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27 Apr

Reviewed: Elektron Digitone Digital Synthesiser

Innovative Music | innovativemusic.com.au | Expect To Pay: $1099

The electronic music machine makers from Gothenburg in Sweden are at it again with a new offering in their ever-growing range of thoughtful synthesisers, sequencers, samplers and drum machines. For those of you who are not aware of Elektron, then you must have been living under a rock, or a blues guitarist perhaps. Either way, it’s time to pop your head up and have a listen, because what’s on offer here is really going to change the way so many of us perceive FM synthesis. It’s not just another grey box with a very Swedish design and cool colour palette; this is a new way of finding your sound within a machine and giving it life. Have a look at the Elektron Digitone with me and see if you can hear some new inspiration from what it has to offer.

27 Apr

14 Mar

Reviewed: Moog Mother-32 Analogue Synth

Innovative Music | innovativemusic.com | Expect to Pay: $999

Analogue synthesis has been around for about a jillion years, and yet there’s still a seductive mystery to it. Some call it ‘raw,’ some call it ‘funky,’ some call it ‘chaotic’; there’s something that speaks to us all in the magic of knowing that everything you’re hearing is the result of a physical process rather than an algorithm. The Moog Mother-32 is the first tabletop semi-modular synthesiser from Moog, designed to be used either by itself or in conjunction with a full electronic or modular system. Handcrafted in Asheville, NC, it has the classic Moog look and feel as though it could have been made 30 years ago. And yet here it is, new and different, and sized to be easily transferred into a Eurorack skiff or case, or in any combination of Mother-32 and Moog DFAM units in Moog’s Three-Tier Rack Kit or Two-Tier Rack Stand.

14 Mar

6 Jan

Reviewed: Moog Subsequent 37

Innovative Music | innovativemusic.com.au | Expect to pay: $2399

There is one name that lives in the world of synthesiser folklore ahead of all others, the name that was adorned by many of the various models from the brand, and the name of the inventor and creator of some of the most musical and challenging synthesisers to this day. I am, of course, talking of Moog, the legacy of the late Dr Bob Moog that carries on with a very forward thinking company today that is constantly delivering new designs and products to meet the market’s needs. That is exactly what the Moog Subsequent 37 is: the result of user demands coming to fruition in a serious keyboard that is now readily available in Australia.

6 Jan

15 Jun

REVIEWED: YAMAHA MX88BK SYNTHESISER

Yamaha Music Australia | au.yamaha.com | Expect To Pay: $1699

I always enjoy new product time from Yamaha when I get to discover yet another development in their keyboard and synthesiser family. This month is no exception with the new MX88BK landing in my office ready to be put through its paces. Having already seen and used the MX61, this was one keyboard I was looking forward to getting my hands on to see how the upgrade to a full 88 notes was going to work, making this a keyboard that would appeal to a greater audience then the previous two smaller models.

15 Jun

14 Oct

Teenage Engineering OP-1 Synthesizer

Innovative Music | innovativemusic.com.au | RRP: $1379

This is one product that has been getting 
a lot of people talking of late and very few have even had a chance to see one. In fact, I wasn’t even able to get my hands on one until just this week. To be honest, I wish 
I had more time with it, as I have barely been able to scratch the surface of the capabilities of the Teenage Engineering OP-1 synthesizer. Some of you may be wondering what it is, and if you have been living under a rock you may not have heard of it, but all the cool kids will know about this and will be lining up to get their hands on one as they start to become more readily available in stores now. Let’s take a brief look.

14 Oct

10 Oct

StudioLogic Sledge Black Edition

Innovative Music | innovativemusic.com.au | RRP: $1899

At first I thought I’d be spending this month going over old reviews of a product from before, but I quickly realised upon opening the StudioLogic box that the bright tangelo beast was not to be seen. Instead, something darker and more ominous loomed within. I got very excited when I discovered I had the StudioLogic Sledge Black Edition to play around with. Many of you who know the Sledge will be excited for the upgrades in this version and for those of you who are unfamiliar with the original Sledge, you are in for a real treat.

10 Oct

2 Jan

CASIO XWG1 SYNTHESIZER

Shriro Aus­tralia | (02) 9415 5000 | www.soundtechnology.com.au | RRP: $999.95

Around 6 months ago I got to have a brief look at a pair of Casio syn­the­siz­ers that got me all excited. It had been years since I had played with a Casio syn­the­sizer and these reignited an old fire in my soul. So, now I am more than happy to have a more in depth look at one of these key­boards again, the Casio XW-G1 synthesizer.

2 Jan