Who said that the modular synth experience has to be expensive?
The Pittsburgh Modular Synthesizers Lifeforms SV-1 Blackbox is a complete, standalone desktop format modular synthesizer with a very attractive price point and interesting features.
Personally, I’m excited to see more standalone desktop boutique synths coming to the market.
A few months ago we introduced the lovely and compact Make Noise 0-Coast, a great entry ticket to the modular synth world (not to mention our previous Moog Mother-32 review!). Now let’s find out more about the SV-1 Blackbox…
At a glance
Two patchable oscillators, 53 patch points and 21 (great looking) knobs, a state-variable filter are paired with a perfectly curated set of synthesis components including a dual sub oscillator, dual, chained mixers, a plucky, four stage envelope generator, sample and hold, noise, low frequency oscillator, voltage controlled amplifier, a feature rich MIDI to CV converter, and a pair of utility signal splitters. All this stuffed into a portable steel enclosure.
Everything you need?
According to the Pittsburgh Modular Synthesizers’s guys “Lifeforms SV-1 Blackbox provides absolutely everything you need to create gigantic and iconic synth sounds: roaring bass, shimmering leads, lush pads and warm drones are only a few knob turns away. Instantly, out of the box, a rich feature set with a fluid, easy to understand interface empowers you to create vibrant, thick tones.”
Price and Availability
The suggested retail price for the Lifeforms SV-1 Blackbox modular synthesizer is $699 and it begins shipping to authorized resellers August 12. More information is available at lifeformsmodular.com/blackbox.