Gamma is a new mini synthesizer from Canadian company this.is.NOISE. They make a simple but extraordinary claim for their instrument: you can’t make Gamma play a bad note. The Gamma synthesizer is engineered to always remain in key.
This may cause maestros, eurorack wizards and other beardy weirdos who wear capes on stage to get snippy, but the logic isn’t that hard to follow. With a low learning curve and just about the lowest price point you can conceive, Gamma is a machine that anyone can jump on and immediately begin to create music with. Staying in key allows users to “dive straight into music creation without the need for prior musical training,” this.is.NOISE claims. The seven chords are mapped to a diatonic scale, and you can jump between major and minor scales with a key selection encoder.
With a friendly presentation and sleek, minimal design, Gamma features 14 low-profile keys for triggering notes and chords, which is designed to let users play a chord with one hand and a melody with the other. There are two thumbsticks for modulation and four knobs for controlling parameters. Gamma is intended to be “easy to pick up and play, but deep enough to inspire professionals.”
In the center of Gamma is a 1.3” OLED screen which displays, among other things, virtual pets. Really. Gamma is programmed for playing music, creating sounds and nurturing a digital pet, a new friend that you can watch “evolve as you play.” Your Tamagotchi did not perish: it’s here to remind you to lay off the reverb sometimes.
⚪️ more music production and dj hardware /
⚙ RANE introduces new RANE ONE MKII DJ controller
⚙ Roger Linn on Behringer and the Nostalgia-Industrial Complex
⚙ Funding Yourself To Death: The Strange Story of Aodyo
⚙ Orchid: The Good, the Bad & the Twee
⚙ CyDrums is a new drum machine with a unique flair
⚙ Erica Synth’s Nightverb is a unique hardware reverb effects unit
To keep with the friendly vibe, Gamma is also more mobile than most synths. It has an on-board speaker so you can take Gamma wherever you want without dragging a bunch of other stuff with you, and the battery is rechargeable via USB-C cable (included). There’s a midi out connection and an audio/headphone jack.
On board effects include octave and pitch controls, chorus, filter, tremolo, vibrato, reverb, delay and more.
Gamma is available for pre-order now and is expected to ship in October 2025. The price sans shipping is only $299.99.
There’s more inside 5 Mag’s member’s section — get first access to each issue for a few bucks a month.
[…] Introducing Gamma. this.is.NOISE engineers a mini-synth that promises you can never play a bad […]