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For years, the majority of synthesizers generated sound through oscillators, filters and modulation circuits. But instead of relying solely on traditional electronic sound sources, the KORG phase8 takes a different path. This innovative eight-voice acoustic synthesizer uses tunable steel resonators that can be tapped, plucked, strummed and manipulated by hand—or even with everyday items such as kitchen utensils, workshop tools, dog toys, guitar picks, chopsticks or whatever objects inspire you—to create unique textures and evolving soundscapes.
In this exclusive Guitar Center demo and overview, Wilco keyboardist and sound designer Mikael Jorgensen shows how the phase8’s unconventional architecture blurs the line between synthesizer, percussion instrument and experimental sound-design mechanism.
A Different Kind of Synthesizer
One of the initial things that fascinated Jorgensen about the phase8 is how it departs from conventional synthesizer design.
“With a traditional synthesizer, your oscillator—the sound source—is an electrical circuit,” he explains. “The way the phase8 works is you ‘play’ eight steel resonators tines with actuators and pickups. The sound is literally the vibration of these metal bars.”
As a result, performers can physically interact with the sound source in real time, creating timbres and textures that would be difficult—or impossible—to achieve on a traditional synthesizer.
Tactile Sound Design
Jorgensen demonstrates how players can touch the resonators, damp them, strike them and manipulate them as they are sounding. He also spends time showing the phase8’s envelope control per stage that gives creators the ability to gradually fade notes in and out, rather than simply triggering them like conventional percussion sounds.
“These features allow creators direct manipulation and control of the sound source in a way I don’t think existed before the phase8,” he says.
Building a Hybrid Sound-Design Rig
For this demo, Jorgensen plugged the phase8 into Moog Mavis, KORG KAOSS Pad V and a reverb pedal to explore everything from groove-oriented patterns and ring-modulated sequences to ambient textures. He demonstrates how simple note patterns can become rich sonic environments through modulation, delay and real-time interaction with the resonators.
Found Sounds and Sound Creation
The most fun—at least to us—occurs when Jorgensen raids the kitchen to select utensils to manipulate the phase8’s steel resonators. Simply laying objects on the resonators and sliding the items across them produces unique textures, resonances and grooves.
“Maybe you could produce those kinds of textures without a phase8, but I don’t think so,” he says. “One of the reasons the phase8 is so cool is that immediate interaction similar to a guitarist playing a guitar string. Guitar players get to touch and manipulate the actual bit of metal that vibrates and causes a disturbance in the electromagnetic field that is amplified by the guitar pickups. Now, and really for the first time, this sound-crafting method is available to synthesizer and keyboard players, as well as all musicians.”
Do you like Mikael Jorgensen’s tutorials and demos? Well, then—please check out “Watch Mikael Jorgensen Create Synth Bass Sounds on Moog Synthesizers.”
Want to learn more about all kinds of synthesizers and how they can enhance your sound design jobs and band projects? Contact a Guitar Center Gear Advisor or stop by your local Guitar Center store. We have the people that can help you achieve your creative goals.