Last September, British synth manufacturer UDO unveiled a new synthesizer, DMNO, that's now available to order. As big fans of UDO's previous instruments, we were naturally excited to give the synth a spin at NAMM 2026, and DMNO thoroughly impressed us with its punchy, versatile sound and flexible architecture.
We’ve grown accustomed to expecting great things from UDO: the Super 6, Super 8 and Super Gemini brought together sound quality, playability and innovation in lovingly crafted instruments that left our reviewers dazzled. DMNO builds on the dual-synth concept UDO introduced with the Gemini, taking this to the next level with its creative Play Modes and Dynamic Multi-Core Stereo filter.
DMNO is a polyphonic, multitimbral and hybrid analogue/digital instrument made up of two fully independent four-voice synths, each with its own dedicated set of front-panel controls, and the synth features a selection of eight Play Modes that determine how the synth engines interact and how the 44-note keyboard interacts with them.
These range from traditional options that allow patches to be layered or split across the keys to creative configurations such as Series mode, which routes one synth’s output into the other’s oscillator, and Chaos mode, which assigns notes randomly to either synth engine.
Like UDO’s Super series, DMNO is a hybrid synth with FPGA-based digital oscillators and an analogue signal path and filter. Each of DMNO’s oscillators is made up of a central oscillator and six peripheral “sister” oscillators that can be dynamically dephased in the stereo field to create lush and wide timbres in the synth’s Super Mode.
Available waveshapes cover sine, saw, square, triangle and pulse, along with 3 user-assignable complex waveforms. Each synth engine is armed with two tempo-syncable LFOs with 10 waveshapes (including 2 user-assignable shapes) that can be assigned to multiple destinations via the synth’s modulation matrix. There’s cross-modulation and PWM onboard too.
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As mentioned, DMNO is eight-voice polyphonic, dropping to four “super voices” when the synth’s Binaural Mode is engaged, which gives each stereo channel its own voice with independent tuning and modulation.
Each of DMNO’s voices runs through a newly-designed Dynamic Multi-Core Stereo VCF with LP, HP, BP, all-pass and phase shifter modes, overdrive, keyboard tracking and multiple routing options. DMNO also features a 32-bit DSP digital effects engine that covers delay, reverb, EQ, overdrive, distortion and chorus.
DMNO is equipped with a 44-key Fatar keybed with channel aftertouch and a two-axis bender, and can be programmed via its 64-step sequencer and multi-mode arpeggiator. The synth also boasts a high-contrast electroluminescent vacuum fluorescent display – a first for UDO, who opted to go screenless on their previous synths. DMNO is available in black and white editions, the latter giving off some unmistakable Oberheim Two Voice vibes.
On the connectivity front, DMNO is well-equipped: it’s outfitted with a built-in, 2-in/2-out 24-bit USB digital audio interface, and its external audio input has a variable-gain preamp that can be hooked up to an envelope follower in the synth’s modulation matrix. An auxiliary output can be assigned to either synth, USB audio from a connected host, or the effects bus. You’ve also got MIDI In, Out and Thru, two user-assignable outputs for CV and gate/clock, and jacks for footswitch, volume pedal and expression pedal.
DMNO builds on the dual-synth concept UDO introduced with the Super Gemini
“All DMNO’s features come together to form an instrument more than the sum of its parts – one that fully embodies, and elevates, the UDO ethos: ‘The Power of Play’,” reads UDO's press release. “Where the Super Series synths knock politely and enter with elegance, DMNO kicks the door down. It is unapologetically bold, deeply expressive, and (most importantly) immensely fun.”
DMNO is available now for £2599/€2969.
Find out more on UDO's website.
