New Synthesizers are today available at every price point. From cheap variant which cost almost less than different apps but also other very few people can afford. A German Synthesizer company has shown that you can also produce analog Synthesizers that costs just as much as a small city car. I’m talking about the Schmidt Synthesizer of course, which is priced at 20.000€ that fits into a price category like the Moog Modular per example. Among the customers is Hans Zimmer, who has a Schmidt in his studio from the very first minute. Only recently, the pioneer of electronic music Jean Michel Jarre became owner of one these rare and exclusive instruments.
There are good news for musicians who have enough money and want to buy absolutely a Schmidt Synthesizer. The German company announced that they will start producing a third batch of 25 units. The units will be available in both black and white colour finishes. If you are interested buy this monster synth than now it’s the best timing.
Schmidt Eightvoice Analog Synthesizer thoroughbred back in black (and white) with third 25-unit batch beckoning
LANGENAU, GERMANY: Schmidt-Synthesizer, makers of the no-expense-spared namesake Schmidt Eightvoice Analog Synthesizer thoroughbred, is proud to announce that it is taking orders on a third batch of 25 units — with upcoming availability in both black and white colour finishes — as of September 15…
That no-expense-spared Schmidt Eightvoice Analog Synthesizer was, without doubt, a showstopper when namesake hardware and software designer Stefan Schmidt’s hand-crafted first prototype unit debuted at Musikmesse 2011 in Frankfurt, Germany. Subsequently supported by e:m:c (electronic music components) — German distributor of several key electronic musical instrument brands (including Mellotron, Moog, and Vintage Vibe), Stefan Schmidt’s ‘one-off’ dream machine made it into production as a sound designer’s dream — albeit bravely built as a limited 25-unit batch of what was quite possibly the most expensive analogue eight-voice polyphonic synthesizer the world had yet seen and heard! However, a cursory glance at its complex four-oscillator structure clearly convinced even the most skilled synthesists that the Schmidt Eightvoice Analog Synthesizer was capable of creating complex timbres that go way beyond the capabilities of conventional analogue synthesizers, so Schmidt-Synthesizer’s first batch (slowly) sold out… onwards and upwards, ultimately, a second 25-unit batch was billed as being the last.
Who better to put this third batch of 25 (unplanned) units into its rightful perspective, then, than Schmidt-Synthesizer Product Manager Axel Fischer: “Last year we assumed that the second batch would also be the last. The Schmidt Eightvoice Analog Synthesizer’s sound engine electronics are mainly of ‘old school’ stock, with through-hole mounting technology, and pricing for those components have been rising steadily for years. Yet since the second batch of 25 units — ultimately, we ordered some extra components, so there were actually 27 — sold out within 14 months, those component prices are acceptable. So since the Schmidt Eightvoice Analog Synthesizer still enjoys serious support, we’re happy to announce that additional units of this wonderful instrument will be available in 2018. At the moment, we’re still finishing fulfilling orders for the second batch, but orders for the third batch can be placed as of now.”
No need to necessarily order one (or more) in black, though. This time the Schmidt Eightvoice Analog Synthesizer is back in black, but also available to order in white, which looks stunning — sounds stunning, too, with the same seriously well-specified feature set as the original. Oscillator 4 is worth highlighting, however; thanks to its chain of five ring modulators fed by six pulse-waves, each with different pulse-widths, it can create colder, wavetable-like sounds — despite being fully analogue! These truly unique features are unavailable in any alternative analogue synthesizer out there, let alone any alternative analogue polysynth! Subtractive synthesis clearly knows no bounds here, helping to make the Schmidt Eightvoice Analog Synthesizer a shining example of no-expense-spared synthesizer design, deploying discrete sound generation circuitry throughout — no integrated oscillator/filter circuits on a single chip, for instance, in keeping with the highest possible production standards. Still better, each and every parameter is directly accessible via dedicated controls on a seriously spacious front panel with adjustable angle and user-adjustable coloured LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes).
Back in black and white, the Schmidt Eightvoice Analog Synthesizer sounds and looks like the sum of its pricey parts. Put it this way: this is synthesizer history in the making. Making one is a tall order. Making 25 more is subtractive synthesis manna from heaven!
Features:
- Eight-voice polyphonic, true analog synthesizer with digital control and preset memories
- Discrete sound generation circuitry (no integrated oscillator / filter circuits on one single chip)
- You want Schmidt to sound like an entire orchestra? Have a go at Schmidt’s eight-part multimode. Simply select the desired preset sound, voice allocation, keyboard mapping, MIDI channel, controller-assignment, tuning, volume, panning, and output routing for each multimode part in an easy-to-survey LCD screen. Enjoy sounds as complex and dynamic as you never would have expected from one single instrument.
- Separate audio outputs for each voice, plus summing outputs and headphone out
- 1,028 single sound presets
- 256 multi sound presets
- 61 keys, semi-weighted, with velocity and aftertouch
- Sophisticated glide/portamento capabilities
- Several realtime modifiers fully programmable per preset (modwheel, stick controller, keyboard-aftertouch, four foot switches, four expression pedals)
- Complete MIDI implementation, MIDI via USB port and DIN sockets
- All sound programming functions with dedicated frontpanel controls and switches
- Precise information on parameter names and current values via large LC-display
- Multi-color LEDs
- Control panel with adjustable angle
- Internal universal power supply
- Flightcase included
Here is the signal path of the Schmidt Synthesizer
- four different oscillators with countless complementary features and outstanding modulation routings (square, sawtooth, noise, PWM, sync, ringmodulation, multiple PWM and multiple ringmodulation). Even on oscillator level, Schmidt offers amazing sonic capabilities not to be found with any other polyphonic hardware synthesizer
- two parallel signal paths, each with complex filter sections (24dB Moog-style ladder filter, two 12dB multimode filters), provide two different variations of a sound simultaneously – within every single sound!
- level and panning modulation provides dynamic mixing, crsoofading and stereo panning of both sound variations
- additional third VCF for even more of that lovely filter squelch
- a wide variety of modulation sources (LFOs, envelopes, ramp generators, velocity etc.) for oscillators, filters, and VCAs. Each section features dedicated LFOs and/or envelopes. No modulation matrix required – and still as flexible as a fully-fledged modular system!
Schmidt Eightvoice Analog Synthesizer pricing remains stable at €19,900.00 EUR (including German VAT) for a black unit, with white weighing in at €20,900.00 EUR (including German VAT).
More informations here: Schmidt Synthesizer
Allow me to dream