ISLA Instruments Caladan officially announced.

[LoboLives]

Brad of ISLA Instruments has confirmed their new synth...

[LoboLives]

Some more info from Brad...

Essentially what we have is a desktop synth that is completely customizable and modular and can blend multiple different synth engines if desired.

[LoboLives]

In terms of on-board samples.....EMU Proteus legacy samples potentially right out of the gate.

[blewis]

That’s nuts. I thought it would only be 8 voices, but that convo! Whoa.

Some more info from Brad...

Essentially what we have is a desktop synth that is completely customizable and modular and can blend multiple different synth engines if desired.

[blewis]

On the downside, having a box full of different modules from different vendors could be a bag of bugs for a long time.

[LPF83]

On the downside, having a box full of different modules from different vendors could be a bag of bugs for a long time.

Even putting aside the potential testing/certification complexity of introducing third party modules, my own experience over many decades with electronics involving user-upgradeable hardware components is that they usually disappoint in the long-run.  I would love to see this particular synth prove me wrong, because I love the idea of it.

[Shaw]

It’s the Synergy Amps of synthesis.
Genius!  If it works.

[LoboLives]

On the downside, having a box full of different modules from different vendors could be a bag of bugs for a long time.

Even putting aside the potential testing/certification complexity of introducing third party modules, my own experience over many decades with electronics involving user-upgradeable hardware components is that they usually disappoint in the long-run.  I would love to see this particular synth prove me wrong, because I love the idea of it.

I think the key to this is to see how the expansion boards (DSP And new filters) turn out for the S2400. They have really come a long way with the S2400. It went from essentially a SP1200 inspired clone to a nearly full fledged desktop sampling workstation. Polyphony expanded from 8 to 16 voices, more features constantly added and in addition to the traditional sample tracks, they included over 32 dedicated MIDI tracks with full polyphony. In fact, it’s become my dedicated sequencer now. Being one of the first to pre order I can say they are constantly upgrading and listening to feedback. I am hopeful for the Caladan.

[LoboLives]

Voice cards....

[LoboLives]

[Shaw]

This is getting more and more interesting. MPE analogue in a small form factor… just what the doctor ordered.