Designed for sound designers and performing musicians, the black ASM Hydrasynth Keyboard 8-Voice Wave-Morphing Synthesizer is a powerful and highly flexible synthesizer with a user interface that's crafted for simplicity and instant access. Its many workflow shortcuts let you edit a patch quickly with a minimal amount of paging. Its advanced wavetable synthesis engine, 3 oscillators, dual wave mutants, and 2 filters can be configured in series or parallel, and provide the Hydrasynth with unmatched tone-generating capabilities.
For performance capabilities, the Hydrasynth Keyboard features a proprietary Polytouch keybed with polyphonic aftertouch, allowing a level of expressive per-note control found only in certain vintage synths. Additionally, a 4-octave ribbon controller and ergonomically designed pitch and mod wheels offer expression and control that are unequalled by most other hardware synthesizers.
Main Features
User Interface
- Intuitive workflow, perceived at a glance
- Top-panel controls for instant access to important features
- Easy shortcuts for patch / mod route construction (connect/copy/paste)
- Two independent OLED displays
- 8 Control knobs and 8 Control buttons around the Right display
- LED rings around the Control knobs indicate parameter values
- 8 assignable Macros per patch, accessible on Home page
- Arpeggiator: 8 modes with direction, octave, chord, and phrase options
- Patch browser: Organize by Name, Category, or Patch number
- Memorize / instantly recall up to 32 Favorites
- Overflow mode can link two units for 16-voice polyphony
Patch Features
- 8 banks of 128 patches each
- Mono and Unison voice modes, with unison detune
- Glide and glissando with programmable time, curve, trigger mode
- Mod Matrix with 32 routes per patch
- Programmable Analog Feel emulates the behavior of analog circuits
- Randomize function for individual modules or an entire patch
Sound Engine
- 8 voices, with three oscillators per voice
- Analog modeling (Osc 1-3) and WaveScan synthesis (Osc 1+2)
- Select from hundreds of waveforms and then morph/mutate/warp them at will
- Preset scales with microtonal options and the ability to import custom scales
- Filter 1: 16 filter types, including vocal formant filters
- Filter 2: classic state-variable 12 dB / octave with two modes
- Filters can be placed in series or parallel
- Loopable ADSR envelopes with Delay and Hold stages
- Curve and BPM value for each segment
- Each envelope can have up to 4 trigger sources
Effects
- Delay: five types, including Left-Right, Center, and reverse
- All delays can sync to tempo
- Reverb: four types, with pre-delay and damping parameters
- Reverb lengths to 90 seconds, plus Freeze
- Independent Pre/Post FX: Chorus, Flanger, Rotary, Phaser, Lo-Fi, Tremolo, EQ, Compressor, Distortion
- Global bypass of any or all FX modules
Hardware
- MIDI In/Out/Thru
- USB-B port, class-compliant
- CV/Gate inputs and outputs for integration with modular synthesizers
- Headphone outputs (1/4" and 3.5mm)
- Stereo 1/4” outputs (balanced)
- Sustain pedal input (polarity-sensing)
- Assignable Expression pedal input (reversible)
- LED Brightness controls for darkened rooms
- Kensington lock port
Keyboard-Specific Features
- 49-key velocity-sensitive keyboard with polyphonic aftertouch
- Ribbon controller with Pitch bend, Theremin, and Modulation modes
- Additional Filter controls (Envelope amount, LFO amount)
- Additional Arpeggiator controls (Tempo, Ratchet, Chance, Gate)
- Backlit pitch bend and modulation wheels
- Octave Down/Up buttons
- Chord mode with dedicated button
- Glide button
- Two headphone jacks share a dedicated Volume control
Polytouch Keybed
- The Hydrasynth features a patented Polytouch technology with a semiweighted keybed that provides fully polyphonic aftertouch in addition to the standard velocity and aftertouch found on other keybeds. Variations in key pressure can affect notes individually.
- The Hydrasynth features high-quality standard-sized keys, so keyboard players will be right at home. This revolutionary technology helps you be more in touch with the music you are making. Now every note you play can ebb and flow like the tide.
Ribbon Controller
Add powerful expression to any patch using our 4-octave Ribbon Controller, which is perfectly situated above the keyboard. It can be used as a freely assignable modulation source, a pitch bend control, or as a monophonic instrument, thanks to the Theremin mode, which uses the ribbon to trigger a note. Choose continuous pitch operation, or quantize the ribbon to one of 60 scales including microtonal scales. What's more, the ribbon can also be used as a CV source to control your Eurorack system.
Mutants
Oscillators 1 and 2 are routed into Mutants. The Mutants allow you to modulate, bend, and sculpt the sound in new (and old) ways.
Each Mutant lets you choose from the following processes:
- FM-Linear: This is for making classic FM sounds. Choose multiple FM sources, including external inputs.
- WavStack: Creates 5 copies of the input source and allows you to set a detune amount.
- Osc Sync: This gives you those classic hard sync sounds. Try hard-syncing a morphing wavetable for some fun.
- Pulse Width Modulation (PW-Orig): Performs the classic pulse width modulation on any waveform.
- PW-Squeeze: Compresses the center section of the waveform for a unique type of PWM.
- PW-ASM: Divides the incoming wave into 8 slices and lets you set the amount of FM that is applied to each segment.
- Harmonic Sweep: This will sweep the harmonics of the input source.
- PhazDiff: Generates the difference betwen the incoming wave and a version that is inverted and phase-shifted.
The Mutants can also generate their own waveforms in both FM and Sync modes, so you don't have to use another oscillator. The routing is flexible, so you can choose the other oscillators as mod sources if you like.
LFOs
Five Low-Frequency Oscillators (LFOs)
- LFOs feature a Step mode that lets you create patterns with up to 64 steps. Having 5 mini step sequencers gives you an amazing number of possibilities for further shaping your sound.
- There are also 10 standard waveforms available including Sample and Hold, Noise, and Random.
- Each LFO has delay, fade in, 3 triggering modes, smoothing, start phase, BPM sync, and a One-Shot mode so that they can act as envelopes.
- Recent updates offer some exciting new features, including a Step option for the One-Shot mode that allows the Step wave to advance by one step per trigger.
- And LFOs now can be quantized to create stepped values. It's like bit-reduction for your LFOs.
Envelopes
- Five 6-stage envelopes, each featuring Delay, Attack, Hold, Decay, Sustain, and Release stages.
- The durations of the ADR stages can be set to seconds or subdivisions of the tempo, giving you envelopes that play in sync to your song.
- Loop the envelopes to turn them into LFOs that can be shaped by any source in the modulation matrix. Each envelope can be triggered by up to four different sources, and there's a Tap Trigger option too. Envelopes can be quantized to different step levels.
Modulation Matrix
- The modulation capabilities on the Hydrasynth are endless with 32 user-definable Modulation matrix slots.
- 35 modulation sources and 191 modulation destinations
- Almost everything in the synth engine can be a modulation destination, including the effects and arpeggiator. The modulation routes themselves can also become modulation destinations, and can be targeted by the Macros too.
- Modulation sources & destinations include the CV Mod In and Out jacks as well as all 128 MIDI CCs.
- Its worth mentioning that there are some hardwired modulation routes located in other modules too. This means you don't have to burn up one of the 32 mod routes in the Modulation matrix to do certain basic functions.
Arpeggiator
- The arpeggiator has all the standard arpeggio directions plus a few twists (up, down, and/or sideways, sort of). There's also a built-in phrase mode, step offset and a range of 6 octaves.
- Parameters like Ratchet and Chance will generate other semi-random rhythmic patterns to add life and spontaneity to your performance.
- You can also modulate most of the parameters in the arpeggiator.
CV/Gate, MIDI, and USB
- Industry-standard MIDI and USB/MIDI interfaces are available on the Hydrasynth.
- Use CV/Gate to interface to the modular world, opening the door to unlimited expansion of your musical horizons.
- The CV/Gate and Mod connectors support standard voltages for Eurorack modular, the 1.2V per octave Buchla standard, and some of the Japanese Volts/Hz products.
- The CV Mod In and Out jacks allow for modulation from DC to full audio range, which multiplies your modulation capabilities.