Company puts ‘synthesizer on wristband’

The elderly among us are probably still aware of the arrival of the first calculator watches, which would have fit in gift guides for the holidays in the 1980s. We now have real smartwatches, but the company Audioweld wants to bring back a bit of retro with the Synthwatch.

The Italian Audioweld has started a Kickstarter for the mini ‘synthesizer’ on a wristband, which does not have a touchscreen but physical keys in combination with an old-fashioned LCD. The device measures 48x48mm and weighs 92 grams. The housing is made of titanium and the keys are designed in such a way that they can be played by anyone, regardless of the size of the fingers, claims the maker.

Users can play the Synthwatch directly. More than two hundred sounds and the four effects delay, reverb, flanger and filter are available for this as standard. In addition, the wearable works in combination with an app, which contains a sequencer and with which the sounds can be determined. The connection to the outside world is via an L-shaped USB-C connector with a mini-jack and USB connection at the ends.

It is not entirely clear why the maker speaks of a synthesizer. It seems to be a portable mini keyboard with samples that does not contain the possibility to adjust the sounds as usual with synthesizers. In addition, there is only monophonic playback; the addition of polyphony is a stretch goal.

To be eligible for one of the first five hundred models produced, 450 euros must be pledged, for a Synthwatch from the next batch of one thousand copies that is 475 euros and for that of the edition of five thousand the price is 520 euros. This makes the Synthwatch more expensive than an Apple Watch.