Melbourne Instruments - DELIA

Following up on their innovative Nina desktop synth, Melbourne Instruments has taken everything they learned and poured into Delia. The unmistakable cool look of Nina is also re-iterated here. This time it is in the form of a bi-timbral poly-synth with a keyboard. It retains the spirit of Nina but takes it to a new territory with a focus on a hybrid sound generation.

One of the standout features of Nina is its motorized controls. These are also present here but now in improved fashion. These knobs automatically (near instantly) adjust to the settings of a sound you just recalled and it still feels like synthesizer magic :) The layout has also been reworked, making the already well thought-out interface perhaps even easier to grasp.  

Due to its new sound architecture, Delia also has a different sound profile than Nina. It now has two filters instead of one. The first is an analog low-pass ladder filter with a selectable 12dB or 24dB slope and is “massively overdriveable” according to Melbourne Instruments. The second filter is a modelled (virtual analog) high-pass ladder filter.  

If we look at the oscillator section we have some changes and strong similarities in comparison to Nina. Here we find four digital sound sources. The first two are modelled after Nina’s analog oscillators with traditional waveforms like saw, square, and pulse. The third one is a wavetable oscillator, great for textures beyond your classic waveforms. The fourth oscillator serves a more utilitarian role. It can be set to noise, accept an external audio input, or even create a feedback loop.

Delia offers a polyphony of six voices, with four oscillators per voice. However there is an alternative mode in which the synthesizer can be played in 12 voices. Don’t ask how this works exactly, it’s handled by some internal trickery that lowers some values of the oscillators and thereby freeing up computing capacity. Sound-wise this should barely be noticeable – says manufacturer.

Another nice creative feature is the A/B morphing function. Each patch can store two sounds (Bi-timbral, remember), and the morph knob allows you to seamlessly transition between them. This opens up another dimension of sound exploration. You can even take it a step further by assigning the morphing to an LFO or envelope, adding yet another layer of dynamic control.

Delia comes equipped with a 16-step sequencer and a built-in effects processor with chorus, delay, and reverb (can be run in parallel or series). Beyond that you get three LFOs and three envelopes and an extensive modulation matrix, letting you route 20 sources to 40 destinations. Ehm, and there’s the possibility to store up to 16000 patches… Nearly unheard of in other keyboards!  

The open source nature of Delia opens many hacking and expansion options for the future. This is also true for the effects, which are built on the flexible VST3 architecture. Just like in Nina the OS is a modified Linux called Elk Audio OS and implemented on a Raspberry Pi 4.

This synth sure does a lot of things. To find out more we recommend taking a peek inside of the manual. Due to its digital architecture and perhaps to the fact that there are fewer motorized controls, this instrument is also a lot more affordable than Nina - always welcome :) Thanks to these changes, this synth is more flexible and Melbourne instruments have once again delivered something special with Delia.

Features:

• Analog LP Filters and stereo VCAs
• 4 Oscillators per voice: 2 VA modelled VCOs, 1 Wavetable, 1 Noise/XOR/Aux
• 6 voice circuits with alternate 12-note mode
• Modulation matrix with 20 sources x 40 destinations, no slot limit
• 3 x LFOs: Sine, Triangle, Square, Ramp up, Ramp down, Random)
• 3 x envelopes: VCA, VCF, AUX
• Instant preset recall – every knob moves to position
• Analog low pass ladder filter
• 3-stage analog overdrive
• Virtual analog high pass ladder filter
• Separate high pass and low pass resonance control
• HP/LP filter ‘LINK’ mode for Band Pass/Notch control
• Selectable 12dB and 24dB slope for LP Filter
• 2 x effects processors with parallel or series configuration
• Stereo digital effects: Delay, Chorus, Reverb with classic preset algorithms
• Extensive modulation matrix. 20 sources to 40 destinations. No bus count limitation.
• Morphable modulation settings.
• Quick to edit MOD mode. Select a source and dial in amounts instantly on control panel.
• All MOD amounts are through zero (bipolar)
• MORPH is a available as a modulation destination
• Morph between A and B patches to create new timbres.
• Morph the entire patch including Modulation Matrix