Viral Nopia Synth Is ‘Basically Finished’ After Years of Teasing

After setting the music gear world ablaze in 2023 with the first teaser of the Nopia synth, creators Martin Grieco and Rocío Gal are finally nearing the finish line. The duo recently brought the device to the MusicRadar offices for an exclusive hands-on preview, revealing that it will launch in “a couple of months” at a price of approximately £550.

The Nopia is built around a radically different approach to harmonic interplay. Instead of a traditional setup with a handful of knobs and a keyboard controlling a single synth patch, it blends multiple modules,keys, bass, arp, and pad,into a unified performance experience, functioning much like a drumless groovebox. At its core is a one-octave keyboard dubbed the Chord Builder, a 12-button Tonal Selector, and an Extensions Dial that together define the key and voicing of chords. The result is a system that lets you play complex harmonies using just one or two fingers.

Additional performance tools include a strum plate located in the top-right corner for plucking individual notes from a chord, plus a dedicated slider for full chord pitch bends.

Under the hood, the Nopia combines virtual analog and sample-based synth engines with essential effects like delay, reverb, tape emulation, and beat repeat. Connectivity is equally robust, featuring per-module MIDI output so you can control other instruments using Nopia’s unique harmonic engine.