Synthstrom Deluge Upgraded With OLED Display

Synthstrom let us know that Deluges shipped from today will now feature an OLED display.

The update means that the Deluge can now display multiple lines of text and more than four letters on a screen at one. Existing Deluge owners can upgrade to the OLED display, too.

Project Manager Ian Jorgensen notes that “To reflect the cost and development associated with the new screen and the rising manufacturing costs in the synth industry, we’ll be raising the price of the Deluge incrementally over the next 12 months.”

Here’s what they have to say about the Deluge OLED display:

“A very deliberate design choice, the Deluge has, till now, featured a rudimentary 7-segment display. Rohan had always seen the Deluge as an instrument first, a tactile tool that relied on your ears, was intuitive and had its user spending time making music, not diving through menu after menu.

We’ve always acknowledged that the screen does have shortcomings especially in regards to the management of large sample collections, but the trade-off at encouraging users to resort to listening and experimenting is why the Deluge has been such a radical and inspirational tool for hordes of people.

While there is still no ‘need’ for a screen showing more complexity, we realize the time to introduce one is now. With the Deluge being a far more complex beast than we ever anticipated, Rohan has worked out how to incorporate an OLED screen into the current hardware, not only for all future sales, but for any existing user who wishes to update their Deluge too. More details on that below.”

Pricing and Availability

The Deluge is available now, with the pricing as noted below:

  • Sept 9th, 2022: $1249USD + shipping
  • From Jan 1, 2023: $1329USD+shipping
  • From April 1, 2023: $1399USD + shipping

Upgrades are available for $149 USD plus shipping and other associated costs.

8 thoughts on “Synthstrom Deluge Upgraded With OLED Display

  1. According to some…guy, the creator said that they had no interest in people staring at a screen initially. Guess he changed his mind. I like when people change their minds. Go evolution.

    1. That was misguided intention on Rohan’s part. The real display is the grid of buttons, which you still have to stare at when operating the Deluge. It is too complex to be compared to an acoustic instrument one can play with closed eyes. Glad he finally gave in. Too bad he didn’t do so 3 years ago, when I was considering buying one.

  2. Thank you for that. The new display makes so much sense. They are addressing the biggest downside of the ‘old’ deluge. I can imagine that this decision involved a major hardware and software revision with some headaches. They must be applauded for making the upgrade also accessible to previous users. Bravo!

  3. Nice retrofit upgrade!

    The price is getting a bit too much for me though unless that display is gonna make the workflow that much better. IIRC this thing was about 8/900,- Euro at the beginning (shipping included) now it seems they’ve almost doubled the price.

    Maybe they should’ve started with a more expensive Deludge MK2, and offer this retrofit as an option to those having the OG?

  4. The swiss-army knifeyness of the deluge was always hampered a bit by its seven-segment display. As more and more sampling features got added in over time, it became quite difficult to keep track of everything on the device. I hope the upgrade process is profitable for them, because I think a ton of Deluge owners are going to line up for it.

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