Sonicsmith has introduced the Squaver P1 Audio-Controlled Synthesizer pedal.
The unique synth is designed to be controlled using any electric or acoustic instrument via a microphone.
Features:
- Single Audio-Controlled Oscillator (ACO) design
- Plays analog synth along with the input audio
- Extracts gate, pitch, envelope and trigger CV from input audio
- Mix knob can blend between square and sawtooth waves
- 40 dB gain range on the input preamp (high impedance)
- 3 thru jacks for daisy-chaining multiple units and record source directly
- Side chain input to feed the 2nd ENV follower
- Ring mod audio input will invert phase at the audio frequency
- LP, BP / HP, 12 / 24db/oct resonant filter with CV input control
- 9V battery operation or standard 9V pedal supply
- Dual 4 charecter LED meter shows both the main input level and the side-chain input’s
- Total of 3 audio inputs, 5 CV outputs and 6 CV inputs
Pricing and Availability
The Squaver P1 Audio-Controlled Synthesizer is available to pre-order for US $729.
It’s always fun to look at the specs and pictures of totally unknown devices and guess the price. My guess was $800. Not too bad.
Looks like those knobs wobble too much for a $700+ synth. Cool sounds though
PCB mounted SMT quality!!!
This is a prototype version. The production version will have more solid potentiometers.
The video and article don’t really mention the custom ACO chip, which is a cool bit of tech in its own right. This thing must be so much fun for vocal or stringed instrument manipulation.
I would like to know more about this.
I tried this at Superbooth with both a guitar and a microphone, singing and beatboxing. Being a proud owner of a sy-300, this is right up my alley and the absolute responsiveness convinced me to order both units. The convertor for the fun of playing any synth with cv. And since the playing is so live and direct, it is a synth in its own right and i’m glad they offer a complete voice for practice with one box. Especially the envelope following can be routed to filter, also negative, and has cv out. Lots of fun because the envelope follows my dynamics while beatboxing or with rythm guitar.
I also enquired brian about the chip, having an idea of the prohibitive investment in software and workhours. If he didn’t say he is a chip designer, i would not have believed in a real product. In fact, they are making a dedicated chip that extracts pitch, envelope and gate and outputs saw, square and cv env including gate and trigger. As this is the only thing the chip does afaik, there is absolutely no perceivable latency. I play funk, i notice since the latencies tend to pile up. Not here. While the lowest notes also need to respect physics, its perceivably bringing in the pitch a bit later, but consistently so, related to the frequency. Not like software, where any latency is also dependent on other factors. The two input filters help a lot to achieve what i want to track exactly in my tone. Meaning i can play something different through the amp (bass) while the aco would track f.ex. the second harmonic. There’s pitch shifting and subbass and it’s just a very fun tool with analogue, latency free outputs. At least as far as i understood, the only possible latency is what physics says about whole cycles in pitch tracking.
My sherman filterbank has a rudimentary analog tracking, i really want to combine the two machines for a live experience.
So far i know only of the filterbank, the boss and this here aco audio controlled oscillator that do this, latency free direct pitch tracking. The sonicsmith by far the most advanced audio analyzer and the only one with pitch output. They should also make a nano version, without any controls, only cv, because to me the powerful extraction is the real value. I am totally convinced this will attract a lot of players that just want more creative and responsive options. Counting the days til mine.
Hope that helps and no, brian doesn’t pay me for this. But i want more aco, more customers means more options so it’s up to you to pass this by. It’s a small gamechanger.
that doesn’t sound like a side chain (usually compression or volume) , it sounds like an LFO>filter
You are half right. The side chain was fed by a sinewave (from Ableton live Simpler instrument) with an lfo modulating its amplitude. You can easily use audio from your DAW for lfo and env effects using simple audio outputs.