Introducing the ES01 Analog Synthesizer

February 15, 2018March 1, 2018 Joey Luck Ekssperimental Sounds, Rack Extension

The ES01 by Ekssperimental Sounds in collaboration with Robotic Bean is a faithful recreation of a beloved analog classic. The concept and GUI are by Ekssperimental Sounds while the DSP development is by Robotic Bean. The ES01 is Ekssperimental Sounds’ first Rack Extension. While the hardware which the ES01 is based on was originally marketed as an entry-level synth, it became a tool of choice by many professional artists for its ease of use in achieving great sounds, particularly bass lines. And now that sound with its simple to use interface comes to Reason!

Available in the Propellerhead shop now!

Ekssperienced – First branded RE, but not new to the scene

You might already be familiar with Ekssperimental Sounds by way of those very cleverly designed ReFills, with their head-turning Combinator backdrops. Though, you are most certainly familiar with the work of the man behind Ekssperimental Sounds, Erik Söderberg. He is responsible for the GUI and design of Synchronous, as well as the GUI and designs of Robotic Bean’s Resonans and several of McDSP plugins (including the Rack Extensions and the EC-300). Erik’s passion and experience in both auditory and visual design really show in the beautiful execution of the simple, yet wonderful ES01.

Simple, but with lots of character! I had heard it being used for bass lines in digital dub from the 80s and loved the sound.

We asked Erik what inspired him to make this particular synth. “The ES01 was built with inspiration of a cheap analog (digital oscillator chip) synthesizer which was released back in 1982. Simple, but with lots of character! I had heard it being used for bass lines in digital dub from the 80s and loved the sound.” Erik continued, “A friend and fellow dub producer (Echo Roots) had the synth at his place and there I found out that it had a pretty raw sounding PWM too.” That was around 2008 and Rack Extensions did not yet exist, so Erik built a simple Combinator with samples of his friend’s synth and called it BS01. A few years later he made another Combinator that he called ES01.

But the ES01 Rack Extension is different and is not sample-based. It is an emulation using DSP. Erik tells us that he signed up to be a developer immediately when the Rack Extension format was announced. Around 2013 he had built a few GUIs and then began trying to build Rack Extensions using the IDT before ultimately deciding to start looking for a DSP developer for some help. “That is when I met Niklas of Robotic Bean in 2016,” says Erik, “We teamed up to help each other with GUI and DSP for each other’s projects.” Following the first collaboration of Robotic Bean’s Resonans, Erik also helped design the GUI of TM-1, TS-1, and most recently, CV-I/O. And now comes Ekssperimental Sounds’ first Rack Extension, ES01!

A classic with room to ekssperiment

When asked about his vision for ES01, Erik replied, “My initial goal was to create a 1:1 emulation – but with the addition of CV jacks and a ‘Touch Data Programmer.’ It was an easy decision to add new functionality and tweaking possibilities, making it a unique synthesizer with new features like polyphony, sub oscillator and unison.”

When programming a patch with the ES01, you can take a purist approach by doing the “reset device” command and then stick to the sliders at the top portion of the front panel. Or you can visit the Touch Data Programmer and take advantage of the two-page mod matrix and Global Settings page to adjust the behavior of the synth; such as switching to polyphonic mode, engaging a sub oscillator, turning on unison, and extending the range of some parameters.

You can even turn the ES01 off and on! This is a delightful trick that helps make the ES01 feel more like a real piece of hardware when you hear that ‘click’ and see the display fade-in.

Hookup your breath controller or route to the BC CV Input to get expressive! Or switch off the the pre-routing of the Breath Control knobs via Global Settings, making the knobs suitable as Source and Scale controls within the modulation matrix. You can even assign the PWM to modulate other parameters. There are many possibilities under the hood. The ES01’s extra features don’t feel superfluous and at the same time they don’t take away from the classic feel. There has clearly been plenty of thought given as to what users might request and what is sensible.

Ekssplore the features

VCO with 5 waveforms including triangle, sawtooth, square, rectangle, and PWM
Feet Selector from 32′ to 4′ with “WN” (white noise) setting
Sub Oscillator with selectable waveforms including noise (-1 or -2 octaves) and VCO/Sub mixer
VCF with default 12 dB/octave filter and option for 24 dB/octave slope
LFO with 5 waveforms including sine, triangle, saw, square, and random
Glissando with options for “stepped” or “smooth” transitions between notes
ADSR Envelope Generator
Prerouted Breath Control
Touch Data Programmer with 16 slot modulation matrix (divided into two pages)
Wide sounding unison
Voice Modes: Mono Retrig, Mono Legato, Polyphonic (16 voices, 8 voices with unison engaged)
Analog Drift and Noise settings on the back panel
Pitch Bend range of +/-24
Optional extended ranges for VCF, LFO, PWM Speed, and Mod Wheel
Tempo Sync options for LFO and PWM
CV Inputs: Gate, Note, Mod Wheel, Pitch Bend, BC, 4 assignable
CV Outputs: LFO, 4 assignable
Over 300 presets!