Roger Linn Design

tiantong · Post by **tiantong** » Tue Jun 11, 2019 9:56 am

Just stumbled upon this http://kodamo.fr/ Seems interesting

48cube · Post by **48cube** » Tue Jun 11, 2019 11:20 am

Looks cool in prototype state already! Thanks for heads up!

John the Savage · Post by **John the Savage** » Tue Jun 11, 2019 9:20 pm

See, now, someone is thinking in the right direction! At a glance, the interface and the specs look to be about right for my needs, within reason anyway. Of course, I say that tentatively. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for this one. In the meantime, I don't suppose anyone has seen a projected price posted anywhere?

Cheers!

dayjob · Post by **dayjob** » Wed Jun 12, 2019 2:27 am

meh. touch screen is a turn off for me. would rather have a synth with knobs and sliders and a sizeable LCD/OLED.
i think some combination of touch screen and knobs/sliders can work especially if it detaches as a unit and you can set on the desktop. this unit may have that kind of functionality. i see the few knobs and buttons on the interface so perhaps my initial nose upturn is unjustified but i don't see why a modern powerful FM synth can't have an actual synthesizer interface.

John the Savage · Post by **John the Savage** » Wed Jun 12, 2019 4:05 am

Actually, the knobs and buttons are the only reason I gave this a second look. Assuming they make good use of those knobs and buttons, I think it should prove a good balance. As an example, I thought I would hate the MPC Live because of the touch screen; but the implementation of the pads, buttons, Q-links, and main data knob provide just enough tactile feedback to make the screen secondary (if you want it to be).

With regards to this synth, the good thing about the touch screen, especially if it's mainly there for selecting and editing deeper parameters (i.e. like drawing waveforms and envelope shapes), is that it can be changed to accommodate new features as the OS develops. And, going by the pictures of the prototype, it looks like they're using it to great effect for visual feedback already. To use the MPC Live as an example again, I hated the claustrophobic workflow of its predecessors, but the large touch screen on the Live really opens it up and makes navigating a breeze.

Anyway, I personally think this synth looks promising. 14 mechanical switches, 7 rotary encoders, 2 volume pots... Honestly, that seems more than ample for two-handed operation to me; especially in conjunction with the large touch screen. And, as someone who would be using this thing live onstage, that really does matter to me.

That said, we shall see, I guess...

Cheers!

tiantong · Post by **tiantong** » Wed Jun 12, 2019 4:31 am

I think they’ve said between 800-1000$
There’s a video somewhere.
I’ll be watching this one too. I hope it works and do not get abandoned but I’m afraid I am going to use my money on a new Mac. Mine is dying and it is not upgradable.

tiantong · Post by **tiantong** » Wed Jun 12, 2019 4:34 am

https://youtu.be/J19icXbH6n8
Here’s the video

John the Savage · Post by **John the Savage** » Wed Jun 12, 2019 5:06 am

Ah, yes, in that video he says the price has yet to be determined, but suggests that it should be no more than €1200.

All considered, that's not bad; especially if it comes in under that. Thanks.

Cheers!

dayjob · Post by **dayjob** » Wed Jun 12, 2019 6:06 am

it's nice to see something like this in the works. it looks frustrating to me though. sounds interesting. looks very capable. i guess it comes down to the rest of the interface. so far i can't see any advantage over just using a computer. for a live rig for touring musicians who stuff it w/their sounds i'm sure it has an appeal so long as it never crashes.

i've yet to use a touch screen on a synth that didn't annoy me. i spent some time w/a Montage and it just made my head/neck hurt.

if they could make a panel like the akai s6000 w/a big touch screen and a bunch of knobs and buttons on either side like smart keys (eventide style) that'd be interesting. you could pop the thing off and hold t like a video game controller. that sounds fun to me.

TobyB · Post by **TobyB** » Fri Jan 03, 2020 2:57 pm

Kodamo Essence FM now for orders:- https://kodamo.org/product.php?id=1
I think it looks brilliant - powerful but usable ... start with a single 6-Op Voice ... and then start layering with another to make a patch ... and potentially up to 128 voices/patch ... with 300 voice polyphony ... perhaps just the one pad could be a whole performance?!
First draft of the manual looks interesting ... especially when as well of all the complex modification you can do yourself (wave forms, envelopes, etc), it supports MPE while you play it ...
I have ordered one ... 2020 looks exciting!

John the Savage · Post by **John the Savage** » Sat Jan 04, 2020 2:13 am

300 voice polyphony...

Finally, I can sustain every note in the chromatic scale simultaneously over 25 octaves.

Cheers!

Reckon104 · Post by **Reckon104** » Sat Jan 04, 2020 2:36 am

John the Savage wrote: ↑Sat Jan 04, 2020 2:13 am 300 voice polyphony...

Finally, I can sustain every note in the chromatic scale simultaneously over 25 octaves.

Cheers!

LOL

Reckon104 · Post by **Reckon104** » Sat Jan 04, 2020 2:37 am

does look cool though!

LarsDaniel · Post by **LarsDaniel** » Sat Jan 04, 2020 6:28 pm

19" rack module. Odd. That is so last century, but will off course still suit some.

t-IB · Post by **t-IB** » Sat Jan 04, 2020 8:17 pm

Interested to see how people find these once they are in the wild - the form factor is a little odd and I'd need to see that interface in action to see if I could gel with it, but features wise it's where its at.

Happy to see another MPE hardware option seeing the light of day too...

Roger Linn Design

KVR Audio

New FM Hardware synth with MPE support coming