Erica Synths & Rich Hawtin Preview Bullfrog Subtractive SynthCreated by Erica Synths & Richie Hawtin, Bullfrog is an educational electronic music instrument designed to captivate and inspire both youth and professionals alike. Bullfrog invites you to unlock musicality while combining the thrill of electronic music production with a comprehensive learning experience.

Bullfrog is a classical subtractive synthesiser – it consists of several “modules” for sound generation – VCO, NOISE GENERATOR - and treatment – VCF, VCA/DELAY, as well as “modules” that generate control and modulation signals to control them – ENVELOPE GENERATORS and SAMPLE & HOLD. The Bullfrog will not make the sound on its own unless it is patched – using eurorack patch cables to interconnect the “modules” or by inserting voice cards that create internal connections between the “modules” in a specific way and add extra functionality, like sampler/looper, sequencer, groovebox, etc. This approach better helps to understand functionality of a subtractive synthesizer and the principles of sound design with instruments like these.

In order to provide a well rounded understanding of the functionality of this synthesizer and sound synthesis in general, a comprehensive user manual is created to accompany the learning process.

Bullfrog will be available via ericasynths.lv and the best electronic music retailers across the globe on 10th of August 2023. Learn more & subscribe via bullfrog.ericasynths.lv

Thoughts on Bullfrog by Richie Hawtin"Electronic Music is as popular as ever and its traditions and frequencies now stretch around the world, uniting people across language and cultures. For me, one of the most exciting parts of creating with a synthesiser is the playful experimentation that inspires and pushes the imagination. Whether the intention is to create abstract frequencies or sounds inspired by real-life, the route one takes is personal and often surprising. It is within these investigations where the beauty of synthesis really comes alive, and which often unlocks a new sense of creative purpose. This journey of discovery is what originally pulled me deep into the world of electronic music and continues to be part of the fascination I find when working in the studio or performing on stage. As a teenager I felt like I was searching for the right outlet to transit my creativity and in synthesis I found a path.

These memories and concepts are at the heart of our Bullfrog synthesiser. Whether someone’s experience with Bullfrog points them down a career in electronic music or not, our goal is to both nurture a passion for electronically produced sounds and promote a fun easy learning path into basic sound synthesis.

We believe that the hands-on approach and problem solving that is innate to synthesis on a semi-modular synth like the Bullfrog, contains life lessons that go beyond what we can hear. The Bullfrog encapsulates the foundations of synthesis and is built with an immediate, intuitive design and a unique expandable architecture that grows and expands together with our user's imagination.

This instrument feels at home anywhere - as an educational tool in music and physics classes, as an addition to your basement studio or even as a tool for performance on a stage.

Learn. Produce. Perform."

- Richie Hawtin

L-R Richie Hawtin and Girts Ozolins (Photo credit: Liam Simmons)