Parva Polyphonic Analog Synthesizer Now Available To Order

futursonus-parva-synthesizer

Futursonus has launched a Kickstarter project to fund production of Parva – a new polyphonic analog synthesizer that combines an all-analog signal chain with the modern convenience of digital control.

The Parva can be configured as a monosynth all the way up to an 8-voice poly synth. Each synth voice offers three analog oscillators, dual multi-mode filters, four 4-stage envelopes, 4 LFOs, sample and hold and 40+ modulation destinations.

Here’s the official video intro:

Features:

  • ANALOG – From the oscillators and wave-shapers to the voltage-controlled filters (VCF) and snappy OTA-based voltage-controlled amplifiers (VCA), Parva’s signal path is 100% analog. There’s no DSP here.
  • DIGITAL – Parva’s digital controls enable you to save and recall patches instantaneously, change parameters via MIDI, and route LFOs and envelopes to more than 40 destinations in the modulation matrix.
  • POLYPHONY – Parva can be configured for up to eight note polyphony. Extremely flexible voice assignment allows you to stack as many voices as you like for more complex sounds, split the keyboard up to eight ways, or both in any combination.
  • CONTROL – With its smooth analog potentiometers, Parva gives you direct access to all of the most commonly used parameters. Plus, each section of the synth has additional settings displayed on a high-visibility OLED, so the perfect patch is never more than a click away.
  • CONNECTIVITY – Parva is the first analog synthesizer to feature a USB Master port, which allows you to connect any class-compliant USB MIDI keyboard — or other controller — directly, without the need for a computer. Of course, standard MIDI DIN in and out connections and a “normal” USB port are also included, as well as individual outputs for each voice, and a stereo headphone jack.
  • CONSTRUCTION – Parva was designed with working musicians in mind, and features an aluminum enclosure, custom-machined aluminum knobs & sturdy panel-mounted pots,

Here are the official audio demos:

Specifications

Parva can be configured as an expandable monophonic synthesizer, or as an eight-note polyphonic, eight-voice multi-timbral synth.

Each voice contains the following:

OSCILLATORS

  • 3 Digitally-controlled analog oscillators
  • Sawtooth, triangle, and PWM waveforms
  • New Feature: Variable-width saw waves
  • Tunable +/- 5 octaves
  • Hard Syncable
  • Independent level controls

FILTERS

  • 2 serial-connected multi-mode filters
  • 24db or 12db low-pass or high-pass modes
  • 12db bandpass mode
  • Self-oscillating
  • Filter FM

ENVELOPES

  • 4 4-stage (ADSR) envelopes
  • Exponential curves for punchy attack and natural decay
  • Linear mode also available
  • New Feature: Loopable envelopes
  • Routable to >40 destinations

MODULATION

  • 4 LFOs
  • Sine, sawtooth, triangle, and square waveforms
  • Random sample-and-hold
  • New Feature: Stepped LFOs
  • Free-running or key-synced
  • Routable to >40 destinations

Connectivity

  • New Feature: Individual 1/4″ stereo line-level outputs for each voice
  • 1/4″ left and right main outputs
  • Stereo 1/4″ headphone jack
  • MIDI DIN input and output
  • USB MIDI port
  • USB Master port for direct connection of USB MIDI controllers

The Parva is available to project backers, starting at $499 for the monosynth and $999 for an 8-voice version. See the project site for details.

via graphtablet (ben land)

34 thoughts on “Parva Polyphonic Analog Synthesizer Now Available To Order”

  1. might be a good idea to change title to ‘pre-order’, I got excited thinking it was already manufactured and ready to ship

  2. Eeeehhhh… Paying full price to pre-fund a thousand-dollar device that may or may not see the light of day or flat-out suck doesn’t make good statistical sense. No offense to the inventor but well-intentioned Kickstarter projects can and do crater or severely underdeliver. I’d like to see, I dunno maybe a 20% discount before I put my money down to make up for the chance that my money just disappears.

      1. Yeah, price is higher than I expected but I’ve got to say that this thing sounds way better than a Prophet 8 to my ears

      2. you can buy a prophet 08 module for the same money as the poly version of this, tho neither will sound like anything other than boring grainy DCO voices. that’s a “feature” in the “all analog oscillators” companies trying analog on the cheap love to leave out of their descriptions

        1. Prophet 08 Module is EUR 1700 here in Europe compared to 999 USD for Parva. Though you have to adjust those 999 USD with import taxes (if you are located in Europe).

        2. LOL, “grainy” and “boring.”

          I’m not going to bother with the boilerplate DCO vs. VCO lecture, someone else can chime in. Just understand that you’re totally misinformed.

        3. I’ll take on the DCO misinformation. A DCO generates an analog sawtooth waveform that can be shaped in a manner identical to a VCO. The ‘digital’ part of the circuit is the timing pulse that resets the waveform period. In a poly synth, both VCO and DCO circuits require control voltage inputs that will be generated using digital to analog conversion.

          There is nothing ‘grainy’ about either architecture.

      1. Exactly. I don’t get all the negative vibes this dev is getting. I don’t have the money now but I hope this gets funded. I will be getting one of these synths later on. Good luck Futuresonus.

      2. If a project is funded, your money is released to the company in full. If something goes wrong and they are unable to deliver, you are not guaranteed a refund.

        1. One of the things that get my goat about KS is that they define “project success” purely in terms of “did the project get funded” — they don’t do follow-ups to make sure that the investment actually materializes into a shipped product, and that the product is actually what was promised. I read some article on Ars a couple months back on some independent research which found that only 39% of video game Kickstarters delivered as promised, with the rest significantly under-delivering, burning through the cash with nothing to show or just disappearing. I think KS did some T&C changes last year to address the issue but there’s still plenty of risk to consider before dropping a G.

          Which isn’t to say it’s doomed to fail. Syntorial seemed to do it right — backers got something like a 1/3 discount, the dude delivered as promised and frankly it’s a fantastic product. I’m just saying, do your homework and remember it’s a speculative investment, not a sure-thing preorder.

      2. Well that certainly was not the case for the Modal Skulpt. That thing dropped in value almost immediately after I received it.. and paid full price for the kickstarter campaign.

        Yeah this sucks and backers should get a significant discount for ‘investing’ in a possibly risky product.

  7. We should all be happy for this, and hope that it reaches production successfully. It has some great features. 3 analog Oscilators (DCO or VCO, the only difference is the timing pulse), two filters per voice that resonate and Filter FM, 4 loopable envelopes and 4 LFOs, all with 40 destinations. And 8 voices so I can actually play the thing with both hands. This thing reads like a poly synth wish list. Isn’t this what we’ve all been asking for?

  8. I’ve gotta say, I don’t love it. It doesn’t really bring anything new to the table and its sound is just a bit…’bland’ I suppose.

  10. That they are shooting for $50k kind of concerns me. I don’t know much about hardware costs but that looks like an awfully nice bit of hardware and the $50k goal means 100 total mono synths—no economies of scale involved. Though I suppose the following from the KS page is intended to squelch that concern:

    > In addition to his years of electronics design experience, Brad Ferguson has overseen factory production of boutique amplifiers and effects pedals, and has managed worldwide supply chains of electronic components for a Fortune 500 multinational.

  12. The sound is pretty solid, I dunno if there are any other analog polysynths with 8 voices for that price, but if so I feel like more people would want to get one of those, because some folks are skeptical of kickstarter projects.

  14. Honestly, while I’m not 100% in love with the sound of the demos, I DO 100% love the feature set and the way it looks like the workflow is going to be with this thing. Judging by the things that this guy should be able to do, I’ll need to get my hands on one to really know if I want it-for instance I had to try a Bass Station II to know I really wanted it (and it’s still my weapon of choice). I generally make weirder stuff than manufacturers want to put in their demos. Hopefully Parva will be available for music stores to demo, I’m looking forward to Futuresonus meeting their goal and being able to save up some scratch to think about getting one.

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