KORG phase8 – Acoustic Synthesizer

[ChipopLeMoral]

Pretty sick demo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFNQoekyGAs

at 6:20 he's showing how placing different objects on the resonators changes their tone.

I want this so bad.

[embedding-shape]

> he's showing how placing different objects on the resonators changes their tone

"Have you ever thought re-patching your modular synth was too easy? Here, now your drum machine can be even harder to recreate the sound you liked last week!"

A joke, but was immediately what jumped out as scary. Not gonna lie, looks like a fun machine, but for that money, I tend to buy stuff I can use and recall old patches with. Although except for the modular obviously :/

[bartread]

Just a bit later in the video he shows using his finger to change the pitch of the resonator on the right as well. I'm often a bit sceptical of "gimmicky" instruments (what's that synth with all the rotors inside that makes a noise a bit like a vacuum cleaner when you use it? but, I have to say, the Phase 8 does sound really cool and, just as important, looks really fun to use as well.

Be interested to see how long it takes before Florian gets his hands on one to review for Bad Gear though.

[anotheryou]

much better vid imo: https://youtu.be/xHlYvj0Ge7I

without the heavy crushing effects

[m3kw9]

It just another way to do something that a lot of these tone generators can do already, i'm not seeing the appeal other than to have some quick fun with sounds.

[pjmlp]

I share the feeling, but too many hobbies already. :)

[fauria]

$1149.99, in case you are wondering: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1946617-REG/korg_phas...

[Lio]

What ammuses me is that the little Korg Volcas synced up in the demo can be found really cheaply if you look around. They were low cost units to begin with and are now old enough to be considered classic equipment so there are loads on the market.

The Volca Drum being used is excellent at making all kinds or resonant, spriny noises with its wave guide effects if that's what you're looking for. It's a very distinct, unique sounding little box.

Volcas in general are an affordable way to get started with electronic music making. Cheap enough and easy enough to sell if you change your mind.

(I still really want a Phase 8 though :P )

[ChipopLeMoral]

Coming next year: A Behringer knockoff that's just as good for $250.

[embedding-shape]

Not too bad, considering the space it sits in.

Another "physical modeling synthesizer" which I've been looking at for the last few weeks (https://www.ericasynths.lv/steampipe-3153/) goes for €990, which is more or less the same as the phase8, when you consider the currency difference.

Edit: Actually, seems phase8 will be slightly cheaper, my local (Spain) shops seems to sell it for around €950.

[ofalkaed]

Years ago I used to make things like this, I discovered sites like 120 years of Electronic Music[0] and the Experimental Musical Instruments Journal[1] which my local library bizarrely had and went to town. Spent a lot of time digging through the local surplus shop that was a goldmine for cheap stuff for such things. The last project I started in on was a tuning fork organ, made my own tuning forks and coils and pickups to drive them, had big dreams with it but only ended up making about an octave worth, which I had great fun with. Most of these random instruments I controlled with my old Arp Odyssey which I even added CV outs for the LFO/Envelopes so I could modulate them and ran the output into the filter input, fun times.

I might buy this, not really my interest these days but it really looks like great fun.

[0] https://120years.net

[1] https://barthopkin.com/experimental-musical-instruments-back...

[byproxy]

I keep telling myself to stop lusting over gear and just start making music, but…

EDIT: Saw that it’s pretty much a fixed-key device, which makes it much less appealing. Still pretty damn cool, though.

[Tangurena2]

GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome = buying stuff you don't really need is a serious problem in the synth/eurorack community.

[raffael_de]

He explains it quite well:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81fMDyNCljM

[wdfx]

Could mount a guitar pickup under the tines of a kalimba and get much the same effects.

[shams93]

Actually you can change the keys up so much you can do microtonal scales on it, but at the end of the day its a metallaphone so not likely to ever be the only piece of gear you'd want to use, you'd want to mix this with other gear to make a full sound.

[zgniatacz]

Cheap Eurorack ersatz version https://gieskes.nl/eurorack/?file=4-relay-module ?

[ben_]

This website is horrific I love it

[oori]

Reminds me of the original Korg Wavedrum from the 90s, which was by far the best e-drum ever, you can lightly scratch it or hit it with a strong stick, endless tone and amplitude possibilities.

[kazinator]

So this is a synth in which a bank of oscillators use physically vibrating elements. From there, things proceed conventionally?

It reminds me of systems in the "Sustainiac" family for generating unlimited sustain in an electric guitar, at any volume. There is a powered circuit which drives feedback into the string through a coil ("reverse pickup"). Typically the reverse pickup is in the neck position. So effectively the vibrating string becomes part of an oscillator circuit.

We can imagine a harp like instrument (or koto) with multiple steel strings, oscillating under a Sustainiac-like pickup feeedback system, and used as the basis for synthesis.

It looks as if the reeds in the Korg instrument might work similarly.

This video is nice because it talks about the feel of the Sustainiac: how it "kicks in" and you feel the vibration swell just when you fret a note with your left hand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsbdvkIua8o

This one does a good job of demoing the three way harmonic switch:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZwPPGsxY6g

You can sustain the fundamental, or have it go to the octave harmonic, or even a higher harmonic above that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsbdvkIua8o

[4k93n2]

the 'light pedal' by gamechangeraudio would pair well with this. it uses a real spring inside the pedal to create an analog spring reverb. theres also some sort of laser used as well since the spring isnt long enough

https://gamechangeraudio.com/light-pedal

there is also their 'motor pedal' which uses a spinning motor similar to one that would be found in a drone, and then a laser again or something optical to pick up the movement and turn it into a digital signal.

they actually have a synth that uses 8 of these motors to generate the sounds/voices

[ofalkaed]

http://andrewmcpherson.org/project/mrp

[b00ty4breakfast]

I'm not being dismissive when I say there isn't anything super innovative, within the individual components that make up this synth, but this is conceptually an electric tine piano with sound processing circuitry.

That's sick,and I want it. I also want a zither-style stringed version and one with bells

[Joyfield]

They must be more proud about the look of it than how it sounds because I can't find any sound demo on the page. Plenty of pictures though. I am gonna make a Photoshop alternative and on the product page I am only gonna have a lot of sounds of me farting.

[jimmyjazz14]

Seems like the bars are just there to produce the (almost) sine wave oscillation part of the synth which is neat I guess but it just seems like a gimmick if I am being totally honest. I still respect them trying new ideas though.

[fatherwavelet]

I don't think it even sounds that interesting. Especially if you have ever used the various physical modeling ensembles in Reaktor. It isn't even close to some of those.

[kennywinker]

I mean… this is pretty similar to how a rhodes works… are those a gimmick?

[NoSalt]

My son and I are both fascinated by synthesizers and what they can do. I bought this:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/Nts1Mk2--korg-nutekt...

For us to build and play with, and we have a ball with it. This phase8 would be a ton of fun as well.

[bsaul]

Is there a demo ? i couldn't find it on the page

[rwmj]

Loopop did a very thorough review:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHlYvj0Ge7I

[rolivercoffee]

Red Means Recording made a nice video with it: https://youtu.be/mpMxHfxuNco

[artimaeis]

Demos are on the feature page: https://phase8.korg.com

[afandian]

They have visible pickups, which presumably have a permanent magnet core.

But how are the resonators getting 'plucked'? Is it the same electromagnet as the pickup or a separate one? I can't imagine those two modes would work well. (i.e. dumping current across the coil would make the magnet want to escape)

Perhaps there's a field coil instead of a permanent magnet?

[jimmyjazz14]

My guess is that it uses magnetic fields to resonate the bars (kinda like an ebow). Any plucking types sounds are probably done with filter/envelopes within the electronics.

[CamperBob2]

The visible coils provide the stimulus, I think. The pickups are mounted near the top (middle?) of the resonators and not directly visible.

[r0me1]

Maybe i'm not fully grasping how it works, but i don't really see the acoustic part, aren't the resonators just turning the steel vibrations into an electric signal via coils in the same way an electric guitar works? basically what's the advantage of this vs plugin an electric guitar as a signal input to an analog synth?

[kagakuninja]

Guitar strings do not generate sound, unless plucked. However there are devices like the Sustaniac and the short-lived Moog guitar that do use electromagnets to induce vibrations in the strings. So you could compare this to the Sustaniac.

EDIT - forgot about the ebow

[scelerat]

It’s interesting comparing the enthusiasm I see in this thread compared to the more jaded responses I’ve seen in r/synthesizers

I think it looks cool and fun. Wish my workflow and time could accommodate it right now but they can’t. I’m really curious to hear what people who spend time with it are able to do.

[glimshe]

Physical hardware is fun, sounds better (when analog or acoustic) but I can't go back after a long time with a streamlined VST-based workflow. For playing without a computer, I simply use romplers for the convenience. So, while I have a gut desire for this gear, I won't ever actually buy it...

[waffletower]

Unfortunately, I definitely disagree with the "sounds better" argument, particularly for this instrument. I do own a vibraphone, and happen to also design synthesizers, and I did not find the Phase8 sound to be compelling. One of the appeals of a synthesizer is its spectral plasticity, and the output of the Phase8 relies too heavily on the sonic characteristics of the resonator medium. My vibraphone definitely suffers from this, and has the cultural baggage of being a recognizable instrument, but it is a much more pleasing sameness than the Phase8.

[asdhtjkujh]

Glad to see this has finally been released after years of R&D :) can't wait to see what Takahashi-san and team cook up next.

In principle, Korg Berlin looks like a great model for satellite incubator within an established organization. Would absolutely love to work there.

[kennywinker]

I was wondering to myself why korg berlin exists. Like i would be shocked if they sell enough of these to pay for the preceding five years of rent much less the salaries. Is it genuinely moonshot r&d, like a bell labs or xerox parc? Is it just to prevent Takahashi from starting a competitor? Something else? Whichever reason, i’m glad it exists… it just feels improbable.

[H1Supreme]

Wow, this is really innovative. It really takes "physical modeling" synths to another, more literal level. Would love to have been a fly on the wall when the idea was proposed.

This + an Ekdahl Moisturizer would be an interesting pairing.

[vegabook]

cool, but doesn't sound that great when you close your eyes and just listen. Other synths beat this hands down especially at > $1000, and can easily bring in the physical world already, including live workflows. The issue is when we get into the physical analogue world, craftsmanship, materials, shape, often age, and of course the varied kinetic interactions with the sound solicitor, bring depth and richness which no little electrically-excited xylophone will ever get anywhere close to.

[yetkin]

Looks really neat. I wish I had one, I am curious but it just sounds like an FM to me. In the demos I hear very decayed percussive FM sounds or mellow bell like FM sounds.

[ssalazar]

It looks most similar to a Rhodes piano-type electromechanical keyboard, where tuned metal elements are somehow actuated and then sonified with a guitar pickup. Unlikely theres any FM which would require independently digitizing each of the resonators and just generally a lot of complexity that doesnt seem warranted.

The similarity in timbre isn't coincidental though -- FM is noted for its ability to emulate complex timbres like bells/metallic tones (such as electric pianos) that are challenging for more traditional subtractive synthesis architectures.

[CompoundEyes]

I agree. I have a Nord Drum 3P that’s FM percussion modeling with drum pads. I can get close to these sounds and a lot more stuff that bends when you hit the pad harder. About half the price on Reverb. The Phase 8 is a cool idea.

[embedding-shape]

If I understand correctly, it is doing frequency modulation somewhere, but the main point is that you can physically interact with the resonators, and influence the sound that way.

[jimmyjazz14]

Yeah as far as I can tell the bars are just producing sine waves and everything else is done within the electronics, interesting concept but honestly not all that exciting to me.

[racl101]

If Kraftwerk were still doing their thing this would be right up their alley. But they probably got their own special gear.

[Lio]

Kraftwerk are still doing their thing.

I know because I totally failed to get tickets to see them at the Royal Albert Hall in June[1].

https://www.royalalberthall.com/tickets/events/2026/kraftwer...

[fatherwavelet]

Florian Schneider has been dead for 5 years and Ralf Hutter is pushing 80.

Other people have made electronic music too since 1975.

[import]

Looks cool but kinda seems like a baby of Intellijel plonk and rings with a different physical interaction.

[wendgeabos]

This needs to be mashed up with the Daxophone. Like, can I clamp pieces of wood into it and bow them?

[jihadjihad]

I guess I am left wondering why the person in the photo is playing it with a pencil and a truffle.

[lewispollard]

Says right underneath:

> Beyond adjusting parameters, phase8 invites physical interaction. Sculpt sound by touching, plucking, strumming, or tapping the resonators – or experiment by adding found objects for new textures.

Like prepared piano.

[techblueberry]

And here I told myself I wasn't going to buy anymore synthesizers.

[beAbU]

I'll wait for the Bad Gear review, thanks.

[jamesjolliffe]

Sounds really cool to listen to someone talk _about_ this synth.

Sounds pretty meh listening to the synth itself in any demos I've seen so far.

Still an awesome product and piece of tech art.

Myself, I can't imagine buying this synth for anything other than putting on a shelf to look at and talk about.

[kennywinker]

It’s news because you can actually buy one now. If you’re gonna be mean it’s best not to be mean AND wrong.

[Ylpertnodi]

> an Wikipedia?