Second - Mutable Instruments Ambika

A dark horse this one, possibly slipped under your radar, as its primarily a DIY synth, but nonetheless it has a lot of fans.

A hybrid synth, with 6 voices , using digital waveforms through analog multimode VCFs and VCAs it does have a huge sound. You can choose what type of voicecards you have in Ambika - with two type of 4-pole filters or a two pole multimode filter. Indeed, you can even mix and match having 4 or 5 voices the same for pads and one or two with different filter types for lead sounds. Ambika offers multi-timbral operation with two  step sequencers, apreggiators and rhythmic chord generators, each part can be clocked separately.

Mutable Instruments head honcho Olivier Gillet said this:

"I'm delighted by this result, which proves that the evolutions in electronics and manufacturing of the past 20 years are such that great results can now be achieved by small teams on a shoestring budget - mirroring what we have seen for music, movies, or video games. It also validates one of the goals I've always kept for my projects: make them musically relevant and competitive with the big players, regardless of their DIY aspect. I believe the DIY/open hardware scene is now going to play an important role in setting trends and innovations in the electronic music instrument world."

Available from Mutable Instruments as a DIY Kit - although it is possible to have one made for you by certified DIYers.

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More Information

• Mutable-Instruments.net