It’s always exciting to see pedal designers explore the world of synthesizers (and vice versa!). After releasing a line of effect pedals starting in 2009, Recovery Effects recently began developing desktop synths. Graig and Zera have been designing, building, and shipping musical hardware from their home workshop in Seattle, Washington. With over 25 years of releasing records, touring, and performing live, they leveraged these experiences to create gear that inspires.
Meet the team!
Now, they’re journeying into hardware synthesizer development! Their latest device, Seven Sisters, is a desktop synthesizer that is inspired by percussion synths from the 70s.
Early Percussion Synthesizers
The late 60s marked the beginning of the rise in prominence of the synthesizer. Popularity of synths like the Moog was due to its keyboard interface that allowed traditional musicians to leverage their skills to control this new and exciting instrument. But it wasn’t just keyboardists, drummers wanted to explore an uncharted sonic palette too!
In 1975, Pollard Syndrum by Joe Pollard and Mark Barton became one of the first commercially available electronic drums. Syndrum consists of a programmable drum synthesizer that can be triggered by hitting a dedicated drum pad.
Syncussion-1 by Pearl is another historical electronic drum synthesizer. You may be familiar with the Syncussion-1 due to its clones. Or you may recognize some of the gear that was listed on the album package of Aphex Twin’s 2014 record Syro.
Modern Take on the Classics
The history of percussion synth continues with Recovery Effects’s Seven Sisters, which takes inspiration from Syndrum and Syncussion. Compared to those early instruments, the number of voices has expanded to seven with each consisting of multiple oscillators, noise generators, and filters. With more complex and flexible timbre control available compared to the classic devices that inspired it, going from early drum synthesis to a sound that’s more realistic is possible. Parameters, such as pitch and decay, are controlled with the knob.
Each drum voice can be individually triggered by pressing a button or by sending a trigger voltage to the input. This instrument can pair nicely with Beatstep Pro, Korg SQ-64, Eurorack modules, or other hardware capable of outputting trigger control voltages. Seven Sisters is powered by Daisy Seed and programmed in plugdata.
There’s a Eurorack version of the Seven Sisters as well. One voice is triggerable at a time, but there are more parameters (volume, decay, pitch, and filter) which can be controlled via CV. This version is powered by Patch Submodule and is also programmed in plugdata.
Interview
We chatted with Graig Markel from Recovery Effects to learn more about the development of the Seven Sisters:
ES - We wanted to start off this interview by getting to know you more and learn about your background in music and gear development.
GM - I started as a guitarist, and I've played in several bands throughout the years. I went to school for audio engineering and built a recording studio in the early 2000s called the Recovery Room, where I recorded countless records for myself and others. My passion for DIY projects has always included a love for fixing and building instruments. This took off around 2009 when I started selling pedals through my eBay store, and it’s continued growing from there.
ES - Recovery Effects have started out building guitar pedals and recently began building desktop synths as well. What inspired you to explore this new territory?
GM - I developed an interest in synthesizers in the 2000s and fully immersed myself in Eurorack in the 2010s. Designing Eurorack modules felt like a natural progression, and lately, I've been drawn to creating standalone or desktop devices that allow me to expand beyond the Eurorack format.
ES - Did you notice any difference between developing a pedal and synth?
GM - I know pedals are becoming more advanced these days, but what I love about them is how a relatively simple circuit can transform an instrument into something entirely new and magical—almost like creating a new instrument. Developing a synth is obviously more challenging, but also very exciting because the possibilities are so much broader.
ES - We loved watching the Instagram video series where you documented the whole development journey of the Seven Sisters and showing the process behind programming, breadboard prototyping, PCB designing, and testing! For folks who want to begin building hardware synthesizers, could you tell us more about how you personally learned all these and any advice you have for getting started?
GM - I’m self-taught. I began by building kits, learning to read schematics, getting comfortable building on stripboard, experimenting with my own circuits, and exploring PCB design software. With the abundance of online resources available today, getting started is fairly easy. If you're just beginning, I recommend selecting one project or skill to focus on and fully immersing yourself in it!
ES - We would love to know your favorite parts of developing a synthesizer.
GM - I love problem-solving and the challenge of adding my own unique twist to an instrument or creating something entirely new. It’s especially rewarding when I can play the instrument I've built and integrate it into my own music.
ES - Were there any challenges that you encountered and overcame during development?
GM - The most challenging aspect for me was coordinating hardware commands with JSON script configurations. To get past this, I studied Electrosmith's Patch.Init JSON file on GitHub and alternated between compiling my patch with the Patch.Init target board and working on my own JSON file.
ES - What drew you to the Daisy platform for developing a desktop synthesizer?
GM - As a long-time Pure Data user, I bought a Critter and Guitarri Organelle a few years back, excited to use my own patches in a hardware instrument. I became obsessed with trying to embed these patches into my own devices using the Raspberry Pi, when I stumbled on Daisy. The rest is history!
ES - We feel that folks who are interested in developing hardware digital synthesizers might believe that they need to code in a traditional language like C++, especially for a commercial product, so it was awesome to see you using plugdata, a visual programming language!
We would love to hear more about your experience developing with it.
GM - I know I'm just scratching the surface with Daisy. As someone relatively new to microcontrollers and coding, visual programming languages like Plugdata and Max are crucial for creating an accessible entry point. I'm excited to get creative and build more instruments in the future, using whatever formats make the most sense. Right now, Plugdata happens to be the path of least resistance for me, and I really enjoy working with it.
ES - We would love to know more about the decision behind choosing to release the Seven Sisters in both the Eurorack modular and desktop synth form factors.
GM - I realized that a multi-voice drum synth with physical space for interaction and playability would be too large for the Eurorack format. So, I designed a version with one playable voice at a time, which would allow for more CV options while keeping the footprint more Eurorack-friendly.
ES - What advice do you have for builders who are interested in creating a commercial device?
GM - Start small and work within your means. Small-batch manufacturing is more accessible than ever, making it entirely possible to produce limited runs, share them on a micro scale, and refine with every iteration. I've also found that musicians appreciate these limited editions and enjoy supporting independent builders.
ES - Thank you for taking the time to chat with us!! It was insightful learning more about your development process and journey!
Conclusion
Taking inspiration from classic synthesizers and putting a modern twist is a fruitful way to design a new instrument. And converting the initial spark of an idea into a fully charged hardware synth has never been more accessible than it is today! Much like Graig, inventors can learn about electronics, fabrication, programming, and circuit design from a plethora of resources such as books, the internet, and DIY communities. They can then apply what they learned and begin prototyping a synth with new tools like Daisy. It’s an exciting time to learn about synth history and invent something new to become part of it.