The hardware/software company Percussa made a significant release at Winter NAMM 2017 with their new Synthor System 8. The system is made up of three components: ENGINE, REMOTE, and AUDIOCUBES.
The ENGINE is the hardware platform for Percussa’s Synthor synthesizer software. It serves as the base unit and has a quad-core 1.7 GHz processor onboard, along with a 1600 x 480 px display. The REMOTE is a separate hardware device, and the primary control surface featuring nine knobs and a plethora of buttons that I am assuming can be programmed with any MIDI action the user prefers. The REMOTE also has a display onboard, as well a variety of MIDI, Audio, and USB I/O ports.
The AUDIOCUBES are perhaps the most interesting pieces of the system. These are fun little controllers that light up and sense their location and orientation of both themselves and the AUDIOCUBES around them. This allows a whole new level of hands-on control of your assignable MIDI parameters that can provide feedback via their color and frequency of their flashing lights. Both the REMOTE and AUDIOCUBES are wireless controllers for the ENGINE, allowing the system as a whole to operate as a fully wireless modular network with up to 16 devices!
The videos available on Percussa’s website provide a glimpse of how the different components of the Synthor system will interact with each other. The sound produced in these videos is raw, the only sounds presented are raw oscillator tones and LFO modulators. Of course, I’m sure it provides everything needed to create some impressive synthesizer sounds, but I’m curious why they didn’t showcase some of the best patches.
On the other hand, you can also check out our NAMM video of the Synthor 8 above, for a closer look at some of the system’s impressive features. Although I haven’t tried the system yet, I applaud Percussa’s willingness to take a risk and try something this creative!
More info: Synthor System 8
