Way back at Superbooth 19, UDO Audio was demoing a prototype of its Super 6, a 12-voice "binaural" synthesizer that caught the attention of many at the Berlin convention, including our own roving correspondent for the weekend, BoBeats.
The analog-hybrid synth uses FPGA digital hardware oscillators alongside analog filters and amps. While in binaural mode, the signal path allows for six true-stereo voices, split among its left and right output channels, creating 12 voices in total.
The effect, as UDO Audio says, is "stunning stereo images … from subtle to extreme stereo movement and an enhanced sense of spatial positioning." You can also disengage the binaural setting and use up to 12 polyphonic voices at once.
The press release announcing the Super 6's arrival also offers some more insight into its design:
DDS (Direct Digital Synthesis) signal generation is employed by both oscillator cores. Though the SUPER 6's OSCILLATORS are both capable of producing classic analog waveforms like sine, triangle, sawtooth, and square, DDS1 -- the first oscillator -- also features a selection of 16 waveforms that users can choose from. Furthermore, these 16 selectable waveforms are replaceable, allowing for a potentially unlimited sonic palette!
An analog voice architecture is applied elsewhere, with the SUPER 6's main VCF (Voltage-Controlled Filter) being an analog 4-pole, 24 dB per octave, resonant low- pass affair using a classic -- SSI2144 -- polysynth filter design from Sound Semiconductor, a veteran team of musicians and enthusiasts with considerable experience in high-performance audio IC (integrated circuit) design. It is preceded in the signal chain by an analog voltage-controlled HPF (High-Pass Filter) that can either be OFF, FIX (fixed), or also TRK (track) the low-pass filter cut-off FREQ (frequency) for band-pass operation. An analog VCA (Voltage-Controlled Amplifier) section can further be used to shape the sound by adjusting and modulating the amplitude or loudness over time in time-honoured tradition.
The SUPER 6's ENVELOPES can be routed to multiple destinations, including the DSS MODULATOR, the VCF, and the VCA. Each envelope features four ADSR (Attack, Decay, Sustain, and Release) stages, while ENV 1 also features a so-called H (Hold) stage, allowing users to delay when the attack stage starts after they have pressed a key, and LOOP mode. Mapping modulation routings using the modulation matrix provides users with an immediate approach, allowing them to route a modulation source to any modulatable parameter on the front panel.
In addition, the Super 6 features built-in chorus and delay effects, and contains an arpeggiator and 64-step sequencer that can store up to 64 total sequences.
The Bristol-based UDO Audio is a newcomer to the industry, but the inventive design and attention to detail from designer George Hearn has caused excitement among SonicState, MusicRadar, and many others.
You can hear BoBeats' demo of the Super 6 above. Click here to order yours on Reverb.