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Pro Audio

Baloran unveils The Pool synth, and we’re curious to see how deep it goes

After blowing minds in 2017 with their multi-timbre polysynth The River, French powerhouses Baloran are back with a new take on synthesis with The Pool.

Baloran has been the project of analog mastermind Laurent Lecatelier — a genius hidden away in the north of France, whose perseverance and dedication to the audio world has been present since the release of his first Synth.

Based on original Moog hardware, The River is a polysynth so aptly named due to the way in which its 8 voiced oscillators could combine and “yield something larger, [like] a stretch of running water“, and after hearing the sound that this beast put out, there was no doubting its power.

The new knob-loaded face of The Pool

And after 4 years, and many YouTube videos of Lecatelier teasing his new project, (originally named The Machin) we finally have some specs, and a new name for the synth: The Pool.

First things first — The Pool is a hybrid Synth, and the first Synth in Baloran’s catalogue to make use of digital elements. While it will include two analog VCOs with adjustable range and waveshape, it’ll also sport two digital oscillators with a number of functions, including FM and parameter controls — as well as a knob for Additive Synthesis, a function that has been well-missed on hardware synths for the past few years.

Lacatelier holding an initial mockup of The River

On top of this, it has four filters, four adjustable envelopes, three LFOs, an arpeggiator, a 16-step sequencer, and a touch screen to even further adjust its parameters- and so if the various knobs and LED buttons on The Pool’s console face have intimidated you, it’s because it’s an intimidating piece of hardware.

From what we can hear so far in the videos available on Lecatelier’s YouTube Channel, it seems like the surface of The Pool is only beginning to get scratched — and we’re pretty excited to see how deep it goes.

Laurent will demonstrate his new synth at Synthfest France in early June this year, so expect to hear more from us on this wicked bit of kit.