After a viral teaser, Nopia synth inches closer to release with final specs revealed

After more than two years of viral teasers, prototypes and slow-burning anticipation, Nopia – the ambitious harmony-focused instrument from Argentinian designers Martin Grieco and Rocio Gal – appears to be entering its final stretch.

Described as “currently in an exhaustive testing stage”, the semi-modular MIDI chord generator and synth looks closer than ever to becoming a finished, shippable instrument.

First unveiled as a prototype in 2023, Nopia quickly garnered millions of views on YouTube and garnered worldwide attention. The instrument is Designed to “tap into the mysterious phenomena of how our ears intuitively experience the language of harmony”. It revolves around the concept of tonal harmony, focusing on the relationship between chords, particularly the connection between the tonal centre (the home tone of the key) and the dominant (the fifth note in the key).

At its core, Nopia combines a one-octave “chord builder” keyboard with a 12-button “tonal selector”, allowing players to define a key centre and generate chords that follow the rules of tonal harmony. Each key produces a chord rather than a single note, while a dedicated control lets users alter chord types and add extensions on the fly.

The unit features an onboard multitimbral sound engine, a hybrid of sampled instruments and onboard virtual analogue synths. It also comes with a 5 step effects chain and a multitouch strum plate for expressive gestures such as strumming, chromatic movement and microtonal pitch-bend.

Recent updates also suggest the hardware has matured significantly. Nopia now features an OLED display that shows chord information and parameter values, and each sound module has its own dedicated TRS MIDI output.

While there’s certainly a learning curve, Nopia isn’t aimed solely at theory nerds. “You don’t need to know theory; Nopia takes care of that,” the team explains on their website. “We encourage you to compose, improvise, and have more tools to weave harmony, and train your perception! Of course, if you’re familiar with functional harmony, we think you’ll get a lot out of it too.”

With testing reportedly nearing completion and specs now firmly locked in, Nopia’s long road to release finally feels close to its destination.

Those keen to follow its progress (or get in line for when it drops) can join the waitlist via the official Nopia website.