Erica Synths has announced that its highly anticipated SYNTRX II desktop synthesizer is now available. Based on lessons learned from the SYNTRX, the company has decided to create an instrument that integrates even deeper into contemporary electronic and experimental music setups, covering sonic territory — from daunting drones to powerful basslines and glitched noisescapes — the SYNTRX II is a new dark horse for experimental sonic rides.

The SYNTRX II is the culmination of Erica’s analogue sound design circuits; two perfectly stable main oscillators with waveshapers, a modulation oscillator with 1V/oct tracking, a versatile multimode filter, supercharged external instrument inputs with an envelope follower, a unique, great-sounding ring modulator, a recordable joystick, built-in piano roll sequencer, and stepped modulation sources — all arranged around the signature matrix mixer, and topped off with powerful FX on our new DSP platform.

​Features:

• Two perfectly stable main oscillators with CV-controlled waveforms
• Modulation oscillator with variable waveforms
• Highpass and Lowpass filters in series
• Free running or gate synced sample and hold circuit
• Multi-colour noise generator
• DC coupled instrument inputs with signal inversion and envelope follower
• Ring modulator of unique design
• Looping trapezoid envelope generator and VCA
• Two output VCAs
• Signal meter with a dedicated audio/CV output
• FX section with Delay and Reverb developed in collaboration with 112db.com
• Recordable Joystick
• Analogue patch matrix with 3 attenuation levels in each patch point
• 254 patch memory
• Piano roll sequencer and two stepper modulation sources
• DIN5 MIDI Input and MIDI Thru
• Two assignable outputs
• Headphone output

Erica Synths SYNTRX II is priced at U$2179.

PĒRKONS – a deity of old known by many names and also by ours on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea – THUNDER, lord of the skies. Erica Synths present its newest creation – PĒRKONS (THUNDER) – a drum machine and synthesiser intended to change your approach to electronic rhythm synthesis – an instrument which bears the weight of a storm beneath its sturdy casing.

PĒRKONS features four sonically versatile hybrid voices (digital sound engine + analogue multimode filter with overdrive) and a sequencer with simultaneous control over all four percussion tracks.

Each voice has 3 sound engine modes, a HP/BP/LP filter and 8 controls for nuanced sound design, including an internal analogue BBD FX send. All voice parameter settings can be saved as KITS. To add dynamics to the performance, parameter automation is implemented and a modulation LFO can be assigned to all parameters.

For a real thunderstorm, integration with external gear is considered – each voice has a dedicated velocity-sensitive trigger input, individual output and FX send and return with 6.3mm jack sockets, along with extensive MIDI implementation. All voices are summed and run through a built-in optical compressor and master overdrive.

PĒRKONS HD-01 is a unique live performance and sound design instrument that blurs the lines between drum machine, synthesiser and drone instrument. Time to ride the skies!

Features:

• 4 hybrid voices (digital sound engine and analogue multimode filter with overdrive)
• 8 controls per voice
• Velocity sensitive trigger inputs for drum pads
• Individual voice outputs
• Individual sends and returns
• 64 kit and 64 pattern memory + additional memory on the SD card
• Built-in analogue bucket brigade delay and optical compressor
• Modulation LFO with morphing waveforms, phase shift and 8 destinations
• 4 track sequencer, 4 time divisions and 4 time multiplications per track
• Per-step ratchets and probabilities
• 4 shuffle algorithms
• MIDI IN and MIDI OUT

Pricing: €1650 EUR (VAT excl.); release date within 2021.