The TC-5000 Breaks Cover, Synths in Oil Tanks, and We Mourn an Industry Stalwart: Synth Journal
Plus a minilogue takes on the world's longest reverb!
4,4 / 5,0 | 
Analogue Solutions TC-5000 is very real & coming soon. We also mourn the passing of Seiki Kato of KORG and the coming together of CHOMPI & Chase Bliss!
Synth Journal
Analogue Solutions TC-5000 – New Video
You may recall how I lost my proverbial poop when Tom Carpenter debuted his homage to the ARP 2500 at SynthFest U.K. last year. Not a clone, but a real call back to the user interface paradigm that was created by Alan R Pearlman, the TC-5000, like most Analogue Solutions synths is not for the faint-hearted.
At a mere £24,500, Tom is currently taking deposits with the first TC-5000 units likely to start shipping any day now. He is also creating wing units to further replicate that wonderful way of working that Pearlman created. And as a precursor to those first units shipping, Tom has released a new video. And this thing sounds incredible…
You can reserve your TC-5000 by placing a deposit here.
CHOMPI CLUB x CHASE BLISS
You remember CHOMPI Club, don’t you? Sure you do! They created the CHOMPI Sampler, that cutesy, toy-like sampler that went viral on Kickstarter and won over the hearts and minds of all of us Gen X’ers! Well, most of us anyway!
Back in May of 2024, we reported that the two companies had collaborated on a limited edition version of CHOMPI that debuted at Superbooth 2024. Called the Treasure Island edition, it featured a new case design and a unique sample library created by Chase Bliss themselves.
Well, it seems that Chase Bliss were rather taken with CHOMPI Club and their instrument, so they’ve now welcomed CHOMPI Club into the Chase Bliss family! CHOMPI’s have been sold out for some time, so the first order of business will be to start a new production run.
Support and development will continue with the original CHOMPI Club team of Chelsea and Tobias. Over time, support will shift to Chase Bliss. This, presumably, will allow Chelsea and Tobias to focus on new projects, but Chase Bliss is keen to point out that CHOMPI Club isn’t going anywhere. Which is good news.
The new run of CHOMPI Sampler’s will eventually be available via the Chase Bliss website when they’re ready, but they’ve not yet indicated when that will be.
KORG minilogue played in an Oil Tank
How much reverb does one need? Can one have too much? Is that even possible? Well, it would seem that a former military oil storage facility in Scotland has all the reverb you need. In fact, it currently holds the world record for the longest natural reverb on planet earth!
Located at Inchindown, near Invergordon, the man-made tunnels were designed to store heavy fuel oil safely during the second small disagreement of 1939-1945. Total capacity was 32 million gallons with a network of interconnecting tunnels allowing the storage and management of fuel.
So, with 112 seconds of reverb available, who wouldn’t want to take some synths down there and try it out? Thom Isaacs did and here’s the video he made of him doing just that…
Suffice to say, it sounds incredible. The diminutive KORG minilogue used by Thom now sounds huge!
Of course, recording sessions in such a place are not easy. However, Matt Grey has made a couple of impulse responses, so you can use them in your own convolution reverb and play around with the world’s longest reverb!
KORG President and Representative Director, Seiki Kato, Passes Away
Last week, the synthesizer community mourned the loss of yet another important figure. This time, KORG’s President and Representative Director, Seiki Kato, passed peacefully on February 21st at the age of 67, following a brief illness.
Son of KORG’s founder, Tsutomo Kato, Seiki-san join the family business in 1980, after graduating from university. Starting in sales, he soon rose through the ranks, overseeing the development of the M1. Subsequent promotions saw him move to America where he grew the U.S. market for KORG, eventually assuming the position of President and CEO in 2003.
His impact and presence cannot be understated and the entire Gearnews team send our deepest condolences to his family and the wider KORG family at this sad time. KORG’s statement can be read in full here.
RaspiAudio Modulox Modular Midi Controller
There have been numerous attempts at creating customisable MIDI controllers over the years. Some have been more successful than others but none have firmly taken root. I guess that’s because we all have different needs and budgets.
Some of the very clever ideas have been scuppered by high prices, others by limitations. So there’s every reason to think that Modulox by RaspiAudio might go the same way. I guess time will tell, but Modulox has the benefit of being relatively low cost and it is open source!
That means that anyone with an inkling of what it takes to make these little boxes work can take the concept and run with it. Three units are currently available via Amazon, which will help broaden the marketplace.
There’s a multi-touch surface, a rotary controller nest and a fader unit. These can easily be interconnected via magnetic contacts and all of them can be powered by a single USB cable. Check out the video…
There’s a software configuration tool, and it looks like a lot of fun, as well as being super useful. You can learn more about Modulox and find out where to buy them here. There’s even a synthesizer module that can change its function simply by uploading new firmware!
SYNSO Touchflower 3.0
The SYNSO Touchflower 3.0 is a new Eurorack module synthesizer with a very cool touch surface that allows you to play and control the built-in multi-waveform synthesizer. Each of the four ‘leaves’ correspond to the root, 3rd, 5th and 7th of the selected chord, so by moving your fingers around, you can conjure up some nice effects.
There are five chord types available that will work from the root note that the user decides to choose. There are also randomisation features and FM vibrato. The Touchflower will easily integrate into any Eurorack modular system and when combined with other modules, has the potential for some truly expressive performances.
You can buy a SYNSO Touchflower 3.0 from Sonic Seed for just £139 GBP.
Blue and Pink Synth Editor for the Dreadbox Nymphes
The Nymphes from Dreadbox is a brilliant little desktop synth with a sound that belies its small footprint. But whilst it sounded great, its interface was somewhat limited and restricted. If any synth needed a software editor, it was the Nymphes.
And lo and behold, Scott Lumsden has created just that. Named after the Nympes colour scheme, the Blue and Pink Synth Editor gives you full and unfettered access to all of the Nymphes’ MIDI-controllable parameters. this also includes support for Chords.
Presets can be loaded and saved in bulk or individually, with the editor allowing you to inspect the SysEx files before you overwrite something you don’t want to. With a clean interface and a full set of features, the Blue and Pink Editor is something every Nymphes owner will surely crave!
More information on the Blue and Pink Synth Editor can be located here and you can buy the activation code for $20 here.
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