SoundForce started in 2014 with a simple idea: wouldn’t it be cool to control software synthesizers with dedicated controllers? For the first time, I combined my Electrical Engineering background with my love for computer music. My first product was the SFC-60, a controller for the TAL U-NO-LX Juno-60 plugin. Back then, everything was made by me and by hand. Since then, I have developed 6 different models and improved design and manufacturing drastically.

In April 2016, I ordered my first Eurorack DIY kit from Thonk.co.uk. I was hooked instantly and started to build my own case, my own utility modules, few Mutable modules and started (too) many projects. At the time, I was working in local FabLab and could easily mill PCBs, laser front panels and CNC some Eurorack cases. This led to a couple of DIY products in 2017, such as Clocky and the 808 Kick and Snare. In 2018, I worked on the first Eurorack assembled module, the DCO, a modern homage to the Juno-60/106 oscillator section. At Superbooth 2019, the DCO was announced and in the following months the Dual Filter and Dual ADSR were released as well.

Prior to starting SoundForce, I worked as an Industrial Programming Engineer as well as in the music business as an engineer/producer/composer.

For any questions, please the FAQ below before getting in touch:
Email: nicolas(at)sound-force.nl
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nicolassoundforce
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soundforce_nicolas/

FAQ

  • Which controllers and plugins have 2-way communication ?

    The following combinations offer 2-way communication:

    SFC-60 with TAL U-NO-LX
    SFC-60 with JUN-6 V (V collection 9 or 10)

    SFC-5 V2 with Prophet-5 V (Vcollection 9 or 10)

    SFC-8 with TAL J-8
    SFC-8 with JUP-8 V4 (Vcollection 9 or 10)

    No support for the SFC-Mini as the switches are mechnical and cannot be software controlled.
    Support cannot be added for more plugins unless I am getting the necessary data from the plugin developers.
    As I need to the interface data out of the plugin, it’s not only depending on me.

     

  • How are the controllers working and do they auto-map magically ?

    The controllers are using plain and simple MIDI CC messages. They need to be mapped to the plugin you’d like to use. Some plugins makers have mapping presets, like Arturia, other don’t, like u-he. I have presets for Arturia on my support page but mapping by hand takes 1 minute. The mapping stays in the plugin memory and you only need to do this once.

    Unless you are using the dedicated controller/plugin combo, plugins are currently not sending MIDI out when presets are changed, it’s a 1-way communication and the controller interface does not update when you change presets. Please see question above for 2-way communication compatibility.

    If you are not sure how this works you can experiment with any generic MIDI controller you might own and try to map few controls to a plugin. That way you can get a feel of what the experience might be like.

  • Do the controllers can work with standalone synths such MKS's or Oberheim Matrix ?

    The controllers are purely MIDI CC’s messages controllers, they are not synth programmers. They don’t send any sysex messages and don’t have profiles for specific hardware machines. Technically it would be possible but I don’t own any of those synths and debugging without the hardware is extremely inconvenient. On top of that, only the SFC-8 has a traditional 5-pin DIN MIDI output connector.

    If you own a SoundForce controller, you could try going through a host computer and with an application such as MIDI pipe (for MAC) you could take the CC messages and morph them into the necessary sysex messages for your hardware. You will then need a USB-MIDI interface to forward those new messages to your hardware device. I am aware of a customer that used a SFC-5 to control a Sequential Six-trak that way, but please note that the MIDI map was based on CC numbers, so no MIDI “morphing” was necessary. The CC numbers for each control can be changed in the controller’s control panel, see your user manual for more info.

  • Will you bring back the SFC-1 ?

    The SFC-1 is gone for good unfortunately. It was a very challenging controller to make and test because its size.

  • Can you change the MIDI CC numbers of the controller switches and knobs ?


    Yes, you can find on the support page Google Chrome applications to change the default CC numbers and store those in the controller’s memory. You can save the web pages and use them offline if you’d like too.

  • Will you make a custom controller for this or that plugin ?

    Most likely not. At the end of 2021, I will have 10/11 different products and with just 1 employee it’s a challenge to keep everything available at all times. I’d love to please everybody but there is not enough time. I need to choose my products very wisely.

  • Will you your controllers work with my obscure DAW from 2005 on Windows XP, and this plugin ?


    Of course I can’t test every single combination of OS and DAW. But so far, over hundreds of devices using the same hardware and firmware framework, nobody reported a total incompatibility on a certain system. Furthermore, any plugin that can be MIDI mapped could be controlled by a SoundForce controller.

  • Can I use the SFC-5 with the Repro-1 and the SFC-1 with the Repro-5 ?

    As you can observe in the plugins interfaces, they are very similar. The SFC-5 uses tactile switches + LEDs combinations and the SFC-1 uses slide switches. Most of the usual synth controls have the same layout. The main differences are in the modulation section. It’s up to the user to come up with strategies and workarounds. The user buttons and knobs are there to offer extra possibilities. The SFC-1 also has an extra sequencer/arp section as well as the FX section.

  • Will you update the SFC-5 with an added FX section ?


    No, I won’t. The SFC-1 is huge beast and it’s glorious. But it’s also very time-consuming to manufacture. The balance of the SFC-5 is much better and it allows me keep its price tag a bit lower.