"BROOKLYN, NY — The Brooklyn Synth & Pedal Expo, perhaps the biggest East Coast event dedicated to electric and electronic gear for musicians with over 100 brands on display, returns to Greenpoint on October 17–18, transforming a 7,000-square-foot warehouse into an immersive playground for music creators.
Presented in partnership with the legendary synth store Three Wave Music and local up-and-coming guitar shop Tonewolf, the Expo offers a strictly in-the-headphones experience — letting attendees demo the latest synthesizers, effects pedals, and modular gear from over 100 brands in a noise-friendly environment.
Nestled in one of Brooklyn's most vibrant musical corridors, the show is expected to draw more about 2,000 visitors, a mix of musicians, producers, and gear enthusiasts.
"Intro to Synthesis" Workshops This year, the Expo expands beyond its large exhibition floor with a new lineup of educational workshops focused on synthesis — from hands-on patch-building sessions to deep dives into modular workflows, led by working artists and builders. A schedule of the workshops will be announced soon.
"Demoing my first multi-part sequence on this new-to-me 3rd Wave, as well as sharing first impressions.
Relatively short but a bit rambly. Definitely more talking than synth sounds, so apologies in advance if you came mostly for sounds. More videos with less or no talking to come as I continue to get more familiar with this incredibly deep and amazing sounding synth."
"The Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave just picked up two firmware updates (2.0 and 2.0C) while I was off hiking amongst the Sequoias — so let's install them and dig into what's new.
The headline is the new shimmer reverb, and it is gorgeous. It blooms, it tracks the note you're playing, and the Pitch Amount parameter lets you set the interval it shimmers up in — set it to 12 for octaves, 4 for thirds, whatever fits the key. It's also a Mod Matrix destination, so you can ride it with aftertouch. I'll show you exactly that.
We also look at the rebuilt Make Waves wavetable creation with its new Spectral mode — sampling sounds from a Leviathan and turning them into wavetables, then comparing Spectral against the classic Pitch-On method side by side. The results genuinely surprised me.
In this video:
What's new in 3rd Wave firmware 2.0 and 2.0C
Step-by-step firmware install (USB drive method)
Shimmer reverb walkthrough: pitch amount, bloom speed, HF damping, pre-delay, feedback
Routing shimmer to aftertouch via the Mod Matrix
New Spectral mode in Make Waves vs. classic Pitch-On — real audio comparisons
SysEx support for the upcoming official 3rd Wave editor
Per-part NRPNs, un-smoothed envelope retrigger (hello, clicks), and the WAV header import bug fix
The CPU limits on shimmer: which parts can share it, and why the 3rd Wave 8M doesn't care
The 3rd Wave is still one of the best sounding synths I've ever played — 24 voices, 24 real analog filters, and a UI so well laid out it barely needs an editor. Huge credit to Groove Synthesis for continuing to support it."
0:00 Intro
0:38 Where I've Been
1:22 What's In Firmware 2.0?
5:58 Installing New Firmware
8:00 Shimmer Reverb
9:58 Shimmer Reverb Pitch
11:35 Modulating Reverb Pitch
14:59 Spectral Wavetable Import
17:02 Different Sound Import
18:46 Another Different Sound
22:13 Plucky FM Sound Import
25:15 Pitch vs Spectral
BROOKLYN, NY — The Brooklyn Synth & Pedal Expo returns October 17–18, transforming a 7,000-square-foot Greenpoint warehouse into an immersive playground for electronic music creators.
Presented in partnership with the legendary Three Wave Music, the Expo offers a strictly in-the-headphones experience — letting attendees demo the latest synthesizers, effects pedals, and modular gear from over 100 brands in a noise-friendly environment.
Nestled in one of Brooklyn's most vibrant musical corridors, the show is expected to draw more about 2,000 visitors, a mix of musicians, producers, and gear enthusiasts.
"Intro to Synthesis" Workshops This year, the Expo expands beyond its large exhibition floor with a new lineup of educational workshops focused on synthesis — from hands-on patch-building sessions to deep dives into modular workflows, led by working artists and builders. A schedule of the workshops will be announced soon.
"Here we have the utterly feature packed MELT from u-he. It's a Eurorack analogue filter with more mixing and VCAs on board than I've seen before, managing to be simple to use while encouraging more advanced behaviours. Nice!!"
"Today I wanted to take a bit of time to explain my deep love for the Dirtywave M8 Tracker while going over the patch notes for the new OS that was released last week. The new OS brings a slew of upgrades to the device in both sound and presentation. Let's check it out and make some tunes."
"Shimmer Verb is a brand new reverb effect in 3rd Wave OS 2.0. Check out some of the sounds it's capable of in this demo performed by Christian Frentzen.
The idea behind a shimmer effect isn't new, but the way we've built ours gives you a lot of freedom to create and control inside the synthesizer. Most importantly, it sounds great without harshness or the need to EQ.
This Shimmer will give you the ability to shift the pitch in fractions of a semitone across a full two-octave range, from one octave down to one octave up, which means you're not limited to complete octave or semitone shifts. Dial in something in between, and you'll land on intervals that most shimmer effects can't reach, from lush and consonant to genuinely dissonant and unsettled, depending on where you land and how you play into it.
"A few years ago I restored my childhood Amiga 500, and only recently found a way to use a soft synth, Aegis Sonix V2, with external MIDI control. I saw @magicalsynthadventure3216 video on the topic a while back, and on a whim decided to revisit the idea of using my Amiga as a synth. Thanks to an Amibay.com forum thread, I learned that it's pretty easy to get Aegis Sonix V2 to respond to incoming MIDI, and so I was off to the races. Enjoy!
"A delve into obscure software instruments on the Commodore Amiga. Here I look into both realtime & non-realtime varieties, covering a staggering array of synthesis types!
Additional attributions:
I forgot to give a shout out to uncle Brian! Sorry uncle Brian!
Endless Tunnel Animation: KRITRIMVAULT
Syndicate Intro: BullFrog Productions
Update: An interesting side note is that Sonix was released in 1987 with a beta in 1986. That's 10 years earlier than Dave Smith's Seer Systems Reality, which was released in 1997. Seer Systems Reality is often credited as the world's first soft synth. Curious if the distinction was between an editor/interface for the existing Amiga sound chip vs. a self contained software synthesizer.
I asked Google AI just to see what it would say. Here it is:
"Julian 'J3PO' Pollack performs an original composition, "History," a live DAW-less performance recorded entirely in one take with no overdubs.
Built around a sequencer, hardware synthesizers, and an acoustic (felt) piano, "History" explores the space between composition and improvisation. Every musical decision unfolds in real time, allowing the performance to evolve naturally from a simple repeating pattern into something entirely its own.
Gear used:
• Arturia KeyStep Pro (sequencing)
• Roland TR-8S
• Oberheim Two Voice Pro
• Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave 8M
• Yamaha Acoustic Upright Piano
"Did you know there is a full pattern sequencer built into every 3rd Wave synth? 💡
Episode 2 of Patching In is all about the pattern sequencer built into every 3rd Wave synth. It follows a pattern-based, MPC-style approach, and it is a quick way to catch an idea before it gets away: record parts and patterns in real time, capture your knob moves as parameter automation right alongside the notes, string those patterns into a full song, all without ever leaving the instrument. You also have quantize that can be applied or undone, and also swing on each part and pattern.
As always, Bob walks you through it all in the full video, and the companion article goes deeper, with step-by-step recipes for recording patterns, automating parameters, and arranging a song on the 3rd Wave: https://groovesynthesis.com/2026/07/2...
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction & Sounds
00:49 - What is the sequencer on the 3rd Wave synth?
01:31 - What are multi-part sequences?
02:08 - How to record parts in the sequencer
03:22 - Sequencer controls & parameter recording
04:17 - How to find out more"
"On March 26th we had Vermona in the showroom for a deep dive into one of the standout instruments of SUPERBOOTH25: drumDING.
Blending analog drum synthesis with sampling and sequencing, drumDING opens up a fluid, hands-on workflow where sounds can be created, captured, and reshaped on the fly. With features like parameter locks, polymetrics and performative controls, it’s built for spontaneous groove building and evolving rhythmic structures.
In this workshop, Thomas walks you through the concept, demonstrates the workflow, and shows how quickly ideas can turn into fully formed patterns."
"Every program on the 3rd Wave is really four synths in one. In Episode 1 of Patching In, our new hands-on series, Bob Coover takes you through multi-parts: navigating the part buttons, mixing and panning your parts, building huge stereo/binaural patches, setting up stacks and splits, and running four-part multitimbral sequences from a single program.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction into multi-parts on the 3rd Wave
00:42 - Navigating the part buttons
01:11 - How to control your edit selection
02:13 -Volume and tuning settings
02:55 - Panning the parts
04:03 - Using Pan Spread for PPG-style panning
04:24 - Assigning programs between parts
05:08 - Four-part multitimbral sequencing
05:43 - How to find out more"
Note: Acid Drip is based on the BadAss basS Synth and DrumKid featured further below.
"An RP2040-based acid bassline synthesizer and drum machine built on the Mozzi audio library. Two instruments in one device, a 16-step acid sequencer and a 16-pattern drum groove box running simultaneously on dual cores with a 320×240 ILI9341 TFT display and 16 Cherry MX pads.
NOTE: the images of the synth are V1. V2 is what I hve provided in this repo and looks a littke different (extra pot for mix added)"
Open Source Credits: Acid Drip is based on the BadAss basS Synth and DrumKid:
Acid synthesis engine adapted from Badass Bass from 10 years ago:
Drumkid Review & Demo // Lo-fi Drum Machine video upload by Saturday Music Machines from 2023
"Drumkid is a lo-fi aleatoric (an element of chance) drum machine with MIDI. It generates rhythms using random numbers. It’s designed to be used for both live performance and recording, with controls that allow organic transitions between rhythms and fills."
"Make beats by just describing them. DrumComputer as a Claude desktop extension — Claude picks the right presets and composes the groove, DrumComputer delivers WAV, MIDI and sounds for your DAW."
https://sugar-bytes.de/drumcomputer#c...
"The Story Behind the 3rd Wave Synth - Interview with Bob Coover
Robert Coover, founder of Groove Synthesis and the mind behind the 3rd Wave synthesizer, shares the story of how this instrument came to life at Superbooth 2025 event in Berlin.
In this 9-minute interview he talks about:
working with Dave Smith at Sequential,
why he wanted to revive the iconic PPG Wave sound,
how four synthesis methods (wavetable, analog, FM, sampling) came together in the 3rd Wave,
the challenges of creating a high-end synth as a small team,
the evolution from the keyboard version to the desktop module,
what’s next for Groove Synthesis – a new product so unique it may even get a patent.
💡 If you’re into synth history, sound design, or want to know what drives independent makers to create instruments at this level – this is for you.
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:23 Working with Dave Smith at Sequential
02:07 The ambition behind the 3rd Wave
03:57 The start of Bob's career
04:38 The launch of the 3rd Wave and Groove Synethesis
05:28 3rd Wave Keyboard and Desktop
06:28 Expanding the 3rd Wave with sampling
07:19 About the built-in sequencer
08:15 The new mystery product coming in 2026!"
"The Groove Synthesis 3rd Wave is a 24-voice wavetable synthesizer with real analog filters, three oscillators per voice, and a 6-stage wave envelope that can independently sweep each oscillator through 64-position wavetables. It's built as a modern successor to the PPG Wave 2.2 and 2.3, carrying the original PPG wavetables alongside 56 high-resolution modern wavetables, analog-modeled waveforms, and — as of OS 1.8 — a built-in sampler. In this review, I go through every major feature of the 3rd Wave in detail: the four oscillator types (PPG legacy, modern user wavetables, analog-modeled, and samples), the dual filter architecture (4-pole analog low-pass plus 2-pole zero-delay state-variable), all four envelopes, the four LFOs, the 16-slot modulation matrix, 11 built-in effects, the arpeggiator, the pattern-based sequencer with parameter automation, 4-part multitimbral layering and splits, the Wave Maker custom wavetable tool (including Serum wavetable import), unison with chord memory, MPE support, and more.
Whether you're considering buying one, comparing it to other hardware wavetable synths like the Waldorf Iridium, Modal Cobalt, or ASM Hydrasynth, or just curious what a modern PPG-inspired instrument sounds like in 2025/2026, this is the full picture. I cover every section of the signal chain with sound demos, explain what makes the wave envelope system unique, show how to build patches from scratch, and give my honest take on where the 3rd Wave excels and where it falls short. Timestamps for every section are below — jump to whatever interests you."
"For this episode of Electronic Beats Tech Talk, we visited Kasi in the studio to explore her unique approach to live electronic performance, modular synthesis, and hardware-driven sound design.
She is currently studying Electronic Music Production and Performance at Catalyst – Institute for Creative Arts and Technology.
Working with the Serge Modular System, selected Eurorack modules, the Erica Synths Perkons, and the Elektron Analog Four MKII, Kasi creates a sound world between experimental ambient, hypnotic textures, and raw, groove-driven techno.
In this conversation, she talks about improvisation, real-time interaction, unstable modulation, and why she treats sound as a living system — shaped by psychedelic experiences, abstract art, and organic movement.
Production & Camera: Romi Agel & Holger Wick / Sense Music & Media
Edit and Graphics: Klara Mottlova"
"Groove Synthesis are showing off the 3rd Wave’s spatial audio capabilities at Superbooth 2026, as well as previewing and upcoming user-created librarian, patch and wavetable editor application."
1. deconstruct MINIMAL | Hypnotic Groove Machine — LESS IS MORE - SONICWARE
2. deconstruct MINIMAL | Hypnotic Groove Machine [Official Demo Jam] - SONICWARE
3. Sonicware deconstruct MINIMAL - Factory Patterns (no talking) - Bonedo Synthesizers
4. SONICWARE deconstruct MINIMAL: Ambient Techno Jam - Freaky Tweaky
5. Sonicware deconstruct MINIMAL - Sound Demo (no talking) with custom patterns for Electronic Music - Limbic Bits
"The deconstruct series has arrived — redefining musical structure.
Limited introductory offer: $299 for the first 1,000 units. [see dealers on the right]
deconstruct MINIMAL is a groovebox combining a sampler-integrated drum machine and analog-modeling bass synthesizer, built for the hypnotic grooves of minimal techno and minimal house.
● Legendary Groove DNA
● Deep 10-Track Drum Machine
● Sonic Expansion Sampler
● Elastic Bass Synth
● Live-Boosting Effects
● Legendary Groove DNA
Built on the rhythmic and pitch drift of the legendary drum machines — designed to create hypnotic minimal grooves
● Deep 10-Track Drum Machine
Intuitive, deep groove editing with fully per-track accents, random velocity, swing, sub-steps, and phrase rotation
● Sonic Expansion Sampler
Drum machine–integrated 4-track sampler with a 4-bar loop track — beyond drums through textures and phrases
Live-focused real-time effects for dynamic groove control and performance intensity
Specifications Drum machine with sampler and bass synthesizer featuring 11-track construction
[Drum Machine] • Recreates the distinctive groove of legendary drum machines, shaped by subtle rhythmic and pitch drift • 9 tracks • 16 drum kits • Instruments: 10 banks - 130 sounds • Sample-based engine with dedicated edit parameters for each bank • BD1 and SD each feature dedicated synthesis engines • HH recreates the characteristic sound variations of analog drum machines • Diverse groove edits: Accent, random velocity, swing, sub-steps, etc. can be set per track • Supports real-time recording via pads, alongside fast step input • Equipped with an isolator for bold boosts/cuts and delicate tonal adjustment
[Sampler] • Supports sample import/export and sampling via LINE IN or USB • 4 tracks: sample selection on drum machine tracks 7–9, plus dedicated loop track 10 • Preset samples: 3 banks - 48 sounds Track 7–9
