Soniccouture has released Ondioline, a new Kontakt instrument.

The Ondioline was made in France in the 1950s and 60s, and was conceived by inventor Georges Jenny as a low cost Ondes Martenot; sharing the same lateral vibrato keyboard, with a knee-lever to shape volume. It was entirely valve-based with its own built-in amplifier and inspired the Clavioline, Jennings Univox and Hammond Solovox. In collaboration with Goldfrapps' Will Gregory and Dan Wilson from Hideaway Studio, Soniccouture extensively restored and modified Ondioline no.599 to be sampled and recreated as a Kontakt instrument.

Here's some details in Soniccouture's own words...

A few legendary recordings feed into the myths and misinformation about these early synth instruments: Del Shannon's "Runaway" (1961), The Tornados' "Telstar" (1962), and The Beatles' "Baby, You're a Rich Man" (1967). In fact, most reliable sources point to all of these records being performed on a Clavioline (although it may be that 'Clavioline' is often used as a generic term for any instrument of this type), said to be a simpler version of the Ondioline - although the model used for 'Runaway' was heavily modified by player Max Crook, adding tremolo, vibrato and spring reverb.

One of the most well-known Ondioline records is Stereolabs' 'Jenny Ondioline', which is simply a reference to 'George Jenny Ondioline'. The record itself does not feature the instrument.

Ondioline featured in the soundtrack to Spartacus, Tommy James and the Shondells' 1967 hit "I Think We're Alone Now" and numerous Al Kooper recordings. It was also part of Motown's studio between 1959-62, where it was used on records by The Supremes, Temptations and many others.

The Ondioline is a minimal synthesiser by todays standards, and we have sought to preserve that character in our emulation. No labels are visible until you turn a knob; then they appear.The main switch panel is labelled simply A - R and controls a variety of different oscillator shapes, filters & LFOs. The two large white dials control the level of the two divider circuits - effectively two sub oscillators 1 and 2 octaves below the main.

 

 

Specifications

• 24bit 96khz Sampling
• 3.4GB Download (6 GB instrument before Kontakt Compression)
• Full convolution modelling of original Ondioline filter switches
• 6 octave range - every Ondioline key sampled for every oscillator shape
• Original speaker cabinet modelling + line-out sampling
• Ondes Martneot speaker models also included
• Performance setup: manual vibrato & knee lever control + aftertouch + Polyphonic Mode
• Original Georges Jenny presets included + sound design snapshots
• Kontakt Player + NKS Compatible (Kontakt 5.5 required)

Pricing and Availability:
£79

More information:

 

• Ondioline

 

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