Randomwaves has introduced Drumboy and Synthgirl, a pair of innovative open-source, touch-based drum machine and synthesizer instruments now available on Kickstarter.
With the growing popularity of tactile controls in synthesizers and electronic instruments, a new development team from Turkey has opted for a fresh approach. Drumboy and Synthgirl eliminate traditional knobs and faders, relying entirely on touch-sensitive controls for an intuitive experience.
Both portable instruments share a similar hardware concept, powered by a newly developed audio architecture utilizing a 550 MHz Cortex M7 processor that delivers high-quality 24-bit audio. Each device features a 5” color LCD and capacitive touch controllers integrated throughout the interface. They also include an SD card slot for data management (samples, wavetables, etc.), along with a USB-C port and sync in/out capabilities for seamless integration with other devices.
Importantly, Drumboy and Synthgirl operate on open-source code developed on the widely-used STM32 platform, marking a significant advancement in music technology.
Randomwaves Drumboy
Drumboy serves as a portable drum machine, featuring ten instrument layers, each capable of hosting .wav samples up to eight seconds long. Users can customize their sounds with various parameters, including playback speed, reverse, and normalization.
This device allows for complex rhythm creation with 1/64 quantization across eight bars and eight measures, employing both traditional methods and modern tools like fill generators.
Drumboy includes a parametric EQ with one low shelf, one high shelf, and four peak filters, allowing for detailed adjustments to Q factor, gain, and frequency. Additionally, it features a fully adjustable dual filter with four modes (lowpass, highpass, bandpass, and band stop) and two effect channels.
The effects section offers eight algorithms with multiple controls: delay, chorus, flanger, phaser, compressor, expander, overdrive, distortion, and bit crusher. It also includes an independent reverb engine with controls for room size, decay, pre-delay, surround, and dry/wet mix.
For sound and pattern storage, Drumboy is equipped with a bank and file system, enabling users to save and recall their creations at any time.
Randomwaves Synthgirl
Synthgirl, the companion to Drumboy, is a standalone portable synthesizer that retains many similar features. Its core includes a wavetable engine with two oscillators that can import custom wave files (up to 256 steps) from Serum and other software synthesizers. Users can adjust levels, tuning, phase, and both start and end points of wavetables, with the option to flip them along the X and Y axes.
Like Drumboy, Synthgirl features the same multimode dual filter (lowpass, highpass, bandpass, and band stop) with comprehensive adjustable parameters.
It includes a built-in parametric EQ and a two-channel multi-FX processor, both featuring eight algorithms, along with an independent reverb engine. Additionally, Synthgirl boasts four shaping multi-wave LFOs with 25 prebuilt types and adjustable parameters (target, rate, and depth).
While the specifics on envelope types have not been disclosed, there are indications of built-in options. Synthgirl also incorporates a fully customizable key/arpeggiator (rate, pattern, chord, order, octave) and a versatile metronome.
For added functionality, it includes a sequencer with adjustable parameters such as bar, measure (up to eight), and quantization (up to 1/64), allowing for precise control over compositions. Similar to Drumboy, Synthgirl features the same file system for organizing and storing sounds.
With these groundbreaking instruments, Randomwaves is set to redefine how musicians interact with drum machines and synthesizers, emphasizing creativity and accessibility.
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