Peak and Summit: Still reaching new heights?
Download two free sound packs and see how Venus Theory, Jason Graves, Mylar Melodies, and Starsky Carr continue to find new uses for these analogue/digital hybrid synths.
It’s been a while since we first unleashed our flagship duo of analogue/digital hybrid synths: six years for Summit and a full eight years for its smaller sibling, Peak. Both synths were met with rave reviews upon release, and they’ve since found their way into the hands and onto the tracks of artists like Orbital, James Blake, Jon Hopkins, and Max Cooper.
The instruments themselves have evolved too, with new features like expanded stereo control and new modulation destinations added alongside new effect modes and dedicated modulation possibilities for those effects.
But, more than half a decade on, and nearly a full decade in Peak’s case, are these two synths still at the top of their game in 2025?
Below are three videos that we think make compelling cases in Peak and Summit’s favour. Each one showcases a different side to the instrument in question: Venus Theory and Jason Graves put Summit to work as a sound-design powerhouse for video-game scoring, Mylar Melodies demonstrates some essential go-to patches you need to know about on Peak, and Starsky Carr gives us his own thoughts about just how well Summit has aged — and why it’s still a staple in his studio.
Scroll on to see all three videos and to learn how you can get your hands on an exclusive pair of free sound packs from some of the featured creators.
Venus Theory and Jason Graves
If you watch a lot of synth videos, Venus Theory needs little introduction. And likewise for Jason Graves if you’re into video-game scoring. For those who don’t fit neatly into either camp, Venus Theory, real name Cameron, is a content creator, composer, and sound designer who has built a huge following on YouTube for his explainer videos, reviews, tutorials, and more. Graves is the composer behind many memorable scores from video-game franchises like Call of Duty, Tomb Raider, Dead Space, and Far Cry.
In this video, the pair collaborate on a cue for a hypothetical video game, demonstrating the processes and workflows they’d go through in real life, from designing sounds that help build out the game-world to implementing their work in middleware program FMOD. Middleware, as Cameron explains, is a video-game equivalent of a DAW, allowing cues to sync to the unpredictable action of a game.
The electronic sounds for this cue are sourced almost entirely from Summit, of which both collaborators are long-time fans. Here, Cameron coaxes ambient atmospheres, digital plucks, and growling brass sounds from it, making full use of the analogue-digital nature of the synth.
Want to get your hands on these exact sounds for your own Summit? The Pair’s Incursea sound pack is available now for free via Novation Components. It contains 20 single and 10 multi/split patches designed specifically for the kind of cinematic game scoring the two creators have become known for.
Mylar Melodies
North Yorkshire–based YouTuber, Podcaster, and all-around synthesist Mylar Melodies has been involved in electronic music for more than two decades — ever since he first began dabbling with his brother’s MC-303 groovebox. Shortly after this, he spent the money intended for his first car on his first semi-modular synthesiser, a Cwejman S1.
Here, he turns his attention to his Peak (or should that be “Pee-ack”?) and runs us through all 32 sounds from of his latest sound pack: a free gift from him to you, filled with essential — and in many cases classic — synth sounds recreated on modern hardware.
Unlike many sound packs, this offering from Mylar Melodies isn’t intended to show off his skills as a sound designer or the sonic range of the synth itself, though it arguably does a fine job of both. Instead, these are designed to be starting points for your own explorations. You’ll find a wide variety of beginnings here, from squelchy acid basses to percussive plucks and all manner of strings.
To download Mylar Melodies’ Essentials pack for your own Peak, head over to Components now. Since Summit is, in many ways, two Peaks, these patches will all work there too.
Starsky Carr
In his time as a musician, producer, writer, sound designer, and content creator Starsky Carr has built up a dedicated following, not least for his in-depth tutorials and reviews on all manner of musical hardware on YouTube. Of late, he’s been turning his attention to various bits of Novation gear, including the new Launch Control XL, Launchkey, and, of course, Summit.
In this video, Starsky sets out to answer precisely the question posed by this article — is Summit still as relevant in 2025 as it was in 2015? The answer, he finds after a fair bit of sound-design side-tracking, is a resounding “yes”.
Watch as he shows off Summit’s binaural capabilities; imitates some classic hardware; and dives into the synth’s creation, including a look at the pivotal role played by legendary designer Chris Huggett. Starsky then digs back into a few favourite features before summing things up with his own feelings on six years of Summit.
No free sounds on offer here, but if you enjoyed Starsky’s emulations of vintage synths, you can pick up all those sounds — wavetables included — for a very reasonable price from his website.