Midimini V30
£2,899
Key features
• 4u rackmount monosynth based on the Minimoog
• Classic reincarnation of the original Midimini
• Improves on the original with new features
• Faithful recreation of VCOs, ladder filter and envelopes
• MIDI and CV/Gate input
• MIDI-learn facility for assignment of mod wheel and aftertouch control
• Through-hole build on every internal board
• Hand-made and calibrated in the USA
Contact studioelectronics.com
It’s been 30 years since the release of the Midimini, and Los Angeles makers Studio Electronics has decided it’s high time to revisit the monosynth with which it made its name. Like the original, the new V30 is a 4u rackmount unit. There’s a built-in power supply, MIDI-in and MIDI-thru ports, and a single 1/4-inch jack output. Its bulky metal casing is unsurprisingly heavy; the nature of the beast is analogue, after all. Produced, calibrated and tuned by hand in the US, the V30 has been reared with so much tender loving care that you’ll almost feel like you’re adopting it rather than weighing it up as a potential purchase.
It may be difficult to imagine given today’s market but there was a time in the mid-1980s that the price of analogue synthesisers was so low that their makers were almost giving them away. Their fall from grace came about largely because of a change in musical production styles, coupled with the onslaught of the digital age – we’re looking at you, MIDI – that saw digital
