Sequential Fourm Keyboard analogue synthesiser

General

Sequential is a respectable synthesiser manufacturer, and of course the brand is also the brainchild of the inventor of MIDI: Dave Smith. Normally, these are synths with a certain price tag; upper class. The Take 5 that came out in 2021 is already a bit more affordable, and now with the Sequential Fourm, the price drops again. This is good news for producers with a slightly smaller bank account, who would still like to have a real Sequential under their fingertips. And really not just any Sequential. The Fourm is a full-fledged analogue synth according to the familiar subtractive pattern, in a reasonably compact format - so very portable! The real highlight of this product is the polyphonic aftertouch.

Polyphonic aftertouch in the Sequential Fourm

In recent years, polyphonic aftertouch has been on the rise; not by much, but it is happening. It existed way back when, Yamaha's legendary CS80 and DX1 had it, but then it was about synths that weren't exactly impulse buys. Perhaps it is becoming tentatively trending with the rise of MPE and synths that work with a multi-touch membrane. In any case, the Fourm is now also part of the modest range, at yet another nice price. And just what is the advantage of polyphonic aftertouch? You must have tried it and heard it, then you never want to go back. If you play chords with a kind of brass sound, for instance, it sounds so much better if loudness and filter (if coupled with that aftertouch) are not identical for every note. After all, the pressure you exert with your fingers is never the same for every finger, and the position of your fingertip on the fingerboard also affects the force you can exert (the physical 'moment'). The added expression is vastly richer with polyphonic aftertouch. The fact that a synth offers slightly fewer possibilities in terms of parameters hardly matters then. After all, with that aftertouch you add the expression you normally needed a lot of parameters for.

Sound possibilities

In terms of sound, you get two oscillators in line with the P5, with PWM and sync, so we can be more than happy with that. The second oscillator can also be used as an LFO, and thus as polyphonic modulation. You also get a regular LFO, with enough waveforms for the wildest effects. A nice filter, two envelopes and a modulation section complete the synth. Only for effects do you rely on external solutions, but that's in line with the Fourm's competitive price. Given the synth's size, it will be perfectly at home as an expressive lead synth in a live rig.