LYRA-8 as an FX processor (SOMA laboratory)

Published on Aug 31, 2016 Vlad Kreimer

"Using the EXTERNAL AUDIO IN of LYRA-8 for processing of different audio sources.

SOMA laboratory 08.2016
somasynths.com
omhohom@gmail.com"

Terra & Lyra duet - "The Canyonlands"

video upload by SOMA Laboratory

"Video by John Holcroft.
Special thanks to James Holcroft."

Terra & Lyra duet - "SLO-MELT"

video upload by SOMA Laboratory

"Video by John Holcroft.
Special thanks to James Holcroft."

SOMA laboratory the PIPE + Elektron Digitakt

LESINDES

"SOMA laboratory the PIPE used as an FX unit to flavour a simple loop of ELEKTRON DIGTAKT."

SOMA Laboratory Lyra-8 Black Drone SYNTHESIZER SN 93

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

"SOMA Laboratory Lyra-8 Black Drone SYNTHESIZER. Serial number 93. Ordered when Lyra 8 was first announced."

CLICK FOR MORE »

The Flux, a new instrument from SOMA Laboratory (Buchla & Friends 2025)

video upload by CatSynth TV

"We are treated to a demonstration of the Flux, a new multi-dimensional expressive instrument from SOMA Laboratory. 'Unlike the Theremin which works by virtue of the capacitive coupling of hands and antennae, FLUX is based on magnetic principles. Two magnetic bows are pressed between your fingers, and the interface is a multipolar magnetic sensor, registering the bows’ positions and movements. The X coordinate of the artist’s right-hand bow controls the note’s pitch, while the Z coordinate controls volume. The left-hand bow’s X, Y and Z coordinates control the various synthesis parameters.'

To found out more, please visit https://somasynths.com/flux/"

The SOMA Laboratory LYRA-8 Organismic Synthesizer

Published on Jun 19, 2016 Vlad Kreymer

"Unique analog organismic synthesither for soundscapes, FXs, pads, complex textures. The term "Organismic” means that all its modules are intertwined by many nonlinear connections and work in an entangled state, modifying each other, much like organs and systems in live beings. That allows for getting complex, diverse, fluid textures from a relatively simple construction.

Created by SOMA laboratory
omhohom@gmail.com"

Update via Vlad Kreimer in the comments: "There will be CV IN for voices with choosing of destination and amount and CV IN for delay time modulation . Also will apear EXTERNAL AUDIO IN that turns LYRA to cool FX processor. Any digital ins not planed yet, cause it kill LYRA specific sound that has absolutely analog circuit. For using digital control i need rearrange main parts of circuit. May be it will becomes later at the next models."

SOMA Laboratory The Pipe Dynamic FX Processor Owned by Modest Mouse

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this listing

See The Official Modest Mouse Reverb Shop for additional listings.

"This SOMA Laboratory The Pipe Dynamic FX Processor is owned by Modest Mouse

Looks to be in pristine condition. We unfortunately do not have the power supply but it should be pretty easy to source as we tested the unit with a spare lying around (12v).

All items in The Official Modest Reverb Shop ship fully insured with delivery confirmation. This item comes with an embossed Certificate Of Authenticity."

CLICK FOR MORE »

ETHER by SOMA laboratory

Published on Feb 20, 2019 Vlad Kreimer

"ETHER is a wide-band pocket receiver that turns the electromagnetic landscape around you into a live soundscape that you control and manipulate by walking around and moving ETHER with your hand."

via SOMA laboratory

The net price of ETHER is 120 euros. The total price including shipping to most countries, PayPal transfer fees and VAT will be around 150 euros. We will specify the exact price when we receive your shipping address.


"ETHER is a kind of anti-radio. Instead of being tuned to a specific radio station, it receives all the interference and radiation that a traditional radio tries to eliminate in order to create a clean signal. It captures the radio waves “as is” from hertz to gigahertz, because it doesn’t contain the tuned input circuit that filters out all frequencies except the narrow band of a specific station. This allows ETHER to perceive the invisible electromagnetic landscape that humans created unintentionally, making possible live electromagnetic field listening and recording.
As the inspiration for this project, I took the design of the very first radios (early 1900s) that had no tuning wheel. At this time there weren’t many radio stations, and all of them used Morse code. It was possible to distinguish each transmitter by ear, as each one had its own specific timbre or “voice”.

ETHER is pocket-sized (105x65x20mm) and light-weight (93g). It consumes very little power and runs on two AAA batteries. How long it can run on two batteries is unclear, because I still use the very same set of alkaline batteries I put into the first ETHER prototype 6 years ago! (yes the project has taken 6 years). All I can definitely say is that battery life is more than 300 hours if you using alkaline or lithium batteries.

CLICK FOR MORE »

New SOMA TERRA Synth

TERRA announcement (SOMA labs) video upload by Vlad Kreimer

"All sound in this video is TERRA without additional FX.
Just a slight master limiter was added."

via SOMA LABORATORY

TERRA is a new SOMA Labs synth that is currently in development.
TERRA is a highly conceptual device. The core idea is unity of nature and technology, and a perfect balance between simplicity and versatility. Behind the extremely simple interface hides a complex polyphonic, microtonal synthesizer with a broad and flexible sound palette that ranges from classical beautiful tones to complex atonal noise, and offers smooth and fast transitions between these extremes.

The innovative keyboard design invites new playing techniques and covers the full range of a grand piano with the possibility to tune each note with an accuracy of 125 steps per semitone. To achieve this range with such a simple keyboard we designed a unique system of pitch shifting using four additional sensors. Pressing different combinations of them will result in 16 variations of keyboard transposing, including up to 3 octaves up and down, fifth, fourth, third, tone etc.
Not only do you get the full range of a grand piano in a very compact design, TERRA also offers an entirely new and different approach to playing melodies and chords.

CLICK FOR MORE »

Interactive manual for the Pulsar-23

via SOMA Laboratory

"Mastering the interface of a complex semi-modular synth with hundreds of controls and functions onboard is not an easy task even for the most seasoned producer. It’s too much to memorize, and continuously checking the user manual gets annoying and interferes with the creative process. Even with using the search function you still end up scrolling up and down dozens of pages and going back and forth to understand how related features interact, a process that is more fiddly than convenient.

Why does it have to be like that? Instrument manuals - even for complex machines - are still just plain linear text with a structure that doesn't reflect the actual interface or workflow of the product it describes. Despite all the technological advances of our digital age, user manuals are still based on the same principles of how information was organized and accessed in manuscripts from over 2,000 years ago.

It's high time someone changed this! SOMA Labs designed a new and more user-friendly approach to synthesizer manuals that we believe should become the new industry standard, offering unparalleled efficiency and immediate access to relevant information through a visual (touch) interface.

What really is a synth's interface? You can compare it to a territory, like a town or a forest, where we have various objects placed in space. If each control has just one function we can compare it with 2D space, if we have multifunctional controls or menus we can speak about a 3D space. How do you best describe a space to someone else? Of course, with a map! What should a 21st century map be like? Interactive!

SOMA is therefore proud to present its new interactive manual for the PULSAR-23 drum machine, SOMA's most complex synth to date. It consists of a map of the synth’s interface where each element is clickable.

Just click on any button, connector or knob and get its description along with highlighting elements that are connected to or depend on it with the immediate possibility to check what they do.

As PULSAR-23 is a semi-modular instrument, all patching points have suggestions about which other patch points you could connect them to (about 1,000 patching tips!).

So it's also a kind of light patching tutorial.

The concept of interactive manuals can be developed much deeper and better, and we therefore invite our industry colleagues to further develop and refine this approach to user manuals for musical instruments. Let’s make synth manuals more user-friendly, easy to learn and more efficient, lowering the learning curve for new musicians and freeing up users' minds for pure creativity!

Welcome to the world of PULSAR-23!"

PULSAR-23 by SOMA. Demo of polyrhythmic capabilities

Published on Jun 18, 2018 Vlad Kreimer

"The main demo video of the prototype is here [posted here]

Here I show some of the PULSAR-23 possibilities go away from loops and create complex polyrhythmic structures.
This is the laboratory prototype, which does not have the final look, the enclosure or the final panel design. Some minor features may change and some control options will be added.

For more information, how to buy, the price, when and where it will be available, please visit the SOMA site:
https://somasynths.com/pulsar-23/

Vlad Kreimer.
SOMA laboratory
June 2018"

Sonic LAB SOMA Pulsar-23 Drum Synthesizer Review

sonicstate

"Another unusual instrument from the brilliant mind of Vlad Kreimer of Soma Laboratory, the Pulsar-23 is an organismic drum machine. With four voices, extensive internal patching and interfacing, plus CV recorders and plenty of clock. We take a look."

SOMA Pulsar-23

SOMA Laboratory Pulsar 23 - Vlad Kreimer @SUPERBOOTH19

Published on May 11, 2019 Superbooth Official

"Presentation of SOMA sound and philosophy by SOMA's founder and sound designer Vlad Kreimer."

Sci-fi rhythms and ambient: Soma Enner live west coast avant-garde synthesizer electronic music

video upload by EthanJamesMusic

"This is my second run through using the Soma Laboratory Enner instrument, designed by Sistor. The goal was to make something film music appropriate that would work as an ambience outer space soundtrack while also adding the utility of a Boss RC-5 looper pedal to build up more complex rhythms. This synth is very geared towards both drones and rhythms, as well as using the piezo pickup with the case, spring, and rubber bands to make added percussive sounds. I'm very excited to continue exploring and find even more sounds. I'm making a lot of use of the ring modulation inputs for the drones. This synth is patched using touch, and I love the idea of having an instrument that I can use my hands on to create sound and have a direct connection to the music. I am using the west coast technique of starting with something and spinning it out like a centrifuge. I'm processing the sound through an Eventide H9 pedal with some reverb and an a Boss RC-5 looper pedal. Hopefully this camera angle also helps you learn something!"

Soma Enner posts

the Power of 2 x LYRA-4 (SOMA labs demo)

video upload by SOMA Laboratory

"Reissue of the legendary synth!"

"We present to your attention the revived version of LYRA-4, organismic synthesizer, the younger sister of the famous LYRA-8. “Organismic” means that LYRA uses some principles that lie in the base of living organisms. The way how LYRA’s modules interacting between each other and the behaviour of the instrument resembles a live conversation. It’s smaller and weighs less but is equally rugged in design, and still packs a lot of punch. This makes it easy to fit in a backpack and perfect for taking the LYRA sound on the road. And playing two LYRA-4s can actually sound very different than just one LYRA-8.

LYRA-4 is based on four generators, which will be referred to as voices. Their design is not like a traditional subtractive synthesis VCO. Instead of having a linear or logarithmic dependency on control voltage, they resemble the tone generators in old electric organs. Hence the use of the term “voices” instead of “VCOs”. Lyra uses non-linearity a lot, and the voices are constructed in such a way that allows for non-linearity to express itself.

The voices are divided into two pairs (12, 34), creating tree-like structure.

The voices can function either in an electric organ mode or in an FM synthesis mode with each of the voices and its envelope acting as a separate FM operator. The voice’s impact on FM synthesis will decrease along with the decay of its envelope.

LYRA-4 also has the next blocks:

The HYPER LFO is a complex low-frequency generator, whose waveform is synthesized from two simple LFOs by summation or multiplication of their frequencies. It also has a sync mode. The LFO can modulate the selected pairs of voices and the MOD DELAY.

The MOD DELAY consists of delay with feedback. The delay has a unique possibility of self-modulation where the output signal modulates the delay sample rate, creating cool effects.

The DISTORTION is last in the chain, after the delay. It enables the delay to also influence the distortion.

For all its experimental character, LYRA is a professional instrument. Its output dynamics and frequency response are balanced and ready for a live performance or studio recording without any additional processing.

Colors: Black and White. Yin and Yang 🙂"

Soma Labs Flux - Highly Expressive New Instrument - Sonic LAB Presentation

video upload by sonicstate

"Soma Laboratory's unconventional design is a major factor in why their instruments are so unique. We take a look at the latest instrument Flux - which takes a lot of inspiration from the no touch approach of the original Theremin. However with the use of small magnets in each had there are five control axis per hand and up to 16 controllable parameters.
The instrument is loosely based on the Terra synthesis concept and features 37 digital algorithms which are treated like individual instruments with their own timbral characteristics.

The right hand controls the pitch, dynamic, octave and tilt (for timbral control) and the left hand controls more of the timbral character with a considerable amount of tonal range possible.

We talked with Vlad Kreimer who gave us an over view of how Flux works.
The first batch of production units will be going out later this year and the price they are aiming for is in the region of 1000 Euros + tax
More information at
https://somasynths.com/flux/

|--------|

00: 00:00 start
00:00:28 Playing example
00:01:31 Overview
00:03:20 synth engine
00:07:30 Pitch and dynamics
00:12:54 polyphony
00:18:28 external control
00:19:45 bass
00:20:40 UI
00:24:52 the magnets
00:25:38 percussive mode
00:26:40 other sizes?
00:28:09 price"

Soma Laboratory Enner 2021 Craft Black

Note: Auction links are affiliate links for which the site may be compensated.

via this auction

You can find demos of the Soma Enner in prevoius posts here.

"This is the “limited edition” dark craft, not available anymore. In absolutely pristine-mint as new condition. Turned on only once to test. Beautifully hand crafted. All original packing and accessories included. Will double box for shipping."

CLICK FOR MORE »

Short live impro with Solar-42, Pulsar-23 and Ornament-8

video upload by Napotronix

"The Elta Music Solar-42 came in last Friday so had to take it for a spin :) Here it's hooked up to the Soma Synths Pulsar-23, Soma Laboratory Ornament-8 and with some external delay from the Erica Synths Zen Delay. All amazing devices!"

NAMM 2023 - SOMA Laboratory - Terra

video upload by sonicstate

"Cari Flynn gave us a demonstration of the SOMA Terra, the highly expressive and lovely instrument that aims to cross the boundary between nature and technology. Behind the extremely simple interface is a complex polyphonic, microtonal synthesizer with a broad and flexible sound palette capable of beautiful tones, complex atonal noise, and everything in between.

Cari took us through some of the different banks and presets available, starting with the gentle and expressive preset in bank one sound one, and finishing by demonstrating the arpeggiator sounds in bank 4.

Available soon. Price: TBC"

Improvisation with Lyra 8 & Enner: a SOMA session

video upload by NoctopolisMusic

"Just some touch plate improvisation on the Soma Laboratory synhthesizers Lyra 8 and Enner. Backdrop drone from Make Noise Strega. Fx: Steinberg Dual Filter & Arturia Delay Tape-201."