This collection emulates two early Hammond electronic instruments that were precursors of modern synthesizers: the polyphonic Novachord from 1939 and the monophonic Solovox.

With its divide-down oscillator architecture, the Novachord combined full 72-key polyphony with an early form of subtractive synthesis, anticipated the ADSR envelope and used a resonant band-pass filter and a vibrato unit; its otherworldly sound shaped many film scores, above all horror and sci-fi productions, as well as TV series such as The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits. The Solovox was a small monophonic keyboard instrument attached beneath a piano keyboard to augment it with organ-type lead voices, producing string, woodwind and organ sounds. Teaming up with Mark Barton (MRB) and his circuit-modelling expertise, Cherry Audio has recreated both instruments virtually, with the Novachord offering 32 polyphonic voices, synthesised rather than sampled.

Features

• Novachord with 32 polyphonic voices, synthesised rather than sampled
• Three resonators: a resonant band-pass filter network for low (400 Hz), mid (800 Hz) and high (2000 Hz) ranges
• Deep Tone (160 Hz low-pass), Brilliant Tone (2000 Hz high-pass) and Full Tone (unfiltered) settings
• Attack knob with seven envelope options from slow to fast, with sustain-pedal controlled release
• Vibrato I and Vibrato II after early and later Novachord models, reverb with room and hall algorithms
• 56 Novachord presets covering basses, keys, pads and strings by Director of Sound Design James Terris

Technical details

• Type: virtual instruments (two synthesizers)
• Operating systems: Windows, macOS
• Plug-in formats: VST2, VST3, Audio Unit (macOS only), AAX, Standalone
• Architecture: 64-bit
• Licensing: computer-bound, internet connection required for activation
• Content: Novachord, Solovox

System requirements

• macOS 10.13 or later (macOS 13 Ventura supported)
• Windows 7 or later (including Windows 11)
• Processor (Mac): 3.4 GHz quad-core or Apple M1; native Apple M1 support, including M1 Ultra
• Processor (Windows): quad-core
• RAM: 8 GB
• Internet connection required for product activation

The licence is registered with the manufacturer at https://store.cherryaudio.com/redeem. You will receive your serial number and the download link by e-mail immediately after purchase.