Meet the Labyrinth

The Labyrinth is what's called a parallel generative analog synthesizer. Three words doing a lot of work — let's unpack them.

Analog means the sound is generated by actual electrical circuits, not computer code. Every note has tiny imperfections that make it feel alive.

Parallel means there are two complete voice paths running at once, and you can blend between them or layer them or send one into the other.

Generative is the soul of the thing. The Labyrinth has a built-in sequencer that doesn't just repeat what you tell it — it can mutate, evolve, and surprise you. Set it running and walk away. Come back twenty minutes later and it's somewhere new.

On the panel you'll see two large frequency knobs on the left: VCO FREQUENCY (top) and MOD VCO FREQUENCY (bottom). These are your two voices.

The top oscillator (VCO) is a clean, full-bodied sine wave that goes through the wavefolder. It's the lead voice.

The MOD VCO is more of a textural companion — it can be tuned low for sub-bass, or used to modulate the main VCO for FM and ring-mod effects.

The BLEND knob in the top row decides how much of each voice ends up in the final mix. Slide it slowly and you'll hear the personality of the sound shift between the two paths.

A traditional filter removes harmonics from a sound. A wavefolder does the opposite — it adds them.

Imagine you have a smooth sine wave. The VCW (voltage-controlled wavefolder) takes the peaks and troughs and literally folds them back on themselves. The result is a much more complex, harmonically rich sound, full of buzzes and chimes that weren't there before.

VCW FOLD controls how much folding happens. VCW BIAS shifts which part of the wave gets folded, changing the character dramatically. Together they're one of the most expressive pairings on the panel.

The VCF (voltage-controlled filter) is the part that makes the synth sing or whisper or growl. The Labyrinth's filter is special because it morphs — the FILTER MODE knob smoothly travels between low-pass (warm, mellow) and band-pass (focused, vocal).

RESONANCE adds emphasis right at the cutoff point. At low settings it just adds character. Cranked, it self-oscillates — the filter literally becomes its own sine wave oscillator, and you can play melodies with just the filter.

Above the filter there's a three-way ORDER switch: VCW→VCF (wavefolder feeds the filter), PARALLEL (both run separately and blend), or VCF→VCW (filter feeds the wavefolder). Each routing produces a noticeably different sound.

Two 8-step sequencers run in parallel along the bottom of the panel. SEQ1 (top row of LEDs) typically drives pitch. SEQ2 (bottom row) typically drives the modulation voice or rhythm.

You can also chain them into one 16-step sequence using CHAIN SEQ — useful for longer phrases.

The LENGTH buttons let you set how many steps the sequence uses. BIT SHIFT rotates the pattern. BIT FLIP inverts a step at random. TEMPO sets the speed. RUN/STOP starts and stops the whole thing.

There are two CORRUPT knobs, one for each sequencer. They are the single most important controls on the Labyrinth, and they're the reason this synth doesn't sound like other synths.

CORRUPT introduces controlled randomness. At zero, the sequencer is perfectly repeating. At full, it's pure chaos — every step is a coin flip. In between is where the magic lives: just enough randomness to keep surprising you, not so much that the music falls apart.

Try this: dial in a sequence you like. Turn CORRUPT very slowly to the right. The pattern starts to evolve — a note here, a note there, slow drift. After a minute you'll have something completely new but related. Turn it back down and the pattern stabilizes at wherever it landed. The Labyrinth is composing with you.

The BITS LEDs above each CORRUPT knob show the current state of each sequencer. Watching them light up is half the meditative joy of this instrument.

The grid of silver jacks on the right side looks like a lot at first. The good news is you don't have to touch any of it. The Labyrinth makes beautiful sounds with nothing patched.

When you're ready to explore, start small. Plug one cable. Listen. The IN/OUT labels at the top tell you what each row is for — inputs receive signal, outputs send it.

A good first experiment: plug the SEQ1 CV out into the VCF CUTOFF input. Now the sequence isn't just playing notes — it's also opening and closing the filter on each step. Suddenly the sequence has a whole new dimension.