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Soma Laboratory Terra Organic Synthesizer (Light)

SOMA Laboratory

£1,399.00
£1,024.00
In stock.
Adding to cart… The item has been added
Shipping info

Manufacturer's description

TERRA is a highly conceptual device. The core idea is unity of nature and technology, and a perfect balance between simplicity and versatility. Behind the extremely simple interface hides a complex polyphonic, microtonal synthesizer with a broad and flexible sound palette that ranges from classical beautiful tones to complex atonal noise, and offers smooth and fast transitions between these extremes.

The innovative keyboard design invites new playing techniques and covers the full range of a grand piano with the possibility to tune each note with an accuracy of 125 steps per semitone. To achieve this range with such a simple keyboard we designed a unique system of pitch shifting using four additional sensors. Pressing different combinations of them will result in 16 variations of keyboard transposing, including up to 3 octaves up and down, fifth, fourth, third, tone etc.

Not only do you get the full range of a grand piano in a very compact design, TERRA also offers an entirely new and different approach to playing melodies and chords.

The keyboard consists of 12-note sensors with velocity and pressure sensitivity allowing for the manual creation of slow attack and vibrato, 4 dynamic sensors for timbre modification and control, 4 pitch-shifting sensors and 2 hold sensors for holding the state of the timbre and note sensors.

Inside TERRA there is a three-axis motion sensor for creating a variety of different modulations by simple intuitive movements of your hands and body.

TERRA is digital and contains 32 complex synthesis algorithms. Each algorithm has been carefully designed to be a complete and flexible musical instrument on its own, ready for learning and playing in its own unique way. The goal is to free the musician from long exhausting programming, setting hundreds of parameters for creating one timbre, and instead putting the focus directly on music and performance and following your imagination and inspiration.

TERRA offers the best of both worlds: the direct intuitive tactile connection from acoustic instruments and the flexibility and versatility of synthesizers. TERRA inherits design principles from LYRA-8 and also contains application of the new principles that were announced for ReFLEX, exploring the future of synthesis.

TERRA has an extremely simple interface that gives you instant access to all its functions in several touches, including saving and loading the 96 presets that are stored directly on the playing sensors. TERRA has no display. Instead it shows and lets you dial all necessary data on the 6 LED-sensor triangle in the center.

TERRA has a built-in FX processor so the stereo output is ready to use, making it a perfect stand-alone performance instrument. While the sound generation is digital, TERRA has a unique custom-built and top quality analog part that makes it sound rich, natural, clear and powerful at the same time.

The housing of TERRA comes from a 3 pieces of wood, making each instrument unique and slightly different. We also draw your attention to the fact that joints between different parts of the wood may be visible on the body of the instrument. The TERRA logo is made of brass and encrusted on a wooden case. In the photo above and in the announcement demo video you can see the prototype of the synth.

TERRA is a sanctuary for a natural soul right in the middle of the rumbling plastic world, a ground where you can breathe in and out slowly, and hold on to your roots.

TERRA is our dream about a bright future where we will be both technologically advanced and more connected to nature, where machines and technology are not a prison for our feelings and spirit but their extension.

How much is my shipping?

Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK it's normally around £4 for order values under £150, and free above that. Shipping to mainland EU is typically between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.

Do you ship to my country?

Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.

Shipping methods

We use a combination of Parcelforce, DPD, Royal Mail and UPS for the UK, and for international orders it's either Royal Mail, UPS, DHL or FedEx depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.

Dispatch times

For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 15:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.

For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes FedEx or UPS may come a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.

Shipping times

Since April 2020 the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer.

There is absolutely nothing we can do about this unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.

Saturday shipping

If you're in the UK and you order before 15:30 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday delivery (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). The success rate with DPD is about 95% so it's worth a punt most of the time. Please note that if you select Saturday shipping on an order placed earlier in the week, we'll wait until Friday to ship it.

Pre-orders

If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.

If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.

Product Overview

Manufacturer's description

TERRA is a highly conceptual device. The core idea is unity of nature and technology, and a perfect balance between simplicity and versatility. Behind the extremely simple interface hides a complex polyphonic, microtonal synthesizer with a broad and flexible sound palette that ranges from classical beautiful tones to complex atonal noise, and offers smooth and fast transitions between these extremes.

The innovative keyboard design invites new playing techniques and covers the full range of a grand piano with the possibility to tune each note with an accuracy of 125 steps per semitone. To achieve this range with such a simple keyboard we designed a unique system of pitch shifting using four additional sensors. Pressing different combinations of them will result in 16 variations of keyboard transposing, including up to 3 octaves up and down, fifth, fourth, third, tone etc.

Not only do you get the full range of a grand piano in a very compact design, TERRA also offers an entirely new and different approach to playing melodies and chords.

The keyboard consists of 12-note sensors with velocity and pressure sensitivity allowing for the manual creation of slow attack and vibrato, 4 dynamic sensors for timbre modification and control, 4 pitch-shifting sensors and 2 hold sensors for holding the state of the timbre and note sensors.

Inside TERRA there is a three-axis motion sensor for creating a variety of different modulations by simple intuitive movements of your hands and body.

TERRA is digital and contains 32 complex synthesis algorithms. Each algorithm has been carefully designed to be a complete and flexible musical instrument on its own, ready for learning and playing in its own unique way. The goal is to free the musician from long exhausting programming, setting hundreds of parameters for creating one timbre, and instead putting the focus directly on music and performance and following your imagination and inspiration.

TERRA offers the best of both worlds: the direct intuitive tactile connection from acoustic instruments and the flexibility and versatility of synthesizers. TERRA inherits design principles from LYRA-8 and also contains application of the new principles that were announced for ReFLEX, exploring the future of synthesis.

TERRA has an extremely simple interface that gives you instant access to all its functions in several touches, including saving and loading the 96 presets that are stored directly on the playing sensors. TERRA has no display. Instead it shows and lets you dial all necessary data on the 6 LED-sensor triangle in the center.

TERRA has a built-in FX processor so the stereo output is ready to use, making it a perfect stand-alone performance instrument. While the sound generation is digital, TERRA has a unique custom-built and top quality analog part that makes it sound rich, natural, clear and powerful at the same time.

The housing of TERRA comes from a 3 pieces of wood, making each instrument unique and slightly different. We also draw your attention to the fact that joints between different parts of the wood may be visible on the body of the instrument. The TERRA logo is made of brass and encrusted on a wooden case. In the photo above and in the announcement demo video you can see the prototype of the synth.

TERRA is a sanctuary for a natural soul right in the middle of the rumbling plastic world, a ground where you can breathe in and out slowly, and hold on to your roots.

TERRA is our dream about a bright future where we will be both technologically advanced and more connected to nature, where machines and technology are not a prison for our feelings and spirit but their extension.

Technical Specs

Shipping Details

How much is my shipping?

Shipping is automatically calculated before you submit your payment information. Simply add items to your cart and proceed to the checkout page, where you'll be offered shipping options and their prices. In the UK it's normally around £4 for order values under £150, and free above that. Shipping to mainland EU is typically between £7 and £20, depending on the shipping method and the size and weight of the order.

Do you ship to my country?

Almost certainly - the site will give you an estimate of shipping costs if you add an item to the cart and then enter your country and postcode. If you have specific requirements (such as if you prefer UPS over FedEx, for example) then let us know in advance and we'll try to work something out for you.

Shipping methods

We use a combination of Parcelforce, DPD, Royal Mail and UPS for the UK, and for international orders it's either Royal Mail, UPS, DHL or FedEx depending on where you are in the world. If you have a particular preference then try to let us know BEFORE you order so we can look into it for you. Please note that there may occasionally be additional shipping charges if you live in a remote area, depending on what surcharges are applied by the shipper. We'll get in touch to discuss this with you in such cases.

Dispatch times

For UK orders, we normally dispatch the same working day if we get the order before 15:00. If you have a really urgent situation then of course drop us an email before ordering and we'll always do our absolute best to accommodate you.

For international orders, we normally dispatch the same day if we get the order before 13:00 but again, occasionally it might be the next day before we can send it out, and sometimes FedEx or UPS may come a little earlier than scheduled which would also push an order into the next day.

Shipping times

Since April 2020 the couriers we use have suspended guarantees for shipping times, so even though we're paying them for priority services - 24-48 hours for most of the world - in practice it's often an extra day on top and sometimes it can be longer.

There is absolutely nothing we can do about this unfortunately. If you are outside the UK and it's a life-or-death situation where you absolutely MUST have that passive mult for the next day then... it may be better to find a local supplier.

Saturday shipping

If you're in the UK and you order before 15:30 on a Friday then we can send something for a Saturday delivery (NB: this applies to UK mainland addresses only). The success rate with DPD is about 95% so it's worth a punt most of the time. Please note that if you select Saturday shipping on an order placed earlier in the week, we'll wait until Friday to ship it.

Pre-orders

If a product is listed as a pre-order, it means we've ordered it from the supplier but it's not physically in stock yet. The product listing will include an estimated shipping date based on the best information we have from the supplier, but do bear in mind this is subject to change and is not a guaranteed date.

If you place an order containing a mixture of in-stock and pre-order items, we'll normally hold off on shipping anything until the pre-order item(s) have arrived, rather than splitting it into multiple shipments. If you need the in-stock items sooner, we'd recommend placing separate orders. As always, please get in touch if you have questions.