The OctoCell is a new synthesizer designed for Ableton Live by Michel Geiss – musician, long-time collaborator of Jean-Michel Jarre and designer of hardware instruments; and Jean Lochard – musician, collaborator of the famous Ircam (the Parisian music research institute), and co-designer of the Ircamax 1 and 2 collections.

The OctoCell is a hybrid multi-synthesizer. It’s compatible with Live 11 running Max for Live. It combines several types of synthesis: additive, FM and subtractive. The device really shines when you combine very “analog” timbres with very FM timbres.

In addition, the OctoCell includes a powerful Morphing function and an innovative spectrum modulator.

iginal concept and expressiveness, including MPE (MIDI Polyphonic Expression) compatibility, make the OctoCell a unique and versatile instrument that can be used in all forms of music.

Basically, the OctoCell synthesis engine consists of an additive structure of eight oscillators, each with its own amplitude envelope.

For each oscillator, there’s a choice of three waveforms: sine, sawtooth and square. When in sine mode, each oscillator has its own frequency modulation oscillator, with its own FM envelope.

It’s a set of eight synthesis cells, hence the name “OctoCell“.

 

What they say :

 

In my opinion, the OctoCell immediately stands out for its originality and ease of use.
In fact, the OctoCell is one of the few instruments that uses additive, subtractive and FM synthesis simultaneously. I find that the results are immediately unique and different. The other quality of the OctoCell is its clarity and ease of use. You can push the research very far but you can also get amazing results very quickly. The OctoCell is a must and a future classic!
Jean-Michel Jarre

 

Oh my God, it sounds amazing! I think it captures a true retro style sound perfectly, but seems far more flexible in many ways
Jeff Rona – Film music composer, Los Angeles, founder and past president of MMA, the MIDI Manufacturers Association .

 

As an enthusiast of synthesis, what I am particularly interested in with the OctoCell is its character, its personality, and a particular sound. It is for these reasons that the instrument immediately appealed to me, with its exciting dual synthesis engine. What a pleasure!
Philippe Loiseau – Trajectoire Sound Design and former Ableton Live specialist in France

 

I particularly like the OctoCell instrument which combines FM, additive and subtractive synthesis with intelligence, while remaining very intuitive. I never get tired of exploring its sound territories. I even wanted to create new presets, now integrated in the final version of the instrument
Olivier Aubin – Teacher, School of Audio Engineering, Paris