The Novation XioSynth is an 8-voice polyphonic synth, but it’s also an audio interface. Oh, and it’s also a MIDI controller – all in one compact unit. The XioSynth comes equipped with some pretty incredible onboard sounds, many of which just happened to be programmed by top international producers. Novation says the XioSynth’s 200 virtual analog patches are produced by what it’s calling “essentially a new sound engine,” but it’s related to both the KS-Series and X-Station synths, both of which sound pretty awesome. There’s also a new patch programming facility called ‘X-Gator,’ which is a 32-step sequencer that can be set to create interesting rhythmic patterns, without having to rely on an external sequencer. Of course, the X-Gator, like all effects and the arpeggiator, will synchronize automatically to an incoming MIDI clock so that composing and performing along to a track is a breeze. What’s more, one USB cable is all that’s needed to turn your computer into a complete workstation for recording, controlling, and synthesizing and since the device is class compliant (no drivers needed for Win XP or Mac OSX), you truly can just plug and play. Novation says the units should begin shipping this month and will be available in 25- and 49-key configurations.
