In a new episode of "let's put a Raspberry Pi in the air conditioner", we travel to Japan, where the company R-MONO Lab presented a new polyphonic synthesizer concept called EsCube-6R (S3-6R). Its specifications are very interesting, but the standout feature is using a Raspberry Pi 3 as its brain. In general, Raspberry Pis are known for not being the best option in sound tasks, however, the demos suggest otherwise...
Before starting, I must admit that the synthesizer territory is quite strange to me. I have several friends who are fully into music and could spend hours recommending equipment, but what brings me here today is the unusual profile of a particular synthesizer. It is said that dedicated hardware is no longer as relevant as before, and that software has become the new star, thanks to emulation. Our readers are formally invited to confirm or negate that phrase, although it seems to be true in the specific case of the new EsCube-6R, manufactured by R-MONO Lab in Japan.
Both videos are full of samples, but if you paid attention to the first few seconds you probably saw that the synthesizer has a Raspberry Pi 3 inside. The installation method in this version (the second according to the official site) requires the use of heatsinks, since the Raspberry Pi 3 can become a small reactor under heavy load. The output of the EsCube-6R is very high resolution (24-bit, 96 kHz), and the keyboard is a Roland K-25m, which serves as a platform for its limited edition synthesizers (among them the Jupiter and Juno).
Now, if all the magic is handled by the Raspberry Pi, why not release the software so other enthusiasts can create something similar? Unfortunately, R-MONO Lab confirmed that it has no short-term intentions to commercialize the EsCube-6R, nor to release the code. It is a real shame, but if the synthesizer generates enough interest, maybe they will change their mind.
