Instruo’s first foray into semi-modular desktop synth territory is as smart as you’d expect from one of Eurorack’s most premium brands. If you’ve lusted after their products but maybe didn’t want to go all-in on a modular rig, the Instruo Seashell is the perfect way to get a bit of that Instruo flavour in your studio or live setup. The compact size, beautiful interface and clever software integration is what makes this really stand out from other monosynths in a crowded field.
Manufacturer’s description
Seashell is a compact semi-modular synthesiser system, pairing hands-on hardware with expansive control and configuration through dedicated software. Seashell offers seamless integration of Instruō hardware into existing workflows for professional sound design, music production, and live performance.
Hardware features
Two sawtooth core analogue VCOs
Analogue voltage controlled wavefolder
Resonant voltage controlled Low-Pass Filter
Internal waveform routing to Filter and Wavefolder inputs
Parallel modular level outputs
Internal analogue cross FM modulation bus
CV inputs for self patching and external modulation
Stereo Line/Headphone output driver
On-board DSP effects
TRS MIDI input
User-definable external CV input and output
USB (type C) connectivity for audio/MIDI integration to DAW
Software controllable features
VST3/Software control interface expansion
High resolution (14Bit) digital control over analogue circuitry
Customisable scale transposition engine
Total recall of digital controlled analogue parameters
Internal LFO modulation sources
Multi-function envelope generator
Stereo diffusion effect
4x4 modulation matrix mixer with hardware macro control
I wonder if Surreal Machines had anything to do with this on the software side? The plugin looks quite reminiscent of their VSTs… One of which is focused on diffusion too.
Finally something you can put on your desk and people won’t know if it’s an ancient artifact, a power source from the future or the lament configuration.
Jokes aside, I think it’s awesome they developed a plugin control surface and just overall looks like an awesome package.
Once I made up a rule to myself that when I buy new stuff for music it’ll be hybrid from now on.
Guess I gotta buy.
This seems like a pretty cool / innovat modular manufacturer right now! I am still a bit afraid of starting my modular journey. People just buy one modul per pay check and then after 10 years they own 20k worth of modules .//. covering the whole studiowall, right?
I am going to sound a bit biased now but instruo’s modules are always special in their own way. Unless it’s a utility module, they are usually very musical and can sound great even without any help with any other modules (eg arbhar)
And lately they’ve been expanding their modules to digital environment lately which is amazing imo.
A control surface plugin speeds up the workflow so much. You can quickly test different ideas and work on different tracks. Especially when touching a knob with your fingertip already changes the sound like with fm and lots of (cross-)modulation.
Sounds and seems cool, but I find panel design really off putting, those copper tones are giving me strong steampunk vibe, I really dislike that aesthetic.
Yeah…it’s tough for a small company. Parts get much cheaper when you order large quantities and it looks like a lot of R&D time went into this. I want to support this, but that’s no pocket change.
