Soleil Lo-Fi MIDI String Synth Pod

Inspired by the warm, chorus-drenched string synths of the 1970s like the Elka Rhapsody and ARP Solina, this pocket-sized pod delivers that vintage lo-fi magic in a form factor that fits in your hand.

At just 4.5 x 2.4 x 1.25 inches, it packs four paraphonic voices, each with two analog oscillator ranks—waveforms morph continuously from thick sawtooth to variable pulse widths for reed-like tones, while detune on the second rank crafts lush pads or honky-tonk riffs. Hands-on knobs handle fine tune, detune, wave shape, modulation rate, attack, decay, and volume, with MIDI mod wheel controlling vibrato depth from the built-in LFO and velocity sensitivity for dynamic play. It takes 3.5mm TRS Type A MIDI input (channel 1 default, easily reprogrammable and saved to memory), outputs mono audio at ~2V p-p, plus a 0-5V gate out with LED indicators for MIDI activity and gate state—power it via 2.1mm center-positive 5V DC.

Players love its authentic string ensemble vibe and surprising depth for such a tiny, affordable box, though some note the shared paraphonic VCA limits independent amplitude per note, keeping things true to classic designs.