Announced back in May, UDO's Super 8 remains one of 2024's most impressive synth releases: this 16-voice instrument sits in the middle of its Bristol-based manufacturer's product line-up between the 12-voice Super 6 and the formidable, 20-voice Super Gemini, squeezing many of its big brother's features into a smaller and lighter chassis with a reduced price tag.
Described by UDO as a "hybrid-analogue" synth, Super 8's architecture is based on high-resolution, FPGA-based digital oscillators and two analogue filters. We're particularly taken with its Binaural Mode, which pairs up its 16 voices into 8 true stereo 'super voices'; by assigning left and right channels their own synth voice, Super 6 can create lush binaural sounds that are alive with texture and movement.
