Musikmesse 2014: Synth designer Ken MacBeth shared this sneak preview of the MacBeth Elements Synthesizer – a new ‘no compromise synth’.
Specifications are still to come – but check out the images below for a preview of MacBeth’s latest analog beast:
Looks nice but I assume only 1% of us will be able to afford it?
By the way those are not real bakelite knobs on it.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gDSSjaIUJ20/TuFqCdNgg_I/AAAAAAAABAs/ta7TdB3MmOA/s1600/IMG_4977.jpg
Instant future classic. Few will be made, built like a tank, sounds like a Macbeth… some time from now, collectors will be pushing these on Ebay for lots o money… This synth looks like an investment opportunity.
It actually looks like it could be a kit… Will it be offered in kit form (PCB, hardware, pots), I wonder?
That way, another 1% of the 99% will be able to afford it.
I’d save up, I love almost everything about it. Except for the ADSR pots, they should be linears, not rotational.
Otherwise, I’ll go back to my own design and bring more VCOs to the front panel!
Looks sexy as. I’m sure it’ll come at a premium. Keen to hear it too!
It has midi. Shut up and take my money!
Your money and your car. It’ll be awesome but I spent over a year waiting for the MicroMac D from the time it was supposed to be on sale. Even the guy from Analogue Haven sounded exasperated with the wait.
looks like a modern day synthi.
EMS influence – like Synthi A. Looks nice – but will it break my bank balance?
uh, it looks like the compromised on the keyboard? no, but seriously, it does look intriguing.
WASP like! Love it!
and those gold ‘things’ are better than actual keys, why?
snobbery at its fate …
For ‘no compromise’ read ‘fucking expensive.
Macbeth’s stuff is probably the best quality out there, though. The M5 has the best sound I’ve ever heard on a synth. Not just a modern one, either.
I just don’t understand why he didn’t fit a normal keyboard.
Maybe it will have a rack ears kit …. I mean it looks to fit 19″ so those existing keys would make sense in that scenario.
That’s a good point and makes a lot of sense. Given that there is not mod wheels either. I guess it’s a rackmout unit.
I would still have preferred a real keyboard with mod wheels to turn this into a standalone performance instrument.
Ken developed this for the macbeth nexus (look it up on youtube) and can be really interesting to use. also yes, it is rack-mountable, or at least the prototypes (elements one, two, three, .. were developed as a rack mounted modules)
303 sounds killed dance music. Be original.
Unimaginative 303 patterns are killing dance music…..
Quite right. A poor craftsman blames his tools.
“Dance music” is killing ..no, wait …has killed electronic music.
Be original… like you? lol ! 😀
I agree with krankenhaus and gridsleep. Listen to Marquis Hawke’s remix of Against the Tide then get back to us!
Oh god!! I bet it sounds better than any other synth on earth..the M5 is the best sounding synth I ever heard so far..this looks beautiful.
Anyone want to buy a kidney? It’s in good shape. Sort of..
Oh god!! I bet it sounds better than any other synth on earth..the M5 is the best sounding synth I ever heard so far..this looks beautiful. Anyone want to buy a kidney? It’s in good shape. Sort of..
How I *WISH* I could afford that baby!
Who is the sad sack that thumbs down every single comment? lol
That guy just can’t stop making amazing synths that I can’t afford! But I’m sure they’re worth every penny, so, keep at it, Ken!
p.s. It’s bad luck to call it by name. It should be referred to as “The Scottish Synth”.
many things in life are out of reach, but Im glad they exist.
When a price isn’t mentioned, it often means you can’t afford it.
too classical architecture and wow a price …
take three microbrute and you have more modulations than mcbeth elements & sub37 together…
Did this synth replace the 5 different modules?
If one is interested in one of kens synths you best grab one in the making cause every project seems to be taking new forms all the time.
I kind of like it.
Cool concept, over the top for me.
But seriously, this has to be the coolest synth he has built up to date. Or maby the m5
Fuck patchmemory
“No-compromise” = Sell your kidney to pay for it
It’s only 3500 in English Pounds !