OUT OF THE VOID
05-01-11 | M-Audio Venom – Details Emerge!

New details on the M-Audio Venom have emerged! It will retail for 599$, pitting it directly against the Roland’ Gaia and Novation’s UltraNova. Can it compete? Will it sound like a virus? Only time will tell, but I’m feeling a bit of excitement as this is a first for M-Audio and anything could be possible.

Launched at Namm 2011 and now reported by sites such as Music Radar and Gear Junkies, the new M-Audio synth may be one Venom that has no antidote. This could be the sound of 2011 and the hottest property not only being a very cool synth but also a Pro Tools audio interface compatible with Pro Tools M-Powered 8 and higher.

The M-Audio Venom is a 49-key synthesiser that combines the classic analog synths with modern digital processing to deliver in their words ‘an aggressive new sound’. Venom offers 12-voice polyphony, three oscillators per voice, ring mod, tube-style saturation, six resonant filter types, on-board effects, and a built- in Pro Tools® M-Powered compatible interface.

  • 49-key, full-size, synth-action keyboard
  • 12-voice polyphony, each voice including: – 3 oscillators with 41 waveforms and 53 drum sounds sampled from vintage analog synths, FM digital synths, and drum machines
  • pulse-width modulation, sync, FM, and ring modulation
  • resonant multimode filter with tube saturation limiting
  • 12 dB/octave (2-pole) low pass 12 dB/octave (2-pole) band pass 12 dB/octave (2-pole) high pass 24 dB/octave (4-pole) low pass 24 dB/octave (4-pole) band pass 24 dB/octave (4-pole) high pass
  • 3 LFOs with selectable sample-and-hold – 3 AHDSR envelopes
  • 4-part multitimbral operation with independent MIDI-syncable phrase sequencers
  • 512 onboard Single patches
  • 256 onboard Multi (layered) patches
  • 2 global bus effects
  • Reverb, Delay, Chorus, Flanger, Phaser
  • 1 insert effect per multitimbral part (4 total) – Compression, EQ, Distortion, Bit Reduction, Decimation Tremolo, and AutoPan effects
  • classic arpeggiator with up, down, and alternating patterns
  • tap-tempo and manual BPM control from top panel
  • built-in USB 2.0 audio/MIDI interface (USB 1.1 backward compatible)
  • 2 x 2 24-bit, 44.1 kHz (CD audio quality) operation – mic, instrument, and stereo line level inputs route to DAW – synth sounds route to DAW – DAW audio output mixes into main outputs – stereo main audio outputs (1/4” TS) – stereo headphone output (1/4” TRS) – master volume knob; instrument and mic gain knobs – MIDI In and MIDI Out (5-pin DIN)
  • large custom LCD
  • 4 rotary encoders and 1 button for matrix-assignable performance control and editing
  • dual-function octave up/down and transpose controls • assignable pitch bend and modulation wheels
  • sustain (1/4” TS) and expression (1/4” TRS) pedal inputs
  • included Vyzex Venom software editor
  • arrange sounds into banks, rename patches, and save backups
  • patch collider feature mashes up multiple patches to create new hybrid sounds
  • 16-cell modulation matrix offers comprehensive routing configurations