Native Instruments founder Stephan Schmitt Emphase hardware synth prototype

http://www.musicradar.com/news/tech...shows-emphase-hardware-synth-prototype-594390

More into:
http://nonlinear-labs.de/projects/emphase.html

 

I have oft wondered...if the one of the geniuses behind Reaktor were given carte blanche hardware-wise, what would happen?

I myself have no particular need for such dedicated boutique hardware but I sure do want to hear/see it in action (and hopefully be able to live with the possible gear-envy it may induce ;-))

I guess we will just have to wait for the YouTube's of Richard Devine and BT with their serial numbered 1 & 2's to drool

 

Did you know that Reaktor is the DSP engine there? http://nonlinear-labs.de/blog/audioengine/audioengine.html

 

Can't help but think there should be a knob and screen per section a la little phatty + some crazy kbd scaling options

 

the engine is a REAKTOR ensemble Phase 22:
http://nonlinear-labs.de/projects/phase_22.html

One of main things seems to be a feedback loop which can be very expressive but chaotic too something like this

 

Neat sound - like a heavy object being shoved across a floor

 

Certainly it is/was prototyped in Reaktor but will the final shipping product be dedicated compiled, proprietary software do you suppose?

 

I gather the finished product is going to run Reaktor on embedded i3 computer within it.

http://nonlinear-labs.de/blog/threebrains/threebrains.html

"As you might already know (and can read in the article), we decided to use Reaktor both as our development platform and as the audio engine for our synth. Reaktor is purely dedicated to audio processing - we are not using the functions of its user interface and therefore the software stays “invisible”.

As a platform for Reaktor, we will integrate a very compact PC mainboard into our instrument. It is equipped with an Intel i3 processor running Windows Embedded 8. The processor is optimized for notebook computers and delivers high performance with low power consumption. For the cooling we don't need a fan and since the harddisk is a SSD there will be no mechanically sensistive or noise emitting components."

 

Looks rather like a Synclavier with all those buttons

 

Heh, that's exactly what I thought.

 

Which leads to the conclusion: Phase 22 might just be the beginning on this hardware and many more synth/sample/fx engines could be implemented due to its open architecture.

 

The problem with any such design is that it is innately less powerful than a laptop running Reaktor. With full Reaktor I can run 10,000 ensembles including those I create myself. With this design I can run only one ensemble. With Reaktor I can use any keyboard or controller I wish. With Emphase I have only one choice. I don't see the point, but then again I don't see the point to most hardware objects in this day and age.

 

Laptops have the disadvantage that one single update can ruin essential programs/functions/compatibility. Dedicated tools don't have that problem. I'd love to have a stage piano with integrated processor, ram and ssd that I could put a program like Kontakt on.
This first project is too limited for me too.