Superbooth 2023, held at FEZ-Berlin in Germany, took place between 11 and 13 May and saw a range of exciting new announcements for synth enthusiasts. Here’s a quick round-up of some of the most notable new and upcoming releases unveiled during the event. 

Objekt

By Reason

Reason revealed their new physical modeling synth, Objekt, during Superbooth 2023. According to Reason, Objekt allows users to discover the character of organic instruments and real-world materials while being dynamic, playable, and easily customizable. 

Instead of limiting users to pre-made options, Objekt models the properties of acoustic instruments while giving users complete control over those parameters. Sounds are generated in real-time, and it is fast as well as lightweight. Users can get started with over 500 expertly crafted patches that can be tweaked and experimented with. Its powerful randomizer also makes it easy to generate instant variation for inspiration. 

Objekt is available at an introductory price of $79 and is also included in a REASON+ subscription. It requires Reason 10.1 or later, while the included Combinator patches require Reason 12. For more information, check out the video below and visit the official website (https://reasonstudios.com/products/objekt/).

Chorus 6 & uChorus 6

By SoundForce

SoundForce unveiled two new Eurorack modules at Superbooth 2023 in the form of Chorus 6 and uChorus 6. These are both Juno-inspired analog BDD chorus effects, with the uChorus 6 being 4HP and the Chorus 6 being 14HP. The 4HP version only features the basic modes, while the 14HP version builds on them with additional manual and external modes. 

Regarding features, the uChorus 6 has three simple tactile switches on the front panel, and users can switch between the standard modes by pressing OFF, I, or II. Holding down I and II and pressing the OFF button allows users to cycle through the 4 I+II options. It can be used with either mono or stereo input signals, while both Eurorack and Line level signals can be used as input. According to SoundForce, the uChorus 6 will be available on their website from the end of June 2023. The expected price is ±199 euros, including VAT (164 euros outside of Europe). 

The Chorus 6 has four main modes, I, II+II, as well as MAN for manual and EXT for external. Its slide pot or CV input can be used to mix between the dry input signal, and the BBD delays output can also be set. When using the manual mode, users can control every parameter of the chorus and gain access to the LFO that modules the BBD delay times. In this mode, the EXT IN CV input can also be used to change the LFO wave and range or to add additional modulation of the delay start time. The Chorus 6 will be available from the end of June 2023 with a price of about 299 euros, including VAT (247 euros outside of Europe.)

For more information, visit the official website (https://sound-force.nl/?page_id=4973) / (https://sound-force.nl/?page_id=5000).

Roucha Legio

By Noise Engineering

Noise Engineering announced the availability of their new addition to the Legio platform, Roucha Legio, at Superbooth 2023. Roucha Legio is derived from Latin for “clothes and “legion or army,” which means loosely translated the name stands for “A lot of folded clothes.” It is a stereo resonant multimode filter with wavefolding, 1v/8va tracking, and gateable bypass. According to Noise Engineering, Roucha Legio is their first dedicated release after getting tons of requests for NE filters over the years. It features lowpass, bandpass, and highpass settings and tracks frequency via the dedicated encoder and extremely accurate 1v/8va V input. 

Since Roucha Legio is also a DSP and oscillator platform, users can change the firmware to any other firmware in the Legio series. It is available in black and silver models for $310. For more information, visit the official website (https://noiseengineering.us/products/roucha-legio?color=black). 

MD900

By Mayer EMI

Mayer EMI showcased the new MD900 at Superbooth 2023, a polyphonic desktop synthesizer with up to 16 voice polyphony and four multi-timbral parts. The synth is housed in an aluminum case with real walnut wood for the front and back. According to Mayer EMI, the MD900 components are all industrial grade, and it features precision potentiometers with aluminum-covered knobs on the operator panel. 

Since the XVA-Sound Engine of the MD900 runs on top of a Linux OS with real-time extensions, it can achieve boot times of less than 30 seconds. For more information, check out the official website (https://mayer-emi.at/products/md900).