Oddment Audio - ODD-1 Microsonic Lab

The ODD-1 is a compact eight-voice microsonic synthesizer built for granular sound design, sampling, looping and live processing. Two independent layers each hold four stereo samples, with four colour-coded playheads moving through the material at their own speeds and in their own directions. Pitch and time can be pulled apart, frozen or pushed into repetition, so a single recording might end up as a playable polyphonic instrument, a slowly shifting texture, a chopped rhythmic figure, or — with grain size right down and repetition high — tight Karplus-Strong-like plucks. Every grain is then placed by a binaural spatialiser, which gives the ODD-1 a stereo image that is noticeably deeper and more animated than ordinary panning gets you.

Given all that, the interface is unusually direct. The panel is organised in horizontal rows, with toggle switches moving each row between two related functions. Encoders, illuminated switches and the 2.8" touchscreen also keep things easily readable at a glance. Modulation follows the same logic: hold down a parameter, pick an LFO, envelope, macro, CV input or MIDI control, and the connection is made. Every parameter on the instrument is a valid destination. It takes about a minute to wrap your head around, not bad for a box with this much under the bonnet.

Filters, saturation, echoes, reverb and a four-track looper round it out into a fairly complete sound-design environment, and MPE, four control inputs plus USB audio and MIDI let it sit alongside modular systems, controllers and computers. What stands out is how much Oddment have fitted inside this unit while keeping it all so approachable. Small, sensibly organised, and able to move from spacious polyphonic sounds to strange sampling experiments without getting in its own way. The ODD-1 is a great choice for granular work away from a laptop, and for anyone who wants modulation this deep without hunting through infinite menus.

Features:

• Eight-voice polyphonic microsonic and granular synthesizer
• Two independent multitimbral layers
• Four stereo samples and four independent playheads per layer
• Variable-speed Time Path with independent pitch and timing control
• Forward, reverse, frozen and freely combined sample playback
• Per-grain binaural spatialisation and auditory-inspired filtering
• 18 endless encoders with integrated switches and LEDs
• 2.8-inch capacitive colour touchscreen
• Modular-style interface organised into functional rows
• Every parameter can be used as a modulation destination
• Four LFOs, three envelopes, four macros and four external control inputs
• MIDI CC learning, velocity, aftertouch, pitch bend and MPE support
• Two resonant multimode filters per voice, configurable in series or parallel
• Per-voice and per-layer saturation, distortion, bit crushing and compression
• Two echo units per layer plus reverb
• Four-track looping and direct performance recording
• Stereo sampling through the analogue, microphone or USB audio inputs
• 4 GB user storage and a 2 GB factory sample library
• Multichannel USB-C audio and MIDI
• 3.5 mm stereo input, output and headphone connection
• Four configurable 0–5 V control inputs for CV, gates, pedals and switches
• Companion ODD-1V plug-in with the same processing engine and factory library
• Dimensions: 30.5 × 11.5 × 3.8 cm