Superbooth 2021: Malevolent is the debut synth from UK brand PWM. It’s something of a collaborative project, having been created with input from Bristol’s Future Sound Systems and former ROLI and Focusrite employee Ben Supper.
Malevolent is an analogue semi-modular monosynth (although it can be patched to work paraphonically). It features two multi-wave VCOs equipped for FM, plus a resonant VCF, two ADSR envelopes and an LFO.
While the normalised signal path is fairly straightforward, it comes equipped with 19 outputs and 19 inputs on its front panel, allowing users to get creative with its synthesis engine.
Malevolent also boasts a control joystick, arpeggiator and some handy MIDI-to-CV capabilities. Most importantly it sounds great, and we were thoroughly impressed from our first look. With a price point just shy of £500, Malevolent looks great for musicians looking to dip a toe into the modular realm.
