• Jennings Mk 2 vintage Kontakt synth front panel
  • Jennings Mk2 effects
  • Jennings Mk2 filters

Jennings Mk 2

(25 customer reviews)

30.00 plus VAT

Powerful vintage valve-based synthesiser

Description

Jennings Mk2 is available at a special discount price as part of our Jennings / Jennings Mk2 bundle. See our Hot Deals page to grab this offer.

“This interesting, unique and great-sounding synth is now more flexible – and cheaper.” – Computer Music MagazineComputer Music 9 out of 10

4-osc synth architecture with a twist • Two valve-based oscillators offering shapeable waveforms; one valve suboscillator; one classic analogue oscillator  • Multiple modulation possibilities; massive filter bank

 

Jennings Mk2This is what happens when you take 1950s valve-driven technology – courtesy of the amazing Jennings Univox valve synthesiser – and pump it with so many tachyons that it warps through its own wormhole into an alternate future.

Well, not really. But that’s kind of what we were thinking when we started Jennings Mk 2: what would a massive analogue polysynth – the kind Roland were building in the 80s, say – sound like if the only technology available was 1950s valves? A multi-oscillator monster with all kinds of LFOs and modulation and so on, but with a valve heart? Well, no such thing exists, of course; so we built it. And it turns out it sounds pretty damn swell…

Jennings Mk 2 reinvents our original Jennings Univox. With the original we aimed at a painstaking recreation of the machine the Beatles used in The Cavern down to the smallest details, but the Mk 2 version abandons historical accuracy and instead takes the concept of a valve synth far further. Instead of one detuneable oscillator, we give you three (and a sub); instead of one set of waveshaping tabs, you get two, which can be operated in parallel. The first two oscillators give you that unique and evocative 50s valve tone, while the third broadens your sonic palette hugely by roping in classic analogue waveforms including sine and noise waves. These instantly expand the typical compressed, raucous tone of the Jennings oscillators with everything from thick sawtooths to smooth sines and bright triangles. A quick twist of the Volts knob can roughen these up hugely. On the Osc 3 Effects pane you can add chorus, phasing, echo and rotary speaker to the third oscillator while leaving the blended valve tones shining through; or you can use the modelled amp cab to get a more Jenningsy tone into the third oscillator, blending it and creating a more vintage tonality.

Jennings Mk2 filtersFurther fun comes courtesy of the Jennings valve-based sub-oscillator, which tracks the envelope and pitch of Osc 1but an octave lower. It cheerfully bypasses Osc 1’s filters, lending its rude-boy snarl to any patch you want. (If you tune Osc 1 up an octave, this brings the sub-oscillator up to normal pitch but lets Osc 1 behave as a nice high-pitched shimmer. Neat!) And finally there’s the classic Jennings “Perc” setting, which can be dialled into add some key-click to key or bass patches. Four oscillators plus key-click… if you want rich, complex, mobile waveforms, this thing delivers.

We went a bit mad with the filters, too. A typical big polysynth might, if you’re lucky, give you two filters to play with; we’ve gone with four. One switchable high / low pass for each individual oscillator, to sculpt the basic waves; and one Global filter switchable again between high and low pass, but also between 2 and 4 pole, with its own LFO and ADSR envelope. This is where you can create sweeps and movement. Bandpass effects can of course be dialled up easily by having the Oscillator filters in one mode and the Global filter in the other, and you can get some great burbles and fizzes out of this arrangement.

There are LFOs scattered all over the synth, perfect for creating movement, and they can all be cranked up into the audio range for serious weirdness if you want to go that far. The Osc 1 and 2 LFOs and the Global Filter LFO have switchable shapes, so you can get special effects and pulses going using the ramp or square; or randomised effects with the smoothed sample-and-hold. Osc 3’s LFOs are sine-based, but there are two of them, controlling pitch and amplitude for separate tremolo and vibrato.

Old technology usually comes warts-and-all, with weird little idiosyncrasies and quirks that make it just a little unpredictable (in a good way). Jennings Mk 2 embraces this, and you’ll find that the Osc 3 Effects Section also affects the Sub-Oscillator and Key-Click components, while if you want to go for all-out unpredictability, there is of course our world-famous Glitch control which short-circuits the Jennings and yields up randomised, unique patch settings every time you click it. These are “musically” randomised, so you don’t get atonal mush every time – the Glitch control is internally biased towards musically-useful results. Try it and see, and if you don’t like the sound, try it again!

The original Jennings brought the forgotten sound of a lost synth era back to light. Jennings Mk 2 takes that sound and lets it off the leash for sonic exploration far in advance of the original hardware. You can use it to recreate classic synth patches which will come out with a totally different, valve-based flavour; to cook up strange, vintage tonalities that feel both unknown and familiar at the same time; and to make new, unique, warped instruments whose sonic palette references a bygone age. This is a strange, magical machine.


(All our Kontakt instruments require a full copy of Native Instruments Kontakt v4.2.3 or higher (including all versions of Kontakt 5). Kontakt Player is not supported: instruments will load, but will time out after 15 minutes. See the FAQ for further information.)

25 reviews for Jennings Mk 2

  1. mightbeacoolusername (verified owner)

    Oh yeah, that pops! This is such a slick little piece of work. The Jennings brings more character than you know what to do with, but the Mark 2 lets it all free and makes a proper synth. It would take quite a bit longer to learn than their other products, except the glitch button is here to make the process easy.

  2. johnup12 (verified owner)

    Wow! I’ve heard other Jennings Univox emulations, but nothing comes close to the sound and versatility of Jennings Mk 2. What RR has coaxed from that ancient machine is nothing short of amazing. Truly a (if not “the”) highlight of the Laboratory!

  3. W.TaylorRiley (verified owner)

    W(`0`)W (^O^☆♪
    I couldn’t help but compare this to Vacuum Pro… and I like that synth a lot, but it just sounds like an emulated virtual synth. THIS, however, HAS that SOUND! I didn’t even know what I was expecting when I first opened it up. Totally blew me away. I’m in love. Jennings mk2, Marry me.

  4. Eric Boone (verified owner)

    Another win for the RR team! I love that this is a retro-future machine made of tube based sounds and constructed like an 80s dream synth. Capable of sounds you just can’t get elsewhere.

  5. evan.j.lange (verified owner)

    This is totally awesome. So much warmth and grit. I have an obsession with the Volts knob and the Glitch control…..

  6. aqaraza (verified owner)

    RR Jennings Mk2 was the RR synth that made me realize I was about to go down the rabbit hole, and the first of these synths that I’ve worked my way towards with trembling hands. ^_^ And it does not disappoint. Lush and intriguing, it is seemingly built of overtones. The valve architecture (presumably that’s the cause) lets it roam the sonic terrain between swelling chords and surprisingly percussive note onsets at times (especially when utilizing the numinous glotch / rnd button). This makes it very appealing, in turn, for percussive tracks! But to invite such depth of tone into one’s loops is to invite a secret genie. In other words, brilliance.

    Jennings Mk2 is one of the cornerstones of the RR instruments I’ve sampled here so far.

  7. brianedwardpoe (verified owner)

    A toasty warm electric blanket for your soul. Pull it up to your chin and take it all in.

  8. Guillaume (verified owner)

    Complex and demanding – yet clearly inspiring and analog-sounding. Not everybody’s synth, but definitely worth a try!

  9. Chris (verified owner)

    From retro organ vibes to sci-fi strangeness, and it always sounds incredible! Love it!

  10. Antal (verified owner)

    Really gives you that retro analog scifi sound. With the added benefit of extra tweakability.
    I love this thing!

  11. Ems (verified owner)

    Super presets you will not be disappointed especially by the low price

  12. Renato

    Love that gritty sound :^)

  13. Wonderful!

    Great piece of software.

  14. Sajid

    Very unique and a lot of fun!

  15. Joel Terry

    Great sound, at a reasonable price!

  16. Luis

    This instrument have a very very analog-thick sound, I like the demos.

  17. Supa Dups

    This instrument sounds amazing

  18. Dan

    Sadly my first negative RR review. Except it is not. Haaaaaaaha!
    This thing is sofa king awesome; imagine three, four, or perhaps many more of the Jenningses in one room, all plugged in and waiting, covered in peanut butter. Five Stars!

  19. daniel ower

    an excellent instrument and quite versatile. you can get classic sounding presets up and running or decide to experiment a bit. definitely a must buy. a fantastic set of sounds.

  20. giorgio

    Great synth!!!

  21. Claude Ragonnet

    I love the gritty sounds you can get out of this synth . Fantastic collection of Kontakt instruments.

  22. Brok Lenoar

    got them classic beatles tones and also can get the telstar vibe good sound

  23. Todd

    I LOVE the way this sounds. Great instrument at a great price. Don’t hesitate.

  24. Paul

    This thing is awesome. I have been using it to layer up some more standard type chord sounds made in rather popular and overused synths. Ummm, massive much? Adds a bit of something else that I’m really digging. Been using it on its own too. Great Kontact instrument as a very fair price. That applies to all of the instruments I have been getting. Thanks Guys!!!

  25. Julian (verified owner)

    Got to say, all these instruments are priced fairly, and sound as good or better than other massively priced instruments. This one in particular, is a stand out!! Really great feel and vibe!! High Five to the whole team!

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