Welcome to Synth Picnic

Once a month we’re filling the Honesty Library in the Castle Quarter with all sorts of synths and modular for generating bleeps, bloops, beats, bangers and cinematic soundscapes. We’ll be on hand to offer advice on what could be the perfect synth for your journey into electronic music.

We’re not a shop, but our retail partner Signal Sounds can deliver a synth to your doorstep in a couple of days. If you’re fascinated by modular synthesis then we also offer the opportunity to rent Eurorack systems to investigate in the comfort of your own home.

When and Where?

The next Synth Picnic is popping up on Saturday 8th November in the Honesty Library at the top of the swirly staircase in the Castle Quarter. We’ll be open from around 10:30am and will close by 4pm. We then intend to popup again every month going forward.

Who is it for?

Anyone with the vaguest interest in synthesizers and modular. You could be young or old, you could be completely new to synths or a seasoned old professional. If you know your synths then Synth Picnic is a cool place to drop in and talk to other enthusiasts and maybe play on something you haven’t seen before. If you don’t know anything then your curiosity will be rewarded. Come in, sit at a synth and put on the headphones. You are welcome to explore on your own or we are more than happy to give you a demo and talk about what you’re fiddling with.

Drop in any time and stay as long as you like.

Who is doing this and why?

Synth Picnic is brought to you by synth-reviewer and content creator Robin Vincent of Molten Music Technology. Here’s what he had to say.

Ask any musician and they’ll tell you how music shops were vital in igniting their passion for making music. They can be noisy and sometimes rude places but they gave you access to instruments and gear you’d maybe never dream of affording. But over time you’d save up and go and buy that first machine that opens you up to the possibilities of synthesizers, drum machines and audio gear. As music shops disappear we are losing the opportunity try things out and fall in love with these exciting, music-filled boxes.

Watching review videos and buying a synth on the internet is not the same, and only appeals to people who already have an interest. If we want the synth industry to grow we need it to be discovered by new people, we need to spark an interest in those who haven’t perhaps considered it before. That’s what music shops used to do and Synth Picnic hopes to pick up the slack.

I already run a successful synthesizer show in Norwich with the Norwich Arts Centre and Electronic Sound Magazine called Synth East, and that’s amazing, but it’s a yearly event, it’s ticketed and is largely for enthusiasts. Synth Picnic is different, it’s small, free, done on a shoestring and it’s just me sharing my passion for electronic music.

As a reviewer I am in the priviledged position to be sent synthesizers to write about and make videos on. Many of these synths are knocking around gathering dust and I would much rather than people got an opportunity to play them and be inspired by them. Ultimately what I hope is that people find a synth they like and buy it. Synth Picnic is not a shop, we’re not going to be holding any stock or taking orders, instead we’ll direct you to our online retail partner Signal Sounds who can ship a synth to you in a day or two. With a bit of luck Synth Picnic will get a kickback from that in order to support the event.

So, Synth Picnic is the front end, the shop floor, the demo room for synths that you can buy. You can drop in, have a look and talk to me about what you’re looking for and I’ll do my best to help. Maybe this is a model for music tech retail going forward. We certainly need creative solutions that look beyond bricks and mortar music stores and, as ridiculously simple and under-resourced as it is, I think this might be one. If not then at worst we get to spend the day playing with synthesizers!

What Synths?

The synthesizers available on the day are subject to change and variation. It really depends on what we have to hand but there’s also an emphasis on synths that are accessible and affordable. So, for instance, we’ll have a number of mid-sized synthesizers like the Modal Cobalt 8, ASM Explorer and Pittsburgh Taiga. But we’ll also have several small desktop synths like the Roland Aira Compact, Instruo Seashell and Donner L1. For full details, pricing and links to where to buy, please check out the Synths page.

We’ll also have a few cases of modular synthesizers showcasing different modules and approaches to synthesis. If you’ve never encountered modular before or have fancied a go then Synth Picnic is the perfect place to dip your toes in the water. And if you’d like to spend a bit more time on a synth then we are offering a super-affordable rental option where you can take the synth away and bring it back next time. For more information on rentals please check out the Rentals page.

Promotional Video

Thanks

A huge thanks to Clare and the team at New-U for letting us rent the Honesty Library.