Co-developed by one of Britain’s most celebrated synth designers, PWM’s Mantis draws on decades of innovation. Greg Scarth finds out what makes this hybrid synth special.
The PWM Mantis is a labour of love. First announced last year, the story of the Mantis’s development actually stretches back much further, to when PWM’s Paul Whittington enlisted the help of British synth designer Chris Huggett to create a new instrument for the fledgling brand. Huggett sadly passed away in 2020, but Whittington continued the development of the Mantis with the approval of his family, resulting in the production version of the Mantis which you see here. Huggett was renowned as one of the true pioneers of British synth design, responsible for the iconic EDP Wasp and OSC OSCar among many others. As such, the Mantis isn’t just relevant as a sentimental tribute to a synth innovator, but as a truly interesting instrument in its own right.
The Mantis is a duophonic hybrid synth, meaning it uses a mixture of analogue and digital circuits and can play two notes simultaneously. This is a truly duophonic instrument with two oscillator per voice, each of which has its own dedicated analogue filter (as opposed to the more common paraphonic design, which has just one filter). Compared to the brand’s Malevolent monosynth, the Mantis looks superficially similar but there’s not actually much crossover in features or circuits. The Malevolent is a semi-modular design deliberately intended to sound rough and edgy, whereas the Mantis is much more of an all-rounder without any modular features, also featuring a full-size 37-note keybed rather than the mini keys of the Malevolent.
Chris Huggett was known since the 1970s as an engineer who embraced left-field design ideas, such as the digital oscillators and capacitive keyboard of the Wasp, or the additive synthesis capabilities of the OSCar. The Mantis draws on similar ideas in newly designed circuits, with Wasp-style digitally generated oscillator signals and analogue filters based on the same kind of SSI2164 VCA chips employed in the OSCar.
In terms of synth architecture, the Mantis is extremely capable: each voice has two ‘mathematically generated’ digital oscillators plus a sub-oscillator, with sine, triangle, sawtooth, pulse, organ-style Shepard tone and wavetable settings available, all shapable using the Shape control. Each oscillator section leads into a separate analogue signal path for full duophonic functionality, with multi-mode, state-variable filters incorporating an overdrive circuit. With a total of eight modes (three of which can be used duophonically), the filter section is particularly versatile. The filter width control is also notable for being similar to the OSCar’s ‘separation’ control, setting the cutoffs of the two filters at different frequencies.
Two LFOs and two envelopes are available for modulation, while an analogue ring modulation circuit is combined with digital reverb and chorus to round out the effects. An effective arpeggiator offers six different modes, including the option to add positive or negative swing, and to hold notes using the modulation joystick.
It would be easy to assume that the Mantis is a kind of ‘OSCar 2.0’, which isn’t quite true, but there are undoubtedly big strands of OSCar DNA running through this instrument. There are differences in oscillator setup, but the multi-mode filters have a very OSCar sound to them. It might sound reductive to say that the character of any synth is defined mainly by its oscillators and filters, but that’s the simple conclusion here: the versatility of the digital oscillators combines with the equally versatile filter circuits to create something which can sound special in numerous ways. Use the conventional analogue-style wave shapes and a low-pass filter setting and the Mantis will happily do fat, ballsy old-school tones. Switch to the wavetable oscillator and you get the advantages of that hybrid approach, with a more 80s-inspired combination of digital oscillators and analogue filters. Play with the filter width and you can easily create vocal-style formant filter effects. It’s a hugely versatile approach to sound, but perhaps more importantly it’s really fun. The hands-on approach with dedicated knobs and no menu diving means that you find yourself dialling in incredible sounds without even thinking.
Although it’s easy to focus on some of the retro influences on the Mantis, it’s worth pointing out that it’s a synth which can do plenty of modern things too, both in terms of sounds and functionality. Patch memory includes 100 factory presets and 100 blank slots for your own use. The synth is class compliant for easy MIDI control over USB, while it can also be bus powered via the USB-C port. LFOs and the arpeggiator can sync to MIDI clock over DIN or USB. Oscillator drift allows you to dial in analogue-style imprecision to the oscillators for added thickness and character. There are also neat little features like the option to loop envelopes and control ‘sustain fall’ (similar to a second decay stage while a key is held down). All in all, it’s a synth which combines retro influences and modern convenience very effectively.
The Mantis is an expensive synth and feels quite plasticky at first, but it’s clear the focus has been almost exclusively on sound and usability. The extensive, controls give the synth a really appealing, hands-on feel which encourages you to tweak and explore the vast range of sounds you can create (it’s worth noting that there doesn’t seem to be a full manual available yet, but the Mantis is intuitive enough that you should be able to figure it out from the quick start guide alone).
There aren’t many obvious rivals to the Mantis in terms of its unique approach. The closest alternative might be Moog’s Subsequent 37, another duophonic synth with a more traditional analogue approach. It’s a great synth, but does come in a couple of hundred pounds more expensive than the Mantis and only has one filter. With that said, at this kind of premium price point you’re unlikely to be choosing based solely on cost, and the Mantis appeals not just because it’s slightly cheaper but because it has its own distinctive character and an inspiring, user-friendly approach to sound design. Putting aside any sentimentality, the Mantis achieves the primary aim: it’s a fantastic instrument. What better tribute could there be to Chris Huggett’s proud legacy?
Greg Scarth
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