Knobcon returns to the Hyatt Regency Schaumburg outside Chicago from 11 to 13 September 2026. The organizers have published the programming, the guest of honor and the exhibitor list for the fourteenth edition.
Terry Michaels
Terry Michaels, who also goes by Terry Mikulic, is this year's guest of honor. Knobcon credits him with the ENS-76, a relaxation-core oscillator published in issue 62 of Bernie Hutchins' Electronotes newsletter, and calls it "the most influential analog oscillator design of the modern era". According to the organizers, the circuit went on to appear in Gene Stopp's ASM-1, the Synthesizers.com Q106 and the muSonics Vanilla oscillators.
Michaels founded the laser show company Laser Artistry in 1976, which gave its final performance on 31 December 1999. He takes questions at the event in a live AMA hosted by Suit & Tie Guy.
Programming
- The Basics of Synthesis, with Marc Doty
- The History and Evolution of Reverberation, Echo, and Delay in Electronic Music, with Bill Beith
- Virtual Insanity, on the development of Yamaha's VL1 and VP1, with Manny Fernandez
- Gear Collection Paralysis, with Jon Sonnenberg
- Introduction to KiCAD, with Chris Nagorka
DIY build workshops run at a range of soldering difficulty levels. The banquet is on Saturday 12 September at 7pm in the Sapphire Pavilion, sold as an add-on with limited seating. The exhibit halls open 10am to 6pm on Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sunday, following a Friday welcome reception with live music.
Tickets and exhibitors
A ticket is $75 and covers all three days. Knobcon does not sell single-day passes. Hotel rooms are listed at $144 through the event booking link.
More than 80 vendors are confirmed. They include 1010music, Buchla, Elektron, Erica Synths, Hammond, Midiverse Modular, Noise Engineering, Synclavier and WMD.
Via Synthtopia. More at Knobcon.
