LYRA-8 Organismic Synth (for soundscapes, FXs, pads, complex textures)

This. I do that a lot. Disappear into the Lyraverse for a few hours then put dinner on. Or whatever.

Same goes for all my gear really. But Lyra has a very transcendental, absorption state kind of thing going on.

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I like this.

I wouldnā€™t say I ever regretted it, but I did let it go, after a while. To me it was, and always is, when hear other people use it, pretty samey sounding.
Itā€™s also not very expressive. You might get the impression, that itā€™ll get up and make coffee, if you tap it the right way, from watching people use it, but in reality, the envelope of the touch interface, is pretty restrictive.

But, as mentioned above, it is great, for getting into a meditative state. I get that with modular too, though.
You should try it - they keep good value second hand, and it is an interesting experience. And probably my favourite look, of any instrument Iā€™ve owned.

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Wondering if anyone here could offer any help or advice.
I just took delivery of a used LYRA-8 from a fellow on this forum, and despite it being packaged up extremely well, somehow the power switch isnā€™t working at all. It seems to have gotten damaged in transit.

It simply clicks back and forth and feels really loose in the enclosure at the back. See the video and it will be clearer.

Any ideas how to fix this? or what to do? Apart from just cry right now :pleading_face:

Thanks

Robin

This was mine, would appreciate the help anyoneā€¦. Also emailing soma now.

@robinrimbaud as I said, happy to send a postage label to get it back to me for a full refund or pay for it to be fixed.

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Depends how good you are with a soldering iron.

Looks like a simple enough job, especially given how well put together everything is on the inside.

Just email Soma for the part number of the switch, just make sure to tell them itā€™s the plastic one, as later models have a metal switch.

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Looking at it again, it kinda looks like the switch has snapped off from the screws holding it to the housing, might just be a case of opening it up and showing it a bit of gorilla glue to put it back in place.

Seriously, donā€™t be afraid of opening it up, itā€™s like a work of art in there.

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this is basically the Lyra telling me I should have kept it :rofl:

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So, I opened it up and see that the power switch is basically not connected to anything. How is the red panel supposed to connect to the switch itself then? Thereā€™s no solder or anything on the black plastic switch. Donā€™t want to force anything of course either. Thanks for any advice!

and I tried gently pushing the red connector onto the metal bracket but the switch just rattles around still. Canā€™t find any guides in the DIY build as to what should be happening here either. Hmmā€¦

Yeah, that looks pretty broken to me, those metal pins look like theyā€™ve snapped out of the bottom of the switch housing.

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I tried bending the little clips back around the black plastic switch, but no matter how tight it is the switch on the exterior on the case has no effect at all. It just slides up and down, quite loosely.

Thanks anyhow @Fin25

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No worries, itā€™s a pretty simple fix with the right part though, so nothing terminal. It also helps that itā€™s not soldering onto a board, so really simple and requiring almost zero skills.

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No regrets.

Itā€™s an oft overused phrase but itā€™s been a real game changer for me and really flipped over my preconceived notions of making music. It has allowed me to see myself as a participant (rather than the one in charge) in the musical process. Neither active nor passive.

After a decade or so of programmable boxes (which I love for what they are and will continue to use), Iā€™ve since picked up the Subharmonicon and Mother 32, and plan to pick up a 2nd Mother, put them in a 3 tier rack and have Lyra join the throng in an all new ambient space station of immediacy. Hurrah!

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If it was mine i would order a spare part and connect the 2 red wires together for now so i could play with it. Absolutely no problem to turn it on an off by (dis) connexting the powersupply when leaving the 2 red wires connected (bare wire/solder part insulatied with electrical tape)

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Older Lyras had those plastic power switches; if youā€™re planning to change it yourself try to find a metal or somehow a better switch

Iā€™d actually argue that itā€™s more expressive than most synths, and certainly very alive ā€“ provided you fully interact with it. But to each their own.

However, if youā€™re into eurorack as you mention, you could use an envelope of choice - I played around with just that in this patch here: https://youtu.be/srw_sYiqU4s

I donā€™t think this use is where the Lyra shines most, but itā€™s still a characterful and lovely sound source.

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Yeah, absolutely, to each their own. I think we might disagree about, what constitutes ā€˜expressiveā€™. The Lyra certainly has lots of ways, in which it can interact with itself. But, just to make a clear case, take any well known melody from a piece by, say Mozart, and play it on your Lyra.

Thank you - I really enjoyed that piece :+1:

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As someone who studied classically on traditional instruments, honestly, I would hate hearing Mozart on any synthesizer! Few are expressive enough if making that point, so I think context is key. Lyra isnā€™t designed to play Mozart and I personally donā€™t want it to.

Glad you liked the piece! :raised_hands: Iā€™m sure Iā€™ll end up exploring this area a bit more. For some reason the Lyra is the instrument I reach for most at the mo

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Oh, I absolutely agree! Classical on a synth, is my idea of a soundtrack in hell. That is not what I meant. What I meant was, that any attempt to do anything intricate in regards to melody, rythm and dynamics, is hard, if not impossible, on the Lyra, and moreso than any other synth, Iā€™ve played.

And of course, that is not the idea with the instrument, so it was just to illustrate, what I mean by expressive. And something I think is sometimes lost, when taking about the Lyra. I think people asking about it, deserve to know these things.

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