In the second Vaporware Synths feature, we look back at the FingerSonic Analog Fusion hybrid and SYNSET FM synthesizers from 2018.
We followed the Kurzweil VA1 polyphonic virtual analog Synthesizer tracks in the first Vaporware Synths article. Introduced in 2004, it never made it past the beta phase.
But that was only the beginning of a journey to many never-released synthesizers. Today, we’re looking at two synthesizers from an Italian company that no longer exists.
Vaporware Synths FingerSonic
We go back to 2018. The year when the Moog Grandmother, MFB Tanzbär, Dreadbox Erebus 3, Elektron Digitone, or the Exodus Digital Valkyrie, later Kyra, were announced and released.
Also this year, FingerSonic, a then-new Italian company founded by Luigi Scarano, announced two new exciting hardware synthesizers: Analog Fusion and SYNSET FM synth. Unlike the other synths mentioned, these two Italian synthesizers never came onto the market.
Analog Fusion Hybrid Synthesizer/Groovebox
Analog Fusion, as the name suggests, is a fusion of analog and digital synthesis, better known as hybrid. Luigi Scarano packed a lot of features into this keyboard, Synthesizer. Should I call it a hybrid groovebox?
The analog part consisted of six discrete voices and a standalone analog bass voice, for a total of seven analog voices. Each was composed of two oscillators (saw, pulse, triangle) with PWM, hard sync, ring mod, and white and pink noise generators. Plus, it included an analog multimode filter, three LFOs, and more.
In addition, AnalogFusion offered a sophisticated digital section of various synthesis engines: virtual analog, 6-operator FM, or wavetable synthesis. The digital section also had envelopes, LFOs, filters, etc.
As the cherry on top of the Analog Fusion cake, the developer packed a complete 10-part digital drum machine, a 14-part sequencer with song mode, three arpeggiators, and a multi-FX section (delay, chorus, distortion).
The interface and the I/O were just as extensive as the sound generation. Numerous small knobs and buttons populated the interface to make the engine as hands-on as possible. You could find individual outputs for the synth engines, full MIDI, CV support, and more on the back.
FingerSonic has never published a price for it, and also not the SYNSET FM.
SYSET FM Synthesizer
A few months before the announcement of the Analog Fusion, more precisely at Superbooth 18, FingerSonic showed the SYNSET FM, another never-released Synthesizer from Luigi Scarano.
SYNSET FM was a 6-operator FM Synthesizer with 32 algorithms and eight polyphony voices. As an extra, FingerSonic added three FM drum channels into the synth, making it also an FM groovebox.
Further, it offered a sequencer, two arpeggiators, and a multi-FX section. An ARM Cortex M7 powered all this. The operation here was somewhat more minimal: a screen, nine knobs with a macro system, and various buttons.
Like the Analog Fusion, the back of the SYNSET FM hosted a good amount of I/O, including a phone socket, a stereo (L/R) output, an SD card reader, gate/CV input, full MIDI (in/out/thru), pedal input, and a USB connection.
This was supposed to come onto the market in the summer of 2019, but it never did, and there was never a price, either.
Two very exciting synthesizers never made it past the development phase—a real shame, but there was a reason for it.
Company Change
Behringer was the reason things went super quiet around FingerSonic after 2018/2019. Luigi Scarano joined Behringer Italy in 2019, where he became the technical director of the new Italian synth development team.
Linkedin said he is still at Behringer/Musictribe in Naples and is currently a “Brand Innovation Leader.” Uli Behringer said in 2019:
“I am very excited to announce that Luigi Scarano has joined Behringer as Technical Director for the new Italian synthesizer development team. This is now the 4th synthesizer team we have started and we are very proud to have Luigi joining us.
Under his brand Fingersonic (Fingersonic), Luigi has built fantastic synthesizers while studying and designing synthesizers for decades.
We have not yet decided where we will open our office, but Rome, Ancona, Naples are potential options. We are now looking for many passionate and experienced software/hardware engineers and Luigi is happy to receive your applications. His FB account is here: Luigi Scarano | Facebook
Please welcome with me Luigi Scarano to our family – we’re very proud to now start building a world-class Italian synthesizer engineering team.
What Remains Of FingerSonic?
While researching FingerSonic, I noticed that all official brand traces have disappeared. The official website is down. If you open the link, a crypto game appears—more appropriate for today’s times, like FM Synthesizer, hehe. The same is true on Facebook. There is no trace of FingerSonic.
Most official videos for the FS synthesizers are also no longer available. The video for the Analog Fusion is still available, but the comments are disabled.
Since everything has been erased, I assume the company no longer exists. It is not known whether Luigi simply ended it (it’s over now) or sold the rights to Behringer.
What remains of the Italian company? Not much, except two FingerSonic vaporware synths with fresh concepts and small, portable grooveboxes.
I hope Uli Behringer will one day allow Luigi Scarano to finish his synthesizers and release them under the B brand. It would be something new instead of the umpteenth clone of a vintage synth.
More information here: Behringer
I remember this Behringer announcement video. I wonder if the BX700 is a result of this?
Also, I have a good vaporware suggestion although I can’t remember the name! It was first shown several years ago by an old man with roots in synthesizer development. The synths he worked on had those weird rubber-looking touch pads that sat on top of the synth. This new synth also had those chunky small pads on both the left & right front panel. 2-3 octave keybed. It had a huge faceplate with a long vertical screen in the middle. It had interesting pressure sensitive keys like aftertouch but slightly different. It was a beautiful synth (it had a very short name) and although it looked waaay out of my budget, it was magnificent. For a while, their website said it was in development. They eventually brought it back to public a year or two later (superbooth?) but the synth was now black instead of a creamy golden silver color. Haven’t seen it since.
It looked amazing. Expensive. But amazing.
NM, I found it! Syntonovo Pan. It had some different colorways with lots of buttons, lights, and knobs. Circa Superbooth 2019. Cancelled during C…
I prefer synths that disappeared without an official cancellation or so 🙂
(Moderation no C-triggers here thanks!) I didn’t realize it was cancelled. Still, a beauty of a synth, just sitting there somewhere. Probably finished?
that is was “cancelled” you said not me. The last info was in 2021 on the Gearspace forum where TINRS said that it got a hardware revision but they couldn’t say more because they are not involved. So don’t if its dead or still in development.
Really like this new series of stories. Hope there’s more, from a curiosity angle, not to look down on failures.
I still occasionally think about 2 vapourware Malekko synths – the Mr D (analog Eurorack compatible drum synth) & BFF (wave tables with analog filter). They were displayed at NAMM 2017 with the Manther, but as far as I can recall no functional units were shown publicly.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLbb-PXB2a0