Hey!
Can’t sleep, can’t eat anymore as all my thoughts are about a new synth I want to get for my studio. This needs to be the main one with good build quality, good keys, easy integration with DAW Cubase (on Mac) etc.
Below is the summary synths I had in my studio and sold later:
KORG M3 Workstation - liked the look, easy workflow with internal sequencer, good ROM sounds and Radias board but was not happy with 'ROMPLER" concept (static waves without live twist). Sold it.
KORG Radias synth - liked very much the sound engine, however it was very bulky and clumsy in terms of synth patch editing. Sold it.
KORG R3 - too much menu diving and very plastic keys with horrible feel. Sold it
Yamaha Motif XS Rack - good sounds, too complicated menu diving, boring 'ROMPLER". Sold it
Access VIRUS TI2 had all models (rack, Polar, keyboard) did not like the sound quality, too much trance thing, integration with DAW did not work, though Fatar keys were excellent really liked the touch feel and playability. Sold it.
Roland V synth - excellent sound design capability but too clean sonically. Sold it
Novation Mininova - good synth engine, however the sound quality was a bit thin and brassy, blue plastic. Sold it
Dave smith Evolver - 4 oscillators synth hybrid. interesting sound design but too harsh and brassy, pain to program. Sold it.
Moog Voyager - 3 oscillators, analog but not inspiring, boring and not really performance orientated. Sold it.
Microkorg (MS2000 engine and new Radias based) - nice sounds, pain to program, not that advanced. Sold it.
Waldorf Blofeld - very nice sonic engine, 3 oscillators, not good for low end but good for mid range. Somehow very unstable and wobbly volume level from patch to patch, terrible encoders. Sold it
Nord Lead 4 - too brassy, harsh I guess good for lead sounds but not for pads etc. Red colour was like a spot on my face that did not attract me. Good synth engine and UI. Keybed is terrible, horrible light plastic keys - hate it. Sold it.
Yamaha Reface DX - good sounds, horrible mini keys uncomfortable to play, interface is terrible.Sold it.
KORG Kronos - good sounds, terrible fan noise, I felt like I was cheated as inside was a computer. Very nice keybed. Sold it.
So what is next to try and have as a main keyboard/synth in the studio? Any ideas?
I kind of like Kronos 2 for sounds and new hardware update compared to the original one. Keybed is fantastic really like the feel. However can’t accept the fact that it’s just a computer with a fan inside the box. I watched a youtube video when a guy took the original Kronos apart. Shocking video how messy stuff was inside the box, peace of computer equipment, lots of messy cables and wires. I have a feeling that Korg was in such a hurry to release Kronos that they did not care much how it was arranged inside the hardware. That’s why I guess my original Kronos could reach an internal temperature upto 75-78C. I bet they have tidied up the new Kronos 2 inside the box.But once again it is still a computer inside and I feel being cheated. I have a computer with Cubase I use for recording and I do not want another computer. I like to have a real synth with oscillators inside and all that stuff that makes it a synth and not a computer emulation. I was thinking about a YAMAHA MOTIF XF but again its a ROMPLER and computer inside.
Any ideas?
The above list is actually very close to my personal opinion on most of those synths too.
Provided I didn’t actually own most of them, I did try most of them and came to the same conclusions.
(I never tried a voyager though, I’d like to at some point )
I kept the Blofeld (keyless) because it’s small and can sound amazing as you said, but I agree it’s a pain to work with :p.
The most glaring omissions on your list would be a DSI Prophet of some kind, or a Jupiter, did you try them?
A jupiter is probably too ‘rompler’ and clean for you too, and a Prophet is interesting and fun to tweak but it somehow always sounds kinda the same in my opinion.
Hey Strophoid, thanks for reply!
I did try DSI Prophet 8, 12 and new 6 in the local shop. Didn’t like them sonically. Apart from sounding the same like a metal bucket (forgot that instrument name you usually see on the streets Colombian or Indian people playing live…). There are too much high frequencies in the oscillators so they sound very sharp and brassy. Even the new prophet 6 with newly developed oscillators (continuously variable waves) sounds similar to previous models. But I did find synthesis capability pretty interesting (FM, AM, Sync, 5 oscillators etc…).
Waldorf Blofeld - to be honest I liked it sonically very much. It is not for low end but can generate mid range and hi frequencies well. I guess it’s all about wavetables that Waldorf used in the synth as they sound great. Quite deep synth engine as well. Well I’ve had Blofeld twice and not sure I want to buy it again. I need a one proper Master synth with oscillators, deep synth engine and fantastic keybed that I would be keen to play day and night.
I also played Roland Jupiter 80 in the music shop. Very clean as you said and sort of uninspiring. I did not like user interface either - all rainbow coloured buttons for different instruments and nothing substantial like for synth editing.
I forgot to put on my initial synth list - 15) Roland INTEGRA 7 module I also had in the past. 7000 sounds quite good quality but very lazy user interface, very boring and clumsy. Sold it without blinking.
Well, not that many choices left for me really I guess. Maybe just wait and one day Yamaha will come up with a new ideas and new synth?!
I believe almost every modern synth/workstation is a processor, RAM memory and software. Korg choose to use a processor from Intel in Kronos, other companies makes there own.
I’ve just seen a new pre-released Yamaha Montage synth and it looked very nice. I read it will be 10 times powerful than the Motif XF and also includes FM synthesis. Maybe this is my dream coming true?! However want to now if the keybed has a nice feel like a workstation.
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