Neutral Labs Queen Elmyra, the mother of all Elymra drone synths with 24 voices, analog tube, and digital effects is now on Kickstarter
Initially, it was just a DIY drone synth heavily inspired by the Soma Lyra 8, but then came the Elmyra 2, which took everything to a new level. With a hybrid engine, effects, sequencer, patch points, etc. Firmware updates introduced even more options.
Neutral Labs will not be at Superbooth 2026, but they have a new announcement that will interest Elymra or drone synth fans. They have taken their drone synth even higher. Neutral Labs has today launched a Kickstarter for Queen Elmyra, the mother of all Elmyra drone synths.
Neutral Labs Queen Elmyra
Queen Elmyra is a new semi-modular hybrid drone Synthesizer based on the concept of the Elymra 2, but with an even bigger and more accessible feature set. It starts with the interface. Longer, wider, and more space to experiment.
Where the Elymra 2 relied heavily on screen-free menu diving and even later introduced number codes, Neutral Labs introduced many knobs, faders, and a screen in the Queen Elmyra, which certainly makes things easier to operate.
In total, you now have 69 knobs and faders and 96 patch points on the front panel to deeply experiment with the engine.
Talking about the engine. Queen Elmyra is a hybrid synth with eight wavetable-based voices, each with up to three oscillators, for up to 24 oscillators that can be controlled with touchpads, MIDI, or gates.
Digital means your 24 oscillators are always in tune. You can use them as an epic 24-oscillator drone synth or in various voice configurations that can go so far that you can have eight independent mono synths.
If needed, you can quantize them, work with microtonality, and create a chord, using various available modes.
Analog & Digital Shapings
The raw wavetable sounds then flow into an analog stereo multimode filter with classic cutoff and resonance controls. There are dedicated and independent controls on each side. A special ingredient is available in the resonance part of each side.
Like in Elmyra 2, you can plug components (diodes or capacitors) into the front panel to mangle the resonance flavor in seconds. Analog or digital effects? Better, you have both here.
Thanks to the flexible and patchable signal flow, you can use either one or both at the same time in stereo or dual mono. Each voice has two effects slots.
Analog stereo tube saturation/distortion infuses your drones with warmth, bottom end, and crunch. Yes, there are true vacuum tubes in the front panel.
On the digital side, it has dozens of stereo effects, including delay, reverb, chorus, phaser, filters, distortion, and more. Each of these is manually or CV tweakable. This also applies to the analog tube effects.
Animate Your Drones
Each voice has a hybrid nature. You can use them as a regular droning wavetable oscillator block or easily turn them into a multimode modulation source at the flick of a switch.
The Neutral Labs Queen Elmyra doesn’t have an explicit modulation section, but this unique voice ability gives a lot of modulation options. This, in turn, can easily be assigned to parameters via the extensive 96-point patchbay.
And every one of the 96 parameters is under CV control, so it’s a true CV modulation playground. Further, you have a sequencer per voice, perfect for coaxing the rhythm out of the drones.
Both the modulation and the sequencer can run free or can be synced to a clock or MIDI. Organic movement and feel, or perfect timing, it has the functionality for both scenarios
In case the built-in modulators are not enough, you can pair the Queen Elmyra with other modular gear and route other tools into it via the Eurorack-compatible patchbay.
Connectivity
On the backside, you have a headphone socket, stereo connectivity on two 6.3mm balanced mono outputs, and full 5-pin MIDI in and MIDI thru.
The 96-point patchbay also gives you individual voice outputs, clock input, and output as well as a reset input. A USB-C port is also available for firmware updates. And the developer says it will receive the same regular firmware updates as the smaller Elmyra 2.
Neutral Labs Queen Elmyra will be made of a sturdy bamboo-and-steel case measuring 410 mm x 265 mm and weighing 3.9 kg. It’s assembled in Germany and ships with a set of patch cables and multiples.
Neutral Labs Queen Elmyra First Impression
I like what Neutral Labs has done with the Elmyra 2. It’s a super-exciting drone synth I like to include in my setup. However, the menu diving and the code system introduced in the latest firmware updates have somewhat dampened my GAS for it.
I’m not a fan of long menu diving with no screen in live setups. Everyone has different preferences. I’m delighted to see Neutral Labs has raised the Elmyra 2 concept to a larger format with a nice display and many more interaction options.
With a Kickstarter price of 1500€, we’ve now entered a different price range. It looks great overall and offers a lot. Essentially, it’s a semi-modular 8-voice hybrid drone synth with the flexibility of 8 independent mono synths.
You can support the development of the Neutral Labs Queen Elmyra now on Kickstarter. The early bird starts at 1500€. Shipping starts in October 2026. Keep in mind that crowdfunding campaigns can involve risks. See for this, the project site for details.
More information here: Neutral Labs / Kickstarter
Schwing!