Trax RetroWave R-1 – British analog synth with MIDI/CV

The Trax RetroWave R-1 desktop monosynth was designed for musicians who want the warmth and power of classic analog synthesizer sound, created by a real analog instrument. Handmade, of course.

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Create electronic music from scratch. The RetroWave pots are huge, a joy to use. And, of course, there are no menue screens or hidden functions …

The synthesizer offers:

  • 1 Logarithmic Voltage-Controlled Oscillator
  • 1 24dB/octave, 4-pole Lowpass Filter
  • 2 Triangle and Square Wave Low Frequency Oscillators
  • Sample & Hold
  • Noise
  • 1 Envelope (with auto-repeat by LFO 1)
  • 1 Voltage Controlled Amplifier with Overdrive Function
  • a built-in MIDI to CV Unit

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The instrument’s list of connections is impressive, too:

“The rear panel has INPUTS for 24V dc power supply, MIDI (via 5-pin DIN socket), Gate, VCO CV (control voltage), VCO PWM (pulse width modulation), VCF CV, VCA CV and External Audio (all 1/4″ jack sockets).

OUTPUTS are also provided for CV, Gate +5V, Velocity and Audio.”

(Source: TraxControls)

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For further information see:
http://www.traxcontrols.com/retrowave.htm

And here is our RetroWave review (with pictures and soundfiles):
http://greatsynthesizers.com/en/test/trax-retrowave-r-1-from-model-trains-to-synths

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“Es genügt, einen Ton schön zu spielen” sagte der Komponist Arvo Pärt im Jahre 2005. Diese Aussage ist ebenso einfach wie ich auch exzellent: Es braucht kein Meer an Tönen, denn entscheidend ist der Klang. Dass so mancher Vintage-Synthesizer der 70er und 80er Jahre teils unerreicht hochwertige Klänge liefert, steht außer Frage. Doch tatsächlich leben wir “heute” in einer nahezu perfekten Zeit. Einerseits hat man – mehr oder weniger – noch Zugriff auf die Vintage Analogen, andererseits wird auch bei Neugeräten die wichtige Komponente des hochwertigen Klanges wieder zunehmend berücksichtigt. Doepfer, Cwejman, Synthesizers.com, MacBeth, Moog, GRP, Studio Electronics, COTK, John Bowen und andere Hersteller bauen hervorragende Synthesizer, die den “Klassikern” in nichts nachstehen. All diesen (alten wie neuen) “großartigen” Instrumenten ist Great Synthesizers gewidmet. _________________________________________________________ In 2005 composer Arvo Pärt said: “Playing one tone really well is enough”. In other words, it is sufficient to play one tone 'beautifully'. I agree with that. All musical efforts are focused on the sound itself. Although I studied classical music (piano and drums), it’s the electronic sound that inspires me. Synthesizers are the epitome of new sounds and exciting tonal spheres. Today, many companies produce high-quality - excellent! - synthesizers: Doepfer, Cwejman, MacBeth, Moog, GRP, Synthesizers.com, COTK, Studio Electronics, John Bowen and others. It's their products I'm really interested in ... apart from Vintage Synthesizers, which I have been collecting for 20 years. Subsequent to our former websites Bluesynths and Blogasys, Peter Mahr and I have now created GreatSynthesizers. We hope you like it.