Melbourne Instruments Backs Its Motorized Controls With a 10-year Warranty
Guaranteed to feel the same in 10 years as it does on day one. Every motorized rotary control that Melbourne Instruments builds is now covered by a 10-year warranty.
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - Melbourne Instruments today announced a 10-year warranty on the motorized rotary control components in every product it builds, covering NINA, DELIA and ROTO-CONTROL. The cover sits alongside the standard product warranty and is activated by registering the instrument.
A conventional knob uses a wiper dragging across a resistive track, and that contact is what wears, collects dust and eventually fails. Melbourne Instruments' controls remove contact from the assembly. Torque passes from the motor through a magnetic field rather than a gear train. Position is read optically, with nothing touching. There is no wear surface anywhere between the motor and the player's fingers.
That has benefits beyond durability. An endless encoder has no fixed position, so the knob sits wherever the last hand left it and the true value lives on a screen or LED. Its detents soften over time as the disc and wipers wear. Melbourne Instruments' knobs drive to the exact preset position, hold detents and switch positions under the hand, and change character on demand - stepped, smooth, or switch-like. No gears between the motor and your fingers. The knob moves the instant the sound does.
The motors have been tested 50 million times, far more than a lifetime of playing could reach. The 10-year warranty is not the limit of the mechanism. It is the point at which Melbourne Instruments stopped counting.
Customers who bought before 17 August 2026 have until 17 February 2027 to register at melbourneinstruments.com and activate their full 10 years, running from the original date of purchase. The terms and scope are the same as for a new purchase.
The warranty launches with a campaign called "A decade of play", running across Melbourne Instruments' channels and dealer partners from 17 August. The line appears on a 10-year motor warranty roundel supplied to retailers alongside product artwork and spec listings.
Claims in the first 2 years go through the customer's place of purchase, as they do today. From year 3 to year 10, claims come directly to Melbourne Instruments, with service points in Europe, the USA and Australia. Cover applies to the motorized rotary control components only and requires registration.
"Multitimbral synth sequencing on @melbourneinstruments NINA and drums on Jomox Alpha Base. MIDI composed in @Ableton by @lornaduuune and sound design by @mike.coakley
"The Melbourne Instruments Roto-Control comes with touch-sensitive motorised knobs, giving you incredible interaction and immersion with your music! Jack takes us through all the features of this awesome MIDI controller!"
"Melbourne Instruments introduces the Roto-Control, a compact MIDI and DAW controller built around eight motorized, touch-sensitive encoders with haptic feedback and instant parameter recall. Designed for both software and hardware workflows, it combines deep integration with Ableton Live, Bitwig, and MIDI gear with onboard displays, customizable mappings, and motion recording for automation-based performance setups."
"Let's catch up with some great brands at Superbooth 2026 and see what's new from them! PWM, Waldorf & Melbourne Instruments each have some exciting announcements!"
NINA Macro Oscillator Mode - BRAIDS Update! Demo and deep dive with THE UNPERSON video upload by Melbourne Instruments
"The powerful new Macro Oscillator Mode firmware update for Melbourne Instruments' motorised polysynth, NINA, has arrived. This new update adds 45 synthesis waveform models using open-source code from Émilie Gillet’s Mutable Instruments Braids, one of the most celebrated Eurorack synth modules.
This new mode massively expands Nina's sonic capabilities, unlocking a new world of synthesis, from classic analog textures to cutting-edge digital experimentation. Powered by Nina’s innovative architecture, the new Macro Oscillator Mode delivers an incredibly versatile hands-on sound design experience unlike any other.
In this video Melbourne Instruments collaborator THE UNPERSON takes a deep dive into Macro Mode, exploring some of the Macro Oscillator models, and demonstrates just some of the 60 new presets created for this update, exploring the sonic possibilities of the new Macro Oscillator.
To support this update there is a new bank of 60 Macro Presets, designed by Protovolt, Tom Hall and James Terris. Available to download now: https://www.melbourneinstruments.com/..."
2nd video followed by the press release:
NINA Macro Oscillator Mode — 12 polyphonic voices of BRAIDS! Macro Presets audio demo with PROTOVOLT
"In this video, Sound Designer PROTOVOLT demonstrates a selection of the 20 new presets he created for this update, exploring the sonic possibilities of the new Macro Oscillator.
0:00:20 Xenomorph
0:01:02 String Theory
0:01:40 Zero Space
0:02:28 Harpsichon
0:02:58 Dark Matter
0:03:41 Supernova
0:03:58 Nucleus
0:04:38 Flux
0:05:09 Datablade
0:05:38 Retsu
0:06:04 Event Horizon
To support this update there is a new bank of 60 Macro Presets, designed by Protovolt, Tom Hall and James Terris. Available to download now: https://www.melbourneinstruments.com/..."
Press release follows:
Melbourne Instruments brings Braids engine to desktop NINA analogue polysynth
“NINA has always been an absolute powerhouse of a synth, but this update is insane; OSC 3 gives you 45 Braids macros across 12 voices, plus its massive mod matrix — the range of sounds and textures you can create now knows no bounds.”
- Musician/sound designer PROTOVOLT, 2026
MELBOURNE, VIC, AUSTRALIA: Melbourne Instruments is proud to bring Mutable Instruments’ Braids engine — Emilie Gillet’s celebrated open-source macro oscillator — to its desktop NINA analogue polysynth, as of April 30…
Available as a free firmware update, all 45 Braids synthesis models run across NINA’s 12 true polyphonic voices, each shaped by a dedicated overdrive-able analogue filter. Ultimately, users can now layer Braids and analogue VCOs (Voltage Controlled Oscillators) across four multitimbral parts, morph between presets, and sequence everything.
Duly described by Mutable Instruments as a macro oscillator, Braids was a mono Eurorack module: one voice, no internal filter, and no modulation routing. It is now something else entirely on NINA, itself described as the world’s first motorised polysynth. Put it this way: when switching layers, the motorised knobs snap to new positions; morph between patches and they sweep in real time. Meanwhile, modulation routings are all visible on the panel from the moment they are selected. Surely Braids has never been this hands-on.
Digging deeper, each waveform model is shaped by two expressive parameters — Timbre and Color — adapted from the original Braids module. More meaningfully, these controls affect multiple tonal dimensions simultaneously, producing complex, evolving, and musically responsive sounds. Spanning analogue VCO emulation, vowel and formant synthesis, 2-operator FM, physical modelling of strings and wind instruments, wavetable synthesis with smooth interpolation, granular synthesis, and electronic drum simulation, the 45 models evidently elevate NINA to a new level, further cementing itself as a premium analogue polysynth powerhouse for experimental, generative, analogue, and digital synthesis.
Says musician/sound designer James Terris, ending on a high note: “I’ve always described NINA as a beautiful beast — analogue oscillators paired with its super-fat and driven analogue filter make it beastly! But while the existing wavetable oscillator adds a crystal sheen that provides a beauty, the new macro oscillator models expand this tremendously. Indeed, it can go from delicate FM, Karplus-Strong, and even vocal formant textures straight into swarming, stacked super-waves. With this update, it feels like an instant NINA ‘MK-2’!”
Excluding taxes applicable to the territory concerned, NINA is presently priced at $3,299.00 USD in North America; €3,165.00 EUR in the EU; £2,835.00 GBP in the UK; and $3,499.00 USD in Japan, while it is presently priced in Australia at $4,995.00 AU, including GST (Goods and Services Tax) — all via Melbourne Instruments’ growing global network of dealers.
Coinciding with the new NINA MACRO OSC UPDATE firmware release, owners of the world’s first motorised polysynth can also download 60 new presets for free from here: https://www.melbourneinstruments.com/presets#nina
"Breath controller patch ideas with Hornberg hb-1 breath controller and Melbourne Instruments DELIA.
The first 2 patches are done with the 3.Oscillator in macro oscilator mode to get the vocoding effect."
Full analog sequenced performance featuring:
Melbourne Instruments Nina (2 layers)
Roland TR-1000 (direct analog outs)
Sequentix Cirklon (doin all dat sequencing that the kids are talking about)
API the BOX mk1 (accepting all those analog signals and spitting out a mixed one)
Prism Titan (turning those volts into bits)"
"A quick video demonstrating the usability of modern control surfaces when used in tandem.
Gear used:
Roli Seaboard 2
Melbourne Instruments Roto-Control Bitwig Edition
Ableton Live 12
Focal Clear MG Pro
Iphone 15 Pro
OBS
Davinci Resolve
Macbook Pro M3 Pro
Rode Lavalier II
Zoom F6"
"New to the studio is a Melbourne Instruments Nina. The Analog Four mk2 is still playing the central role, but the Nina is contributing 2 patches to the music here.
This was music that came to me rather serendipitously, so while not typical of what I would post here, I did want to share it despite it maybe not being as accessible as other posts. Odd meter + fairly niche gear + no real drum track will limit itself with who ends up listening. But if you're someone who does listen and enjoy it, thank you.
"We are excited to announce that Melbourne Instruments’ Roto-Control now integrates natively with Max, giving you a powerful tactile interface for building and performing with your Max patches.
With Max supported directly in PLUGIN Mode, Roto-Control can control custom instruments, audio effects, MIDI processors, and performance tools created in Max. Motorized knobs, touch-and-learn mapping, and haptic feedback make it easy to map parameters, recall states, and interact physically with your patches.
This setup guide walks through how to install the Roto-Control package in the Max Package Manager and connect the hardware so you can start controlling your patches right away.
Melbourne Instruments Backs Its Motorized Controls With a 10-year Warranty
