Published
Sun, Jun 25, 2023, 09:00
- A boutique synth company reinvents its most popular instrument.
Japanese brand Sonicware is bringing back its ELZ_1.
The highly portable digital synth was a hit when it debuted in 2019 but soon went out of production. Now it's returning as the ELZ_1 Play, with new features including a sampler and looper, a drum engine with five kits, and a velocity-sensitive keyboard. Other updates include inbuilt speakers and both audio and MIDI over USB.
Like the original ELZ_1, the Play is a digital instrument with 14 synthesis engines, including a granular mode, frequency modulation and 8-bit morphing waveforms. It also has 26 FX and a range of different filters, six-voice polyphony, plus mono and mono-legato modes, an inbuilt sequencer and an arpeggiator.
When it came out, the ELZ_1 was praised for its unabashedly digital approach, its portability (it can run on batteries and fits in a backpack), and the control it gave users over creating new waveforms. However, the synth was limited in its MIDI implementation and lacked modulation capabilities. These gripes have been addressed in the ELZ_1 Play, which can be controlled via MIDI CC values and allows you to use velocity as a modulation source.
Sonicware was founded by synth designer Dr. Yu Endo. Since the ELZ_1 went out of production, he's released the low-cost LIVEN range as well as the SmplTrek portable sampler.
Watch a video on the ELZ_1 Play.
Sonicware's ELZ_1 Play is priced $599 and will ship in October.