raven, a 100% analog sound synthesizer designed by birdkids

raven is a fully analog synthesizer austrian birkids studio always dreamed of making from day one. it is about the symbiosis with the individual. the goal was to make a musical instrument that responds to your touch in a consistent and affirmative way, yet does not restrict the unique sonic-character and the vibrancy of the synthesizer’s color palette.

birdkids believes that capturing the creative spark in the right moment should be an immediate, accessible and intuitive experience and create tools for those moments. the architectural idea was about going back to the basics of subtractive synthesis. ‘we wanted to capture the raw, non-linearity and honesty of a 100% analog circuit,’ explains the team. ‘the main engineering challenge of raven was consolidating a highly complex conglomerate of modular, discrete designs into a slim 3u/42hp (eurorack) form-factor resulting in a uniquely sounding subtractive, semi-modular, high-performance, musical instrument.’

the designers prefer in a hands-on, ears-first approach — like any instrument, it’s about understanding the fundamentals. on the surface there should be very little complexity, every tweak is perceivable change. it should adapt to how you do things — not the other way round. 

the designers explain the concept

Components abstract, rotary potentiometers inside button wireframe.

musician maarten vos uses raven for his composition

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: maria erman | designboom