may be visible on the body of the instrument. The TERRA logo is made of brass and encrusted on a wooden case.

TERRA is a sanctuary for a natural soul right in the middle of the rumbling plastic world, a ground where you can breathe in and out slowly, and hold on to your roots.
TERRA is our dream about a bright future where we will be both technologically advanced and more connected to nature, where machines and technology are not a prison for our feelings and spirit but their extension.

Features

• Synthesis algorithms: 32
• Polyphony: 1-12 voices (depending on the algorithm)
• Presets: 96
• Pitch Shifter presets: 24

Specifications

• Dimensions: 405 x 365 x 57 mm
• Weight: 2.2kg
• Power: DC 12V, 0.2A, 5.5 x 2.1 mm Barrel, “+” center positive

Manufacturer product page here.
Product manual here.

The post Soma Laboratory Terra Organic Polyphonic Synthesizer (Light) appeared first on Elevator Sound.

The innovative keyboard design invites new playing techniques and covers the full range of a grand piano with the possibility to tune each note with an accuracy of 125 steps per semitone. To achieve this range with such a simple keyboard we designed a unique system of pitch shifting using four additional sensors. Pressing different combinations of them will result in 16 variations of keyboard transposing, including up to 3 octaves up and down, fifth, fourth, third, tone etc.
Not only do you get the full range of a grand piano in a very compact design, TERRA also offers an entirely new and different approach to playing melodies and chords.

The keyboard consists of 12-note sensors with velocity and pressure sensitivity allowing for the manual creation of slow attack and vibrato, 4 dynamic sensors for timbre modification and control, 4 pitch-shifting sensors and 2 hold sensors for holding the state of the timbre and note sensors.

Inside TERRA there is a three-axis motion sensor for creating a variety of different modulations by simple intuitive movements of your hands and body.

TERRA is digital and contains 32 complex synthesis algorithms. Each algorithm has been carefully designed to be a complete and flexible musical instrument on its own, ready for learning and playing in its own unique way. The goal is to free the musician from long exhausting programming, setting hundreds of parameters for creating one timbre, and instead putting the focus directly on music and performance and following your imagination and inspiration.

TERRA offers the best of both worlds: the direct intuitive tactile connection from acoustic instruments and the flexibility and versatility of synthesizers. TERRA inherits design principles from LYRA-8 and also contains application of the new principles that were announced for ReFLEX, exploring the future of synthesis.

TERRA has an extremely simple interface that gives you instant access to all its functions in several touches, including saving and loading the 96 presets that are stored directly on the playing sensors. TERRA has no display. Instead it shows and lets you dial all necessary data on the 6 LED-sensor triangle in the center.

TERRA has a built-in FX processor so the stereo output is ready to use, making it a perfect stand-alone performance instrument. While the sound generation is digital, TERRA has a unique custom-built and top quality analog part that makes it sound rich, natural, clear and powerful at the same time.

The housing of TERRA comes from a 3 pieces of wood, making each instrument unique and slightly different. We also draw your attention to the fact that joints between different parts of the wood may be visible on the body of the instrument. The TERRA logo is made of brass and encrusted on a wooden case.

TERRA is a sanctuary for a natural soul right in the middle of the rumbling plastic world, a ground where you can breathe in and out slowly, and hold on to your roots.
TERRA is our dream about a bright future where we will be both technologically advanced and more connected to nature, where machines and technology are not a prison for our feelings and spirit but their extension.

Features

• Synthesis algorithms: 32
• Polyphony: 1-12 voices (depending on the algorithm)
• Presets: 96
• Pitch Shifter presets: 24

Specifications

• Dimensions: 405 x 365 x 57 mm
• Weight: 2.2kg
• Power: DC 12V, 0.2A, 5.5 x 2.1 mm Barrel, “+” center positive

Manufacturer product page here.
Product manual here.

The post Soma Laboratory Terra Organic Polyphonic Synthesizer (Dark) appeared first on Elevator Sound.

Splitter mode allows you to split the keyboard of one MIDI channel into several zones. Notes from each zone are sent to only one instrument. This allows you to simultaneously play several instruments at once, listen to the interaction of timbres without having to switch the MIDI channel.

Combiner mode allows you to combine several monophonic instruments into one multitimbral polyphonic instrument. This works the same way as a polyphonic synthesizer’s algorithm when it activates its voices. Only instead of voices with the same dynamics and parameters, you can play completely different timbres, which greatly expands the possibilities for creating interesting harmonies and rhythms.

Translator mode allows you to play the sound core parameter by pressing notes. Each received note is translated into a CC message corresponding to the desired parameter. This mode allows you to play with sound parameters, rather than simply enter them by rotating the knob. This mode works great with granular delays, resonant filters and paraphonic oscillators.

Specs

• Power supply: DC +5V via USB
• Current consumption: 20 ma max
• Dimensions: 148 ? 50 ? 20 mm
• Weight: 0.15 kg

The post Soma Laboratory Metaconformer MIDI Router / Processor appeared first on Elevator Sound.

The modules included in UTILITIES can be divided into two groups:
1) Passive elements such as switches, resistors, capacitors.
2) Various types of amplifiers and waveshapers, linear, non-linear, controlled and uncontrolled.
Passive elements are designed to expand the possibilities of switching and controlling the PULSAR.

Linear amplifiers are needed when you need to feed a signal from a device operating in a lower voltage format to the PULSAR inputs. For example, it can be a step sequencer with an output voltage of 5 volts, while the PULSAR needs 10 volts to fully trigger the drum modules. Or it could be the output of a cassette tape recorder, which has an output of 1 volt, while for normal operation the PULSAR needs an input level of an audio signal of 5 volts. Non-linear and controlled amplifiers and waveshapers are designed to control the signal level, while simultaneously changing its spectrum, distorting its shape and adding harmonics. The circuitry of these amplifiers is very simple and based on the early developments of the transistor era, with its inherent beauty and grace.

UTILITIES comes in two different versions:
1) with PULSAR-23 style turrets designed for connecting alligator clips.
2) with screws instead of pins. Also designed for connecting alligator clips, just a more affordable (see PRICE & AVAILABILITY) and different look than the turrets.

There are also adapters for 3.5mm Eurorack mini-jacks. The top panel and enclosure of UTILITIES are made of PCBs, which significantly reduced the cost of the device.

Specifications

• Weight: 0.75kg
• Dimensions: 288 ? 193 ? 40 mm
• Power: DC +12 v 5.5 x 2.1 mm center plus / 50 ma Max

Manufacturer product page here.
Product manual here.

The post Soma Laboratory Utilities Desktop Auxiliary CV Modules (Turrets) appeared first on Elevator Sound.

The modules included in UTILITIES can be divided into two groups:
1) Passive elements such as switches, resistors, capacitors.
2) Various types of amplifiers and waveshapers, linear, non-linear, controlled and uncontrolled.
Passive elements are designed to expand the possibilities of switching and controlling the PULSAR.

Linear amplifiers are needed when you need to feed a signal from a device operating in a lower voltage format to the PULSAR inputs. For example, it can be a step sequencer with an output voltage of 5 volts, while the PULSAR needs 10 volts to fully trigger the drum modules. Or it could be the output of a cassette tape recorder, which has an output of 1 volt, while for normal operation the PULSAR needs an input level of an audio signal of 5 volts. Non-linear and controlled amplifiers and waveshapers are designed to control the signal level, while simultaneously changing its spectrum, distorting its shape and adding harmonics. The circuitry of these amplifiers is very simple and based on the early developments of the transistor era, with its inherent beauty and grace.

UTILITIES comes in two different versions:
1) with PULSAR-23 style turrets designed for connecting alligator clips.
2) with screws instead of pins. Also designed for connecting alligator clips, just a more affordable (see PRICE & AVAILABILITY) and different look than the turrets.

There are also adapters for 3.5mm Eurorack mini-jacks. The top panel and enclosure of UTILITIES are made of PCBs, which significantly reduced the cost of the device.

Specifications

• Weight: 0.75kg
• Dimensions: 288 ? 193 ? 40 mm
• Power: DC +12 v 5.5 x 2.1 mm center plus / 50 ma Max

Manufacturer product page here.
Product manual here.

The post Soma Laboratory Utilities Desktop Auxiliary CV Modules (Screws) appeared first on Elevator Sound.

You can focus on playing your set and let ILLUMINATOR take care of the rest, creating a dynamic visual show that follows your tracks down to every note and beat!

No presets, no memory- just your music driving the lights. Create intense strobe-like effects by connecting rapid hi-hats from your analogue drums, or use slow external LFOs for a moody ambience during your ambient sessions.

ILLUMINATOR is compatible with standard 12V LED strips that are affordable and widely available. LED strips are flexible and typically come with adhesive on the back, so it’s easy to attach them to any objects and surfaces, including irregular and unusual ones. It can be your Eurorack case, synth stands, walls of the venue, furniture and even your body! This way you can create a unique light show that would otherwise require an expensive (and unwieldy!) lighting setup. Everything you need for your ILLUMINATOR show easily fits into a small backpack for just a couple hundred euros.

ILLUMINATOR can also run an art installation, as LED strips are far from its only application. It can drive anything that accepts DC 12V with a current up to 0.5A. You can hook up anything from motors, electromagnets to old-fashioned filament bulbs. It’s the perfect beating heart for your weird mechanical steampunk orchestra. Your imagination is the limit!

ILLUMINATOR accepts all types of CV signals in the range from 3 to 20 volts. Each of the eight channels contains an individual trimmer pot that defines the sensitivity of the channel. It not only adjusts the optimal input range for connected CV sources, but it can also set the brightness of each LED strip. Default factory setting for all trimmer pots is made for the range of 5V, compatible with most gear out of the box.

Applying bipolar CV is also possible but the negative part of the signal will not light up the LEDs (everything below zero will be processed as zero).

CV signals can be connected to ILLUMINATOR using Eurorack mini-jacks or PULSAR-23-like pins and alligator clips. PSU DC IN and all outputs are standard DC sockets 5.5×2.1mm center plus.

Note: The unit comes with 8 x 1.5m LED strips. 2 x White, 2 x Blue, 2 x Green and 2 x Red.

The post Soma Laboratory Illuminator Euro to LED Desktop Controller (With LED strips) appeared first on Elevator Sound.

As an instrument, ENNER is a unique analog synthesizer with the key principle being that all signals that make sound pass through and are managed by your body. Your hands become the central part of the circuitry. Touching different contact pads with different parts of your fingers and palms with different amounts of pressure, letting signals pass through your body defines the mixing, volume, timbre, feedback and other parameters of synthesis. Human skin has much more complex electric properties than we think. Our skin provides not just resistance but also some capacitive properties and even nonlinear dependence of conductivity from current, its direction and time during which the current was applied. All of this affects the sound, making you the key part of the synthesis process.

All pots of ENNER are metallic and also function as inputs or outputs. Touching a pot can change not only the parameters but also patch the audio signals.

ENNER consist of:

1. The array of filters with fixed frequency properties (the triangle in the center): the stereo high pass filter (HPF), the stereo bandpass filter (high mid – BPFH),  the stereo bandpass filter (low mid – BPFL), the stereo lowpass filter (LPF). Stereo means that the filters have separate inputs for left and right channels as well as separate outputs. Sliding on the filters’ pads with your fingers you can create a rich stereo image where each channel may have not only individual volume properties but also timbral ones. The outputs of the filters are mixed together and connected to the main output. Also in the triangle, you have a stereo direct input (DIR) that lets you bypass the filters.
2. The modulated stereo delay. The input of the delay is the two pads on the top of the triangle (DLY blue). The output of the delay is mixed with filter output and connected to the main output. Also, you have delay output connected to the pads placed on the left and right sides from the top of the triangle (DLY orange) that lets you create feedback and other interesting effects. The delay has two separate lines (left and right) with individual TIME controls (????? pots), common FEEDBACK and the common pot that defines the amount of self-modulation (BIZZARE). The ????? pots are also touch inputs for delay time modulation.
3. On the right side of ENNER, there is a five-voice synthesizer with individual adjustment of frequency for each voice (TUNE knobs) with the possibility to change the pitch of all voices simultaneously (PITCH knob). TUNE knobs are also the outputs of the voices, so by touching them you can patch the voices to the filter’s inputs. The synthesizer has separate output pads for each voice (pads OUT 1-5), individual modulation inputs (MOD 1-5) and ring modulation outputs (the RING 12, 23, 34 numbers indicate which voices are sources for the ring modulation). Connecting MOD and OUT pads of one voice with your fingers will pitch it up. The fifth voice has an additional modulation pad MOD 5- which can shift the pitch of the fifth voice down (connect it to +12 pad or any pad that has some positive signal including the output of the fifth voice).
4. On the left side of ENNER, there is the second synth that has one master generator, the output of which is divided six times by two with individual outputs for each stage of division (PULSE 1-6). This synth is aimed at creating rhythmical clicks, basses and octave tones. The frequency of the master generator is defined by the TEMPO knob. The output pads &1,2,3 are logical multiplications of different PULSE outputs giving additional and more complex rhythm combinations.
5. ENNER is also an electro-acoustic noise instrument. It has a piezo pickup attached to the front panel that captures sound from the casing itself. There is metallic spring and you can attach rubber bands to the panel to create various acoustic sounds. The piezo mic can capture clicks and scratches you make with your fingers, and it also allows you to create filtered feedback. Not only that, it can even capture your voice singing over the panel! To get sound from the piezo you have to connect the PIEZO OUT pad with some filters or delay inputs. Applying filters and delay on the piezo out while the panel works as a mic, catching the audio signal from the speakers connected to the ENNER output lets you create very cool acoustic feedback-based effects. PIEZO GAIN adjusts the piezo sensitivity.
6. The bottom of the triangle (NOISE pad) is the output of static pink noise.
7. External in (EXT socket and EXT pad) lets you send an external audio signal to ENNER and process it through the array of filters, delay and other ENNER stuff.

All of these features make ENNER a simple yet powerful kit of sound sources and FX that give you a rich and diverse sound palette with many possible playing techniques that you can change very fast as there is no other control over the sound other than your touches.

ENNER was inspired by and developed together with Danish sound-artist SiSTOR (Dalin Waldo). She created the design of the front panel (pads layout and handwritten inscriptions) and she came up with the name ENNER.

Manufacturer product page here.
Product manual here.

The post Soma Laboratory Enner Desktop Expressive Sound Design Synthesizer (Red) appeared first on Elevator Sound.

As an instrument, ENNER is a unique analog synthesizer with the key principle being that all signals that make sound pass through and are managed by your body. Your hands become the central part of the circuitry. Touching different contact pads with different parts of your fingers and palms with different amounts of pressure, letting signals pass through your body defines the mixing, volume, timbre, feedback and other parameters of synthesis. Human skin has much more complex electric properties than we think. Our skin provides not just resistance but also some capacitive properties and even nonlinear dependence of conductivity from current, its direction and time during which the current was applied. All of this affects the sound, making you the key part of the synthesis process.

All pots of ENNER are metallic and also function as inputs or outputs. Touching a pot can change not only the parameters but also patch the audio signals.

ENNER consist of:

1. The array of filters with fixed frequency properties (the triangle in the center): the stereo high pass filter (HPF), the stereo bandpass filter (high mid – BPFH),  the stereo bandpass filter (low mid – BPFL), the stereo lowpass filter (LPF). Stereo means that the filters have separate inputs for left and right channels as well as separate outputs. Sliding on the filters’ pads with your fingers you can create a rich stereo image where each channel may have not only individual volume properties but also timbral ones. The outputs of the filters are mixed together and connected to the main output. Also in the triangle, you have a stereo direct input (DIR) that lets you bypass the filters.
2. The modulated stereo delay. The input of the delay is the two pads on the top of the triangle (DLY blue). The output of the delay is mixed with filter output and connected to the main output. Also, you have delay output connected to the pads placed on the left and right sides from the top of the triangle (DLY orange) that lets you create feedback and other interesting effects. The delay has two separate lines (left and right) with individual TIME controls (????? pots), common FEEDBACK and the common pot that defines the amount of self-modulation (BIZZARE). The ????? pots are also touch inputs for delay time modulation.
3. On the right side of ENNER, there is a five-voice synthesizer with individual adjustment of frequency for each voice (TUNE knobs) with the possibility to change the pitch of all voices simultaneously (PITCH knob). TUNE knobs are also the outputs of the voices, so by touching them you can patch the voices to the filter’s inputs. The synthesizer has separate output pads for each voice (pads OUT 1-5), individual modulation inputs (MOD 1-5) and ring modulation outputs (the RING 12, 23, 34 numbers indicate which voices are sources for the ring modulation). Connecting MOD and OUT pads of one voice with your fingers will pitch it up. The fifth voice has an additional modulation pad MOD 5- which can shift the pitch of the fifth voice down (connect it to +12 pad or any pad that has some positive signal including the output of the fifth voice).
4. On the left side of ENNER, there is the second synth that has one master generator, the output of which is divided six times by two with individual outputs for each stage of division (PULSE 1-6). This synth is aimed at creating rhythmical clicks, basses and octave tones. The frequency of the master generator is defined by the TEMPO knob. The output pads &1,2,3 are logical multiplications of different PULSE outputs giving additional and more complex rhythm combinations.
5. ENNER is also an electro-acoustic noise instrument. It has a piezo pickup attached to the front panel that captures sound from the casing itself. There is metallic spring and you can attach rubber bands to the panel to create various acoustic sounds. The piezo mic can capture clicks and scratches you make with your fingers, and it also allows you to create filtered feedback. Not only that, it can even capture your voice singing over the panel! To get sound from the piezo you have to connect the PIEZO OUT pad with some filters or delay inputs. Applying filters and delay on the piezo out while the panel works as a mic, catching the audio signal from the speakers connected to the ENNER output lets you create very cool acoustic feedback-based effects. PIEZO GAIN adjusts the piezo sensitivity.
6. The bottom of the triangle (NOISE pad) is the output of static pink noise.
7. External in (EXT socket and EXT pad) lets you send an external audio signal to ENNER and process it through the array of filters, delay and other ENNER stuff.

All of these features make ENNER a simple yet powerful kit of sound sources and FX that give you a rich and diverse sound palette with many possible playing techniques that you can change very fast as there is no other control over the sound other than your touches.

ENNER was inspired by and developed together with Danish sound-artist SiSTOR (Dalin Waldo). She created the design of the front panel (pads layout and handwritten inscriptions) and she came up with the name ENNER.

Manufacturer product page here.
Product manual here.

The post Soma Laboratory Enner Desktop Expressive Sound Design Synthesizer (Night Frog) appeared first on Elevator Sound.

The “heart” of the synthesizer contains 4 sound oscillators, each with a tunable waveform and an individual LFO, which can modulate the tone or volume of the oscillator. The modulated signal of each oscillator is mixed with other signals using 1,536 variations of complex summing algorithms that contain FM, ring modulation, bitwise logical operations and more.

The synth contains an 8-bit resonant lowpass filter with a distinct Lo-Fi character. The built-in sequencer can be synced to an external device and also send clock out. RoAT is battery powered and can work up to 130 hours on one set of AAA batteries.

Rumble of Ancient Times is built on a very simple 8-bit microcontroller similar to the ones used in the “brains” of old refrigerators and other simple electronic devices. Thanks to some very clever programming, it’s also able to drive a very capable synth with many features!

In stark contrast to modern consumer electronics, this synth celebrates and emphasizes what can be achieved with efficiency of code and using chips considered obsolete by industry leaders. We live in an age where text editors can be 1GB or more and simple things like checking email require the latest OS and powerful processing, despite the core tasks being no different than 15 years ago with a fraction of the computational power.

So RoAT proposes a new kind of ecological thinking with the innovative use of chips that were developed and produced decades ago, instead of turning them into millions of tons of trash. We can still use technology that the industry forced us to consider obsolete, with the added benefit here of extremely low power consumption. It’s an environmentally friendlier approach than galloping in the rush of planned obsolescence that damages our planet and wastes precious resources.

Rumble of Ancient Times was designed and programmed by Kakos Nonos, a new creative mind who joined the SOMA development team. His very unique style of building electronic musical instruments combines quality craftsmanship, advanced programming and a love for medieval acoustic instruments such as gusli, wheeled lyre and bagpipes.

Manufacturer product page here.
Product manual here.

The post Soma Laboratory RoAT (Rumble Of Ancient Times) Desktop 8-Bit Noise Synthesizer appeared first on Elevator Sound.

LYRA-8 is based on eight generators, which will be referred to as voices. Their design is not like a traditional subtractive synthesis VCO. Instead of having a linear or logarithmic dependency on control voltage, they resemble the tone generators in old electric organs. Hence the use of the term “voices” instead of “VCOs”. Lyra uses non-linearity a lot, and the voices are constructed in such a way that allows for non-linearity to express itself.

Specs:

• Max output voltage: 2 v 0-to-peak
• Output connector: mono 6.3 mm TS or TRS (balanced) jack
• Output resistance: 100 Ohm
• EXT IN: 1 v 0-to-peak
• EXT IN connector: 6.3 mm TS jack
• CV DELAY : unipolar, range of 0 to +5 volt
• CV DELAY connector: 6.3 mm TS jack
• CV VOICES: unipolar, range of 0 to +5 volt
• CV VOICES connector: 6.3 mm TS jack
• Power supply: stabilised, +12 V, 0.2 A, centre positive
• Power Consumption: 2 watt
• Dimensions: 266 x 266 x 62 mm
• Weight (without power supply and packaging): 2.5 kg

The post Soma Laboratory Lyra-8 Organismic Analog Syntheszier (Blue) appeared first on Elevator Sound.