If you’re looking for crazy gear, the developers of the brand Folktek are maybe the best address for you. After the release of the experimental Mescaline Synthesizer, the developers now announced the Resonant Garden, a new hybrid instrument based on acoustic and electronics parts. They describe it as an acoustic-electronic hybrid designed to create anything from beats and oddities to dense sound scapes. The concept of this new experimental instrument is quite cool. The garden is based on three Alter circuits and each is equipped with a mic pre-amp and 4 garden (stringed) panels for generating acoustics. Musicians can here plucking, rubbing, tapping or even bowing on the instrument.
These sounds become amplified and affected by the Alter in any number of ways. Each garden panel is equipped with a contact microphone that captures the vibrations. Additional mic pre-amp are designed specially here for dealing with the frequencies of the contact mic, boost certain frequencies and dulling others in order to refine the sound quality.
For a maximum of sound creation and design, each Alter has different DSP driven effects which are selected by touching the copper hexagon. The effects range from more normal ones (long delay, shimmering reverb) to crazy and very creative effects like a granular delay, stutter glitch, time stretch and more. Each sections contains several parameters to adjust and control the sound.
A great new release in my opinion that is for sure a perfect instrument for experimental musicians as well as sound designers who always to try to find new ways to create sounds. This instrument is also a nice addition to any other music producer who like to try something completely new and want to include some new aspects to their productions.
The Resonant Garden is an acoustic-electronic hybrid designed to create anything from beats and oddities to dense sound scapes. From its inception in 2006, the original garden has gone through many changes and refinements; micro garden, luminist garden and illuminist garden and finally this latest and likely final version. The garden essentially utilizes three Alter circuits but each equipped with a mic pre-amp, and 4 garden (stringed) panels for generating acoustics. By plucking, rubbing, tapping or even bowing, those micro-acoustic sounds become amplified and effected by the Alter in any number of ways. In essence, the garden is a large microphone designed to pick up vibrations.
ACOUSTICS
Each garden panel is equipped with a contact mic. A contact mic is designed to pick up vibration. The mic pre-amp is specifically designed to deal with the frequencies of the contact mic by boosting certain frequencies and dulling others in order to optimize the sound quality. The mic pre-amp has a gain control so the level can be adjusted according to how you intend to play.
DESIGN
The design is simple but beautiful with all of the artwork created by Arius Blaze. The box is thick and heavy bamboo and the 1/8″ thick panels are all inset firmly into a slot routed into the bamboo. This increases the resonant vibrations by adding tension to the garden panels. Each spout of strings is bolted in from the back and held in place with a panel under the main board.
CONTROL
On each of the Alter sections, the following is present:
- control for the gain of the mic pre-amp or any incoming audio.
- controls for mix, X, Y and filter as well as clock.
- all effects have a variation of a filter which may change effect to effect.
- X and Y control various rates.
- clock control adjusts the rate which controls the DSP which can drastically change the effect. In doing so it does slightly lower the quality of the output signal but the results are fantastic. This clock is not for synchronization.
- mix, X, Y and filter all have CV control inputs.
- Each control level or cv input is visualized on the control panel.
EFFECTS
There are two Alter 1 designs and 1 Alter 2. Each Alter 1 has seven different DSP effects which is selected by touching the copper hexagon:
- long delay (capable of near infinite feedback looping)
- tight, notated granular delay
- huge plate reverb
- shimmering reverb
- distortion
- multi-filter
- pitch delay
- stutter glitch
Alter 2 has the following effects
- analog delay
- reverb with infinite capture and lp + hp filters
- choral reverb
- palindrome reverse delay – backward/forward repeat
- tme stretch
- pitch shift (notated semi-tones
- time stretch glitch
ROUTING
1/8” stereo inputs with separate level/gain control for right and left channels. These level controls can also act as mute as they can take the signal to 0. They can also add gain to a quiet signal. In it’s natural state, each Alter utilizes the garden panel acoustics and each Alter outputs its own signal. By plugging in to the left input of any Alter, the mic amp is bypassed. This means that the signal can be chained from one alter to another, utlizing the single final output. This chain of effects can result in an incredibly broad range of sound.
- use all effects in parrallel (3 sets of stereo output)
- use two in series and one in parrallel (2 sets of stereo output)
- use all in series (single stereo output)
- peak level indicator for clipping levels at the input
INCLUDED
- High quality 12v power adapter brick to reduce noise, +tip, 2.1mm barrel type
- black and white printed and hand bound manual.
- *will possibly include four black 6″ 3.5mm patch cables (to be determined)
Attention (10/7/2017): Videos to come within the coming week. Currently pre-order. The first run of the Resonant Garden is limited and expected to ship around the end of November. Note that if you choose to pre-order, you must understand that our ship date is an estimation and we ask that if you cannot be patient should it take a couple weeks longer, that you do not place a pre-order. These will ship in the order in which orders are placed. If these are not for sale on this page, it means we’re sold out of pre-order but they will become available again. If that’s the case, feel free to send us an email requesting an update when they’re available again.
There will be another small garden composed of two garden sections and a single alter built into a box as this Resonant Garden is – the price will be 400usd. This will be here on the site between 10/9 and 10/15 so please check back if you’re interested.
The Resonant Garden will be available for $999 USD.
More informations here: Folktek
Be the first to comment