Taiga: 3-Oscillator analogue wavefolding paraphonic powerhouse
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Pittsburgh Modular Taiga · Source: Pittsburgh Modular
Pittsburgh Modular Taiga · Source: Pittsburgh Modular
Pittsburgh Modular Taiga · Source: Pittsburgh Modular
Pittsburgh Modular pulls together some experimental elements to combine wave warping, wave folding, buttery filtering and dynamic control in the analogue 3 oscillator Taiga.
Taiga Synthesizer
Three oscillators make you think it’s a bit of a Minimoog. Having three waveforms rubbing up against each other does seem to bring out the best in analogue synths. The Taiga is no exception, but a Minimoog it ain’t. This is something a bit different, a bit on the strange side; you could even say it is delightfully weird.
Each oscillator starts off as a simple waveform that can then be warped into several other waveforms. It begins with a sine wave and then bends towards triangle, twists towards sawtooth and fattens up toward a square. They are not incredibly precise, more of an interpretation. In fact, Pittsburgh calls them “Seeds” rather than waveforms.
From there, each oscillator has a 6-stage wavefolder to flip them on their heads and fill them with complexity. The folding can be modulated, and you can even randomise the waveform selection for each successive note. These are no ordinary analogue oscillators.
Pittsburgh Modular Taiga · Source: Pittsburgh Modular
PGH Filter
The Pittsburgh filter has a remarkable ability to sweep and resonate without any drop in level. It’s the same filter that we saw in the Cre8audio East Beast. It has a dedicated ADSR envelope to move it about. So far, the architecture is very familiar stuff for an analogue monosynth.
Dynamics
But then we have the Dynamics section. We saw this in the Cre8audio West Pest, and it’s as if those funky little synths were used as a testing ground for Pittsburgh’s technology. This has three modes. A regular VCA mode works exactly how you’d expect coupled to the second ADSR envelope. An LPG mode plays with the concept of a low pass gate but expands it to blur the lines between the “bong” of the gate and the sustain of the VCA. A further plucked mode introduces a striking front end to the sound. Both LPG modes have this very natural and organic feel that toys with the harmonics and resonates in a very filter-like way.
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Modular
The synth is completely modular, with 60 patch points to reroute and patch it in any way you see fit. Add in some external CV sources, and you can sequence the oscillators independently or drop something else into the path of the Dynamics. You’ll also find additional LFO outputs, an overdriving preamp circuit, noise generator, clock synced Arpeggiator and an analogue bucket brigade delay. You can also pull the thing out of the case and drop it into a spare 60HP in your Eurorack.
A digital control section provides the MIDI-to-CV conversion and also offers randomisation, shift registers and CC mapping. It can also pull out two notes and send them to the Taiga differently to push it into 2-note polyphony while travelling paraphonically through the one filter.
Familiar but different
Taiga is capable of fat basslines and the sorts of leads you’d expect. But it also generates slaps and bongs that are more surprising. The endless waveform modulations make it very versatile, and it explores really interesting sonic territories that you might not have visited before.
Taiga is available for preorder for $799.99.
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One response to “Taiga: 3-Oscillator analogue wavefolding paraphonic powerhouse”
Oh bloody hell!
Just when I said I’ve got my set up just the way I like it, and I definitely, definitely, don’t need any more synths this comes along!
I don’t think I can justify it at the moment, but in a few months this will be very hard not to buy!
Damn you Pittsburgh Modular!