Visually, the Nopia seems like fairly a primary synth. No show unit, no labeling, primary development, and simply 12 keys… but the synth’s launch video has over 2 million views since its debut final week, and the Nopia Instagram web page has greater than 17 thousand followers. In the event you’re questioning why, simply give the video above a watch and also you’ll notice what makes the Nopia so particular.
Not like every other MIDI synth I’ve seen earlier than (and I’ve seen fairly a number of), the Nopia v1 isn’t as a lot a synth as it’s a chord generator. Which means that while you hit a key, as a substitute of listening to a person observe, you’ll hear a pre-ordained chord that’s programmed to that observe. Press one other key and also you get one other chord inside the similar tonal scale. Buttons on the proper aspect allow you to change your scale, however everytime you do, the synth keys by no means play notes… they solely play chords, and so they play chords inside the similar “tonal harmonic scale”. The result’s implausible to the ears, and opens up a myriad of prospects for amateurs and professionals alike.
Designers: Martin Grieco & Rocío Gal
Enjoying chords are tough. That you must study which notes make up which chords, then you could determine the place they’re situated on a keyboard, after which wrestle as your fingers work up their muscle reminiscence as you turn between totally different chords. With the Nopia v1, it’s as simple as simply urgent a button. Furthermore, the Nopia v1 additionally allows you to accompany your chords with bass notes, drums, and arpeggios by simply urgent a button or flipping a change.
The totally different buttons, knobs, switches, and sliders on the Nopia v1 assist layer your chords with extra advanced parts. A bass choice provides a punchy root bass observe, whereas the arp choice turns your chord right into a dreamy chordscape of dancing notes. The Nopia v1 even has a built-in vocoder that permits you to nearly immediately flip your music into one thing very Daft Punk-like, serving to modulate your voice together with the synthesizer to create one thing robotic but melodic.
The synth works on the idea of “Tonal Concord”, which maker Martin Grieco mentions that no different synthesizer available on the market does. Tonal Concord seems at chords associated to a specific scale, and allows you to play them as a substitute of taking part in ‘any random chord’. It’s loads like selecting your toppings for you, based mostly on an ice cream taste you choose. Select a sorbet and your toppings get restricted to fruits and syrups. Select a chocolate or vanilla and also you get choices like oreo, mint, and choco chips. This capability to supply a choose variety of chords makes taking part in/ideating/jamming a complete lot simpler and fool-proof.
The Nopia v1, constructed as a prototype by Martin Grieco and Rocío Gal, has an extremely primary aesthetic. There’s no labeling, no branding, and actually no show to inform you what you’re doing, what options are on, or what preset you’ve chosen. The synth seems primary, nearly to a fault, nevertheless it’s all by design. The explanation it seems so naked is as a result of it’s an audio playground for anybody to tinker with. I’m assuming Grieco and Gal will most likely make a number of tweaks to the general design as time passes by, however for now, the Nopia is straightforward… and that’s simply the way in which it must be.
So what’s the hype round Nopia v1?? Why does this simple-looking synth have hundreds of thousands of views on-line and upwards of 17 thousand followers on Instagram? To know what makes the Nopia so particular, it’s value evaluating it to ChatGPT. The explanation ChatGPT grew to become so common is as a result of it was clever, distinctive, and had the flexibility to show virtually anybody right into a specialist by offering them with an unlimited quantity of tailor-made info on any matter. Google Search might by no means try this. Nopia works kind of the identical approach. As a substitute of getting you study chords, harmonic scales, modes, synthesis strategies, and many others., Nopia simply invitations you to press keys and play with controls. There’s no judgement, and there’s completely no approach you’ll be capable of play something “mistaken”. The whole lot you do sounds melodic, kind of like taking part in a harmonica, however with a complete lot of sonic complexity in-built.
Makers Grieco and Gal simply dropped this video saying the Nopia per week again, and the response has been completely overwhelming. We’re nonetheless awaiting particulars on availability, interoperability, value, and many others… so keep tuned for extra!