Buttons, knobs and keys got you down? Wish you had more meme synths? Then the single-button Cyma Forma RND is for you!
Cyma Forma RND
The Superbooth surprises just keep on coming. Yesterday it was Ziggy, an affordable synthesizer from Buchla. Today it’s RND, a random hardware synthesizer with a big button and nothing else. It’s like a meme come to life. Get two and you can recreate the sweating guy who can’t make a decision.
Cyma Forma RND · Source: Cyma Forma
Cyma Forma RND: One Button, Four Billion Ideas
All joking aside, this is a real product and – despite the gimmicky presentation – a real instrument. Cyma Forma RND is a new hardware synth made in collaboration with the French musical artist Bambounou, and the idea is to free you from programming or even playing and encourage you to listen. Press the big button (that’s all you can do) and enjoy the sounds that it generates.
Cyma Forma RND · Source: Cyma Forma
OK, so there’s a little more to it than that. Much like a one-knob effect plugin that combines different algorithms under the hood, RND is surprisingly deep.
To start with, there are eight synthesis engines happening, with subtractive, FM, acid, noise, speech, Karplus-Strong, supersaw, and additive styles all living under the button. Four of these will get layered up, and while you can’t edit the sound, you do get control over the mix. There are five filter types, although it’s not clear yet how you can interact with these, as well as reverb.
In the demo video below, you can hear that the sounds are not static. Each layer has its own Euclidean sequence and there are a total of 20 scales to choose from.
When you hit the button, all of these parameters get randomized, resulting in one of 4,294,967,296 possible sounds. Whew!
Cyma Forma RND: MIDI Control
Even if Cyma Forma RND was just a button that you pressed, it would still be a fun piece of art. But it actually can function as an instrument once you get MIDI involved.
Cyma Forma RND · Source: Cyma Forma
The device includes USB-C and a mini jack for MIDI in/out, with nine MIDI modes to choose from. These include a global transpose plus individual track sequence takeover, either with the other tracks playing or solo, with each of those options having four unique modes. There’s also MIDI clock in and out, plus analog sync in/out for running in time with your DAW or other device.
In terms of audio, you can connect the stereo out to get post-reverb sound via a mini jack, or send pre-reverb four-track audio out over USB.
Cyma Forma RND: Pricing and Availability
Cyma Forma RND may not be for everyone, but judging by the comments on the YouTube demo video, people are excited by it. I’m curious to learn more, specifically, how much control you can have over it. Can you turn off the sequence and play just notes? That would be cool.
Cyma Forma will be at Superbooth this week, showing off its ALT and also, presumably, talking about RND. If you’d rather not wait, you can preorder one now from the company website for $150 with shipping expected in June. There’s also a cute little flex case for it for $66.
More Information
Cyma Forma RND product page
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