Bananana Effects QUIMERA Polyphonic Synthesizer Sampler

When you plug in certain pedals, and they don’t even sound like pedals, but otherworldly creations of their own, you know you’re onto something special. Such is the case with today’s marvelous piece of musical gear, the Bananana Effects QUIMERA Polyphonic Synthesizer Sampler. Breaking all the auditory boundaries you can think of, this sonic marvel is one of the most unique all-in-one units I’ve come across, and makes sounds straight from outer space and beyond.

The QUIMERA tracks your input in real time – keeping every nuance, it re-synthesizes your playing in real time. Powered by an ARM® Cortex®-M7, this unit features ultra-fast tracking, synth processing, and effects — all running at once, with low latency built for live performance. From multiple detected frequency peaks, QUIMERA estimates the fundamental and harmonics — and treats them independently. This preserves the harmonics of your instrument, while synthesizing the character itself. Deep sound design. Simple control.

Bananana Effects’ proprietary tracking engine samples your input every 5 ms, then analyzes it and sends pitch and envelope data to the oscillators. After pitch tracking, your signal runs through oscillators and effects, yet total measured latency remains an ultra-low 12.5 ms. That’s like standing ~4.3 m from your amp. Alongside a Basic oscillator engine, QUIMERA also includes a morphing wavetable synth and a sample oscillator with multiple playback modes. Wavetables and samples also have user slots — connect to a computer to add your own freely.

Use your computer to add samples you edited and make them yours. Record directly from the INPUT — no computer required. Set the playback range of your sampled audio, and adjust pitch as well. QUIMERA is a real synthesizer — packed into a pedal. Control parameters freely with multiple modulation sources, or unlock synth-style sound design in full depth. Plus, QUIMERA includes 14 essential effects. Choose one effect from each of the four categories (Drive, Mod, Delay, Reverb). All parameters are saved per preset — instantly recallable, so you can build a finished sound using QUIMERA alone.

It’s hard to describe how much fun I had learning and demoing the QUIMERA Polyphonic Synthesizer Sampler, and I have just barely scratched the surface of what it is truly capable of, but I can’t wait to go further and further down the rabbit hole. The demo on our YouTube channel is a little longer than usual, but it was really hard to stop playing once I got going, and you’ll see and hear why when you check it out (be sure to subscribe!). There’s a TON more information available on the Bananana Effects website – be sure you head over there to get the full scoop on this machine – don’t blame me if you can’t stop yourself from ordering one, too, cheers!!