The tiny synth craze has gotten out of hand
Calculator watch fans rejoice: there’s a new contraption that makes your wrist wear a little more useful. Audioweld has made what it claims is the first synthesizer watch — which is appropriately named Synthwatch. The husky contraption offers a set of seven keys for capturing tunes via a companion app for iOS and Android. With that software, you can control recording, access a sequencer and tap into a bank of 200 sounds. Of course, tiny instrument works on its own too, and you don’t need to have your phone out to use it.
Right now, you can only press one button and make one sound at a time. However, one of Audioweld’s stretch goals is to add a chord/polyphony function to the Synthwatch. That list of bonus features also includes the ability to export clips and import your own sounds, if the requisite number of backers is reached. This is a watch after all, and the calculator-esque display accommodates that function, in addition to showing battery level and more. As you can see in the video, the device is quite bulky compared to a smartwach (or even a normal watch), so you’ll have to pay attention not to bang it on something. The Synthwatch charges via USB-C and the included cable also has a 3.5mm jack for connecting with an amp or speaker.
You’ll need to pledge €450 (about $512) in order to secure one ahead of a planned April 2019 launch. Of course, that’s dependent on the company reaching its funding goal of $86,537 by January 1st. Sure the Synthwatch is kinda neat, and there’s some watchmaking experience at the helm, but the price is quite high. Especially when you consider other portable synthesizers like Teenage Engineering’s Pocket Operators and the recently re-launched Stylophone are available for well under $100. Heck, there are even some compelling options for under $50.
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