Synthspace is an upcoming Patreon supported virtual reality modular synth that fuses the physicality of hardware synths and the flexibility of software
Hardware vs. software, an endless topic in the Synthesizer world, both have advantages and disadvantages. What you ultimately use is up to you. AR or VR could bring both worlds closer together. Behringer already showed an interesting approach with his DeepMind AR project in 2017, which was not yet ready for series production. Bright Light goes another direction with its upcoming SynthSpace Eurorack-style modular Synthesizer which uses virtual reality.
One of the great advantages of VR is that you can separate yourself from the screen, mouse, keyboards, etc. and use your entire studio/room as a playroom. You can operate it with your hands. So physical patching but implemented virtually with endless options. On the technical side, the first build works with tethered VR (Oculus Rift, Vive, Windows Mixed Reality) and on Desktop without VR (then you just get a fixed view of the synth – for now.
According to the developer, the plan is to get in onto as many platforms as possible. Very excited to see how the final version works.
Statement On Patreon
“Hi, I’m Markus. I’m an XR programmer by day, but I’ll always be a musician at heart.
Whenever a new technology arrives, my first thoughts are: how can I use this for making music? So you can imagine, when I first tried Virtual Reality – I knew at an instant that this was going to change the way we make music forever! The fantastic thing about VR is that it frees us from our screens and mice and keyboards. Suddenly we can use our hands again and we have the entire room to play in.
Synthspace is my attempt to capture the physicality of a modular Synthesizer while adding in all sorts of magical bits that are only possible in a virtual world. VR is the exciting part, but I want to create an instrument that is fun and flexible and ready whenever you need it, so I’d love to have it available on as many platforms as possible (VR, Desktop, Mobile). And I’m working towards supporting multiple users working together in the same virtual space.
I’ve spent countless evenings and weekends on this project, and now I’d love to take it to the next level and work on it full time! If you like the idea and see the potential, please see if you can support me in any way. Every little bit helps and I’d love to bring you along on this journey!”
Support the project on Patreon and try this build today in VR or on Desktop!
More information here: SySpace
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