FM synths have had something of a revival over the past decade. Electronic musicians are now spoiled for choice when it comes to hardware FM, with the likes of Elektron’s Digitone, Korg’s Volca FM and Opsix, and Yamaha’s Reface DX each putting its own modernised spin on the format.
The latest instrument to enter this fray is The Doppler from Artium Instruments, a new desktop synth that aims to put a tweakable, boutique spin on the FM concept.
Housed in a stompbox-like chassis, The Doppler is a two-operator, 8-voice FM instrument designed with a knob-per-function interface. The synth engine makes use of two sine wave generators arranged in a carrier-modulator relationship.
The modulator’s frequency is quantised and can modulate both the frequency of the carrier and the carrier’s phase, either individually or simultaneously. The synth also has a pink noise generator that can be used to modulate the carrier for additional grit.
According to Artium Instruments, The Doppler is a simple synth designed to be ‘ultra-tweakable’: “It features a single, powerful algorithm, but the magic happens when you start adjusting its parameters. Even the subtlest tweaks lead to big shifts in the overall sound, making every turn feel like a discovery.”
Although The Doppler only has a single ADSR envelope for modulation, there are a few interesting settings that make this more versatile than it first appears. For one thing, the envelope can be switched to affect either just the carrier signal, or both the carrier output and modulation amount. There’s also a Mod Trail control that can alter the attack of the modulator signal.
Aside from the synth engine itself, The Doppler features a tap tempo delay and reverb. These can process both the synth’s own sounds and external audio patched into the rear panel input.
Connectivity-wise, The Doppler features a pair of TRS inputs and a pair of TRS outputs – the left of which can also be used as a stereo headphone output when nothing is connected to the right. There are also two USB ports, one purely for power and one to act as a MIDI host input.
The Doppler is available to order now following a successful Kickstarter campaign. It’s priced at $397.10. Head to the Artium Instruments site for more information.
