ST4 : Hybrid Synthesizer/Tracker

From Dutch synth designer developer Tasty Chips Electronics presents a new synthesizer design and started a Kickstarter project for users to aquire a DIY kit or fully built system. The ST4 is a unique device that combines a powerful hybrid analog/digital synthesizer with a 16-bit style tracker music machine. It has digital oscillators backed up with sampling for versatility, with analogue VCF’s and VCA’s for character. It’s packed with features, yet these are almost all usable hands-on with dedicated knobs and buttons. It’s usable stand-alone for live gigs but also mountable in a standard 19″ rack, and fully MIDI controllable. The layout of the controls is fully linear: the entire signal path from oscillator (left) up to VCA mastering (right) is laid out horizontally for each channel. As mentioned it’s loaded with features like the sampler, built-in mic, and the bit crusher. It has its own stereo mixer. Most of these controls are completely duplicated per channel, allowing instant access, and powerful live experimentation. Think: running your MIDI sequencer and tweaking the channel’s LFO influence and VCO, VCF, and VCA envelopes live. Or even, use the on-board tracker for this!

Features:

  • 4 Stereo voices
  • Analog multi-mode VCF per channel including voltage controlled resonance.
  • 4 Stereo VCA’s
  • 2 LFO’s with saw, square, sine, noise and sample modes
  • Direct LFO modulation matrix: 4 channels x VCO, VCA, VCF
  • ADSR envelope for VCO, VCA, VCF per channel
  • MIDI IN: Monophonic on ch1..4 and polyphonic on ch5
  • MIDI OUT ch1..4 (via tracker)
  • Sampler and built-in microphone:
    • 8 sample banks
    • configurable loop start, end
    • tuning
    • wav import/export
  • Digital oscillators: saw, square, sine, noise, sample
  • 128 instruments (MIDI patches):
    • VCO, VCA, VCF env’s settings incl looping
    • VCF mode
    • oscillator mode
    • sample mapping
    • instrument chaining
  • Direct control of voice pair detuning
  • Built-in bitcrusher
  • 3.2″ high colour TFT display
  • On-board multi-channel sequencer “16 bit tracker style”, in conjunction with USB keyboard:
    • 4 channels
    • 16 steps, panning & volume definable per step
    • 1024 positions
    • powerful editor with many block functions
    • independent glide per channel
    • polyrhythm support, tap tempo, bpm display
  • Versatile casing usable as desktop or 19″ rackmount.
  • Interfaces:
    • 4x 6.35mm channel outputs
    • 2x 6.35mm master outputs (stereo)
    • 1x 3.5mm line input (for sampler)
    • DIN-5 MIDI IN, OUT, THRU
    • USB A (for USB keyboard)
    • USB B Programming/debugging interface
    • SD card, for sample and song I/O
    • 3.5mm stereo headphone
    • 2.1mm AC power

Sound examples can be heared on Soundcloud.

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