IK’s third UNO Synth is, as we found from its builders and followers in our interview, the model ‘that the synth neighborhood deserved from the beginning’. Actually, its announcement got here as one thing of a shock. The primary model was reasonably priced and beloved for its approachability, whereas the next Professional mannequin expanded as a desktop model with a digital keyboard, alongside a bigger mannequin with a bodily keyboard.
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There remained a sense amongst some customers, nonetheless, that a lot of the Professional’s energy was being hidden behind a lacklustre bodily interface. Customers needed to actually get hands-on.
With product supervisor Enrico Dell’Aversana taking on, once more in collaboration with Italian synth {hardware} specialists Soundmachines, the Professional X was redesigned and the person expertise was made a precedence. He even informed us that the ‘X’ stands for ‘expertise’. Alongside the bodily revamp, the internals have been tweaked, too, although to a a lot lesser diploma – it was already a strong system, in any case. The modifications are vital sufficient, although, that patches from the Professional and the Professional X are incompatible with one another.
IK payments the synth as ultra-portable. That’s greater than justified; weighing simply 800g, it’s well-built however much more compact in actuality than pictures let on. Alongside the bundled energy provide unit, the synth may also draw energy from a USB-C system that gives at the least 7.5W – just about all current laptops or computer systems. The USB port additionally sends MIDI knowledge backwards and forwards and can be utilized with the companion software program librarian and editor, which additionally works as a DAW plugin.
Sadly, the USB connection can’t ship audio out on to your DAW. This may have been the icing on the cake for portability.
Regardless of its compact dimension, you get a wealth of I/O on the rear panel, beginning with two full-size MIDI plugs for connecting to exterior gear in addition to two CV/gate ins and outs for incorporating modular gear into your system. There are two full-sized jack outputs for connecting to a mixer or interface, in addition to a 3.5mm headphone output. There’s additionally an audio enter that permits you to ship a mono sign into the synth, the place you possibly can apply the UNO’s filters and results, or simply move it by for incorporation into the primary output.
Shifting to the entrance panel, you’ll see that there’s far more happening than within the older Professional. The majority is taken up by the sound enhancing space, then to the best is the International part. Alongside the bottom are the sequencer and arpeggiator. And within the prime proper is a small however serviceable display, which gives visible suggestions and mixed with the animated backlighting, retains you apprised of what’s happening.
The center of the synth is its three-wave-morphing oscillator paraphonic sound engine and its twin filters. (A paraphonic synth is one by which a number of oscillators can be utilized to play totally different notes, however all of the oscillators route by the identical sign path – versus a really polyphonic synth the place every oscillator has its personal sign path). Whereas its predecessor depends on menu-diving, the main focus right here has been positioned firmly on placing management at your fingertips. There may be nonetheless some sub-function stuff happening after all – there merely isn’t room to have one button for each single function – and these are principally accessed through the use of the shift button, with secondary capabilities typically indicated utilizing textual content on the physique.
IK’s deal with the hands-on controls actually makes the Professional really feel extra… effectively, professional. With the ability to seize and alter just about something by sight reasonably than taking a number of steps lends it an air of better seriousness. Plus, it’s additionally extra enjoyable and encourages your creativity.
The structure guides you from the oscillators by the fats filters – which sound wonderful, by the way; a button permits you to swap between two and 4 poles and low-pass and high-pass choices – and on to the envelope part. Right here, the ADSR knob may be switched between tweaking the filter, amp and likewise a brand new Envelope 3 choice that can be utilized within the modulation matrix.
The modulation matrix has additionally been redesigned, with three buttons: Supply, Vacation spot and Quantity. Right here you possibly can select from 16 slots and 38 sources after which, utilizing the display and dial or the sequencer buttons, assign a vacation spot, together with exterior gear through the CV in/outs.
There’s an honest choice of results too, with 12 stereo results in three slots plus an analogue drive impact with a devoted knob on the entrance panel; that is ace for reside tweaking and efficiency. The flanger and phaser have been ditched in favour of a brand new Uni-Vibe impact, boasting a barely extra psychedelic really feel.
Then there’s the sequencer, paraphonic with 64 steps, a 10-mode arpeggiator with sample designer and even a Bassline mode that’s designed to provide the sequencing really feel of a Roland TR-303.
One good new contact is the power to load each the patch and sequence when loading presets. You can too load both individually, must you be sending a sequence out to set off exterior gear, for instance. The sequencer additionally features a new Random mode which many individuals will discover helpful for producing a little bit of low-effort inspiration. MusicRadar famous the final usefulness of the pre-created sequences that ship with the synth, and we’d concur, providing a powerful launchpad for brand spanking new concepts.
Sonically, the Professional X nonetheless sounds wealthy – as talked about, the sound engine hasn’t modified radically, as Gearnews famous of their overview. So it’s nonetheless able to every thing from heat and plush pads to large basses, vicious filter sweeps, pulsating leads and far more. Every thing routed by the fats filters and the soiled drive part sounds superior, particularly whenever you throw in a few of the different wonderful onboard results.
The principle level, although, is that you simply’re simply more likely to really feel artistic with this mannequin due to the immediacy with which you’re capable of create and alter issues. The software program editor nonetheless works completely high-quality and is a bonus, however most customers will discover it much less important for accessing the entire sound engine, due to the brand new bodily structure of the synth.
The UNO Synth Professional X isn’t essentially an instrument for inexperienced persons. However, as its builders informed us, it’s a machine that you would be able to develop with. Much less skilled customers may want to speculate a while in synthesis fundamentals – at the least in the event that they wish to take management of what they’re doing – however the rewards are large.
For the worth, the Professional X is an impressively highly effective and cool-sounding synth that perfects the UNO Synth as a product, unlocking the potential of its versatile sound engine. If that is the place IK and Soundmachines’ collaborations have led, we will’t wait to see the place they go subsequent.
Key options
- 3 wave-morphing oscillators
- 3 super-fast envelopes with loop and retrigger choices
- Twin-filter design, OTA and SSI-chip primarily based
- 12 studio-quality results in 3 slots + analogue drive
- Paraphonic, 64-step sequencer, 10-mode arpeggiator
- New bassline mode; audio enter to results
- 16-slot modulation matrix
- USB / MIDI / CV / gate in/out
- Software program editor / librarian
- USB or PSU energy (equipped)
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