Artium Instruments launched a Kickstarter campaign for The Swarm, a polyphonic desktop synthesizer with onboard effects. The synth is designed with the philosophy that it should possess functionality, personality, character, and a distinct identity that can inspire its user. To provide users with studio-quality sound, The Swarm features a SuperSaw oscillator with 8-note polyphony and curated onboard effects, as well as a full-featured arpeggiator. Every feature of this synth is also directly mapped to a knob, button, switch, or jack to ensure there's no need for menu diving or complicated button presses. Artium Instruments have used their decade-plus of experience in the effects industry to carefully curate a selection of effects that they believe complement the synth core of The Swarm. These onboard effects can also be used with other equipment, so it is possible to route external audio through the input jacks on the back of The Swarm. The effects include a freeze effect, syncable delay, stereo reverb, and stereo chorus. 

The Kickstarter campaign for The Swarm was launched with a $8,000 goal, which was reached within hours. The "Early Bird" batch, which includes The Swarm at a discount price of $359, was very quickly snapped up by backers. This batch is expected to begin shipment in June 2024. According to Artium Instruments, the second batch will begin shipment in July 2024, with all future batches shipping in August 2024. Eric, the owner and founder of Artium Instruments, has stated that they are a small but experienced operation with the capacity to produce approximately 500 units per year. However, he also believes that they have the ability to scale up production to 1000 units a year if necessary. The Swarm is being designed with quality parts and a durable design that is meant to last a lifetime. Repair support will be available as long as Artium Instruments is still in business. 

For more information or to back the project, visit the official Kickstarter page (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/artiuminstruments/artium-instruments-the-swarm/description).