I’ve needed a poly synth for a long time and am spoilt for choice!
I currently have an A4, and whilst some MidiPal magic certainly provides clues, the poly update from Elektron is still coming. Further without poly-chaining of multiple A4s, four notes is somewhat limiting.
That being said, the prospect of an A4 update makes me hesitant to pick up something like a Prophet 08. I have previously owned and sold a Nord Lead 2 and SFX60 as both didn’t really do it for me.
So should I go with a Nord Lead 4, try an Accelerator, drop some cash on a Prophet 12, or be a baller and get a Solaris?
Suggestions and experiences would be greatly appreciated.
I’m very happy with my Alpha Juno-1. Great warm analog sound, feels good to play, and they go dirt cheap these days. Coupled with a MIDI-controller to control parametres with, it’s excellent value for money. Or just get a Juno-106 or Juno-60. The sound of the Junos are just balsam for your soul.
I’ve also been considering getting a Prophet 8 or 12, but have decided that I’ll just use my Juno for poly-duties, and will probably go for a DSI Evolver (the mono one) instead. I also considered the Poly Evolver, of course, which I believe is a more interesting synth than the Prophet 8, but in the end, a bit too expensive for me.
If digital synths are cool with you and want lots of polyphony and good FM synthesis options I would recommend the Nord Lead 3 instead of NL4.
To me the interface of the NL3 is the best there is because of the LED encoders. So every time you change preset, a switch between the 4 panels the knobs are in the right position.
From reading elektron-users I get the impression that you are quite the Alpha Juno lover In terms of editing does it require real time sysex messages? If so, how responsive are the controls?
Thanks for the suggestion deHaan, the NL3 has always been on my radar and it would certainly cover different ground to the A4.
My basic criteria is 6 or more voices, good control and Midi implementation, and an ability to be warm, lush and abstract.
Some other suggestions with hands-on controls and quite affordable and awesome sounding:
Analog: polysix (love those ssm filters), mono/poly, juno 106, kawai sx240, akai ax60
Hybrid: DW8000, kawai k3
VA: virus, nord lead, waldorf XTk, waldorf Q
These are my favorites in the 300 - 1000 pricerange. Of course masterpieces as the jupiter 8 and yamaha cs80 would be cool, but they are alot more expensive and i’ve never seen/had one
From reading elektron-users I get the impression that you are quite the Alpha Juno lover In terms of editing does it require real time sysex messages? If so, how responsive are the controls?
Thanks for the suggestion deHaan, the NL3 has always been on my radar and it would certainly cover different ground to the A4.
My basic criteria is 6 or more voices, good control and Midi implementation, and an ability to be warm, lush and abstract.[/quote]
Hehe, yes, indeed! I got it in a trade just a little while back, didn’t really expect anything of it, but I’ve found myself playing and programming the Alpha Juno more than any of my other synths for the past couple of months. It’s just got a great sound, in my opinion, and for that price I think it’s unbeatable as an analog poly synth.
Yeah, it’s real time sysex, as far as I know, but it’s really responsive. I control it with a Novation Sl MK controller, with a template for it I got from Anselmi on the old forum, and it works just beautifully. Bargain gear buy of the year for me, no doubt.
Check out the Ambika from Mutable Instruments. It’s insanely versatile, has a great sound and can be set-up with the kind of filters you like best - or a mix of them. Also, there are many people who will build one for you, so no need to solder.
After playing with a Prophet 12 yesterday, I think I would take it over any other poly synth regardless of price. Without doubt the best synth interface I have ever seen, particularly for something so complex, and it sounded stunning.
Nice. I’m a big DSI fan, even though they don’t have the best reputation on this board. I was thinking about selling my P08 to fund a P12. But wasn’t sure because of the digital OSCs. I don’t mind digital at all but it’s still a change of route for DSI. Do you have experiences with some of their other synths and can compare the sound?
How about something old and simple? I have a Juno 106 and I love it (although i wasnt to keen at first). Its a very basic synth, but its cheap and huge. 6 voice analog for $260, you can’t complain.
The P08 is nice the P12 looks amazing. If money isn’t an option theres always a poly evolver, but I’d go classic and cheap first.
I’ve just been playing with the A4 as polysynth for a couple hours straight, this is quite addictive!
What I did was write a little app which
[ul]
[li]mirrors knob turns on any synth tracks back to all tracks[/li]
[li]handles note channel routing from a connected MIDI keyboard[/li]
[/ul]
I’m not a keyboard player, so I found that 4 voices are plenty for me…
Last time I’ve tried to use the A4 polyphonically, I thought it just didn’t sound very good in this way, but the problem was simply that the sounds from all 4 channels were independent, so that it was a chore to have them match up in a nice poly kit.
But with this app, the A4 feels like a full polyphonic synth, as the voices are unified. And it sounds really nice. If you’re interested I could record a demo (be warned though, i suck at keys).
What doesn’t work well yet is recording polyphonic phrases into patterns, as the A4 only records on the active track (? i think it works this way…)
But keyboard noodling, while tweaking the kit, is super fun.
Until now, the Analog Four to me was mostly this compact Elektron techno box…
but with a full size keyboard (probably helps that it’s old and heavy), it feels like something much bigger and way more epic.
So yeah, 2 A4s would give a pretty impressive poly synth for the money imho…
I love the P08. Can’t compare it to the A4 since I never used that.
The P08 has a very 80s sound, kinda cheesy at times. That is what I’m looking for in an analogue poly synth. The sound is very distinct. I love that specific sound but some people here really don’t. So I guess you should try it out first. It’s the one synth that stayed with me over the years.
The Ambika is kinda new - just a few months - and it can come pretty close to the P08 in some areas. That’s why I was thinking about an P12 upgrade. If there would be a desktop version of the P12, I’d probably go for it as I don’t need the keyboard. But I’m in no hurry.
I recently realized I needed a really compact polysynth. I wasn’t bothered about ‘real’ analogue, or multitimbral operation, or anything particularly fancy - just a great user interface & sound. I got a great deal on something I’d thought might be the right option for me : a s/h creamware Prodyssey ASB. yeah it’s a VA…but bloody hell does it sound good & the interface is great for a menu diving-refusnik like me. it’s a bit of a weird option - a poly-capable recreation of a classic monosynth! But I’m absolutely in love with it !
Your app sounds nice! I made a little Max/MSP utility to do the same thing, although I didn’t add controls to sync/mirror all tracks.
One idea if you play around with this more, is add a Spread amount. I’ve found I want almost identical settings between the voices, but some variance of filter freq, and envelopes goes a long way. Especially if you trigger the voices in unison.
In terms of editing does it require real time sysex messages? If so, how responsive are the controls?
