Create the electronic sounds of your dreams and learn modular synthesis with the LMS101.
Dynamic Analog Sound Source
Responsive Touch Keyboard
Eurorack Compatible Patch Points for Sonic Exploration
Multiple Modulation Sources for Parameter Automation
Introduction
The LMS101 is a semi-modular synthesizer that features an analog wavefolding oscillator, a 25-key touch keyboard, as well as many other tools to explore additive synthesis.
As a semi-modular instrument, the LMS101’s default signal paths make it easy to get started quickly. Ergonomic controls allow users to tweak the synthesizer’s sounds and textures on-the-fly, while patchable I/O enables additional configurability and compatibility with Eurorack instruments.
The LMS101 not only makes a great stand-alone instrument for beginners, but also creates a unique and flexible sound when used in larger musical arrangements.
Background
While modular synthesizers have existed since the 1950s, they have become increasingly popular since the 2010s. In modular synthesis, individual modules emit and receive audio and control voltage (CV) signals via jacks (“patch points”). Modules must be connected together using patch cables to configure the behaviour of the synthesizer. With this in mind, the possible configurations—and resulting sounds—are limited only by one’s imagination.
There are two schools of design: subtractive and additive synthesis. Don Buchla pioneered unique additive synthesizer designs in the 1960’s that were well ahead of their time [1], and therefore were mostly relegated to experimental and academic settings. We are forever grateful to the legacy that Don Buchla has left to the synthesizer community at large.
The LMS101 was heavily inspired by the 1972 Buchla Music Easel. We chose to develop a synthesizer encapsulating Don Buchla's design philosophies of the 1960's, while bringing them up to speed with powerful digital controls without compromising the analog audio path.