Roaming synths, UV magic and crunch

There are so many (three) things going on right now we just hope we won’t forget something. Let’s go one by one.

People x Shmøergh

Honestly, having other actual human beings pushing the buttons and turning the knobs of our synths is new to us. So far we’ve only built instruments for ourselves to clown around in bakeries and eventually pile them up at home, putting our family relationships at serious risk. (The argument "this is an investment" is getting shaky. Please send help.)

But now, Hog Moduleur proto no. 1 is out there causing trouble. Last time it landed on the desk of our good friend Naske Laci, a proper sound tinkerer. He ran it through his setup and instantly pushed it into dirty techno territory. Check this out.

Oh, did we say that Laci is also a killer graphic designer, a true master of typography? He did the amazing Shmøergh logotype too.

Giving your synth to someone to test is equal parts excitement and mild panic. We instantly spotted a bunch of small things to fix, and one big one: USB noise. The moment the Moduleur was part of a setup that had any computer-powered gear, an annoying digital buzz crept in. Not dramatic, but enough to make us dig deeper into the mysterious world of ground loops.

Also, John, one of the few people who own an ultra-rare OG Hog, ran it from his Deluge-based setup in a creative way, using the dedicated VCO 2 pitch for counter-harmonies and the octave switch for quick variations. It's super-cool, check it out.

UV prints baby

Okay, back to the Moduleur. Meanwhile at the workshop, first UV prints are in — and holy shit, they’re gorgeous.

FabLabs absolutely nailed it. We’ve had our fair share of print shops before, each with their own interpretation of “alignment” and “black”, but this time the finish, color, and precision finally match what we had in mind. It’s wild how much difference surface texture makes. The synth suddenly feels like an instrument, not a prototype.

So, when can we see it?

We’re now deep in release prep mode. The plan is to wrap up the testing loop, finalize the PCB and docs updates, and open things up around the end of this year. Feels close but we're in the momentum. Talk soon 😘😘