Erica Synths have announced that the Steampipe, the innovative physical-modelling synthesizer that they unveiled at Superbooth 2023, will be shipping by 7 January 2025 [updated 6 December 2024]. Developed in collaboration with 112dB.com, the instrument mimics the sound of wind and string instruments and has been optimised for use with wind controllers in addition to conventional MIDI keyboards.
The Steampipe is an eight-voice instrument that relies on a physical-modelling engine rather than conventional oscillators, and although it’s been designed to replicate wind and string sounds, the company have fine-tuned the design to ensure it’s capable of creating a versatile range of interesting tones and textures. Erica Synths say that it produces rich, organic sounds that span from “wisps of cloud to fairground band organs, then to industrial horns of the railroad and finally, to massive, otherworldly ambiences”.
The underlying engine boasts 32 adjustable parameters, all of which can be controlled via MIDI CC, and there are five assignable LFOs that each benefit from delay and sync controls, as well as a comprehensive modulation matrix. As for connectivity, the Steampipe features stereo line-level outputs along with a headphone output, MIDI I/O on five-pin DIN sockets, and audio input and support for an external sustain pedal. There’s also a USB socket that can be used to import/export presets — the instrument comes loaded with 64 factory presets and space for 192 user presets.
Extensive control over the engine’s physical-modelling parameters means that users can craft a huge range of sounds. As well as generating authentic-sounding instrument emulations, it’s possible to push them well beyond the pitch and dynamics limitations of their real-world counterparts. Although it’ll happily team up with a MIDI keyboard, the Steampipe has been optimised for wind controllers and makes a great companion for those with MPE-capable controllers — check out the video below to see and hear it in action.
Pricing & Availability
The Steampipe is available to pre-order now, priced at €990. Units are now expected to be shipping by 7 January 2024, slightly later that the original reported date of 17 December 2024.
