Soma Laboratory - Flux

[thetechnobear]

I love what Vlad is doing over at Soma, so news he is working on a new expressive instrument is fantastic news…

this is pre-release still, but already evokes memories of Theremin and the Ondes Martenot.
it’ll be interesting to see if that just this ‘engine’, or more generally this will be the feel.

no news yet on pricing or release date…

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from soma website

FLUX prototype demo (SOMA lab)

FLUX brings forth the musicality and expression of classical instruments, such as violin or vocals, enriched by new timbres and the flexibility of postmodern instruments, harnessing the power of current technology.

FLUX is a high end professional synthesizer with expressive possibilities, an innovative interface design with top quality digital-to-analog converters and analog components.

FLUX features a unique continual touchless keyboard that offers seamless control over a number of sound parameters without quantisation.

In many ways, FLUX is inspired by the Theremin, which offers the unique opportunity of controlling sound by moving your hands in the air without touching any object, all of which lends the performance a special plasticity and beauty.

Unlike the Theremin which works by virtue of the capacitive coupling of hands and antennae, FLUX is based on magnetic principles. Two magnetic bows are pressed between your fingers, and the interface is a multipolar magnetic sensor, registering the bows’ positions and movements. The X coordinate of the artist’s right-hand bow controls the note’s pitch, while the Z coordinate controls volume. The left-hand bow’s X, Y and Z coordinates control the various synthesis parameters.

Since a magnet has two poles, FLUX not only detects the bows’ spatial coordinates, but also the bows’ angle. This means that flipping the right-hand bow on the Y-axis changes the octave, which allows a range of six continuous octaves without transposing the keyboard. With transposition you can get a range from sub-bass all the way to ultrasonic. The left-right tilting of the right-hand bow on the X-axis controls two independent modulation parameters.

The left-hand bow controls the timbres. The timbral sensor, placed in the left part, has six poles, and independently registers positive and negative magnetic fields. This lets you change which parameters you control by flipping the bow, allowing you to control up to twelve independent sound parameters. Together with the pitch, volume and two additional tilt parameters on the right-hand bow, you have access to a total of sixteen sonic controls that you can use during performance, without ever touching the surface of the instrument.

Summing up the concept of FLUX: the most direct and immediate way to play with a large number of synthesis parameters in a musical way, creating a dynamic timbre composition. Different synthesis algorithms (engines) will be created as complete musical instruments for direct timbral control. All engines will be available in a single firmware and any engine can be launched in a fraction of a second. Presets will allow the user to save and recall the entire state of the synth including engine and all tunings.

We developed FLUX with the aim to create a modern instrument for academic music, offering powerful sonic tools such as distortion, complex FM and physical modelling of non-existent, surrealistic musical instruments. We invite modern performers and composers to use FLUX in their work.

FLUX works in monophonic, duophonic and polyphonic modes. Staccato-enabling and quantisation modes are available. The quantization function has an adjustment parameter for vibrato. FLUX has a stable, even, and clearly marked note scale. This makes FLUX much easier to learn and to intone cleanly than on the Theremin.

FLUX’s synthesis is DSP-based. It features built-in spatial FX. The digital-to-analog converters and the analog circuit are based on our in-house designs using Hi-End principles.

FLUX is under development. We will inform the community about the progress.

[keymanpal]

wow!
There you have it: a Polyphonic Theremin

[thetechnobear]

yeah, it’s looking special…esp. as Vlad has proven he can create instruments with character.
(imagine an orchestra made up of Soma instruments )

I wonder how many magnets it will support, its shown as duophonic, but I wonder if with multiple players you could get some more voices…though, I think it’ll excel as a monophonic instrument, and thats cool, we need these too.

what I love about this video (and Vlad’s in general) is his discussion about design principles, one of my favourite parts… always inspiring outside of the product he is showing.
(Vlad has a real knack of talking with vision, without sounding pretentious…a very down to earth visionary, seemingly not needing to feed marketing nor his ego - love it)

[GoneCaving]

Looks amazing, and based on a little time playing the Terra at SB this year, I’d imagine it’s backed up with a decent synth engine.

[TigerBalm]

I was really excited to see this too. I feel like I need to make my Wiggler synth as fast as I can before Vlad snatches up all the good expressive synth ideas!

I wonder if bumps or depressions could be designed into the case that you could rest your thumb on for more tactile position feedback. I would also like to put that right hand magnet on a ring around my finger to sort of forget that I’m holding it.

Something I noticed thinking through my own expressive synth designs is that the synthesizer. With both Terra and Flux, Soma has decided to take a more abstract route and only give the player macro controls. There is less focus on sound design and more focus on expression. IMO that’s similar to the experience with acoustic instruments.

[GoneCaving]

@TigerBalm

I wonder if bumps or depressions could be designed into the case that you could rest your thumb on for more tactile position feedback.

I see no reason why not, but it would restrict the range in the Z-axis (distance to controller), which is used by both hands.

@TigerBalm

I would also like to put that right hand magnet on a ring around my finger to sort of forget that I’m holding it.

That seems to be a common request. The comment I’ve read is that the controller also recognises which pole of the magnet is closest to the instrument, and while a ring wouldn’t prevent that it might be less intuitive? If there’s any controls on the instrument that you might want to adjust without activating the control, then it’s probably easier/quicker to put down the rod than take off a ring.

[Fedor]

Looks and sounds amazing, but all I see is blood.

[pachde]

i’ve considered a couple of designs for the magnet. One a ring with sideways disk that sits between your fingers you turn with your thumb to adjust the pole, like a continuous pitchwheel. It could have slight detents to hold it in position once set, or maybe just finger pressure would be enough.

The other form is stylus or baton, which could be held more easily than jamming them in your fist like he has in the video. Then, you appear more to be conducting than slow-motion fist-bumping ;-).

[keymanpal]

News from SOMA /FLUX on FB:

-/-

Hello, SOMA friends,
We have exciting news about our FLUX project!

We are working on a special breakout box that will turn FLUX into a powerful and unique MIDI and CV controller for your studio. All of the numerous parameters that are captured by the innovative FLUX keyboard will be available in MIDI and CV format. The breakout box will have 11 independent CV outs including two precision pitch volt/octave outputs and seven bipolar modulation outputs letting you control your Eurorack and analog synths with all the unprecedented flexibility that FLUX offers. The MIDI output will transmit all of these parameters as well, so you can connect any synth in your collection to FLUX.

We decided it will be best to offer the breakout box separately, as opposed to integrating its functionality into FLUX, in order to keep the FLUX as affordable as possible. This allows us to pack as much as we can into the breakout box without compromise, for maximum FLUX control over your existing gear. We hope you are as excited as we are about these new possibilities.

What do you think about this news?

[thetechnobear]

good to hear the project is still alive !
their website is saying end 2024… so still a way off…

a separate box , I suspect some will be disappointed the midi is not on the flux itself - but it does kind of makes sense for the CV outputs.
from a design sense, I think nicely focuses the FLUX as an instrument (with its own sound).

as, for eurorack, with only two voices, then the rest is focused on modulation… it could be a good fit… as you dont need loads of voices.

of course, a lot of this depends on what ‘affordable as possible’ means.
with Soma, I can’t see this being sub $1500 - but imagine it’ll sounds and play really well.

[GoneCaving]

Seems to me like a sensible approach, and one similar to that of the Continuum. If you only want a standalone instrument, or are happy interfacing via MIDI, no need to pay for the additional CV control. I guess depending on how it’s done, it may also lead to a CV box that’s easier to have remote from the instrument and closer to your modular.