Synthetic Sound Labs has announced its Soleil POD, a tiny, low-cost MIDI string synth cable of playing four paraphonic notes at once.
It has been inspired by early vintage string synths from the 1970s such as the Elks Rhapsody and ARP Solina. It can play four paraphomnic notes with two oscillator ranks per note. Waveforms are continuously variable from sawtooth through variable pulse widths for reed-like sounds. The seance rank can be detuned to create pads and off-tune sounds.
The Soleil contains built-in modulation / vibrato LFO, the depth of which can be controlled by MIDI. Attack and release envelope times are individually adjustable and share a single VCA making this a “paraphonic” instrument. A gate output jack allows convenient triggering of external effects and synth equipment, and its state is displayed by an LED.
A standard MIDI jack is used for input and responds to note, pitch bend and modulation. There is a fine tune control and an output volume control, plus MIDI, gate out and audio out.
Specifications
| Controls | Fine Tune – (Approx. +/- 1 semitone) Detune – (Approx. +1 semitone) Wave – (Sawtooth thru variable Pulse Width) Modulation Rate Attack Rate Decay Rate Volume |
|---|---|
| Inputs | 3.5mm MIDI TRS Type “A” Standard wiring 2.1mm Co-axial 2.1mm Power – Center Positive – NOT included |
| Outputs | Audio Out – ~2V peak-to-peak Gate Out – 0 to +5V |
| Indicator LEDs | MIDI Activity (Orange) Gate Active (Orange) |
| MIDI Implementation | Note On, Note Off, Running Status Mod Wheel: 176 (B0 hex) Pitch Bend: 224 (E0 hex) |
| Power | 2.1mm Coaxial, +8 to +18V DC Center positive, reverse polarity protected (User supplied adapter) |
| Size | 4.5” W x 2.4” H x 1.25” D (not including pot shafts) |
Pricing is $179.95. It’s currently out of stock but keep an eye on the product page for further details.
