Weird Japanese Synth, AI Ambience Generator, Nonlinear Labs C-15 Is Gorgeous: Synth Journal
4,5 / 5,0 | 
All the best of the rest of synth news this week including unsold stock of a 40-year-old weird Japanese synth now available from Error Instruments.
Synth Journal
Weird Japanese Synth: Suiko VS-1
The cult of the weird Japanese synth, the Suiko Trainer, continues to grow. Error Instruments has got its hands on a bunch of NOS (new old stock) Suiko VS-1 units and is selling them with a few modern improvements, such as a universal power cable. They’re also testing them before sales.
What is a Suiko Trainer? Not true synthesizers, they’re actually meant to be used as accompaniment for the recitation of classical Japanese and Chinese poetry. The VS-1 has eight sounds with things like koto, bells, strings and voice, plus some additional controls such as high- and lowpass filters, LFO and amplitude adjustment.
The VS-1 also has a unique feature called Vocal Drive, which lets you control the sounds with your voice. (You can hear it in action in the video below.) You can also use Vocal Drive to program the sequencer if you don’t feel like using the onboard keys.
Suiko is still around and releasing modern poetry trainers but these old machines have a rather unique and lovely sound. The company has released many of them over the years but only for the Japanese domestic market, so they’re still rather rare overseas.
If you like the sound of this weird Japanese synth but don’t need the physical device, Sample Science has a free plugin called Virtual Suiko.
Suiko VS-1 is available for €799 directly from Error Instruments.
- Error Instruments Suiko VS-1 product page
Error Instruments Loopman 2
In our second bit of Error Instruments news, we have the Loopman 2. Inspired by the Mellotron, Loopman 2 is a cassette deck for your Eurorack system that lets you ‘play’ the cassette. To achieve this, you’ve got CV control over the speed of the tape. There’s also a potentiometer for manual adjustments.
To make sure the tape mechanism functions correctly, Error Instruments have given Loopman 2 a high-speed motor drive with rapid play and stop functionality. There’s also a built-in radio for adding noise to sounds plus a gated output. “You can generate unique drum sounds by using triggers or gates,” suggests Error Instruments.
If you’ve always wanted a cassette deck with CV control over playback speed, now’s your chance. Loopman 2 is available now from the Error Instruments website for €299.
If you prefer a Mellotron, those are available as well.
- Error Instruments Loopman 2 product page
Krotos Studio AI Ambience Generator
As an ambient artist, this news pricked up my ears. Krotos Studio is an AI-powered sound effects suite aimed at foley artists and sound designers working in film, television and video games. Last year, the software gained a text prompt for putting together audio beds based on already installed sound packs, either professionally recorded ones provided by Krotos or files that you have installed yourself. Now, you can do it with images.
Upload a picture, film still, or concept art of the sonic environment you want to generate and the software will turn the image into a text prompt, and then generate the audio. You can further adjust the sound and, if you have the Pro version, you can add your own sounds after the initial generation.
Krotos Studio is only available as a subscription, either monthly or yearly, with two tiers, Krotos Studio and Krotos Studio Pro. Ambience Generator is available at both tiers.
- Krotos AI Ambience Generator product page
FlatSix Seventh Summoner
Eurorack users with Intellijel cases, take note. Seventh Summoner is a new, 1U Eurorack module from FlatSix. A performance sequencer, it lets you save up to six 32-note sequences and recall them on the fly. You can adjust playback direction (Forward, Backward, Pingpong, Golden Ratio, and Random), slew, octave, note transposition, and clock division in real-time.
There’s also a Summoner mode, which lets you chain up to 16 of your sequences along with your adjustments into a meta-sequencing layer.
Seventh Summoner is available in black and silver panel models. It’s also part of the Nocturne Alchemy Platform, meaning that you can also load in firmware from the Arp of Darkness and Slight of Hand modules for free. So it’s really three modules in one. Not bad for $225.
- FlatSix Seventh Summoner product page
Pat Metheny on a Nonlinear Labs C-15
I have to admit that I’m not a jazz guy. The jazz that I like tends to have a lot of synthesizers in it, like Herbie Hancock’s mid-‘70s period. I have a hard time with brass sounds, particularly squealing ones, but synths? I can listen to them all day.
Imagine my delight, then, when I watched the above YouTube video. A quickie from Doctor Mix, it’s really just a heads up that he’ll be vlogging from NAMM with a little performance on the Nonlinear Labs C-15 thrown in for good measure. Fantastically expensive and also fantastically gorgeous, the C-15 comes alive during the good Doctor’s performance. And the song? “Last Train Home.”
I admit I didn’t know the song before hearing this, but I loved it so much I had to check out the original. Wow, what a song. While I can’t say that I like much else on the Still Life (Talking) album, “Last Train Home” is a real gem. As is Doctor Mix’s performance.
- Nonlinear Labs C-15 product page
More Information
- All about synthesizers
- All about Eurorack
*Note: This article contains advertising links that help us pay for this site. Don’t worry: the price for you will always be the same! If you buy something through these links, we will receive a small commission. Thank you for your support!
This might also interest you
One response to “Weird Japanese Synth, AI Ambience Generator, Nonlinear Labs C-15 Is Gorgeous: Synth Journal”
It might be helpful for you to expand your ears. As a reviewer it will give you better historical perspective. Metheny is magic. September 15th, check it out.