Medeli Electronics Shanghai has registered Leviasynth as a US trademark in the USPTO. Is a new ASM synthesizer in the works?
Last Friday, it was revealed that Medeli Electronics, the parent company of ASM, has trademarked the name Leviasynth since last summer. Since then, speculation has been mounting about whether a new ASM Synthesizer will be released at NAMM or in 2025.
ASM co-founder Glen Darcey addressed this topic in the official Hydrasynth last weekend.
In doing so, he somewhat takes away the hope for a new synth shortly. He says:
“the synth community rumor mill is pretty funny. We registered a couple of names we thought we might use on future things. Of course the internet being the internet, nothing turns into something and then the feedback loop grows”.
If we believe the statements, there will probably not be a new ASM synthesizer called Leviasynth. The discussion in the group went further, and someone asked: “Why bother registering a name that you might not use?” Glen Darcey answered:
When you come up with a name you really like, you protect it, even if you don’t have a new product coming out with that name. So many names are already protected or used in other related products that naming is the hardest part of development in a lot of ways.”
What is certain is that a Leviasynth is not coming soon. But that doesn’t mean we will see a new ASM synth this year, maybe under a different name. You know work is being done behind the scenes when names are registered.
Article From January 9, 2025
This year’s NAMM 2025 show starts in Anaheim (LA) in two weeks. This year, there will also be some new Synthesizer news. So far, there has been no major synth news for NAMM. The developers are probably preparing the final press releases and websites.
A name has now been leaked that hints at a new Ashun Sound Machines (ASM) Synthesizer.
Leviasynth
Medeli Electronics Shanghai, the parent company of Ashun Sound Machines (ASM), has registered LEVIASYNTH with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Not today, but already in August 2024.
So far, ASM only offers the Hydrasynth in four versions (Explorer, Desktop, Standard, and Deluxe). All three are based on the same digital engine but packaged in different formats to suit different needs.
The standard Hydrasynth version with polyphonic aftertouch keys premiered in 2019. In September, it will celebrate its sixth birthday. Leviasynth would be the second major new release from the Ashun Sound Machines (ASM) team after six years.
I say explicitly “would” because this is a hint but not an official announcement. It will be exciting to see where the journey of a possible new ASM Synthesizer leads.
Will it be another digital with deep shaping, a hybrid with analog filters, or even an analog Synthesizer? These are all questions that are currently unknown.
It will be exciting. Maybe we’ll even see the Leviasynth at NAMM 2025.
Source: USPTO
Looks to me it’s already registered April 8th, not August 4th…
If so, chance is even bigger ASM has something to announce at NAMM.
Let’s speculate then!
They’ve done digital, VA, FM and wavetable synthesis with their Hydrasynth. And ‘Hydra’ reminds us of the multiheaded greek serpent.
Perhaps ‘Levia’ refers to the egyptian Leviathan, which was an all-encompassing, indomitable, chaos spreading (sea) monster? So perhaps this time ASM will offer us an analog synth with acid capabilities and lots of fuzz or distortion possibilities ? Or a physical modelling synth capable of shredding guitar sounds ? Or perhaps a sampler with high and low resolution and bit crushing features?
I’m thinking with a name like Leviasynth were talking big so that would make me think almost workstation class synth. That being said, Glen Darcey mentioned in an interview several years back that we don’t see many hardware samplers and that makes me think he has something like that up his sleeve.
My guess is something like a sampler but with a lot more capabilities and maybe some analog filters.
There’s definitely a market for a modern hardware sampler that takes some of the innovative ideas that are no longer being produced (remember Z-Plane filters?), particularly a keyboard sampler.
I feel like the analog polysynth market is completely swamped at this point and given that it was pretty crowded when they released the Hydra, I’d be very surprised if they decided to jump in there at this late date.
An evolution of the Hydrasynth with analog filters would be great – let’s hope we see that.
Hoping it’s either a 4 part monster or a droombox like Cydrums (something ASM should have released already) but with more knobs like the drumlogue
i predict a huge touch screen, huge polyphony, and 88 keys. nothing more. god boxes never get built.
new contender in the muse/polybrute price range with more voices
HA!HA!
“What is certain is that a Leviasynth is not coming soon. But that doesn’t mean we will see a new ASM synth this year, maybe under a different name. You know work is being done behind the scenes when names are registered.”
I didn’t come to the same conclusion from what you quoted him saying. He nor confirmed or denied. It would be great if they did release something new and I suppose we’ll find out soon enough.