Korg Nu:Tekt NTS-1 - The birth of a whole developer ecosystem?

At Superbooth 2019, KORG have introduced the Nu:Tekt  NTS-1 digital DIY synth.

The idea itself is splendid, but a significant aspect in these first few hours and days seems to be overlooked by most if not all initial reports.

The digital engine in the little module is basically the one inside the flagship Prologue and the Minilogue XD. The huge significance of users being able to write their own algorithms for any digital oscillator or effect they can think of was revolutionary, and covered on this blog, too when Prologue came out.

However, even beyond this, let's imagine for a moment that this little box of fun can be basically a relatively low cost developer platform for anybody who does not yet own, did not think about diving into, or was not able to dive into the world of actual synthesizer keyboards yet.

Anybody from tech savvy kids in schools to erudite tech enthusiasts approaching the world of sound synthesis & processing can use this little synth - and develop oscillators and effects usable in even flagship synths. The potentials for idea exchange and development are endless.

Once one got something working, it can be directly ported to the flagship Prologue synth's multi-engine, or to the Minilogue XD that shares same multi-engine basically. 

This could well be the device that possibly triggers the birth of an entire ecosystem and whole developer communities.

One may not have a Korg synth (yet), but can develop synthesis or processing modules that can be actually used on the "big" Korg multi-engine synths mentioned above.

Also, think of the "pull" from higher-end products... if one develops something on this, will want to hear it and try it out on a Minilogue XD or even Prologue...

In addition, if we think how this can get VST developers to get creative on this platform, at a low cost, it can really "explode" the possibilities and the range of custom algorithms.

Therefore, it is a very astute move by KORG, and it is highly significant how they open the product up rather than lock it into manufacturer preconceptions on how we should or could use it.

The video below is a Superbooth interview by Synth Anatomy:

Opening up and setting free - the Korg Prologue way

Prologue (photo: Korg.com)

Korg Prologue has seen the light of day as a flagship analogue polyphonic synth, and as it was highlighted here at that point, it had a particularly unique feature among its many attributes that designated it "Best in show" synth at NAMM 2018.

It possesses a digital engine, too, and the user-definable custom oscillators and effects in it were, philosophically, an unprecedented move by any manufacturer in this class of instruments.

If we take away all the technical and musical details, what Korg and Prologue did was almost shocking in a world where individuality is most often seen as something only achievable by limiting the user by what the manufacturer defines as boundaries.

Prologue has taken a diametrically opposite approach, and with the promise and delivery of a software development kit, anybody with sufficient knowledge could write his/her own oscillator module and effects. Naturally, there is always a limitation of the platform in terms of real-time processing power and memory. However, in all other respects the decision to offer such ability to the user suddenly meant that the only limitation was now the user's ability and imagination.

We are now some months after the release of the development kit, or SDK for short - hence one feels compelled to return to this topic at this point when theoretical promise of a creative possibility has become actual reality.

DirtBoxSynth have released not one, but a series of custom oscillators.

FMonsta1 & FMonsta2 have added wavetable and FM synthesis capabilities to the Prologue multi-engine, with eight instantly controllable parameters (via the copious offering of knobs). SUPAwave added PWM-based oscillator with phasing-like effects possible via two different half-waves. ORGANism has added an organ where the harmonics can be controlled in numerous ways, so as the authors called it, the oscillator is an organ with a twist - almost literally...

Custom digital effects have also seen the light of day, an autopanner, a high-gain distortion simulator AMPit, and a custom filter pack.

Why do the examples set by Korg and the set of custom OSCs and effects by DirtBoxSynth matter, beyond the obvious sonic aspects?

There is an age-old debate, often even battle, between advocates of closed and open platforms. In the area of computing, especially personal computers, this has raged on and on for decades.

In the creative sector, which is inevitably blending computing with the arts, Prologue is a very brave incarnation of the more open platform philosophy. Again, to stress, this is not a small manufacturer nor some enthusiast gizmo, like some open source initiatives that can deployed on a Raspberry Pi.

No, this is a flagship synthesizer keyboard from one of the 'Big Three' manufacturers... Instead of imposing on us the predefined limits of an instrument, it lets the techie musician loose in the world of sound generation and processing.

Also, it is a testament to the way in which modular design and software interface definition coupled with clear tooling enables the techie creators. Also, the application programmer's interface (API) is streamlined, clean and clear- which is always a crucial factor in enabling the third party developers. Another important aspect in an API definition is where the owner puts the abstraction boundary, misplacing this can over-complicate the interface (in one case) or not give enough power to the developer (in another case when it wants to stay very abstract as interface).

 The SDK is, as examples above prove, eminently usable and facilitates the creation and deployment of a range of different customised modules.

Interestingly, it remains, in this class of instruments, a unique experiment where the concept of loadable modules is not limited to the manufacturer's own offering (as, for example, plug-outs are).

Whilst some still see the solution to product differentiation as something achieved with highly restrictive approaches, Prologue manages to be a rather individual presence in the synth landscape - and it does this via a philosophy that hands the tools over to the techie musician...