Here are some more experimental or ‘synthy’ samples of the possibilities of the Vo-96 Acoustic Synthesizer.
Creator Paul Vo demonstrates some quick examples of Harmonic Arpeggiation and Random Harmonic Motion on the Vo-96 Acoustic Synthesizer.
Learn more at the Vo Inventions site.
Pound for pound, the guitar is still arguably the “best” controller for really expressive synth because it came to the table naturally operating on several axes at once. Its taken many years for the electronics to speed up enough to follow those minute subtleties in a generally glitch-free manner, but its now there for the taking. This is a rich step ahead on the idea, lending added intimacy to the guitar’s natural strengths without clouding them at all. As with the Solaris, this will be an instrument for people who are seriously dedicated. Very fine work.
The Vo-96 is really interesting and I think it is a lot more likely to be welcomed by guitarists than previous guitar synths, because it eliminates the lag and tracking issues of traditional guitar synths.
I like how it opens up new territory. It seems to have a more limited range of sound possibilities than analog or digital synths, but what it can do sounds beautiful and very natural.
I’m looking forward to the Vo Piano!
Yes, everything with metallic strings is fair game for the Vo96 !
Does it produce a wider range of sound than what is demonstrated above? I can get a pretty similar result with an FX chain and a resonator, so I’d like to see what the instrument does beyond this. For instance, is the sustain a dramatic setting which could be dialed down to produce short tones, or is this pretty much what the thing does? Also, the high end was kind of sharp for my tastes. I know that can be easily rolled off, and if the overall sound was modulated in interesting ways it might make for some neat results.
Sustain is continuously variable from full to mute. There are some great examples of short muted timbres in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsbpqIxbf2w
There is also a Harmonic Balance slider that can adjust the tone over a wide range of brighnesst/darkness. Unlike tone controls that work by filtering, the Vo-96 reduces brightness by reducing the power of the strings at higher frequencies.
Very interresting idea, and very inovative. But for me personally it lacks much wider sonic capabilities. But I will follow this idea to see where it goes.
Extraordinarily sweet sounds. Xtopher you seem to be missing the point that these sounds are coming from a self contained acoustic guitar…
No, I get that Glenn, and I have a lot of respect for the technical challenges of creating an instrument like this. But I play both guitar and keyboard, so to my ears this is an average sounding synth pad with a somewhat harsh high end. If that is the only sound that can be created, I’m already not inspired, let alone motivated to set up an instrument to produce only that tone.
To me the holy grail is being able to drive the huge sonic potential of a synthesizer/sampler with the unbeatable expressiveness of a guitar, which is why I’m extremely interested in instruments like this. Another video posted above shows the instrument producing short acoustical-type notes, but again, didn’t sound all that different than the acoustic guitar on it’s own. So I really appreciate it’s playability, but I’m still seeking to understand the range of what the instrument is adding to a player’s sonic palette.