One of the most eagerly awaited synths of the past 18 months - it was launched at Superbooth 2019, which seems an awfully long time ago given everything that’s happened since - Udo Audio’s Super 6 is finally ready.
Despite its very vintage look, this is billed as a new take on the analogue synthesizer. In fact, it’s a 12-voice polyphonic, binaural analogue-hybrid synth with FPGA digital oscillators and voltage-controlled analogue technology.
The ‘binaural’ reference here refers to the fact that, when used in this mode, the Super 6 features a true stereo path; the 12 voices are twinned to create six ‘Super’ voices, which explains the name of the synth as well.
Because the parameters for each oscillator can be controlled independently, this should mean that you can create some complex and ear-grabbing stereo images, though you can turn binaural mode off and have standard 12-voice polyphony if you’d rather.
Both oscillators feature DDS (Direct Digital Synthesis) signal creation and can produce classic analogue waveforms, though the first oscillator also features a selection of 16 further user-selectable waveforms. What’s more, these can be replaced if you wish, enabling you to customise the synth to your liking.
Then, of course, you filter and amplifier sections, LFOs, envelopes and a modulation matrix. You’ll also find an arpeggiator and step sequencer and dual stereo 24-bit effects (delay and chorus).
There’s no screen on the Super-6 - it’s been designed very much as an intuitive, ‘hands-on’ synth. You do, however, get a Fatar keyboard with velocity and aftertouch, expression and sustain, and there’s also support for MPE controllers.
Commenting on the launch, UDO Audio’s team leader George Hearn said: “The result of years of hard work and many iterations of development, my mission with the Super 6 has been to harmonise what I love about archetypal electronic instrument design with modern, novel synthesis technologies that excel at generating spatially dynamic results.
“The architecture leverages the vibrancy of a true-stereo analogue signal path, driving it with extremely high sample rate, spectrally versatile digital audio, and presents you with straightforward, expressive controls of superior mechanical build quality.
“I would love to see this instrument with the wear and tear of many years of use. Experiment, play, learn, and, hopefully, love it like we do!”
The Super 6 can be ordered now and costs £2,295. You can choose from blue or black configurations (we’d go for blue, in case you were wondering) and you can find out more on the UDO Audio website.
