Aodyo Instruments has launched a Kickstarter project to fund production of the Anyma Phi, a new monophonic synth based on physical modeling.
The developer says that the Anyma Phi blends the classic ingredients of electronic music with physical modeling technology, allowing it to simulate acoustic sound sources, such as strings or reeds, as well as resonating structures, like wood, glass, or metal.
Features:
- Hybrid monophonic synthesizer
- Stereo audio output:
- Two 1/4” mono line jack outputs
- One 1/4” stereo headphone jack output
- Stereo audio input: one 1/4” stereo input
- MIDI inputs and outputs via USB and DIN ports
- Powerful digital semi-modular synthesizer engine
- Memory: 63 patches
- 3 oscillator slots
- 5 effect slots + 1 mono reverb
- 2 audio buses for mixing and effect assignation
- 8 modulator slots, including DAHDSR envelope generators,
- LFOs, curves, interpolators, slew limiters, etc.
- 24 mapping slots, each allowing to control any synth parameter (including another mapping) using a modulator or a controller input, with a sidechain input.
Sound Design Demo:
Pricing and Availability
Anyma Phi is available to project backers for about $448.
Nice choice of midi keyboard. I see you!
It´s funny, this sounds actually could be made on the prophecy 🙂
Would be fun if Korg would re-release some of the Prophecy/Z1 physical modelling stuff, following the opsix which seems to be a descendent of the Prophecy VPM.
Someday they will realize that a guy sitting at a desk with a gopro in a downshot, going through features, patch making, and FX has a ton more value than any produced video for music gear. If the guy doesn’t know a guy that makes videos in his bedroom, thats about a 20k and up video right there that showed me absolutely nothing about the product besides some sound examples. I’m actually interested and wil either dig up a better video or wait for one to really nail it in.
seems to me if you want to simulate real instruments, you’d want polyphony? and it’s not analog, so what’s stopping you from adding voices other than more memory?
Yeah, the monophonic spec has me scratching my head. I’d very likely back this up if it was polyphonic.
I agree i like to have a physical modeling synthesizer but if i would buy one i’m looking for some polyphony and multi-tribal aswel. That it will end up being double the price is no issue.
Maybe they can get away with this mono one for now because there is almost no competition in this area.
Why making digital synth a mono synth?
Why they call it hybrid if there is no analog filters, vca’s, overdrive… Physical modeling and subtractive is not what you usually call an “hybrid”
Why they call it semi modular if it’s just a matrix (not that matrix is not cool)
Why making expensive video that doesn’t say much? I hate when Arturia does it and this is more or less the same.
On first look it seems they focused more on the business and adverting then on the actual products. The synth itself looks really nice but that’s about it for me…
“seems to me if you want to simulate real instruments, you’d want polyphony?”
It depends which real instruments. As others have suggested, some real instruments are monophonic.
I wonder if this is based on Mutable instruments code..They do indicate some connection.
I hope it comes with a mask so I can feel safe playing it. It makes me feel really safe to see people wear masks in videos, advertising, presentations and especially when alone in their cars.
Nevertheless, an interesting instrument. Just don’t play it loudly, because loud sounds transmit covid.
The mask was not necessarily a choice of the advertising people—it’s just as likely that the person wearing it simply felt uncomfortable in the close-quarters situation of filming, and the company respected that person’s choice.
Last night I just happened to contemplate someone taking the open source Elements/Rings codes from Mutable Instruments and use them as a basing for a polyphonic physical modeling synth. How terrific that would be! Unfortunately, I join the other comments here: by sticking with monophony, they’ve missed their chance to make this a real contender. Even the MI Rings module is able to somewhat emulate polyphony, if not having real one.
To all the people commenting on the mono aspect, note that the company previously developed a wind controller. For a wind controller, a monosynth is exactly what you need. VL70m etc.. Also then a low latency hardware synth is better than plugins. No idea whether this is primarily designed to pair with a wind controller. (You guys put me off watching the vid :-))
For 100 more I can get a Minilogue XD and the DirtBoxSynth Physiq OSC and I’ll get polyphony.
Monophonic physical modeling was done with Yamahas PLG VL board or with Korgs Prophecy 20 years ago.
You would really think we have enough mini computer boards today with power for polyphony at a lower price tag than this machine.
Very good idea – unique unlike any other hardware synth!
PLZ cHaNgE tHe UnReAdAbLe FrOnTpAnEL !
Yea, that front panel is a mess.
Amen. Can’t understand how the interface designer’s mind works…
Wonder what the logo stands for, looks like a dog peeing:) anyway sounds great
This should be an iPad app. The only reason to build it as harware is to add a hands-on, immersive control panel. They opted for a 1990s-style control surface with multiple functions per knob instead.
If this was even 4 voice polyphonic, it’d be great. It’s probably using done kind of low power ARM M4 MPU hence the limits, most likely.
That panel with all the overlapping text is giving me a headache.
When I implemented Zed-Synth on iOS on an iPhone 6 back in 2016, I could get 24 voices easily for a Karplus-Strong string model + detune effect + filter + FX etc. I could also compute 88 piano strings as a piano-resonance type effect.
So sounds like the CPU is way under-powered, which is a great pity as so many interesting things you can do.
Interesting that they used the Korg Prophecy as a controller; its an early physical modeler itself. Clever insider joke of a sort.
The Anyma Phi sounds right, so it depends on how keen you are to have the method as hardware. As to some comments on it, you can use PM in poly mode, but it seems better as a string or woodwindy solo voice, even with synth sounds. Makes sense, since its rooted in solo acoustic behaviors. Mono is not a huge drawback, IMO. I’m more fake-perturbed that its not at least 2-voiced for harmonies. 4 could become too muddy.
As a softsynth, it uses far less CPU & memory than WAV-file-based synths. I took up Chromaphone a while back and its surprisingly flexible. I can even get it to sound a bit analog. I encourage you to try PM if its new to you. It can be uniquely strange or add a lotta power when layering.
Mono makes a lot of sense to me. Aside from the other reasons given, it has an audio input, which makes a lot more sense monophonically than polyphonically.
It sounds to me from the demo like it might be the sort of “monophonic” that Rings is, where notes continue to ring out after playing them, you just can’t play/sustain multiple notes simultaneously? I could be misinterpreting what I’m hearing, but if so, that just means the illusion works 🙂
Synth looks interesting, the front panel graphics are unreadable. Small white type on light blue boxes over grey text is a terrible idea, I hope they redo the labels.
Sorry for bursting anyone’s bubble, but polyphony is expensive. It takes an entire processor chain to create each note. 5 notes = 5X the price. The DSP chips and processors are where the cost is. And to think, Yamaha created a two-note VL instrument back in 1994 (the VL1) with similar characteristics. Harder to program, but similar modeling technology, it was priced at around $6000. The 16-note polyphonic version, the Yamaha VP1, was almost $30,000 back in 1994. They only sold three. It’s about time for someone to produce a modern one at a more reasonable price!