IK Multimedia took its first step into the analogue synth world with the launch of the monophonic Uno Synth, and now it’s striding confidently onwards with the releases of the paraphonic Uno Synth Pro and Uno Synth Pro Desktop, which it says offer “next-generation analogue for everyone”.
Again made with the help of Italian boutique synth maker Soundmachines, these synths expand on the original Uno by offering more of everything: oscillators, filters, sequencer memory, presets, connectivity and programmability.
The Synth Pro has a 37-note Fatar keyboard and pitch/mod wheels - check out the video above for our first impressions - while the Synth Pro Desktop has capacitance-sensing keys and pitch/mod touchstrips. The sound engines for each model are the same.
The synths have three analogue oscillators, each of which offers continuously variable waveshape and pulse width modulation. You can hard-sync the oscillators, and there’s FM, ring modulation and a white noise oscillator.
The original Uno Synth had a 2-pole OTA multimode filter, but the Pro versions go further by adding a new SSI 2/4-pole low-pass filter with self-oscillation into the mix. You can use the two filters in series or parallel and with invertible phase, giving you a total of 24 possible filter modes.
Modulation options include two ADSR envelopes dedicated to the filter and amplitude. These can modulate everything from oscillator pitch and waveshape to LFO speed or other envelope stages.
Speaking of LFOs, there are two, while a 16-slot modulation matrix is on hand for routing purposes.
The Uno Synth Pros have four effect blocks - the analogue overdrive circuit from the original Uno is joined by digital modulation, delay and reverb blocks. You can route external signals through these effects, too, and there are also pre-effects.
In terms of control, the original Uno’s touch buttons have been replaced by proper rubber ones, and there are LED-backlit indicators and an LED display so you can keep track of what’s going on.
There are 256 presets, while the 64-step sequencer also supports realtime recording, and has more than 80 automatable parameters. There’s also a 10-mode arpeggiator and a new Chord mode to take advantage of the paraphonic sound engine.
Finally, connectivity includes two balanced stereo outputs, headphone out, USB and 5-pin MIDI I/O and CV/Gate. There’s an audio input, and the option to daisy-chain units, too.
Despite its ‘budget’ feel, we liked the original Uno Synth, and we’re keen to dive deeper into these enhanced versions and find out if they can justify their Pro monikers and price tags.
The Uno Synth Pro and Uno Synth Pro Desktop are available now priced at $650/€650 and $400/€400 respectively.
Find out more on the IK Multimedia website.
