ACE

ACE (Any Cable Everywhere) is u-he’s semi-modular synthesizer — it has a default fixed signal path like an ARP 2600, so it makes noise straight away, but any routing can be overridden by patching. ACE does not distinguish between audio signals and control signals, so LFOs can run at audio rate as oscillators, and VCOs can modulate filters at LFO speed. The core hardware is two VCOs (the first with a sub-oscillator), two cascade-type multimode filters with self-oscillation and two parallel outputs each, two full-range LFOs, two ADSR envelopes, two Multiplex modules, a mapping generator, a ramp generator, and white and pink noise. Oscillators support PWM, sync, ring modulation, and cross modulation.

The circuit bending options — slop, crosstalk, oscillator cap failure — add the kind of instability that makes patches feel less clinical without needing to reach for a hardware modular. ACE runs up to 16-voice polyphony with up to 8-voice unison stacking, supports MPE, and ships with over 920 presets. The three onboard effects (chorus/phaser, delay, bass/treble) are minimal by design. The depth is not immediately obvious from the interface, but it is there.