2018 is almost over, but I'll be damned if we won't release just one more awesome Rack Extension. I'm happy and proud to introduce Complex-1 Modular Synthesizer!
It's no secret that some of us at Propellerhead have a fondness for modular. We've had CV and gate cables, the semi-modularity of Thor and the Combinator for a long time. Since then many, many others have realized just how liberating and exciting working with this kind of blank canvas can be.
With Complex-1 we wanted to really go all in on that feeling. It's an open architecture modular synth, inspired by the legendary manufacturers that came before. And, lo and behold, it has cables on the front! In Reason, that seems a bit crazy but for an authentic modular synth experience it's a must so we went out on a limb and did it. But we did it our way, they're there if you need them and they'll automatically show up when you want to route a signal. Hats off to the development team that came up with that!
Since both me, Andreas (visual designer) and Pelle (DSP expert) are well-versed in synths, both modular and otherwise, we decided to go a different route than an empty rack you fill up yourself. With hardware, it often takes a long time before you have a cohesive, working system. In Complex-1, we made those hard choices for you, but we did it with some goals in mind: it should be playable, it should sound fantastic and it should be able to do truly weird patches. I think we succeeded.
In fact, this is the most fun we've had making sounds in a long time! And we're not alone. Our alpha testers sent us tons of patches, people at the office who aren't into modular were floored by the sounds and we even got some amazing patches from our friends in the modular world—including Intellijel, Dwarfcraft, Peff, DivKid and more. Make sure you check out the sound examples on the shop page!
Complex-1 might not be the easiest synth to learn, but it's incredibly rewarding and it does sound truly amazing. It's both an introduction to modular synthesis and a powerful instrument for the already converted. Complex-1 probably my favorite synth we've ever released, and I managed Europa too! Now that it's released, I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we have.
Mattias Häggström Gerdt
Product Manager
