Fascinating Prototypes that Never Made it to Market - Part Three

Not every instrument makes it's way into the hands of the synth buying public. Reasons for this vary; some companies fold, others remain healthy - but simply decide to focus on different products. Whatever the reason, such prototypes exist only in small numbers:

Kurzweil VA1

The early 2000's were the gold rush years of virtual analogue synthesis. DSP chips were programmed to sing subtractively - combining elements from the past (saws, triangles, squares) with inventive digital processes (digital waveforms, complex FM, waveshaping distortion, etc) to create a new class of instrument. A commonly-held view is that few of these instruments sounded convincingly analogue - yet, most of these interesting instruments proved satisfying if judged on their own merits.

With Korg, Nord, Novation, Roland, Yamaha and a bunch of other brands throwing their hats into the "VA" ring, it was no surprise when, in 2004, Kurzweil unveiled their entry at Musikmesse - the VA1.

Kurzweil had been dabbling in digital (non-PCM, ie algorithmic) subtractive synthesis for quite some time - starting before the term "virtual analogue" was even coined. 1992's popular K2000 made quite the impression with it's sampled sounds (up to 24MB of ROM and 64MB RAM!) of course, but in addition to these PCM "keymaps", a number of DSP building blocks were available - based on analogue-style oscillators, filters and other processes. You could program the K2000 and not touch the samples - and they sounded great, too! Pink Floyd live shows sounded great with the K2000 (better than the actually analogue Super JX!)

The (on-trend silver!) Kurzweil VA-1 debuted at Musikmesse 2004 and featured:

16 Polyphonic Voices

4 Part Multi-timbral Capability

Sound Generation: Each voice has 7 sound sources – 3 oscillators, 2 "Processors", Noise, and External. All 7 sources can be used simultaneously without reducing polyphony. Power Shaped Oscillators: Employing Kurzweil's latest DSP innovations, the VA1's oscillators generate analog-style waveforms which can be smoothly transformed from one into another, without the use of cross-fades. Traditional waveforms such as sine, square, saw, triangle, and variable pulse are available as well.

Processors: Using a versatile selection of DSP algorithms, each "Processor" can provide functions like "sample and hold", distortion, and ringmod. The processors can also serve as sub-oscillators.

FM and Sync: The VA1's FM synthesis capabilities are powerful and flexible, with a number of choices available for inputs and destinations. Each of the oscillators can be synced to a number of sources.

Deform Section: Located just before the filters in the signal path, the Deform section provides an additional block of real-time processing. Ringmod, Shapers, and a variety of digital distortion algs can be selected.

Filters: The VA1's dual filters can be arranged in series or parallel configuration and offer a broad selection of filter types. Minimoog style 4 pole resonant lo-pass with feedback, 2 and 4 pole lo-pass and hi-pass, bandpass, and notch are among the many available filter algorithms.

LFOs and Envelopes: 3 LFOs (1 local, 2 global) each with a range of up to 50hz, 2 lightning-fast ADSR envelopes, 2 standard ASRs.

Modulation Matrix: With 6 inputs (3 assignable) for each of the 46 possible destinations, the VA1 provides unmatched programming flexibility.

Arpeggiator: The VA1 features 4 independent simultaneous arpeggiators, one for each of its 4 multitimbral parts.

Effects: With 4 simultaneous effects available, one for each of the VA1's 4 multitimbral parts, the effects section features a varied collection of presets taken from our award-winning KDFX (for K2500 and 2600) and KSP8 processors. The effects presets are fully programmable and can be assigned real-time controllers through the VA1's modulation matrix.

MIDI Sync: Portamento, LFOs, arpeggiators, and envelope triggers, as well as many of the time-based effects (delay, flange, etc.) can easily be synced to MIDI and/or each other.

Vocoder: The 40 band vocoder can use external inputs for both carrier and modulator in addition to the VA1's internally generated sound sources.

A powerful and flexible instrument then - what happened? Well, according to this modwiggler thread, a turbulent buy-out season for the company caused delays - by 2007 when the situation stabilized, the market had changed and the decision was made to concentrate on the PC3 series.

It's reported that some of the VA1's technology ended up as anti-aliasing KVA oscillators, implemented in their current range of instruments. Even so, the VA1 remains a rare and magnificent machine with a beautiful-looking control surface!

Video demo & images courtesy of MATRIXSYNTH: MATRIXSYNTH: Kurzweil VA1

Posted by MagicalSynthAdventure an expert in synthesis technology from last Century and Amiga enthusiast.

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