Kodamo’s futuristic EssenceFM synth takes a graphical approach
300-voice synth lets you get hands-on with FM via touchscreen.
Kodamo’s EssenceFM is a hardware FM synth with a touchscreen interface and 300 voices of polyphony.
French brand Kodamo has announced its first-ever product: an advanced hardware FM synth known as EssenceFM. Packed with 300 voices and an impressive seven-inch touchscreen, this device could be the most overpowered FM synth yet.
Frustrated by the complexity and limitations of other FM synths, the people at Kodamo set about making patch editing “fun and easy” by taking a graphical approach. Integral to this approach is the touchscreen, which will allow users to drag and drop operators to build algorithms, and draw waveforms and envelopes by hand.
Though the unit is designed to be easy to operate, it’s not lacking in either power or flexibility. EssenceFM features six operators, a per-voice low-pass and resonant filter, two integrated multi-effects processors, and an astonishing 300-voice polyphony. It also lets you assign up to 128 voices to each patch for layering or splitting across a keyboard.
A prototype of EssenceFM was recently revealed at France’s SynthFest event. You can view the demonstration below:
EssenceFM is due for release in December, with pricing TBA. More info at kodamo.fr.
