Echograin · 2023–2025 · shipped product
A cult synthesizer, reinterpreted — not emulated.
A wavetable synth for Kontakt Player, built on the Fizmo's Transwaves. I designed the UI — interpretation, not emulation. Shipped 12/2023 · v2 07/2025.
ClientEchograin
RoleUI designer
DisciplineInstrument / product UI
Scopev1 → v2 · 2023–2025
Fig. 00 — the shipped interface. Source: echograin.io.
01 — The problem
Loved for its sound. Notorious for its menus.
The Fizmo pioneered Transwaves — and buried them in menus. Tranzwave: 4 oscillators · 54+ wavetables · 37 filters · full FX — playable, not programmable.
Echograin builds boutique Kontakt instruments; I designed the full interface — turning a dense synth architecture into something you play, not program.
02 — Constraints
What made it hard.
- Kontakt as the engine — designing a UI that feels standalone inside a sampler host, with its idiosyncrasies
- Dense parameter space — 4 oscillators × wavetables × modulators × FX, without a menu maze
- A cult audience — Fizmo owners smell a fake instantly; newcomers don't care about the homage
- Hardware mapping — NKS2-ready for Komplete Kontrol and Maschine
04 — The key decision
Homage without imitation.
How do you honor a cult instrument without cloning it?
TensionNostalgia rewards accuracy; usability demands reinvention. A faithful clone would inherit the Fizmo's worst trait — the menus.
ChoseInterpretation over emulation: keep the aesthetic DNA, redesign the interaction. Wavetables triggered by MIDI, not menus. Performative randomization. Five macros — a nod to the Fizmo's five knobs. Oscillator link/mirror for live use.
WhyA faithful clone would inherit the Fizmo's fatal flaw — its menus. Triggering wavetables from playing, five macros, live-ready controls: the character stays, the friction goes. Press read it as a standalone instrument, not a museum piece.
The FX engine — dense capability, flat hierarchy. Source: echograin.io.
05 — Outcome
What it achieved.
Results
Shipped & sold
Commercial release · Dec 2023
v2 · 2025
Sustained product stewardship
Independent press: Bedroom Producers Blog — "truly feels like a standalone plugin" — plus MATRIXSYNTH, Rekkerd, The Music Telegraph, AMAZONA, Gearspace.