"The voyage is coming to an end! Today Francesco guides us through a captivating electroacoustic piece that integrates the sound and articulation of an electric piano into a complex patch. The piece is not simply a juxtaposition of piano and synthesizer, but rather a balanced environment where the acoustic and electronic sounds complement and influence each other."
"In today's study, @francescogennarimusic guides us through the construction of a fully-functional polyphonic modular synthesizer that can be played with a keyboard AND sequenced at the same time! Check out the video to see how he managed to get FIVE voices, one of which with the unique character of formant oscillators."
Time stamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:23 Modular performance
04:22 Track structure overview
04:49 4-Voice polyphonic synth routing
07:33 Usta sequencing and modulation
08:04 Formant oscillator with Falistri
10:27 Bass line
11:02 Effect section: Desmodus Versio as reverb
12:15 Effect section: FX AID XL as chorus
Original track 'Studio No.7' composed by @francescogennarimusic Instagram: / fncgennari Linktree: https://linktr.ee/francesco.gennari Bandcamp: https://francescogennari.bandcamp.com... Soundcloud: / user-351738626 ‘Studi’ takes its cue from the tradition of the Étude, treating each track as a focused investigation into sound, structure, and technique.
Artwork by Daniel Hicks Instagram: / mrmrsir Website: https://danielhicksart.com/
"Francesco Gennari shows us a fresh new way of using wave folders and filters! Instead of being 'usual' blocks of a synth voice, here they become structural part of the whole composition. Take your time and watch the full video, because the patching style isn't obvious at all!
Original track 'Studio No.6' composed by @francescogennarimusic Instagram: / fncgennari Linktree: https://linktr.ee/francesco.gennari Bandcamp: https://francescogennari.bandcamp.com... Soundcloud: / user-351738626 ‘Studi’ takes its cue from the tradition of the Étude, treating each track as a focused investigation into sound, structure, and technique.
Artwork by Daniel Hicks Instagram: / mrmrsir Website: https://danielhicksart.com/
Time stamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:17 Modular performance 03:11 Track structure overview 03:36 Usta sequencer routing 04:13 Voice 1: Piston Honda oscillator A + LPG 05:24 Voice 2: Piston Honda oscillator B + LPG 06:59 Voice 3 / Bass: Cunsa in self oscillation 07:58 Feedback loop with Wave Multiplier + Intellijel Planar 2 09:32 Cunsa filters: layering and modulation 11:11 Stereo space and feedback with Verbos Multi-Delay Processor"
"FUMANA has a special array of 16 bandpass filters exclusively built for spectral analysis. It can thus transfer the energy of the modulator signal to the exact portion of the carrier’s spectrum.
However, many traditional filter banks used just half of their bands to transfer the energy over the other half, like the odd over the even ones, or vice versa.
If you want to replicate this behavior with FUMANA, fear not: you just need a handful of patch cables, like in this video!"
"The Frap Tools BRENSO is more than just a dual oscillator—it's a modern homage to the west coast synthesis tradition pioneered by Don Buchla in the 1970s. As a complex oscillator, BRENSO offers a dense web of internal modulation, wave shaping, and signal routing options that invite experimentation, creativity, and highly expressive sound design.
Let’s break down what makes BRENSO special—and why it’s a standout tool for modular synthesists and the perfect place to start Happy Mag's Synth Month 2025 journey!
🧠 What Is a Complex Oscillator?
In synthesis terms, “complex” usually refers to waveforms that go beyond simple shapes like sine, triangle, square, or sawtooth. These richer, more dynamic tones are achieved through audio-rate modulation—one oscillator affecting another at high speed to produce new, harmonically rich content.
To that end, BRENSO includes two triangle-core analog oscillators, each with four outputs. These oscillators are designed to interact, cross-modulate, and shape each other in ways that transform simple waveforms into entirely new sonic terrain.
🎨 We Love the Colour-Coded Interface!
One of BRENSO’s most elegant features is its colour-coded layout. This isn’t just for show—it reflects functional sections of the module, making navigation and patching intuitive:
🟢 Green Section – Frequency control for oscillator one 🟡 Yellow Section – Frequency control for oscillator two ⚪ White Section – Timbre shaping (via wavefolders and shapers) 🔴 Red Section – Amplitude control (via a four-quadrant multiplier for AM/RM)
These sections are organised spatially and visually, so once you understand the color scheme, you're halfway to mastering the module.
🔄 Modulation Without the Patch Cables
BRENSO encourages semi-normalled patching. Many modulation paths are internally routed by default using dashed lines on the panel. For example, the green sine wave is often pre-routed as a modulator for the yellow oscillator—no cable required.
This internal routing makes it easy to get rich interactions going quickly, but BRENSO never limits you: patching a cable into a jack overrides the normalization, giving you complete flexibility.
Today Francesco explores one of the harshest timbres ever created by mankind: the cross-FM. And if that wasn't enough, he will use both digital AND analog FM at the same time, blending Brenso and Hertz Donut mk. 1. How can we tame such wild beasts? Through a careful composition in the spirit of the great counterpoint masters.
Original track 'Studio No.5' composed by @francescogennarimusic"
Time stamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:22 Modular performance
03:14 On counterpoint
03:55 Track structure overview
04:24 First voice: Brenso + Doepfer LPG + QSC
05:39 Layering the first voice
07:16 Second voice: Hertz Donut MKI + Optomix + QSC
09:33 Third voice: Falistri + SEM VCF + QSC
10:24 Usta clocking Sapel, Bagai, and Empress Zoia Delay
10:52 Disting EX: Ping Pong Delay and Reverb
11:33 Desmodus Versio: Final Reverb
11:51 Mute Hack with Usta and 411 VCA
"In his fourth étude, @francescogennarimusic crafts a meditative track by integrating a tape multitracker and a modular synth. The key feature of this patch is the synchronization of the two machines, achieved by using a tape track as a clock for the Usta sequencer, which in turn clocks everything else, from Sapèl to the @empresseffects Zoia."
Time stamps: 00:00 Introduction 00:20 Modular Performance 04:13 4 Track Tape Loop Overview 05:08 How to sync a modular with a Tape Multitracker 05:48 Fostex Routing and Signal Flow 06:17 First voice: Brenso + Falistri + QSC 07:49 Second voice: Falistri + Doepfer SEM Filter 08:19 Third voice: Brenso + Doepfer LPG 08:33 Gate randomness with Usta Variation 09:25 Writing melodies on Usta with external keyboard 10:09 Clocking Sapèl 10:30 Processing the tape with the Random Source Wave Multiplier 11:41 Empress Zoia - Dual independent Effect Chains
"In this short documentary (3'48") Simone of Frap Tools from Italy expands on the company's history and how the Magnolia 8 voice polyphonic thru-zero frequency modulation synthesizer came to life. The film contains short audio examples of the instrument as well. Filmed on 2025/05/09 at Superbooth25 in Berlin.
Cinematographer, Director and Producer Christian Halten"
"In today's episode, Francesco Gennari takes us on a true USTA masterclass, using it to weave a texture of four voices and a delay effect. Different pattern lengths and rhythmic structures create a complex and ever-changing harmonic and melodic landscape, but they also control the delay taps, pushing forward the limitations of sequencer-based compositions."
-Linktree: https://linktr.ee/francesco.gennari
Time stamps:
00:00 Introduction
00:18 Modular performance
02:53 Track Structure
03:21 Changing patterns live with Usta
04:01 First Voice: Brenso + Doepfer LPG
04:33 Bagai as a source of random modulation
05:07 Timbral shaping with Brenso
06:11 Second voice: Brenso + Doepfer SEM filter
06:45 Voice 3&4: Piston Honda MKIII + Optomix
08:29 Polyrhythmic interplay between voices
09:06 Ratcheting and randomness in Usta
09:44 Polymetric element in the ending section
10:35 Effects: Disting EX as a dual ping pong delay
11:22 Clocking Empress Zoia with Usta
"For a few years now, Berlin’s Superbooth show has been a focal point for music technology gear announcements, but the 2025 iteration took this to another level. The sheer volume and variety of new music making gear on display in and around the FEZ event space was beyond anything we’ve seen in previous years.
MusicRadar was on the ground to test everything we could get our hands on. As the show drew to a close Managing Editor Si Truss, Reviews Editor Simon Arblaster and Tech Channel Editor Matt Mullen found a quiet corner in the woods to sit down for a roundtable (sans table) discussion about their highlights from the 2025 Superbooth show floor."
"Just got back from this year´s Superbooth in Berlin. Here are some of our highlights.
Frap Tools just might have dropped the polysynth of the year. Intellijel surprised us with a stunning desktop mixer. Haken Audio & La Voix Du Luthier’s resonator turns any synth into an acoustic instrument—and Korg’s Phase 8 is finally production-ready. Superbooth 2025 came through!”
Interesting bits and pieces:
00:07 Intellijel
02:01 Frap Tools
03:59 Haken Audio & La Voix Du Luthier
06:45 Korg
08:55 Make Noise
10:40 Polyend"
"The Magnolia is the first keyboard synthesizer from Frap Tools, and sees the company bring the distinctive sound of their Eurorack modules to an eight-voice polysynth. We get a demo of the latest pre-production model."
"We went inside the Frap Tools booth at the Berlin Superbooth to explore the Magnolia, a polyphonic synthesizer that has caught everyone's attention.
Magnolia stands out for its unique architecture, with two oscillators that break with convention: a through-zero oscillator that allows analog linear FM, evoking the classic timbres of Yamaha's FM synthesizers, but in a 100% analog format. It also features a more traditional oscillator with octave controls, variable waveform and a wave folder to add richness and timbral complexity. Want metallic sounds or subtractive textures? Magnolia dares to do both.
This synth also impresses with its polyphony and bithermality, allowing everything from dense sounds in dual mode to splits and morphing between presets. Each voice features two independent filters (low pass and high pass), extensive modulations with synchronizable LFOs, dedicated envelopes and an effects stage that includes analog distortion and digital slots for delays and modulations (still under development), as well as a built-in sequencer and expressive controls such as aftertouch, expression pedals and modulatable panning.
In this video you will hear sound demos that show the versatility of the Magnolia, from expansive stereo leads to vibrant textures with delayed vibrato. We also tell you details about its release, scheduled for late 2025 at an estimated price of 3995 €.
"A demo of the Magnolia from Frap Tools by the lovely Giovanni at@superboothberlin 2025
Im, not doing a whole load of demos this year, just things that catch my eye, and this has been one of the stars of the show
It has such easy access to through zero FM and wavefolding, which enables it to go from very pleasant to a screeching maniac with a couple of twists!"
"The Frap Tools Magnolia is an 8-voice analog polysynth that marks the Italian brand’s debut in standalone keyboards. Unveiled at Superbooth 2025, it fuses Frap Tools' modular DNA with a modern, expressive design. Each voice features dual oscillators, combining West Coast-style thru-zero FM and wavefolding with East Coast-style PWM, and dual analog filters (HP/LP). Magnolia offers polyphonic aftertouch via a premium Fatar keybed, intuitive modulation routing with LED feedback, and flexible bi-timbral modes including splits, layers, morphing, and onboard sequencers. Expected to launch in summer 2025, it promises deep sound design with hands-on playability."
"We're on the ground in Berlin at the year's biggest synth event. Stay up to date with all the latest gear news, announcements, and preorder info on our Superbooth coverage hub."
