Pre-Orders Open For Twisted-Electrons FLEXfm

Twisted-Electrons has made its FLEXfm hybrid groovebox available for pre-order. They say that it is geared up to take ideas from an initial sound to an evolving arrangement by bringing sound design, sequencing, sampling, and performance together without (necessarily) needing a computer. Here's more details in their own words...

At a glance, FLEXfm certainly sounds like the hybrid groovebox that Twisted-Electrons Founder Alex Smith dreamed of -- think eight-voice sound engine featuring four operators and four flexible LFOs (Low Frequency Oscillators) per voice; 16-pattern sequencer with eight voice lanes per pattern, up to 128 steps, and eight sub-steps per step; arrangement anchored around eight named song parts, each with eight pattern chain and eight key change cells; eight mono voice sample pools at 44.1 kHz -- about 13 seconds each, with up to 16 slice markers; 32 GB internal storage for songs, patches, samples, recordings, snapshots, and updates; mono TS input, left/right main stereo output, phones (headphones) output, and eight mono TS individual voice outputs. On the face of it, dreamlike could already be a fitting description.

Digging deeper, each voice combines four operators -- sound sources that can mix synthesis, samples, physical models, and drawn waves -- with 30-plus operator engines, spanning classic synth waves, wavetables, vocal formants, and wavefolding, while the flexfm matrix decides how those four operators interact by connecting them using FM (Frequency Modulation), AM (Amplitude Modulation), or RM (Ring Modulation). Meanwhile, the (shifted) chord section handles chords, strums, arpeggiation, and voicing via various modes: 4OP MONO combines four interacting operators; POLY permits four overlapping notes; and CHORD provides voice and strummed harmonies; and SYNC links oscillators.

Then there are three ways to morph using the flexible FLEXfm's joystick -- by blending the parameters of four sound variations; steering between up to four patterns; or morphing between four algorithms, changing how those operators interact. Also acting as a piano cursor, the joystick can control pitch bends, scratches, phasing, and rhythmic effects. Elsewhere, an integrated piezo pad captures expressive playing, while sampling tools support slicing, multi-samples, and 12-pad kits.

Creativity continues with alternatives to FLEXfm's analogue path made available via digital filters; synchronised movement, one-shots, and ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release) contours, thanks to those four LFOs per voice; and joystick-drawn shapes.

Sequencer patterns have independent lengths and rates, per-note durations, probability, conditional steps, and parameter locks. And as if all that is not enough to be getting on with, groove transformations and tempoFlex curves add controlled variation. Elsewhere, effects shared in arrangements include stereo plate reverb with shimmer and synchronised pre-delay, a characterful delay with diffusion, and sidechain-capable comp (compression).

Serving to guide users, full-colour LED (Light-Emitting Diode) rings show parameter values, secondary functions, and modulation around the voice-centric volume/pan, punch/crush, decay/chord, tune/reverb, cutoff/delay, and resonance/voicing knobs and operator-centric volume/feedback, attack/sample start, decay/sample end, multiple/fall, shape/fine, and shape/glide knobs.

The 12 audio jacks notwithstanding, FLEXfm's FLEXIO companion editor works standalone or as a DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) plug-in for macOS (AU and VST3) and Windows (VST3), streaming eight individual post-filter voice STEMS over USB (Universal Serial Bus) or a stereo MIXDOWN with separate reverb and delay returns. Reality dictates that patterns move between FLEXIO and a DAW as MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) events -- host position sync follows, seeks, and loops, while the optional Max for Live Bridge adds Ableton Live chain locators and direct clip transfer.

Twisted-Electrons Founder Alex Smith is evidently excited at the prospect of the long and winding developmental road to FLEXfm finally approaching his desired destination -- hence pulling its pre-order trigger: "FLEXfm is the groovebox I've dreamed of for a decade -- immediate enough to catch an idea, deep enough to surprise. Several years of development have made it real, and the work continues. I want it to feel like an instrument you can explore -- not a list of features you have to learn."

Pricing and Availability:
Pre-orders for FLEXfm are now being taken by Twisted-Electrons, with limited quantities initially priced at an introductory offer of €999.00 EUR (including VAT) until November 13, 2026 -- rising thereafter to a SRP (Suggested Retail Price) of €999.00 EUR (excluding VAT, with applicable VAT added). Expected delivery is due before Christmas 2026, while international shipping is also available worldwide -- excluding import duties.

More information:

• FLEXfm

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