I’m curious, do you rate all of your synths based on if you can play Mozart on them? Wouldnt that make all drum machines useless, too?
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Did you read the post just above yours? Let me know if you need further clarification.
Right?! Haha, hopefully that’s something we can all agree on 
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For sure! No need for fire or brimstone
Yeah, but my point is it’s very expressive within the sonic palette it has. You cant play the drums like a piano, yet it would be silly to claim they’re not an expressive instrument. The lyra is very expressive, it’s just not a piano and doesnt try to be one. If you dont like it or think its too limited, fine. Some people think that about guitars.
I, obviously, disagree. But, as I wrote earlier, I think people should try it. It’s an interesting and different experience, and I have nothing but respect for Vlad and his vision. Such a breath of fresh air.
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Agree! I wouldn’t say that Lyra is an expressive instrument; maybe for noise but certainly not for melodies and dynamics!
Some will say “but it’s wasn’t designed for that in the first place! …to be a normal synth” to which i can replay “good! we agree then!” 
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I think everyone’s right.
If you define expression in terms of things like velocity, aftertouch (basically the ability to create expression through played variations in dynamics) and such, yeah, the Lyra isn’t very expressive at all.
But if you define expression in it’s more artistic meaning, as in the ability of an instrument to express feelings through sound, then it’s probably the most expressive instrument I own.
Like, I’m not a very expressive player, but the Lyra allows me to express my feelings very successfully.
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That’s a good destinction to make.
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I’m sure I could freak the hell out of peeps if I could play this famously expressive melody on the Lyra. Such masterful control over amplitude, vibrato, filter cutoff, wind noise, etc. - just ridiculous number of simultaneous control parameters on each and every single note, and also in the transitions between notes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETS8mOJ4ENQ
But, I don’t want to, any more than I’d want to try to play it on Rhodes piano.
I know i’m gonna buy a Lyra once. After reading reviews and listening to demo’s i think of it more as a interactive sound source rather than a musical instrument. I like to take field recordings not ever expecting ending up with a sequenced melody in sync with my musical instruments or in key. However some field recordings are very usable as bits and pieces. I think the Lyra is more like that but you don’t have to go on the road with it but just play in the comfort of your home. It sure always sounds like Lyra, the same as the wind, sea, traffic, birds always sound like nature. The beauty is it will hardly ever tell the same story twice.
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That’s indeed how I mainly look at my Lyra too. It sometimes gets you to musical places you didn’t quite expect. And I must admit, once I start a ‘Lyra-session’, time flies pretty fast.
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Aye, no “tinkling” on the Lyra while your cup of tea brews…unless you like strong cold tea
A tinkle leads to a vortex which is finished with you in its own time.
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You can tune the individual oscillators and play melodies with it. Saying that you cant is just wrong. You can play chords, pads and melodies easily, just tune the oscillators.
Its very expressive first of all due to its controls, you have a lot of control over attack and decay simply By how much contact your fingers Make with the metal plates. This is to me a lot more expressive than a keyboard without pressure sensitivity. Second, even tho the signal chain and thus the sounds that come out of it can get chaotic, you are always in Control of what happens. It doesnt do random noise, you can dial everything back and recreate sounds easily if you know how it Works.
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I had no problem with melodies and harmonies.
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Loved that. That got me to put a lyra-8 in my cart…
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Yes you can but it’s totally different playing Lyra like that on its 2/3 octave detuned ‘keyboard’ and a 61 keys velocity sensitive keyboard with aftertouch, envelopes, filters with envelopes…
Endless list of synths that can do a much better job, even in that situation, when used for simple melodic phrases
Yeah, but thats completely different though isnt it? Its not a Jack of all trades synth, it’s not at its best when played melodically (I actually do think that playing chords with it is super cool and for some songs its the best synth for that purpose), but you implied its not capable of playing melodic elements at all, which is totally wrong.
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