What could be more acid than a transparent TB-303? That and more trippy things in this week’s Synth Journal.
Synth Journal
Love Hultén Refaced Deckard’s Dream Synth
If you don’t know Love Hultén, get thee to his website pronto and check out what an amazing artist he is. He basically takes existing instruments and effects and recombines them into beautiful, custom-made musical objet d’art for one-off customers. He has a distinctive Space Age style but the real genius is how he integrates all the disparate products.
Love’s latest is Refaced Deckard’s Dream, a self-contained unit that looks like something from the USS Enterprise on the original Star Trek show – if the ship had been designed in Scandinavia. The centerpiece of the instrument is a Deckard’s Dream from Black Corporation, repainted cream to match the overall aesthetic and paired with a Yamaha CS-80-style ribbon controller. Also appearing in the Refaced machine is a Chase Bliss CXM 1978 reverb pedal, a motorized pullout keybed, and a monitor that reacts to sound.
This is not Love Hultén’s first dance with the Deckard’s Dream. We last saw him running the blade earlier this year with two Deckard’s Dreams.
Visit Love Hultén’s webpage (below) if you want to hire him to build you something special.
IdioTech Devices GreenWaves
The Ondes Martenot is an electronic musical instrument that is on par with the Theremin in terms of legendary status. You play it by moving a ring attached to a string up and down a keyboard-like surface for smooth, string-like sounds. Radiohead superfan Joe Edelmann, inspired by how the band has used the Ondes, decided to create his own take on it, the IdioTech Devices GreenWaves.
Digital rather than analog, the GreenWaves features a control box mounted on a poplar platform, with a string running the length of the board. Being digital, the audio engine can offer four basic wave shapes: ondes (sine), gambe (PW-adjustable square with LPF), creux (soft-limited triangle), and octaviant (partially-folded sine). There’s also a built-in spring reverb effect (digital, I’m assuming) plus the ability to play in mono or chord modes.
GreenWaves is available for preorder. The price is $1799.99 with a preorder deposit of $650. It’s currently only available in the US and Canada but Joe is hoping to start accepting international orders soon.
Aodyo Anyma Phi Special Edition
Synthesizer manufacturer Aodyo declared bankruptcy in late 2024. Now it appears that it’s back in business, having been acquired by the Inodesign Group in November of last year. And there’s a new product available on the Aodyo website.
Well, new old. It’s the Anuma Phi Special Edition, a limited edition version of the Anyma Phi physical modeling synthesizer. The SE model appears to be the same as the semi-modular monophonic original, just with a new dark color scheme. You still get three oscillator slots, effects, 16 modulator slots, 32 mapping slots, and a built-in arpeggiator.
The Aodyo Anyma Phi Special Edition is currently €399 (down from €499).
Ellitone tap ki
Ellitone makes unusual and boutique products, many with a hardwood finish. The company’s latest is tap ki, a remake of its KeyControl 2 MIDI controller with a new (“true”) name and solid oak hardwood body.
Unlike most MIDI controllers, which give you piano-style keys, tap ki is a percussive controller. It’s got 12 highly sensitive “tap touch” wooden bars for knocking out vibraphone-style melodic percussion. Inspired by handpan drums, it features 16 selectable musical scales from around the world, including chromatic, major, minor zen, akebono, enigma, hutsul, and more. There’s also a sustain mode switch with two sustain behaviors and note gate length control.
The controller allows both USB-C MIDI output and TRS MIDI output simultaneously.
Ellitone tap ki costs $285 and is available from the manufacturer.
SuperOS-303 Transparent TB-303 Cases
The appeal of the Roland TB-303 is endless. It seems like every new generation rediscovers it and applies it to music in a new way. I was a teenager in the 1980s and used to buy first wave Chicago and UK acid records as they came out. I couldn’t get enough of that original sound. For later ravers, the sound is tied up with artists like Richie Hawtin, Josh Wink and Woody McBride. Everyone has their own acid hero.
Company SuperOS-303 has been making custom firmware for the little silver box for a while, but it’s now building new cases too. And not just any case, but clear plastic ones. You’d be lying if you said you never wanted a transparent TB-303. Or at least, you would be if you saw one of Super-OS 303’s cases and still said no. I mean, look at this thing. The clear resin case looks just like a 303, only clear. So cool.
This transparent TB-303 is actually a full replacement kit and includes not only the case but also buttons and knobs. They have them for the original Roland model as well as for Din Sync’s RE-303 and LRB-303 from Michigan Synth Works. They sell them for the TR-606, too.
The kit costs $499.
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