New Hardware 8-bit Monosynth

US Soulsby Synthesizers launches the Atmegatron 08/04/14

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The Atmegatron is a new 8-bit monosynth and the debut product from London-based Soulsby Synthesizers, who describe it as an electronic musician's dream, combining the sounds of 1980s home computers with the flexibility and power of a modern synthesizer. They say that it adds a wide palette of new sounds to any studio setup and is also great for live use.

Features of the synth include: 32 waveforms, 15 digital filter types, 2 ADSR envelopes, 1 LFO with 16 waveforms, an arpeggiator with 15 patterns and loads of fx including phaser, distortion and the unique Wavecrusher. It also comes with 16 preset sounds and unlimited preset expandability via the Atmegatron Librarian software available for Mac or PC.

The Atmegatron is built on the open source Arduino platform. This means that the synthesis engine can be completely changed by uploading software to the synth. One minute it's a monosynth, the next it's a drum machine. Soulsby Synths will be releasing new and completely free software versions over the coming months, starting off with the the just-released Atcyclotron, a wavetable cycling synthesizer

The Atmegatron is available in two versions:

Atmegatron Complete

Atmegatron Synthesizer
Power Supply
Printed 32 page colour manual
Quick reference guide
The Atmegatron Complete is housed in a beautiful white aluminium chassis with real walnut side panels.

Atmegatron PCB

Atmegatron Synthesizer PCB
Power Supply
Quick reference guide
The Atmegatron PCB comes with nylon pillars to keep the PCB raised from its resting surface. The PCB is perfect for programmers and hackers, but is not suitable for outside of the home due to its fragility.