HV-Formant demo version 1.2 is available through the download section.

The "Synthmaker" Development tool is now followed up by DSPRobotics "Flowstone". In the forums I noticed that a lot of people are still interested in the Synthmaker legacy. For that reason I decide to release the synt as is for free.

The orignal "Formant" is a Semi Modular Analog Subtractive synthesizer design by C. Chapman. It was published as a do it youre self (DIY) building project in electronics magazine Elektor in 1977/78. As a tribute to this great synth design I developed the first "Formant Classic" in 2008 as an Open Source project. In 2010 I decided to finish the project my self and to release the "Formant Classic" as a Freeware soft synth.

Physical Modular synthesizers as the "Elektor Formant" are verywell suited to be expanded to very large machines with numerous original and/or custom designed modules. These machines are mainly used to compose experimental electronic music.

I Took it upon me to develop some new creative modules for the "Formant Classic" and release them under the not so creative name "Formant Classic Advanced" as a Donationware VSTi plugin or standalone software synthesizer for windows based computers.

I released the "Formant Classic" in august 2010 and in the meanwhile I have been redeveloping this synth. The artikel however came a little bit to soon to mention about the new upcomming version. So I inform you about this through this artikel.

Formant Classic Advanced
In the "Formant classic advanced" I added some new non formant modules and improved the classic modules. An other feature I worked on (with blood sweat an tears) is a 100% automatic vst host syncing capability. This enables you to sync arpegiator, sequencer and LFO's to the host tempo and song position.

New non "Formant" modules

• 3 Mix Modules To combine modulation and/or audio signals and use them as new modulations.
• 1 Effect module with Chorus/Flanger, Ring Modulator, Synced Stereo Cross Delay and Reverb.
• a 32 cell polyphonic sequencer with seperate Pitch, Gate and Modulation strips
• a polyphonic Arpegiator that can use sequencer cells for special arpegiations.

• 1 COM module for bass, middle and trebble adjustment plus extra distortion.
• New 6,12,18,24dB LP/HP filter conform the original formant design
• Better ballanced RFM module with softclip for special destortions
• 1 S&H and Ring Modulater Module

Although the source code is downloaded many times, I did not get much feedback and decided to finalizse the design my self. The result is a freeware version of this program that you can download and use free of charge. Both a standalone .EXE and a .DLL VSTi plugin version are included in the package.

The design is made up out of two stacked PCB Boards. The bottom board contains the micro processor, a power section, the connector to the outsite world, an ICSP (In Circuit Serial Programming) connector, a connection to the top board and Midi in and out connectors. The top board has the 2 x 16 character display, the rotary encoder with button function and of couse the connection to the bottom board. As an option you can equipe the board with an Infra Red Sensor and an extra switch or button.

From September 2009 until a few day's ago I worked fulltime to implement all the new functions and to make new presets that demonstrate the new features.

example 1
With the new improved wave split function and the new Analysis module it is possible to simulate the Saw-Triangle wave of the legendary Minimoog. With the new VCF2 Multi stage filter it is possible to approximate the Minimoog 24dB filter. Listen to the demo: HV-Formant 1.1 mmoog_lead1 preset

example 2
The new voice allocation allows you to hold the voices only to release them by changing the preset or switching from voice hold to voice release. This function enables you to generate constantly evolving soundscapes. The new sequencer mute function enables you to switch on or off the sequencer strips while the sound is playing. Listen to the demo: HV-Formant 1.1 Soundscape preset

example 3
The VCA module now has a Effect (FX) section. You can choose between Distortion, Overdrive or Saturation. Listen to a overdrive demo: HV-Formant 1.1 Black_metal preset

HV-Formant demo version 1.1 is available through the download section.

In 4 one hour sessions Denis Meyer and I, talked about the history and the future of the Formant Synthesizer. This synthesizer was one of the biggest electronic building projects of the magazine published in 1978/79. I based the "HV-Formant" and the "Formant Classic" software synthesiser on this legendary building project. Denis talked about the history and the importance of the Formant, the way he as a music teacher got interested in electronic music and how many people still have warm feelings about this great project and electronic music making in general. In the second part of the seminar I talked about my experience in building the Formant in the early eighty's and about the new technologies that are available today, that allowed me to rebuild this legendary synth into two software emulated versions.

Based on the interest of the audience and their positive reactions, I feel that there is an enormous interest among people, both young and old to actively participated into new electronic music related DIY projects.

If you are interested or curious, you can download the complete "Formant Classic" (a software version of the original formant) and the tools it was build with from here.

I want to thank the Elektor team and specially Denis Meyer for giving me the opportunity to express my ideas for such a large audience and hope that in the near future new electronic music making projects wil arive.