Published
Sat, Jun 17, 2023, 08:00
- The Bullfrog is a compact semi-modular synth with swappable voice cards.
Richie Hawtin has teamed up with Latvian brand Erica Synths to create the Bullfrog.
The semi-modular instrument has an analogue oscillator that can blend a sine wave, pulse wave and noise, plus two loopable attack-release envelopes and a built-in delay effect. There's also a sample-and-hold circuit, the oscillator has a shape control and an FM rate, and it has a built-in speaker.
The synth is not normalled, so won't make a noise unless its sections are patched together. Swappable voice cards will be available that create internal patches or provide new sounds and functions, such as a five-step sequencer, a high-pass filter, a short sampler or an acid bassline generator.
Hawtin says the Bullfrog was designed as an educational tool to teach people about subtractive synthesis, but that it would also fit comfortably into anyone's setup or live rig.
He goes on: "As a teenager I felt like I was searching for the right outlet to transit my creativity and in synthesis I found a path. These memories and concepts are at the heart of our Bullfrog synthesiser. Whether someone's experience with Bullfrog points them down a career in electronic music or not, our goal is to both nurture a passion for electronically produced sounds and promote a fun easy learning path into basic sound synthesis."
The new synth was shown at the Sónar festival in Barcelona. It will be released in August. The price is still TBA but the additional voice cards (shown below) will cost around €20.
