Premiere - Spotykach Effects

Bay Mud will premiere a new video today (Thur July 30 - 8PM CEST) about Spotykach. I haven't watched the video yet, but knowing his past work I'm sure it'll be good. Join us for the premiere below.

New Firmware Uploader

Finally! We have our very own custom firmware uploader. No need to go to GitHub to install firmware - simply go to synthux.academy/firmware and you'll find all the firmwares there. The uploader is super easy to use and syncs to our GitHub repositories directly, so it's always up to date.

Community member Joe Mendonca (@Unhaunts) is the developer behind the uploader. Joe took the lead some months ago and built the whole thing, but Vlad and I managed to incorporate it to our website just now. Joe is active on YouTube and has a web design studio in Portland called Electric Monument.

New Touch Firmware & Tools

If you’ve missed the last update take a scroll down below – StubeMusic made a bunch of new firmwares for Simple Touch. He is also working on a web-based visual programming tool for Touch (and Daisy, in general). Our community lead, Jon Waterschoot, wrote a whole article about StubeMusic's work. Check out the article, videos and links here. It also features more community projects and alternative Spotykach firmwares by shakfu.

That's it for this update. Enjoy the weekend!

Roey

StubeMusic Is Building New Firmwares for Simple Touch

Chances are if you're on the Synthux Discord you've seen some amazing work coming from community member StubeMusic. He's been developing new firmwares for the Simple Touch, OceanTouch an fx unit to play with audio input and ZenTouch, a Karplus-Strong synth on the Simple Touch. A third one is in the making: TribalTouch, a generative percussion instrument.

OceanTouch - A dual-delay and reverb workstation for the Touch 2.

OceanTouch transforms the instrument into an atmospheric sound-design tool, you're not just playing notes on the touchpads, rather you're sculpting the space of the FX.

• It has a complete manual at oceantouch.vercel.app
• There's an active Discord thread if you want to follow the development or ask questions.
• Download OceanTouch firmware on StubeMusic's Github

Dual-delay & reverb workstation.

This translates to 27 distinct effect zones across three engines (9 zones each for Reverb, Delay A, and Delay B).

Explore a massive variety of sonic possibilities, from classic tape and analogue delays to wilder textures like Shimmer, Galaxy, and Low-Bit bitcrushing.

ZenTouch - A contemplative Karplus-Strong synthesizer

ZenTouch turns the Touch 2 into a physical modeling instrument. Karplus-Strong synthesis is known for its resonant, plucked-string quality: organic, responsive, meditative.

• The interactive web manual at zentouch-touch2.vercel.app is worth exploring even before you load the firmware.
• Download ZenTouch firmware on StubeMusic's Github
• Discussion in the Discord thread.

I've been playing ZenTouch with the Synthux Spotykach myself — here's a video of what that combination sounds like: ZenTouch + Spotykach

And here's StubeMusic demoing both ZenTouch and OceanTouch together: ZenTouch + OceanTouch demo

TribalTouch (in progress) - A seven-voice generative percussion instrument

TribalTouch turns the Touch 2 into a seven-voice generative percussion instrument. The code isn't public yet, but you can get a feel for what it does at tribaltouch.vercel.app. Follow the Discord thread for updates and to connect with StubeMusic about testing.

Go show him some love and support for all his hard work!

The latest successful experiments he’s doing is adding screens to Simple Touch, he demoed both a small oled as well as a full esp powered touchscreen.

OndaKit — StubeMusic is building a visual patch builder in the browser to program Touch 2 (Daisy Seed platforms + more to come) - open for beta testers

Beyond the new firmwares for Touch 2, StubeMusic has been working on something with a much larger scope.

≋⊙NDɅKIT // A visual DSP patch builder for the Touch 2 and Daisy Seed platforms

As he was building with the Daisy DSP library (the library that handles real-time audio tasks like oscillators, filters, and delays), he thought of a more beginner friendly way to start building DSP patches. OndaKit is a node-based visual firmware builder for the Touch 2 and Daisy Seed platforms. Think of it as a development environment in its own right. (Plans are to even expand beyond the Daisy Seed, think Teensy etc.)

Initially he named the project DaisyBloom, but as the ideas progressed he wanted to make sure the name was futureproof, hence he chose a more meaningful name that represents the project better. Onda - meaning Wave is representative of the sound-design-nature of the project, and Kit emphasizes that it's a toolkit for building firmwares.

The idea: instead of writing C++ to build a custom firmware, you open a visual canvas and drag-and-drop hardware components (knobs, pads, switches) alongside DSP blocks (filters, inputs, outputs), then connect them with virtual wires. As you design your patch, the application translates your layout into optimized C++ code in real-time. When you're done, you either download a ZIP containing the complete, compilation-ready project — Makefiles, board templates, setup scripts — or let the app flash it directly to your hardware.

The instructions are already very comprehensive. So even if you never built a firmware yourself, you should be able to get started quite quickly. You'll touch some setup in the command line, but nothing to worry about. (At least I didn't..)

It's the kind of tool that could significantly lower the barrier to custom firmware. Instead of knowing C++, you need to know what you want to build.

Become an OndaKit Beta Tester

StubeMusic has opened up OndaKit for a closed beta phase and is looking for people to actively test it, find bugs, and give feedback.

What you need:

• A Daisy Seed or a Synthux Touch 2 to compile and flash generated projects
• Interest in experimenting with the tool
• Giving feedback and sharing your results (builds, crashes, ideas, etc.)

How to join the Beta

DM @StubeMusic (ymillion) on the Synthux Discord and tell them what hardware you're planning to use it with.

Alt firmwares for Spotykach

When development of Spotykach was in its early stages, the plan was already in place to open the development of the firmware to the community. The people who were in the Residency program were the first to get a taste of this opportunity. During the Residency program they started work on a few alt firmwares. The projects Sporadic by Cristian Pandele (ÆtherEar, Copenhagen) and MIDI Alchemist by Gerry Mayer (MODULE! labs, Chicago) are a result of this.

See this previous article presenting Sporadic and MIDI Alchemist and this article about the new round of the residency for more information.

sk-engines: A Spotykach (platform/engine fork) by shakfu

More recently we've seen the release of another community member building an interesting take on alt Spotykach Firmware. See his post on Discord and the GitHub repository In the readme and in the releases section of the repo you can read more about this. It's a huge undertaking, perhaps worthy of a follow up article?

I’ve already tried a few engines, and had some fun with the Plaits clone, the mosc engine, it was a wonderfully weird experience to see my Spotykach turn into a completely new instrument focused on synthesis and not loops.

Youtube Playlists featuring Synthux instruments

For a while now I've been collecting YouTube videos, featuring Audrey and Spotykach, in playlists. They're not organized in any particular way, I just add videos as I find them.

Audrey videos - Synthux Audrey II and Audrey Touch

Spotykach videos - Spotykach in the wild

Chances are you'll come across you're favorite maker in these playlists, but there's definitely more in there. If you know of any videos that should be added, let me know!

Simple Fix - NoiseGen1 by Creature From The Black

Lastly I wanted to share this with you noise lovers, this firmware is a great example of how much you can do with minimal hardware input and is excellent for the times you need absolute auditory destruction!

NoiseGen1 is a generative noise synthesizer and audio destruction processor developed for the Electro-Smith Daisy Seed (Synthux Simple Fix compatible).

Download NoiseGen1 on Github

It shouldn’t be hard to get this running on Simple Touch or any (custom) Daisy Seed build. If you try it out let us know.

Next time:

Maybe I'll finally get around to sharing my own project, the sample manager for Spotykach "WAV.builder". And someone in the Discord was asking about the *hard to reach” P01 pad on Synthux Simple Touch when both switches are installed. So I thought of sharing some mods/hacks. And I’ve got a Plaits clone for Simple Touch in the works.

Has anyone made their own mods or hacks on the Synthux Simple devices? Let me know!

Have ideas for future issues? Feel free to DM me @jonwtr on socials. If you're not on the Discord yet, you can join at synthux.academy. The community is open to everyone who's curious about building, making sounds, and experimenting.

Thank you for reading, and until next time: keep making (sounds)!

All the best,

Jon 🧠🌲

A community update by Jon Waterschoot, aka jonwtr, community mod on Discord

👉🏼 TL;DR - At a Glance

Hi again, I’m jon, you might know me from the Discord server as the always online dude or maybe you saw my tree knobs 🧠🌲 at Superbooth where my custom Audrey II was on display. I wrote a rather long opening article to open this series as I wanted to proper introduce both myself as the Synthux Community as a whole. Here’s what to expect:

• What is the Synthux Community? — who's here, what the vibe is, and how it all started
• A Collaborative Path: The Spotykach Milestone — how open, community-driven development shaped a product from day one
• Where Most of Us Start: Simple Touch & Simple Fix — the kits that keep on giving, and the creative paths they unlock
• My Journey: Finding Purpose and Hope — a personal note from me on OI, chronic pain, and why this community matters
• Featured: awesome-synthux // Our Collective Brain — a new GitHub index of community-made patches, firmwares, tools, and tutorials

The full read takes about 5–7 minutes. Grab a coffee. ☕

What is the Synthux Community?

I joined the Synthux Discord a few years ago, right after the launch of the original Simple Touch. It wasn't my first time holding a soldering iron, but it was my very first time building anything audio-related.

As soon as I joined, I noticed a unique energy. People from completely different backgrounds, with totally different skill sets, were chatting, sharing tips, and helping each other out. I fell in love with the DIY kits, and after asking a few questions and gathering some intel, I ordered my own. They became my gateway drug into both the maker world and the Synthux universe.

In the beginning, I had a lot of questions. But as I went along and learned, I started documenting my findings. Writing things down helped me build a solid foundation, which in turn allowed me to start helping other beginners. I felt completely at home in this community of curious people. Seeing the visual and audio worlds converge—especially with Roey also coming from a visual design background—was incredibly inspiring and kept me experimenting.

Over time, as more people joined and requested specific information, Roey asked me to step in as a moderator to help manage the channels I started by adding sections for the specific instruments like the Simple Touch and Audrey.

We are looking at updating the structure, if that’s something you’d like to see happening, reach out.

The community lives primarily on Discord, with hundreds of active members ranging from complete beginners to experienced hardware designers and sound artists. You don’t need Synthux gear to join, some join because they want to build an Audrey with components of their own, while others are artists making installations and looking for the knowledge to realize their dreams. This mix of angles is super interesting: people who've never soldered before sit in the same channels as engineers who've been building synths for decades. The learning and feedback go in all directions.

A Collaborative Path: The Spotykach Milestone

Spotykach is worth noting here as a special milestone. It's Synthux's first standalone, non-DIY instrument—not a kit, but a finished product developed in close collaboration with pre-release community members. That's a completely different kind of project than the previous ones aimed at learning hardware or programming. Spotykach grew out of a concept built on top of a Simple Designer kit, but as it became more complex, Roey and Vlad chose to take the community on another sort of ride.

Involving community feedback started early. As Roey and Vlad designed the concepts and the hardware look, they asked the community for feedback and input. Most synth developers gather a closed group of beta testers who work in secret until the device is ready. There are multiple valid reasons to do so, e.g. allowing freedom of design, not setting expectations, planning a precisely planned marketing rollout, etc. There is no right way. Roey and Vlad took a different approach: they released the device before the firmware was ready. There was a basic version for most things on their wishlist, but it was far from finished. The people who bought the pre-release knew they were buying into an idea and were willing to contribute time and energy to see this come to fruition.

"Never buy a synth for what features it might one day get; buy it for what it can do today.

(Unless it's a pre release Spotykach and you like the idea of contributing to the development 😉)"

While I stand by that "do not buy a synth for features that it might one day get"-addagio, I'm always baffled by people complaining about updates for a synth, and why feature x or y is not there yet. I enjoyed to be part of the group of people who pre-ordered and tested the Spotykach and see that there's an alternative open and integer way to develop a product. For Spotykach, this open, collaborative approach meant that the community had a role in making it happen, in steering the development in a certain direction. Vlad would release new firmware builds, and pre-release testers would try them, report bugs, suggest features, and discuss alternative approaches. This active collaboration happened both on Discord and in a shared Notion document.

And so, while Spotykach has now left the beta stage, and I would heartily recommend it, for the features it currently has, Vlad and Roey are still pushing forward, with more features on the horizon. And what's more, we're already seeing the first fruits of people forking the firmware and building their own variations! It's a testament to the power of open development and community collaboration.

Read more about how Spotykach came to life here.

Where Most of Us Start: Simple Touch & Simple Fix

Meanwhile, the Simple Touch and Simple Fix are still where most people start. For many members, it's their first soldering project, their first contact with code. Some build it, play it, and have no further ambitions but to experience that pure joy of making and playing—and that's completely valid. Others get bitten by something in the process and want to go further: understand the circuit, modify it, write their own firmware, build something new entirely, share mods or nifty hacks, etc.

The firmwares that members have shared over the years, like the newly released custom creations by StubeMusic, OceanTouch and ZenTouch (more about them in a next issue), are a direct expression of that path.

This 3D printed case by user Marko Tardito was based on a design for Plinky, I took it further tweaked a few milimeters, and added a few holes for extra CV (clock) jacks. (link to files)

The Challenge of Growth

Some members come to get answers to questions about their soldering, some give their own tips and tricks, others help write manuals—so many things happen that the sheer volume has its downsides, like not knowing where to start or how to get help. I'm actively thinking about how to solve this (and ideas are always welcome). But when people do reach out, you’re bound to get answers and feedback.

My Journey: Finding Purpose and Hope

If you spend time on our Discord, you’ve probably seen me around, or you might know me from my "trees and brains" (🌲🧠) universe. These days, I help keep the channels running, useful, and welcoming. But my path here wasn't straightforward.

I originally ended up in the synthesizer world after struggling to find my place as a former teacher and visual artist. I live with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (a genetic disorder that causes extremely fragile bones, think Mr. Glass in Unbreakable). In 2016, the condition caught up with me. I fractured several vertebrae, and since then, I’ve had to live with severe chronic pain, managed by high amounts of painkillers.

Because of this, I spend a lot of my time awake and on the couch, which is why I often appear to be online constantly. It’s easy to feel isolated in this position, but being active in this community has given me a deep sense of purpose and hope. It’s a reminder that there are still beautiful, creative spaces in this strange reality.

Lately, I've noticed a shift. The community is becoming more than just a place to troubleshoot broken solder joints. People are building tools, firmware, helping to write manuals, cheatsheets, and resources specifically for other community members.

We have some massive projects to share. For instance, community member StubeMusic has been cooking up custom firmwares for the Simple Touch (like OceanTouch and ZenTouch) and has even built an in-browser node-based editor called OndaKit. These projects are so detailed that they deserve their own spotlight, so we will be dedicating separate posts to them in the near future.

But to kick off this series, I want to highlight a project that represents our collective knowledge.

Featured: awesome-synthux // Our Collective Brain

If you’ve spent time on GitHub, you’ve probably run into the "awesome-list" format: a curated, community-built index of resources for a specific topic. We decided we needed one for our ecosystem.

awesome-synthux is a GitHub repository that collects community-made patches, alternative firmwares, custom tools, tutorials, and projects that extend Synthux instruments.

It is meant to be a living document that grows alongside our community, but it only works if we build it together. If you’ve made a cool patch, found a helpful tutorial, came across a broken link, or created something that belongs on the list, please open a PR or drop a link in the Discord.

→ awesome-synthux on GitHub

A Huge Thank You

I would like to close off this first issue with a huge thanks to Roey for creating this space, and to Vlad for persevering through the years in sharing his work as open source. And to other people in Rotterdam that we never see, like Vic helping out behind the scenes, and I'm also grateful to see Fabio, a brilliant Designer and musician, who recently joined the team in Rotterdam.

Never apologize for being curious; if you’re here to learn, no question is wrong.

I want to thank everyone who’s joined the community—especially those who’ve asked questions even when it felt scary. And to the silent observers, the lurkers waiting for the right moment: you’re part of this place too. New people join every day—some introduce themselves, some just skim. I hope I can encourage more of you to jump into the conversations. If the channels feel overwhelming or you’re unsure where to start, send me a PM on Discord—I’ll gladly guide you.

(Speaking of channels: I know there are too many. If you have ideas on how we can reorganize and simplify them, please tell me—pleeease do!)

Come Say Hi

If you aren't on the Discord yet, you can join us at synthux.academy/community. Whether you're here to ask your very first soldering question, share a finished build, or just hang out, you are welcome.

See you in the channels, and stay tuned for the next digest!

Jon 🧠🌲

MIDI Alchemist by Gerry Mayer (MODULE! labs, Chicago) — a synthesizer that plays up to 16 tracks from a MIDI file loaded on its SD card, letting you select and combine tracks and voice combos on the fly like an alchemist pulling ingredients off a shelf.

Sporadic by Cristian Pandele (ÆtherEar, Copenhagen) — a biomimetic audio processor that translates the dynamics of mycelial networks into delay-based audio processing. Genuinely unlike anything else.

Both started as ideas. Both exist now as real instruments. Here's what the people who made them had to say:

"Starting with Simple Designer, I've known for years that Synthux Academy is something unique and special, and being a part of the first Synthux synth design residency cohort has empowered me to transform an idea for a synth into a reality. Roey and the fellow residents have formed a powerful, collaborative group where feedback and support helped guide me to learn all the steps of designing, coding, and even illustrating a synth front panel into a cohesive vision. As I write this, I'm about 2 weeks away from exhibiting the first prototype of MIDI Alchemist with Synthux at Superbooth 2026 and it all feels like a dream! I couldn't recommend the residency program more!" — Gerry Mayer III (MODULE! labs)

"How many times have you sat in the studio and came up with an amazing patch, thinking to yourself: 'man, this would make an awesome instrument, if only I had the time to prototype, polish and manufacture it...'? I came into the first Synthux residency cohort with an idea like that and, under a year later, I need to pinch myself as I have the chance to exhibit the prototype at Superbooth! As a chronic tinkerer, the residency offered the cure: Roey's guidance and a community that encouraged iterating and sharing progress with each other, exchanging feedback on so many design facets, and constantly improving the instrument." — Cristian Pandele (ÆtherEar)

How the program works

The residency runs in two phases over roughly a year.

Phase 1 — July to December 2026: Build on Spotykach

Everyone in the cohort starts from the same hardware: Spotykach, our open-source looper. This is intentional. Rather than spending the first months fighting toolchain setup and basic audio architecture, you begin with something already playable — a solid firmware base with a lot of features already baked in. You can focus on the instrument idea itself.

We run UX workshops together, dig into what makes an instrument meaningful and distinctive, and iterate. The wider Synthux community plays a real role here too — we share experimental firmwares from the cohort for feedback, so you're getting real ears on your work early, not just at the end.

Phase 2 — January to May 2027: Your own hardware

Once the instrument concept is solid and the firmware is taking shape, we move into hardware design — your own PCB, your own faceplate, your own device. The goal is an instrument that's truly yours.

If things go well, there's a natural milestone at the end: Superbooth 2027, where Synthux will have a booth and cohort members are welcome to present their work — just like Gerry and Cristian did this year.

What the residency includes

The residency is fully sponsored by Synthux Academy. There is no tuition, no fee.

What you get:

Bi-weekly sessions throughout the year — part workshop, part critique, part troubleshooting. We work through your instrument together: UX, interaction design, firmware architecture, physical form. These sessions are where a lot of the real progress happens. You show up with something, get honest feedback, go back and iterate.

A private online cohort workspace where we log sessions, write feedback, and track progress. Everything is documented so nothing gets lost between meetings.

A dedicated Discord space within the Synthux server for questions, feedback, and conversation between sessions. You're never waiting until the next bi-weekly to get unstuck.

Access to our full resource library — video tutorials and documentation made specifically for the residency to support your journey through firmware, UX, and hardware design.

The Synthux community — your experimental firmware goes out to real users. You get real reactions. That feedback loop between you, the cohort, and the wider community is something truly unique that’s hard to manufacture on your own.

About the facilitator

I'm Roey Tsemah, founder of Synthux Academy. I designed the Simple Synth Designer, Touch II, Audrey II, and Spotykach. I've been teaching product design in academic settings for over a decade, and for the past five years I've been doing something more specific: working closely with software engineers and hackers as they make the shift toward instrument design.

That transition — from "I can code" to "I can build something people want to play" — is the gap the residency is designed to close. It's not just about technical skills. It's about developing taste, making decisions under constraints, and learning to trust your instincts when there's no right answer.

The cohort is small by design. 4 to 5 projects. That keeps the sessions real — not a webinar, not a lecture, but actual work done together.

What does it cost

The residency itself is fully sponsored — no fee.

You will need a Spotykach when the program starts. It's the shared platform for Phase 1, and it's what makes it possible for the community, the cohort and teaching team to actually support your work. Spotykach is available in our store. If you're confirmed for the cohort, we can help you arrange one before the start date. If the cost is a barrier, mention it in your application — partial sponsorship is available for the right candidates. If you decide to present at Superbooth, manufacturing 5 instrument prototyping typically runs €300–€500 (we don’t take any cut out of this).

On IP and open source

You own what you make. As part of the program, participants agree to release their work as an open-source project — so others in the community can learn from it and build on it. This is in the spirit of how Synthux works.

Who this is for

The residency is fully remote and conducted in English. Sessions are online. If you're based in the Netherlands, you're welcome to come by in person — but that's a bonus, not a requirement.

What we're looking for:

You have an idea — or a couple of directions you're excited about. It doesn't need to be fully formed, but you should be able to articulate what kind of instrument you want to make and why.

You can program. Not necessarily in C++ or audio DSP specifically — but you have a development background and a hacker's attitude. You're comfortable figuring things out, breaking things, and asking for help when stuck. Experience with plugins, open-source music software, or embedded projects is a great bonus, but not a requirement.

You have roughly 6 hours a week to invest. This is a serious hobby commitment — not a passive learning experience. The residency works because people show up and keep showing up.

You're committed to the process, not just the outcome. The Cohort 1 participants will tell you: the messy middle is where it happens.

How to apply

1. Submit your application by Tuesday, June 30th Fill in the form below. Tell us about yourself, your background, and the instrument idea you want to explore.

2. Interview — first week of July Shortlisted applicants will be invited to a short conversation. This is as much for you to ask questions as it is for us to get to know you.

3. Confirmation by mid-July Selected participants will be confirmed and we'll get you set up — workspace access, Discord, Spotykach if needed — before the program kicks off.

→ Apply for the Synthux Residency — Cohort 2

Applications close June 30th. Spots are limited to 4–5 projects.

Questions? Email me: hello@synthux.academy

Looking forward to read your applications!

Roey

How this started

I started the Synthux Residency in July 2025 with a simple idea: what would happen if you took the structure of an academic design program and made it accessible, online, and community-driven?

Not a course. Not a hackathon. Not a loose collective.

A year-long commitment to actually building an instrument.

Each participant came in with an idea and agreed to keep showing up for it - week after week - while sharing progress, failures, and iterations along the way.

This week, at Superbooth 2026, Gerry Mayer and Cristian Pandele will present their instruments and successfully complete the first Synthux Residency program!

The process

We began by exploring early concepts and prototyping on the Spotykach hardware and software. Building on the foundations Vlad Litvinenko and myself put into Spotykach gave the residency a solid starting point to build upon. And, of course, things got messy from there on (in the right way!).

Soon enough participants released experimental firmware to the community, got feedback from real users, and kept refining. Ideas changed. Some directions were dropped entirely. Others only made sense after months of iteration.

Eventually, the work shifted toward interface design, interaction, and physical form - faceplates, layout, and all the small decisions that turn a prototype into something you actually want to use.

What it takes to get something real

Cristian and Gerry stuck with their instruments through all of it: broken builds, unclear UX, rewrites, redesigns. The kind of problems that don’t show up in a concept sketch but define whether something ever becomes real.

A few weeks ago, we sent the final PCB files to production.

That moment felt small on the surface, but it marked the transition from “this might work” to “this exists.”

About Midi Alchemist by Gerry Mayer

MIDI Alchemist is a synthesizer that plays up to 16 tracks from one found or created MIDI file, loaded on its SD card library. Select playback of any ofthe 16 tracks on the fly, and choose ingredients on the shelf to discover secret synth voice and effect combos!

Discover new sonic inspirations from your alchemical experimentations and combinations!

About Sporadic by Cristian Pandele

Sporadic is a biomimetic audio processor that translates mycelial network dynamics into delay-based audio processing.

As you lie on your back and watch the clouds pass by, infinite networks of mycelia work tirelessly underneath, dissembling and reassembling the fabric of reality. Sporadic is an open invitation to listen more deeply to the patterns and relationships that form our experience of sound.

Why this residency program matters

There isn’t really a clean category for what this residency is. It borrows from academic design programs, but it’s not institutional. It’s online, but it’s not passive. It’s structured, but it depends entirely on self-direction.

What I can say is this: without this process, these instruments would likely still be ideas. And that’s been the most interesting part to watch - what happens when people are given just enough structure and just enough pressure to keep going.

Superbooth as a milestone

I’ve been an academic teacher for over a decade, so I can’t help but see Superbooth as a kind of graduation ceremony. Not an ending, but a moment where the work leaves its protected environment and meets the outside world. I’m proud of what Cristian and Gerry built, and I’m looking forward to seeing how people respond to it in Berlin.

What’s next

We’re taking everything we learned from this first residency and applying it to the next cohort, starting mid July 2026.

If you’ve been thinking about designing your own instrument - and you know you won’t do it without structure, feedback, and a bit of pressure - this is for you.

👉 Applications for the next Synthux Residency are open.

Apply here → Synthux Instrument Design Residency 2026-27

The Spark: From a DM to a Partnership

The journey to Firmware 1.0 started four years ago on our Discord server. I remember the moment clearly: Vlad Litvinenko (Bleep Tools) shared a VST plugin he’d written for a quad slicer. The logic was brilliant, and I immediately jumped into his DMs to ask if he’d ever considered turning it into physical hardware.

That single question turned into a four-year obsession. Vlad and I began collaborating on everything—instruments (Simple Touch anyone?), educational materials, and the early DIY versions of what would become Spotykach. When we presented the first version at Superbooth 2023, built on our Simple Synth Designer board and wrapped in a hand-drawn faceplate inspired by traditional Ukrainian ornaments, we knew we had something special. We realized then that this shouldn't just be a "side project." It deserved to be a standalone instrument.

The Looping Playground

As we moved into full-scale development, our goal was to create a semi-modular dual-deck looper that behaved like a living organism. We designed Spotykach for hands-on performance, moving away from menu-diving and toward pure intuition.

The heart of the interface lies in the two LED rings that visualize your loops as they breathe. As you record, modulate, and manipulate your audio, these rings provide a physical sense of time. The faceplate itself is a tribute to the era of magnetic tape—the touch pads are shaped like spliced strips, giving you a tactile connection to your sound design. Whether you’re processing an acoustic cello or syncing it to a sprawling modular rig, we wanted Spotykach to be the centerpiece where your ideas finally take shape.

To Stumble, To Sip, To Create

We get asked a lot about the name. In Ukrainian culture, Spotykach is a traditional home-brewed liqueur—sweet, potent, and famous for making the drinker "stumble."

In the world of music, "stumbling" is usually seen as a mistake. But for us, the stumble is where the magic happens. We wanted to create an instrument that leaned into the off-kilter, the generative, and the unexpected. When you play with Spotykach, you aren't just repeating a phrase; you’re letting it trip over itself, move backward, and evolve into something you didn't see coming. It is a celebration of the "happy accident."

Refined by the Collective

Last year, we took a leap of faith. We opened the doors and invited our community into a pre-release phase to help us break, test, and rebuild the software.

For twelve months, your ideas pushed us to refine the core engines (remember when drift was green and glitchy?), sharpen the modulation, and iron out the clock sync and MIDI. Firmware 1.0 is the result of that collective brainpower. It has exceeded every expectation we had back when we were just looking at code on a Discord screen. It’s rock-solid, musical, and more "playable" than we ever dreamed.

Limited Edition and Hand Made

We produced a limited run of 300 Spotykach units at Synthux HQ in Rotterdam. As I write this, over 200 of them are already out in the world.

Every single unit is handmade. We’ve been living the process—from mounting components on the PCB and 3D-printing custom parts in-house to control light movement, to the manual design and hand-painting each box. We poured our heart and soul into the manufacturing to make sure every instrument feels as unique as the person playing it.

The Manual and Artwork

The manual deserves its own spotlight. I worked with Fabio Bartali, a Rotterdam-based graphic designer and exceptional synth nerd, to make something truly special. Fabio and I obsessed over every detail—editing text, perfecting drawings, and choosing a local printer to bring it to life. It’s printed with shimmering gold ink and features a custom artwork on the back.

That artwork comes from Tom Tebby, an artist I met at Superbooth 2025. Tom is a master of old-school collage—cutting, composing, and gluing paper by hand. He took inspiration from the Spotykach faceplate to create a custom piece that makes the manual feel less like a "data sheet" and more like a collector's item.

Technical Soul

While the spirit of the machine is about play, the engineering (which Vlad has spent years perfecting) is precise:

• Dual Independent Decks: Record, play, reverse, and overdub seamlessly. Switch between Reel, Slice, and Granular Drift modes while modulating incoming signals.
• Generative Modulation: Built-in, Eurorack-level modulation sources and envelope followers keep your loops evolving.
• Semi-Modular Workflow: Designed to sit at the heart of your setup, whether you're jamming dawless or integrating with a hybrid rig.
• Performance-Driven Interface: High-resolution LED feedback and "tape-splice" touch pads for immediate, tactile control.

Thank you for being part of this four-year journey with us. We can't wait to hear what you create—and where you stumble.

With excitement,
Roey Tsemah & Vlad Litvinenko