Michigan Synth Works XVI Desktop Fader Bank for CV, I2C and MIDI

23 Sep 2020 by Robin Vincent | Approximate reading time: 2 Minutes

Michigan Synth Works XVI Desktop · Source: Michigan Synth Works

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A delightfully simple bank of 16 faders that you can plug into MIDI, patch to CV and interface with I2C devices. USB powered long-throw faders for controlling stuff – brilliant!

XVI Desktop

MIDI and CV controllers can often get far too complex with multiple functions and combinations of dials, pads, faders and strips when sometimes all you need is a row of faders. You know what’s up and you know what’s down and at a glance, you can see how your whole rig is set up and what to move next. I’m slightly giddy with the freshness of this vintage concept.

You’ve got 16 faders running on 16 channels mapped to USB and TRS-B MIDI simultaneously and differently. You’ve got 2 fully buffered I2C ports with leader/follower modes and yeah I don’t really know what they’re used for either*. And then you’ve got a CV output on each channel with independent voltage range selection.

Michigan Synth Works XVI Desktop · Source: Michigan Synth Works

There are all sorts of ways you could integrate it into your Eurorack. It could simply bring controls of various modules together in a very coherent way so you don’t have to fiddle your fingers between cables and find the right knob in an intense live performance situation. You could combine them into multed modular macros, or map them to your favourite parameters. With an optional front panel you could also mount this into your rack although I think that might take away the advantage of being able to step away from the rack.

XVI Desktop is available in white, blue or black with a selection of LED colours and it’s brilliantly compact and nicely versatile. They are taking preorders for $325 and hope to ship by the end of October.