Trat’s a very good point about the 303 - it’s greatness was totally unplanned and unexpected serendipity, and if it had been refined, it’s unlikely the result would have been anywhere near so iconic.
Finally a demonstration of the Mono MKII taken at the Superbooth 2023 meeting. I was afraid at one point that on all the reviewers / influencers present on the spot, not a single one would bother to visit the NORAND booth, preferring to inundate us over the last 48 hours with videos of products seen and seen again, without any great innovation, and whose prices keep on soaring from generation to generation ($4000 to $4500 minimum today for the least ambitious polyphonic synth, $1500 for duophonic hybrid. … and to think that only yesterday a Polybrute at 2200€ or a Mono MKI at 800€ seemed ‘unaffordable’…).
Anyway, a lot of new information to glean from this interview, the first one being that Matthieu hid a new possible destination for the modulations: the operator’s hands 
More seriously, the exercise must not be easy (convincing in only a few minutes and brushing the possibilities of a device such as the Mono in so little time), and we feel that the fatigue is part of the game. Nevertheless, I found the demo very convincing, and I hope that potential buyers will think the same.
I especially remember the existence of a complete API for remote control, all the more exhaustive as, if I understood correctly, it is the one used to drive the parameters by means of the FPGA (which would send its orders in CC). Probably the result of the famous framework wanted by Matthieu to standardize the control of all NORAND productions, current and future. I can’t wait for a complete documentation of this API to be published.
Enfin une démonstration du Mono MKII prise au rassemblement Superbooth 2023. J’ai eu peur à un moment que sur l’ensemble des chroniqueurs / influenceurs présents sur place, pas un seul ne prendrait la peine de visiter le stand de NORAND, préférant nous inonder sur les 48 dernières heures de vidéos de produits vus et archi vus, sans grande innovation, et dont les prix ne cessent de grimper en flèche de génération en génération (4000 à 4500$ minimum aujourd’hui pour le moindre synthé polyphonique un peu ambitieux, 1500$ pour du duophonic hybrid… et dire qu’hier encore un Polybrute à 2200€ ou un Mono MKI à 800€ paraissaient ‘hors de prix’…).
Bref, pas mal de nouvelles infos à glaner dans cette interview, la 1ere étant que Matthieu nous a cacher une nouvelle destination possible pour les modulations : les mains de l’opérateur
Je retiens surtout l’existence d’une API complète pour le contrôle à distance, d’autant plus exhaustive que, si j’ai bien compris, c’est elle qui est utilisée pour piloter les paramètres au moyen du FPGA (lequel enverrait ses ordres en CC). Sans doute le résultat du fameux framework voulu par Matthieu pour uniformiser le contrôle de l’ensemble des productions de NORAND, actuelles et à venir. Il me tarde qu’une documentation complète de cette API soit publiée.
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Norand could simply give mk1 owners the schematics for the plastic base, and we could fabricate the metal base ourselves.
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I agree with you. Hence why I want SOME option for the metal base. The heating and bending is unacceptable. Better lights as well.
I love the Mono concept, and indeed was surprised this synth didn’t blow up. But it certainly looks like my and others investment in the synth went to produce the better functioning though aesthetically uglier follow up. I wish the firmware would just make the synth work reliably and perfectly and I want to replace the base.
Another interview realized this time by the magazine Sound On Sound. Here again, some interesting information about the future evolutions of the NORAND ecosystem, and the will to make the instruments of the brand communicate through USB with what seems to be a proprietary protocol derived from MPE.
And another interview/demo, this time conducted, for once, in French by Knarf from the channel ‘Les Sondiers’. That should make @cocochou happy :). Let our English friends be reassured, it is possible to subtitle the video with the Youtube instant translation. The language barrier having fallen, the dialogue is more fluid and the information more numerous and detailed. We learn that there is a specific USB-C port on the back of the machine, which is intended to increase / complete the possibilities of the Mono through a hardware addon (this is in addition to the USB-C port for power, the one dedicated to DATA/MIDI - which can also power the device in a low-power mode acting on the intensity of the LEDs -, and the USB Host port). No precision on the exact nature of this extension, just that it will be presented in Eurorack or semi-modular format. This being said, the removal of the CV ports when switching from the MKI version to the MKII suggests that it will at least act as a mediation interface between the Mono and the external CV equipment.
I let you discover the possibilities offered by the new 3D ribbon when morphing between patterns (brilliant!)
Et encore une interview/demo, cette fois menée, une fois n’est pas coutume, en français par Knarf de la chaine ‘Les Sondiers’. Voilà qui devrait faire plaisir @cocochou :). Que nos amis anglophones se rassurent, il est possible de sous-titrer la vidéo au moyen de la traduction instantanée Youtube. La barrière de la langue étant tombée, le dialogue est plus fluide et les informations plus nombreuses et détaillées. On apprend ainsi la présence à l’arrière de la machine d’un port USB-C spécifique destiné à augmenter / compléter les possibilités du Mono au travers d’un addon matériel (ceci en complément du USB-C destiné à l’alimentation, de celui dédié aux DATA/MIDI - lequel peut également alimenter l’appareil dans un mode faible consommation agissant sur l’intensité des LEDs -, et du port USB Host). Aucune précision sur la nature exacte de cette extension, juste qu’elle sera présentée au format Eurorack ou semi-modulaire. Ceci étant, la suppression des ports CV lors du passage entre la version MKI vers la MKII donne à penser que celle-ci agira au moins comme une interface de médiation entre le Mono et les équipements CV extérieurs.
Je vous laisse par ailleurs découvrir les possibilités offertes par le nouveau ruban 3D lors du morphing entre les patterns (brillant!)
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tous ça pour me faire acheter un V2 ! je vais pas me faire avoir aussi facilement… ou peut être que si … 
Man, I think I’m gonna have to get the mk2.
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@ablueksy : If you are about to give in, it would probably be better if you carefully avoided watching this new interview published by the SYNTH ANATOMY channel.
It seems that the activation of the duophonic mode on the firmware 2.0 is only a first step, and that it will be possible to modulate the 2 channels in a totally independent way. Will this complex functionality be integrated in the MKI? I doubt it since its realization relies probably on the additional power of the new FPGA dedicated to modulations and other DSP processing.
Si tu es sur le point de céder, sans doute serait-il préférable que tu évites soigneusement le visionnage de cette nouvelle interview publiée par la chaine SYNTH ANATOMY.
Il apparait en effet que l’activation du mode duophonie sur le firmware 2.0 ne soit qu’une 1ere étape, et qu’il sera à terme possible de moduler les 2 voies ainsi obtenues de façon totalement indépendante. Cette fonctionnalité complexe sera t’elle intégrée au MKI? J’en doute puisque sa réalisation s’appuie vraissemblablement sur la puissance additionnelle du nouveau FPGA dedié aux modulations et autres traitements DSP.
On his side, Rob from PRO SYNTH NETWORK reports an unexpected feature of the MKII: After having handled and physically weighed it during the SuperBooth, it appeared to him that the weight and the rigidity provided by the new aluminium chassis would allow to use it to commit a murder… More seriously, for this same Rob, who didn’t even know the MKI existed, the Mono MKII is a contender for the title of ‘Best of the Show’ at this SuperBooth 2023. He was obviously very impressed
De son côté, Rob de la chaine PRO SYNTH NETWORK nous rapporte une fonctionnalité innatendue du MKII: Après l’avoir manipulé et soupesé physiquement lors du SuperBooth, il lui est apparu que le poids et la rigidité procuré par le nouveau châssis aluminium autoriseraient de l’utiliser pour commettre un meurtre… Plus sérieusement, pour ce même Rob, qui ne connaissait même pas l’existence du MKI, le Mono MKII est un prétendant au titre de ‘Best of the Show’ de ce SuperBooth 2023. Il a manifestement été très impressionné
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Yes, I think I’m going to have to get it. Dual modulation lanes. Mono mk3 will be stereo binaural lol.
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… or offer the “mkI” metal base for us and ask for a customer list (batch). This will reduce the final price for us
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Any predictions on how much longer this will take to release?! (This is my next synth, can’t wait to play)
Hello!
@rthree we will open the sales of the first batch around June 25, for a delivery 20 days later. No preorder this time, we wait until the unit ships from the factory to our warehouse which should be in about 3 weeks.
@ablueksy after giving it some thought, I will open-source the MK1 case files when I have some time to take care of it. This way, a third party could organize a pooled order of a metal version. I really cannot take care of that myself as it will be very time consuming, and quite expensive.
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Thank you! Can’t wait - also for a MK2. Are the knobs replaceabale on the mk2 BTW? Interchangeable with the mk1?
Thank you, Mathieu. That’s very generous of you Norand community will be grateful for this kind gesture. Cheers
Are there any plans to allow for multiple modulators to be routed to one parameter?
Let’s get those preorders goin! 