Our Mission Statement

Knobula is born from decades in music production and continues a family legacy in electronics manufacturing.

A deeply rooted passion for polyphony, intuitive ease of operation and tactile engagement are at the core of every invention from Knobula. 
No screens, just big-screen sounds.

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How it all began

Knobula is the brainchild of Jason Mayo, distinguished record producer, remix engineer, and synthesiser enthusiast.

Jason's journey into the world of synthesisers began at the tender age of 13, when he built his first synthesiser, the fully polyphonic 'Powertran Transcendent DPX', designed by the iconic Tim Orr. "Constructing it took months, and the end result was… underwhelming. The pristine tuning of its groundbreaking digital oscillators made big fat chords sound lifeless. My quest for the ultimate poly synth had just begun," Jason recalls.

His passion led him to become a record producer and remixer in London, where he founded the successful 90's chart band, FAB ,with their hit "Thunderbirds Are Go!'. He collaborated with luminaries in the Tech House and Breakbeat scene including Mr C (Shamen), Layo & Bushwacka, Adam Freeland and Neneh Cherry.

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The Inspiration Behind Knobula

While juggling family life and a collection of ageing classic synths, it was Eurorack that caught Jason’s imagination; the portable form factor combined with hands on knob-twiddling was by far the most engaging way to make electronic music and Jason felt this was being overlooked by the laptop and plug-in generation. But what Eurorack lacked was polyphony, the format was too cumbersome to manage the complexity of cables and modules required  for multiple voices. So Jason set about designing his own polyphonic synthesiser for Eurorack, Poly Cinematic.

Poly Cinematic takes its inspiration from the great and renowned vintage synths of the 80’s and packs it into a tiny module. Integrating both midi and CV/gate workflows to access its parameters, the key feature is the ability to store a set of user defined chords using midi, and being able to access those chords using CV/gate control, a feature also employed by its sister module Pianophonic. For those without a midi keyboard, Chord Pilot takes the reigns as a keyboardless midi controller, with 192 chord memories and a novel CV controlled chord generator. 

With Knobula now in full swing, the Poly Cinematic module has become a Eurorack staple, and is now accompanied by a growing assortment of Knobula products that continue to push the accepted boundaries of modular synthesis.

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Friendly and Tactile Rediscovered

Knobula's products embody a no-screen, no-preset philosophy, promoting experimentation and a tactile interaction only reminiscent of IRL instruments. "We aspire to create modules that keep you in that flow state, where time stands still and nothing else matters but the performance." Jason explains.

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What’s Next for Knobula?

Knobula is committed to continually innovating, with plans to unveil a series of sound generation modules that align with their ethos: ease of operation, tactile engagement, and uncompromising sound quality. Following the success of the Kickain kick drum module, expect to see some more drums and effects modules arriving soon.

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