SOME OTHER NEAT TOUCHES

One of the most joyful aspects of Gemini is seeing and hearing the dual features work with one another on each keyboard layer, so with the arpeggiator, for example, you can set an independent one for each layer, with different patterns and timings but they sync together so don’t sound out of place.

Another feature is the Freeze delay which is an additional pedal input around the back that lets you keep a sound looping smoothly while you play over it, great for building up even bigger sounds or for live jamming. And as with everything in Gemini, you can do this per layer – it kind of turns a double synth into a treble or even quad sonic experience and makes Gemini one of the most hands-on ‘just another five minutes’ synths we’ve played.

Phew, just space to cover the sequencer – and we are very aware that Gemini’s surface has only been scratched in this review. The sequencer sits alongside the arpeggiator and just a couple of buttons let you program up to 16 sequences of up to 64 notes in length. Again, you use the 16 buttons that access presets, waves, modulation, etc – this being at least their fifth function. You can play in each step with chords or notes and the sequencer automatically jumps to the next step (or group of 16 from four) after you release the note. You can also add slides (by pressing both steps simultaneously), accents, rests, and set the sequence length. As with pretty much everything on Gemini, it’s well thought out and done quite brilliantly without the use of a screen.