Love Synthesizers First Love: the portable FM synth is shipping
First Love, the compact multitimbral FM synth from Iceland first shown at Superbooth 2024, is now shipping: four parts, MIDI looper, speakers and battery power.
Icelandic maker LOVE Synthesizers, founded in Reykjavík by Kári Halldórsson, is now delivering the First Love, a multitimbral FM tabletop synth designed to be played anywhere. First shown as a prototype at Superbooth 2024, where it won Sonicstate’s innovation award, the instrument is listed as “shipped October 2026” on the manufacturer’s official site. Synth Anatomy reported its availability on November 1.
An FM synth that hides the complexity
FM synthesis modulates the frequency of one oscillator, an operator, with another to create harmonics (see our guide to operators, ratios and index). Notoriously hard to program, it is approached here through a touch screen that shows the connections between operators, envelopes edited with a gesture and wave shaping (bending the waveform itself). Synth Anatomy describes four 4-operator engines; the manufacturer speaks of “custom FM connections”.
- 4 multitimbral parts: four instruments play at once, each polyphonic or monophonic (see our polyphony guide). The maker does not publish a voice count.
- Riff arpeggiator: a sequence of notes and rests to play from the velocity-sensitive pads or arpeggiate at tempo.
- 4 x 4 MIDI looper: record, overdub, merge, then arrange loops.
- Microtonal tuner: up to 256 custom scales in memory.
- Effects: reverb, delay, chorus, Freezer, Bit-Cruncher, flanger, with a modulation matrix.
Connections and power
| Element | First Love |
|---|---|
| Audio outputs | ¼” L/R line outs (2 stereo or 4 mono via routing), ¼” stereo headphone out |
| MIDI | 5-pin DIN In and Thru, USB-C MIDI |
| Sync | ⅛” in and out, 1, 2, 4 or 24 PPQ |
| Wireless | Bluetooth |
| Power | dedicated USB-C, or 4 lithium batteries |
| Monitoring | built-in speakers |
The manufacturer’s official video:
Who it is for, what it costs, what it competes with
Who it is for. Mobile musicians who want to compose away from the studio on batteries and speakers, and anyone who has always avoided FM because of its interface. The four separate mono outputs make it usable in the studio too. It is not a keyboard: you play it from the pads, the screen or an external MIDI keyboard.
What it costs. LOVE Synthesizers shows no list price on its site; Synth Anatomy quotes €595 and $699. The maker lists its dealers on its where-to-buy page. View at Thomann
What it competes with.
- Yamaha reface DX: 4-operator FM, 8 voices, 37 mini keys, also with speakers and battery power, but monotimbral.
- Elektron Digitone II: 4-operator FM, 16 tracks and a full Elektron sequencer, considerably more expensive and without speakers.
- Korg opsix: 6-operator FM, 32 voices and a 37-key keyboard, deeper but less portable.
First Love bets on accessibility and self-sufficiency rather than depth; voice count and fine operator editing remain to be judged hands-on. To place FM among the other synth families, see our first synth guide and the polyphonic synths section.
