New Synth, Töörö, A Portable ‘Production Workhorse’

Designer Frédéric Meslin has launched a Kickstarter project to fund production of a new synthesizer, the Töörö.

The Töörö offers a wide ranger of synthesis capabilities – with wavetables, FM, and a ‘wild’ new analog filter – in a portable case. You can use it to create complex multitimbral arrangements, using its 4-part 6-voice sound engine, with built-in stereo delay and individual outputs.

Here’s what Meslin has to say about it:

“I always wanted a production workhorse synth. Something portable, that could provide enough voices for my sequencer, that packed in immense power, but made it simple to pick a sound, tweak it to fit, and compose quickly.

With just Töörö, a sequencer, and perhaps your favorite drum machine, you can create a whole live performance – or an entire track – quickly, intuitively, and in real-time. Töörö offers unbeatable sound-shaping possibilities for the price and carries a 3 year warranty to back it up. It is the workhorse I wanted to have.”

Features:

  • 6 voices of analog/digital hybrid synthesis.
  • 4 part multitimbral, with stereo 1/4″ and 3.5mm individual outputs.
  • Each voice features dual 12-bit wavetables, with morphing, auto-sync, and FM (with virtual modulation oscillators).
  • Users can create custom wavetables using built-in waveforms.
  • Unique highly-characterful 12dB/octave discrete analog “A847” filter, with wild resonance and multiple sweet spots.
  • 2 AHDSR Envelopes.
  • 2 LFOs with classic and random waveforms, and rise and fall controls.
  • Advanced global stereo delay effect with modulation and feedback controls.
  • 100 user-presets and 10 user-multi available for onboard sound storage and recall.
  • Edit all sound parameters, parts and settings quickly and intuitively from the front panel matrix.
  • Extensive MIDI implementation with DIN in and out, and smart thru function. All significant sound shaping parameters editable via MIDI CC – Responds to polyphonic after-touch messages.
  • Compact dimensions of 70 x 120 x 45 mm, only 750g in weight.
  • Rugged aluminum chassis, high-quality parts, non-slip design.
  • USB powered – can be powered by computer, USB mains plug, or USB power bank. On/off power switch at rear.
  • 3 year warranty

Pricing and Availability

Production of the Töörö is being funded via a Kickstarter campaign and it is available to project backers for €399.

Note that crowd-funded projects involve risk, so you should make sure that you understand this if you choose to participate.

43 thoughts on “New Synth, Töörö, A Portable ‘Production Workhorse’”

    1. Hi Holy Eagle Peak,
      thanks for your interest in my project. If you have some doubts about my Kickstarter campaign, this is my third one, and you can have a look at how the two last ones went (Buzzzy! & Opa shield) 🙂
      Best from Bonn, Fred

  3. I used to call the ö stuff an o with an umlaut and then it turned out that that diacritical has a lot of other meanings, including the way the New Yorker uses it to signify a syllabic break.

    Without a field guide no one can know what the name of this new thing actually is. We are simply lost adrift.

    1. i think this somehow refers to the kid’s audio play character Benjamin Blümchen, an anthropomorphic elefant who was using a Töörö noise as a signature elefant trump (a rare mention of the word trump in its sound context).

      2. OK but we still don’t know what this is called because we can’t pronounce it.

        I’m kinda thinking he’s trying to make the o’s be long o’s which means oo is not oo as in balloon but is rather pronounced “oh-oh” like a toddler who just did a naughty thing. But I don’t know since there’s no context for these diacritical marks. Now you mention a “kids audio play character an anthropomorphic elephant” presumably like Snuffleupagus also called Snuffie by Big Bird, but I never heard of that apparently relefant elefant and am still lost adrift on the sea of pronunciation ambiguities. Does the designer of this device say somewhere we are on about the elephant trump? That would be amazing if so. But also leaves us unable to voice the name of the alleged product.

        1. I tried answering you but the the buggy comment section of synthopia put the comments on the bottom and there is no way to edit any more.
          Maybe it will happen again but anyway it’s in the video

  4. Twelve 12bit osc’s with six analog filters, 4 multitimberality (with direct out’s!!) and complex control!
    Wow, I don’t know if people will notice how spacial this one is

  5. This same manufacturer’s Buzzzy! is a fine synth. Sounds really, really good, has some deep features, but is very accessible and actually fun to use. Looking forward to what looks like an evolution of that concept.

    1. Hi gadi,
      they will come eventually but it will take a while.
      The Kickstarter campaign is really important for me as I don’t have normally enough treasury to finance the production of these machines. I can afford their development costs (this required me about a year of work) and making the prototypes (5 revisions here) but the production is out of my reach. Therefore the Kickstarter makes this possible.

    1. Admin/Synthhead

      1. I get errors many times when submitting a comment, It makes double comments some time like below.
      2. Comments go to the bottom but i pressed replay and wrote the comment right below the comment i respond to.
      3. There is no way to edit or delete comment any more
      4. I don’t get emails about replays. I do mark the notification options.

      1. gadi

        If you send me the details of your experience via the feedback form (like OS, browser, etc) I can try to duplicate the issue you’re seeing and troubleshoot it.

        Note: We disabled the comment editor plugin last week to troubleshoot some issues we were seeing on the site. I reenabled it today, which should allow you to edit comments.

    2. > If you actually watched the video

      I tried to but the kickstarter videos don’t play on any of my devices. Maybe they can load the video to youtube as well, where it will play?

      Kickstarter video console inspection reveals a number of syntax errors, but the key problem probably is the ‘Specified “type” attribute of “application/x-mpegURL” is not supported.’ Maybe it’s one of these sites that only work on Chrome. Chrome’s nefarious spyware though.

        1. Thanks for that link!

          So something like tu-ru, and possibly tu?ru.

          Looks like a good design. Novel analog filters using optocouplers, plus digital everything else and every parameter automatable via CCs. Also 4 individual part outs. Been through 5 hardware revisions and now is debugged and completely ready for manufacturing. That and his history of delivered products means this is pretty low risk.

  14. Can give it a try … but remember there are only 6 voices! So it cannot be a too complicated piece or the voices will be stolen all the time and it won’t give any appealing result IMHO.

    1. It looks like the only place that there’s over six notes is at the ending chord, where there are 9. There’s a couple of places where there are five or six, but usually there’s only two or three at once.

      But come on, Carlos did it all with a mono synth! 😉

  17. Needs at least 30 more backers within about one week to actually get produced, and the latest demos really show it’s something special, especially for the discounted Kickstarter price. If you ever were considering it, please don’t sleep on it people

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