Exploring the Latest Synthesizer Offering: Yellowjacket - Cherry Audio's Reincarnation of the Iconic EDP Wasp from 1978
Diving into the Buzz: Cherry Audio's New Yellowjacket Synth
The synth world has been abuzz with anticipation as Cherry Audio unveils its latest creation. And after weeks of teasing fans on social media about a "certain buzz," music enthusiasts are sure to recognize the inspiration behind their latest beast.
Enter the Yellowjacket, inspired by the iconic British synth pioneer Electronic Dream Plant's Wasp. Ever conquered by a design that leans into the eccentric, the Yellowjacket emulates Wasp's distinctive charm with its quirky design, a flat two-octave membrane keyboard, and its unique, nasal sound.
Made by the late synth visionary, Chris Huggett, the EDP Wasp found favor amongst fans not just for its affordable price but also for its ease of use, portability, and the groundbreaking technology that made it stand out. With a starting price of merely £199, the Wasp brought affordable, high-performance synths to the masses, and Huggett would later play a vital role in creating the iconic OSCar monosynth and the still-popular Novation Bass Station.
The Wasp Family
Included in the EDP's lineup of insectoid-inspired products was the 252-note Spider digital sequencer. The perfect partner for the Wasp, it allowed ultimate control over your synth. For those seeking a real keyboard, the Caterpillar, a three-octave instrument that enabled users to connect four Wasps for four-voice polyphony, was available. The Gnat, a smaller, more economical single oscillator version of the Wasp, was released in 1981 at just £99.
Extra features emerged as limited edition keys were housed in wooden cases akin to Moog models (albeit with questionable improvement in the playability of the flat keyboard).
The Wasp was a synth that could truly cut through, especially when properly amplified. In later years, it provided stiff competition for Roland's TB303 in acid-influenced tracks.
Cherry Audio's Yellowjacket promises to deliver an authentic recreation of Wasp's unique buzzy tone and drone, enhanced with several new features: 16-voice polyphony, an integrated speaker simulation with adjustable hiss and hum, built-in effects like reverb, delay, phaser, chorus, and a new Octafuzz distortion, an advanced arpeggiator with probability and humanization controls, and a multimode filter. With the issues surrounding the original keyboard now nullified, the Yellowjacket offers a more playable experience, complete with diatonic scales, transpose functions, customizable pressure control, and polyphonic aftertouch support.
The software instrument also allows users to chain multiple "mini synth panels" for more complex tones, stereo effects, single-fingered chords, and arpeggiated patterns. And for the first time ever on a Wasp, presets are now available!
Cherry Audio is also simultaneously launching the Hive Mind preset bank, offering an additional 100 sounds and a deeper exploration of arpeggios, effects, modulation, and aftertouch for just $9.99.
The Yellowjacket delivers an authentic Wasp experience while pushing the boundaries of the original design. And at $49, it continues Cherry Audio's tradition of creating high-value synthesizers for music enthusiasts to enjoy.
The Yellowjacket is available now from the Cherry Audio online store. Get ready to dive into the buzz.
The Yellowjacket, inspired by the distinctive charm of Electronic Dream Plant's Wasp, promises to recreate Wasp's unique buzzy tone with technology-enhanced features, such as 16-voice polyphony and an advanced arpeggiator.
Cherry Audio's Yellowjacket offers a more playable experience than the original Wasp, with diatonic scales, transpose functions, customizable pressure control, and polyphonic aftertouch support, all while providing an authentic Wasp experience at an accessible price.
