Molten Music Monthly October 2025

Molten Music Monthly
robinv

As the clocks go back we can revel in the warm glow of synthesiser circuits and modular voltages. Here are the interesting bits and boxes that appeared over the last couple of weeks.

Synth East tickets – Tickets are now available for Synth East 2026 running from the 20th to 22nd of February. The highlights include Studio Electronique documentary, the launch of I’ve got this on vinyl podcast, Lilly Sphire in the bar, the synth expo featuring all the usual manufacturers. The Patch-off features myself, Gaz, Steve plus Starsky Carr, Jason Lim and Scanner. In the evening, which has probably sold out already is Cabaret Voltaire supported by myself and Scanner. Sunday we have some workshops that are not quite worked out yet.

Roland TR-1000 – Just as I was editing last months molten monthly the TR-1000 was leaking all over the place. It seems that maybe, just maybe Roland has been listening and decided that perhaps there is room in their journey for a little bit of analogue. The TR-1000 is a big chunky drum machine that has some analogue circuits, software engines, sampling, sequencing and live performance tools. It’s quite imposing and looks like the TR8 had a baby with the Elektron Octatrak. It has 808 and 909 circuits, improved and enhanced, 9 ACB digital models, with FM and PCM tones. They’ve also bent the 808/909 ACB models into an entire synthesis system. Sampling is cool with track recording, looping, slices and single shots. It has analog drive and filtering plus dsp effects, modulation and layering. It’s an awesome machine, full of Roland professionalism, and very boring to look at.

Omnisphere 3 – Spectrasonics are not exactly prolific in their updates. It’s been 10 years since Omnisphere 2 and here we have version 3. Is it any more than a bunch of new sounds? Well, maybe. It’s certainly a bunch of new sounds with 18 new libraries. However, we do have a new global control page that gives you quick control over a filter, envelope and tone of what you’re playing, you have 36 new filter types, vintage emulation, new wavetables, multi layered modulation and MPE support. There are more effects which you can now pull out into their own plugin and other refinements. But largely I would say it’s the same idea, the same look and interface, the same uncanny hardware control and extraordinary sound. Omnisphere is kind of everything Native Instruments Kontakt aspires to be – a massive sound source driven by synthesis engines rather than samples. Version 3 updates it to include modern necessities and a wider sound palette.

Liquid Sky – Do I have any idea what’s going on with Liquid Sky? I do not, no. They are deliciously crazy and unpredictable but always arrive at something extraordinary while planting trees to rejuvenate the planet. At the moment they are promoting a 1U ADSRRRR chaos envelope. It has familiar knobs but then a curious Chaos knob, different modes and a switch to take it from envelope to punch. Apparently the 3U and 5U versions will be totally mad. Hopefully I can get a go on one. They are also producing all the PPG stuff, the module and modular system – just amazing. Ingmar sent me a mockup of a front panel of what I think is some kind of phaser called the Smudgetizer Pro 2 Bit – it’s certainly never dull.

Ali Modular Esu’s Trifecta – This is the zany idea that you could actually have more than one effect going on at a time in a multi-effects unit – the Trifecta has three at once! You can run any three stereo effects in a chain. Choose from modulation, delays, reverbs, dynamics, distortion, filters and granular. There are 8 CV inputs that can be directed to parameters on any effect or preset switching, it also has a handle sidechain input for ducking. Four knobs handle the control and you can switch to a second bank for up to 8 parameters per effect. I’ve had a go on one and found it really quite easy to get around and load up effects. It’s funny looking but I’ll be doing a full review very soon.

Whimsical Raps Atrium – Oooo this is interesting. Atrium is all about playful gestures and dynamic systems. You have 5 voices of analogue synthesis that are shaped individually through harmonic energy and timbre manipulation. You have noise, waveforms, frequency modulation, formant synthesis all tumbling through lowpass gates, filters, delays and feedback. But it’s all about the fiddling. It has a fascinating array of interactive elements to help you modulate and push it around. Looks and sounds amazing – has a bit of the Solar 42 about it maybe – what does it all do?

Gforce Software MAP – Hmmm this feels like a massive departure from Gforce’s run of recent instruments. All the old vintage vibe has been swept away in this slightly disjointed software-focused virtual instrument. There are no pretend knobs or flashes of veneer, this is flat, modern and very very busy. I don’t love the interface but I’m starting to really enjoy the edginess of the sound that’s coming out of it. The presets are quite boggling in their range and complexity but when you boil it down you have some solid synthesis tools to play with that are inspired by a more West coast approach. That’s really identified in the oscillators – they are focused on folding, pulse modulating and wave shaping which pushes it into the edgier textures of Buchla and Serge rather than the deep warmth of Moog and subtractive, although it can do that too. It has two main oscillators and a third modulation oscillator, envelopes, a filter or two and a massive modulation bar in the middle very much like Arturia Pigments. I’ve been playing with it and it sounds really interesting, has some superb effects but I’m a little confused by the manual have not gelled with it yet. It is, excitingly different.

Korg Collection 6 – Our favourite collection of old synths gets an update and now includes the massive PS-3300, the humungous Trinity and a big chunky acoustic piano. It’s a very unique collection of instruments that covers classic analogue, digital workstations and some great virtual analogue from Korg’s back-catalogue. The bundle used to feel really expensive but these days with the amazing instruments they’ve added in the last few updates it feels much better value for money.

Behringer UB-Xa Mini and CZ-1 Mini – Behringer continues its battle to make everything in the world as cheap and fiddly as possible with a mini volka-sized version of the Oberheim OB-Xa and the Casio CZ series. The CA synths were odd creatures in the first place with 8 waveforms generated by two DCOs that get combined into all sorts of phase distorted shapes. The interface does not look thrilling but they have added an analogue filter and chorus. Sounds great though. The UB-Xa is a bit approachable with three analogue oscillators, filter, some modulation and a sequencer. Both are three voices and cheap as chips. However, we also heard that Behringer is dropping a number of synths from their development lines, most notably the VCS3 Putney. With it’s unique shape I imagine it’s on the costlier side of things. It also seems that the Pro 16 has also gone – this is according Sweetwater customers who had their preorders cancelled. But it all just heresay and rumours.

Yamaha MODX M – I know people get excited by this dense Yamaha workstations but I struggle to find my enthusiasm for yet another iteration of every synthesis in an uninspiring box that’s not changed much since the Korg M1. However the MODX is like a more reasonable, more likely to find in your house, workstation that suits aspiring song writers and composers who’d like to do it all in one machine that they can get to know deeply down to its last menu layer. So what’s new? You get the AN-X virtual analogue engine and a load more sample space for AWM2 sounds. Really nice if you like that sort of thing.

Elta Music POLYVOX 8 – Elta Music make fantastic stuff. From the Solar 42 to the polyvoks filter in a box, it’s solid creative and built with intention. The Polyvox 8 is of course a take on the classic Soviet Polivoks but with 8-voice polyphony and hopefully less chance of catching fire. It’s only a prototype but it has an intriguing interface (I’m liking the buttons) and a digital control system for presets, MPE and probably a bunch of effects. Should be interesting when it arrives. Elta have also pulled the touch-plate controller out of the Solar 42 and made it available as a stand alone module called the TSC 12. It has 12 touch sensitive pads and features an arpeggiator, sequencer, quantizer and other bits and pieces – very cool.

Cherry Audio Trident MkIII – Yeah, no, I’d never heard of this obscure Korg synth either. It looks like a Behringer synth with a big bottom stuck on the back. Anyway, it’s a synth, brass and strings synth from 1981 and Cherry Audio has decided to reward us all with a software version. They’ve added polyphony, a sequencer, effects and other enhancements to really bring the best out of these tired old tones. It’s unique in its own way and has real charm to it. There’s something about it that sounds like 80s cinema.

Bastl Instruments CITADEL – Bastl has flattened out the Kastle Wave Bard and FX Wizard into Eurorack versions which suddenly look a lot more serious. Those Kastle boxes are fun and I’ve had a few to review but they do get small and fiddly. As Eurorack modules they have a bit of space to breathe and get themselves a bit more intentionally modulated. The fabulous thing is that the CITADEL modules are reversible and firmware flippable giving you FX Wizard on one side the Wave Bard on the other. The Wave Bard is an experimental sample player and beat machine, whereas the FX Wizard is a bunch of effects that love to be messed with. They are a lot of nuts!

Pocket Audio HiChord – Not cool enough for the Telepathic Instruments Orchid? Then pick yourself up a Hichord. It’s pocket sized, doesn’t have too many of the scary keys and is somehow a chord generating synthesizer, drum machine and looper. It houses 882 chords and over 6,000 voicings with smart scales and on-the-fly modification. It’s quite a cool looking box, the interface seems to be well designed and relatively easy to work with. Not a whole lot of sound design going on but it has plenty of presets to poke at. Cute definitely, usable… hard to say.

Tilde Instruments Rontgen – What the heck is this? It looks fantastic and feels like it wants to be explored. It’s analogue with two oscillators, wave shapers, shift registers and a stereo delay. It uses banana plugs for patching which probably means you don’t have anything to plug into it unless you are already getting eclectic with your instruments. It’s a pretty big box and would keep you amused for hours. Built to order.

Tubbutec Drummertime – Super wide 1U drum sequencer with 8 channels and 16 illuminated buttons for fabulous programming. I’ve had the 6equencer for a long time and it’s really good but too fiddly for me to cope with – this looks like a vast improvement. It’s available in a 60hp or 72hp version. In the shorter one the i/o are to found on a 3U sister module. It has 808 style programming, 16 patterns, chaining, mute and probability, flam and ratchet and all sorts of directions. It’s a great use of the 1U space and I’d love to see it in action.

Jake’s Custom Shop – Jake sent me a fanbulous CV to DMX controller for sending control signals to lights. Plus a bunch of drum modules that I will be reviewing in due course.

Apollo View Vamp – Gorgeous looking filter module with a whacking great big tube in the middle. It’s a Sallen-Key multi-mode filter that benefits from the tube saturation. It has an intergrated VCA in the shape of FLOW, soft and hard clipping in FANGs and the cutoff knob is called FREAK. And with MS-20 style resonance it’s a screamer.

Tre Modular Replicant RM – A ring modulator taken from the Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer. My mind refuses to understand or enjoy ring modulation but I’m determined to get the hang of it and hope to get one of these in so I can immerse myself in the concepts. It has both sine and square waveforms giving an option between soft and terrible sounds and you’ll find bells and rhythms in here somewhere. I will be fascinated.

Infinite Machinery TZ Dual VCO – Two identical oscillators running independantly in one module. They have all the same waveforms and controls and there’s no secret connections other than hard or soft sync. They both have interesting FM inputs with exponential or thru-zero and a VCA to control the depth that can be modulated giving AM over FM. Kinda nice. They also have an updated version of their Thru Zero VCO and the Low Road lowpass filter.

GLOSS – Glasgow Library of Synthesized Sound – This is an amazing initiative to create the Uks first electronic music library. They provide affordable access to all sorts of electronic instruments, gear, space, workshops, education, performances and resources. They have some fantastic gear in a wonderful space and it all blows me away. It’s exactly the sort of thing I’d love to do in Norwich if I had the space, time and resources. But for now I can just marvel and what they’ve created and show it to the world. I hope to sit down with Lewis and Suzi from GLOSS to talk about their motivations and how they were able to pull this thing together. So look out for a live stream coming soon.

Synth Picnic Update – The next Synth Picnic is happening on the 8th of November at the Honesty Library in Norwich. I’m starting to get a bit of brand interest now which is lovely so I’m working with both Korg and Sequential/Oberheim to get some new synths for people to try. Keep an eye out next week for the full list of what’s available. I’m also making my existing synths available to rent for only 50 quid for the whole month. Head over the website for more information – which will come. So what is it? It’s a synth demo day in Norwich – just come and play. I’ll have some Herb and Stones synths and other weird bits and pieces this time around supplied by Signal Sounds plus some new bits of modular. Hopefully something new every month.