Dave Smith Instruments Tetra Desktop Synthesizer Module

The Tetra is Dave Smith Instruments' next-generation analog poly synth. It takes the award-winning sound and features of Mopho, multiplies them by 4 and packs them in a box less than half an inch larger.

The Tetra has multiple personalities. It is a 4-voice, analog poly synth, a sort of mini Prophet. It's a 4-part, multitimbral synth with separate outputs, essentially 4 Mophos in one very compact box.

Physically, the Tetra is similar to Mopho, with 4 assignable parameter controls per program and a row of controls dedicated to the most commonly used performance parameters. All of the parameters can be accessed from the front panel and the Tetra is fully programmable. A free, downloadable editor is available for Mac OS and Windows to facilitate more comprehensive tweaking.

Most of the rotary controls are detented encoders, but Cutoff and Resonance are potentiometers, allowing full sweeps with a single turn. The Push It button is a manual trigger to play notes and latch sequences on without the need for a MIDI controller.

Audio is output in mono, stereo or per voice, via the four audio output jacks. There is also a headphone out. MIDI communication is by standard MIDI in and out jacks or USB. Poly Chain Out is a special, dedicated MIDI output to chain multiple instruments for increased polyphony.

The voice architecture is based on the Prophet '08, but with the addition of a sub-octave generator for each oscillator and a fully programmable feedback loop for each voice. That breaks down to 2 DCOs, a resonant low-pass filter, 3 DADSR envelope generators, four LFOS, deep modulation routing, an arpeggiator and a 16 x 4 analog-style step sequencer per voice. Feedback is capable of producing effects ranging from mild distortion to fairly extreme harmonic instability. (That's a good thing.) The possibilities are nearly endless. And the audio signal path is 100 analog.

In program mode, the Tetra is a 4-voice, polyphonic synthesizer with four banks of 128 programs. As with the Prophet '08, each program contains two layersieach layer is essentially a separate patchithat can be used to create keyboard splits or stacked sounds. Banks 1 and 2 are the Prophet '08 factory programs; banks 3 and 4 are a combination of Mopho and new programs.

In combo mode, a different program can be assigned to each of the 4 voices. Combos can be used for mammoth unison patches or for triggering up to 4 different 16 x 4 sequencesieach with its own programisimultaneously. Combos can also be used to create modular-style polyphonic patches, where each voice plays a different program, with a slight variation on the same sound or even a drastically different sound.

In multi mode, the Tetra becomes a multitimbral sound module capable of playing four monophonic parts on four MIDI channels, with separate outputs for each voice. Coupled with a MIDI sequencer and DAW, the Tetra can play complex arrangements or analog drum parts with each part individually processed and recorded to its own track.

Up to 4 Tetras can be poly chained for 8, 12, or 16 voices total. When used with a Prophet '08, up to 2 Tetras can be poly chained for a maximum of sixteen voices. In addition, the Prophet's front panel controls map directly to almost all of Tetra's parameters, so the Prophet acts as a programmer and control surface. And a Mopho can be connected to Tetra's Poly Chain Out for five-voice operation.

Also known as: Dave Smith Instruments Synthesizer Module, Dave Smith Instruments Dave Smith Instruments Tetra Desktop Synthesizer Module

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