Whilst developing the M3X2 rack synthesiser, Ken from Macbeth studio systems has also been working on a keyboard version, and here it is:
This is a photograph of the prototyp Ken is working on. And although the casing is still to be designed you can see pretty well what the ‘shape’ of this synth will be. This prototype is called The X Factor.
This synth is totally analogue 3 wide ranging Oscillators with 10 turn potentiometers for precise frequency control and also featuring Saw/Tri/Sine/Square waveforms each Oscillator functions as both audio and modulator for some striking cross-modulation effects. There is a dedicated analogue LFO as well as analogue Glide, the filter is the classic all transistor 24dB/Octave type- warm, rich and fat.
The keyboard is a three and a half octave type- perfect for an analogue mono synth, the ADSR envelope generators are an all transistor design and are extremely snappy. Also included is a variable tone Noise Generator. Other features include a dedicated Headphone Amplifier for monitoring sounds.
For those interested in obtaining this synth a batch of 25 is planned for the first run.