Erica Synths today announced the availability of Steampipe, a new physical modelling synthesizer, developed in collaboration with Dutch company 112.dB

Steampipe is an 8-voice polyphonic synthesizer that uses physical modeling to mimic the rich, organic overtones of wind and string instruments – with no conventional oscillators.

The results of physical modeling synthesis can be very different than other types of synthesis, especially for creating realistic acoustic type sounds and sounds that get into ‘uncanny valley’ territory, by modeling physical instruments that might not be practical to build.

Here’s what Erica Synths has to say about Steampipe:

“Without any conventional oscillators, Steampipe mimics the way sound is created in wind instruments and it is fine-tuned to create a wide range of sounds: everything from wind instruments, to strings, and pipe organs and much more. It can also conjure sonic imagery ranging from from wisps of clouds to fairground band organs, to industrial horns of the railroad, and finally, to massive, otherworldly ambiences.

Steampipe is optimized for performance with wind MIDI controllers and is perfectly suitable with any MIDI keyboard. It also comes with great-sounding presets, and the overtones the Steampipe produces are very organic and rich.

Due to detailed controls over multiple physical modeling parameters, the Steampipe is capable of generating very organic emulations of real instruments, but it goes well beyond the pitch and dynamic ranges conventional instruments can produce – for instance, imagine how a flute or clarinet would sound in C1 or C7.”

Features:

• 8-voice polyphony
• Physical modeling engine with 32 adjustable parameters
• 5 assignable LFOs with delay and sync
• Extensive modulation matrix with MIDI controller-specific configurations
• 64 factory presets and 192 user preset memory
• Preset export and import via USB
• DIN5 MIDI Input
• MIDI Thru/Out
• All parameters are MIDI CC controllable
• Stereo line level output
• Headphone output

Erica Synths Steampipe Video Demo:

Timeline:

00:00 – Take 1 / MPE drone with Linnstrument
00:54 – Take 2 / Intro theme played with MIDI keyboard
01:10 – Take 3 / Performance with AKAI EWI wind controller
01:57 – Take 4 / Steampipe sequenced with Ableton Live and played along with drum machine
03:01 – Take 5 / Stockhausenpipe MPE with Linnstrument
03:39 – Take 6 / Ta da daaa played with MIDI
03:56 – Take 7 / Percussive patch played with Sylphyo wind controller
04:24 – Take 8 / Percussions played with Linnstrument
05:33 – Take 9 / Pipewave played with MIDI
06:24 – Take 10 / Steda 909 processed with the Steampipe
07:08 – Take 11 / Sandstorm patch played with MIDI keyboard with extensive pitch modulation
07:34 – Take 12 / The Bells played with MIDI keyboard
08:18 – Take 13 / Utilizing the Sylphyos tilt CC output to modulate the patch
09:21 – Take 14 / Synthesizing textures
09:51 – Take 15 / The “Auto Play” patch

Pricing and Availability:

The Erica Synths Steampipe is available to pre-order at a price of €990.00, with shipping planned to start Dec 17, 2024.