ALT Generative Analog Synthesizer

Cyma Forma ALT

The Cyma Forma ALT is an exploration and inspiration synthesizer that gives you five voices, two filters, and a whole lot of fun in a handsome desktop unit. The Voices section has a single analog VCO and four digital oscillators each with an amplitude slider for smooth drone passages. The VCO has a coarse and fine tune control, but the digital oscillators are tied to a harmonic quantizer that lets you choose one of fourteen different scales that the oscillators will be tied to; you can also adjust the tonic on the family, making for quick transposition. The VCO is a fixed sine wave, while oscillators two through five can switch between triangle or sawtooth.

After the Voices section is the appropriately named After section that has two MS-20 style filters and a delay. Both filters can self-resonate and can smoothly morph from low pass to high pass. The Delay has a nice range, feedback control, and level slider, adding a wonderfully dreamy quality to this ambient soundscape powerhouse. The third section is the Movement section that gives you two LFOs, controls for Random modulation, and the built-in envelope follower called the Outline. The LFOs have two different ranges and can be smoothly morphed from square to triangle. Random has a Slew switch, Range and Offset controls; Outline has an Invert switch with Release control. All the modulation sources have an Amplitude slider that makes it easy to dial in the perfect amount of movement.

The last section is probably the most interesting and captivating section: the Pin Matrix. This opens up 19 destinations for the four modulation sources. Available only on the Matrix is a row for the arpeggiator which will trigger one oscillator at a time based on the modulation source. Other destinations are the frequencies and amplitudes of all sound and modulation sources, as well as controls for the filters and delay. For even more control, each oscillator, the filters, and the delay have a push button that will trigger an amplitude change in the voices, add some rippling and noise to the filters, and engage infinite feedback with the delay.

The ALT from Cyma Forma offers you a wonderful machine that will inspire you, perform as your ambient tanpura, or become the main heartbeat of your sound world.

ALT Features

• Hybrid drone and soundscape synthesizer
• Five-Voice Oscillator Section
• Harmonic quantizer with 14 editable scale presets
• Dual Stereo High/Low Pass Filters inspired by the Korg MS-20 that can self-oscillate
• Built-in delay
• 4x19 Pin Matrix modulation section
• 2x LFOs with Hi and Lo speed options
• ARP Option accessible via Pin Matrix
• MIDI and CV Connectivity