![]() ![]() However, the synth modeling controls are surprisingly deep, the wave shaper allows for some nice sonic variation and the delay is also excellent. ![]() Dato describes it as “gritty”, but it sounds a bit more cartoonish to my ears it’s decent for what it is, but it definitely isn’t as versatile a synth engine as it could be. Inside the DUO is a very simple mono synth. On the ‘synth’ side are controls for waveform, frequency and release alongside resonance dial, glide, accent and delay controls and a bit crusher for added bite. The ‘note’ side has a traditional chromatic keyboard and a circular eight-note sequencer with a big play button in the middle – press play, hit a key as the sequencer cycles round and it’ll save the note. I played the DUO with a few friends who didn’t have any experience of using synths, and it was the same kind of experience you get playing Mario Kart or Street Fighter 2 with someone who doesn’t play video games – unbalanced and a little bit chaotic, but great fun.īroadly speaking, the two halves focus on different aspects of the synth design process: one is for playing and sequencing notes and the other is for shaping the sound and adding effects. The design means that you have to sit opposite the other person when you’re playing it, which is a weird, disconcerting experience (especially if you’re used to making music in a studio alone). The Dato DUO has two angled sides, each of which contains a different set of controls. However, it has one key feature that sets it completely apart from any other synthesizer: it’s designed to be used by two people at once. It looks like a Fisher-Price toy for toddlers, but the company says it’s aimed at both kids and adults “aged 3 to 99 and up”, with big, squishy rubber buttons and cute doodles to represent functions like sequencer speed (a tortoise and a hare) and delay (a train tunnel). That feeling of child-like curiosity is what Dutch startup Dato (founded by two parents) is trying to harness with its new DUO synth. Even if you can’t play keys, you’ll get a satisfying noise out of a synth fairly easily. For every person that bought one to make music with, there’s no doubt another who’s picked one up because they wanted a musical toy synthesizers appeal to the big kid in all of us because they’re covered in buttons and react to input in a way that encourages exploration and experimentation. If there’s one thing that Korg got right with its much-loved Volca instruments, it’s that people want to play with synths as much as they want to play them. Dato’s colorful new synth is aimed at kids of all ages and designed for use by two people at once, but is it just a Fisher-Price toy in an expensive case? Scott Wilson finds out if the Dato DUO should be on your Christmas list this year. ![]()
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