Which hardware company do you think is the most interesting/innovative?

The Lounge General Discussion
#10

Arturia is a very interesting company. Take a product like the MicroFreak. It’s seen some great free updates, including an option to add a vocoder. The feature set is way beyond what it was when originally relesed.

Akai is the same. Multiple devices at different price points running the same firmware and, thus, helping to fund continued development. The feature set on the current MPC range is light years ahead of the original release to market and has just seen a huge update with further developments expected.

1010Music is another company that I really like too. The Blackbox is a great device that’s just seen some great features added too.

Ensoniq is the one I really miss though. Their samplers were something special and still offer stuff that most current products can’t match.

G

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#11

Frap tools
Make noise
Mutable
Befaco
Vcv rack - Geodesics

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#12

Mutable Instruments
Soma
Teenage Engineering
Bastl
Chase Bliss
Arturia

These are companies that take risks and i like that.

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#13

For me it is definitely more on the experimental or Eurorack side.

Make Noise have been mentioned, and the 0 Coast was my entry level into Eurorack, opening up a whole new methodology that is based on hacking, researching and working with limitation to push creativity, while still staying “musical” somehow.

Industrial Music Electronics and Rossum are also two big inspirational companies, but because of different reasons: Rossum with his knowledge and reputation from his time at EMU still does not shy away from experimentation and innovation, with the Assimil8or, Trident and the Panharmonium being my favourites, while IME is bringing back what I loved about gritty digital synthesis, but putting it in a great format and opening it up to modern approaches with the new preset system and higher resolutions in sample rate etc., with the Piston Honda MK3 and the Bionic Lester MK3 being my alltime favourites kn my rack so far.

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#14

Soma no doubt.

i wish big hitters like Roland, Yamaha etc would take more risks.
At least one wacky out there instrument a year.

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#15

Mutable
Mannequins
monome
Meng Qi
Ciat-Lonbarde
Chase
Soma

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Music tech - specific hardware - real innovations of recent times
#16

My personal favorite at the moment is the much underrated Norand. With their flagship Mono, they have a very interesting take on the equilibrium between live performance and sonic depth, and introduce previously unseen features.
Unfortunately, at the moment, the Mono is plagued with a quite unfinished firmware. But I bear with this as the implemented features already make the synth a pleasure to operate. And it’s a very small company (essentially one guy) who has been very responsive, so I have good hopes they will come up with something more polished soon.

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#17

Most of the really interesting/innovative stuff is coming from the former Soviet Union.

Soma (obviously)
Erica Synths
Polyend
Elta music
AVP Synth
Bastl
Black Corp. (I know, not strictly Russian, but Russians)

Most of the more established makers in the west/Japan are stuck in some sort of never ending nostalgia loop, but then it’s difficult for them, as that’s what most of their customers seem to be asking for.

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#18

I don’t know, it may not be so “cool” to name big players in the industry, but it seems to me Korg released interesting stuff these last years.

Just the Volca Drum is already something IMHO

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#19

I don’t think there is much innovation around currently, lots of variations on a theme, lots of oddball for the sake of it stuff, lots of revisiting past ideas.

Then there are things like AI, and other emerging technologies being looked into, but as far as I can see not much innovation in terms of bringing new ideas and means of expression, or user interface.

I think the technology exists to create electronic instruments as (or more) expressive than acoustic instruments, to create sequencers with features not yet seen, and to control all of this with precision, reliability and without being fiddly or awkward to use.

But I’m ok with it, sometimes half the fun is coming up with your own concepts and adapting and combining gear into your own instrument.

DIY instruments are getting easier to create with the numerous platforms available now in hardware and software.

I think one to watch is Tats from Korg, he seems like he is interested in making interesting stuff, and he certainly seems to know what he is doing wrt user interface and interesting features.

Teenage Engineering could be much more interesting than they are, but I think they have been drinking their own for too long, and their quality control is shameful, and that is a shame. Lots of design faux pas in most of their products, ironic as they are a design company.

Elektron has some extremely talented people, but I think they are a bit too large too innovate now, maybe?

Polyend have done some interesting things, I think they are also worth watching.

Going slightly off topic here, but not much gear is built to last, or built with longevity/servicability and environmental impact in mind, that is pretty criminal IMHO.

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#20

That’s one of the reasons I’m a big Soma fan. Their stuff is all super well built and laid out in such a way as to make things pretty repairable.

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#21

Really?
I thought expressive interfaces is one area (as opposed to basic building blocks of sound design) that has really seen development over the last few years.
Soma, Roger Linn, Expressive E, Haken, Polyend, Roli (not now obvs) are just a few bigger names but there are many more small, boutique makers too coming out with new expressive Interfaces

This, on the other hand, I definitely agree with. Of note, bought some reference haedphones from Ollo audio, a new Slovenian company recently, and everything on the headphones is serviceable, replaceable, and even upgradable when they bring out a new model. That to me is at least truly innovative in the current era in terms of customer support and sustainability!

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#22

Not off-topic at all. Synth companies are a business after all and I don’t think it’s off topic to point out innovations in more sustainable business practices.

Modular was the first industry where I saw companies use “paper bubble wrap”. Mutable and Mannequins will always agree to fix any module for shipping costs.

I think there are a number of companies who execute old ideas really well, but I would hesitate to call them innovative. Innovative to me is taking those old ideas and using them to make something completely fresh.

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#23

Dreadbox. Not very innovative technology sense, but innovative in ways making synthesizers more approachable to people. Consider it’s a small company but their lineup is very cool. Like for example their Chromatic series that are very capable for their price.

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#24

i don’t care :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:
these days innovations don’t necessarily mean something good, rather something breaking the standards and then poorly supported.

#25

Elektron gave up on innovation when they released mk. 2s of their products.

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#27

Octatrack and Digitone would like a word

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#28

Octatrack? Mk. 1 was released before mk. 2, hah. And Digitone is just more of the same from Elektron, not really innovative. Just FM synthesis done really well with Elektron sequencer and multiple voices, all of which they already did with other products. Not saying it’s not a great synth, just that it’s not really that innovative compared to everything they released from Machinedrum to Analog Heat.

#29

MnM mk2 and MD mk2 were released before the OT though. So if they gave up on innovation then, you’re saying the OT wasn’t innovative.

I think the Digitone approach to FM is pretty innovative, it’s accessible not just done well. But it’s my first FM synth so I’m happy to admit I don’t know what I’m talking about here :slightly_smiling_face:

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#30

Well done sir, I stand corrected. I revise my opinion, they lost their innovative edge (with hardware) with the Digitakt.

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