Isla Instruments, makers of the KordBot Music Production Assistant and the S2400 Sampling Drum Machine, has introduced Caladan, an 8-part multi-timbral polyphonic analog / digital hybrid synthesizer.

The Caladan builds on the legacy of the FutureSonus Parva. Isla says that it’s building on the Parva’s DNA and putting their own twist on it, to make it the perfect partner for their S2400. The Caladan will have the same form factor and same aesthetic as the S2400.

Out of the box, Caladan will support polyphonic playback of multi-sampled instruments (SF2, SFZ, +).

The ‘special sauce’, though, is that the instrument will feature 8x expansion slots inside the case. Isla says that this will allow them “to go completely fucking nuts with add-in voicecards.” This opens up the possibility of adding analog or digital voice expansion cards, and they’ve mentioned OPL3, SID, SEM, SH-101, MiniMoog & Pro-1 expansion cards – all accessed by a common UI.

Their intention is to open the platform, so 3rd party developers can create cards.

Pricing and Availability:

Isla Instruments says that the Caladan is ready for fabrication of the first hardware prototypes. Details on pricing and availability are to be announced.