It feels so nice to see that people feel the same way I do about this synth. I was not expecting for it to become my favorite synth but I am still shocked that it’s not the most popular synth on the planet at the moment.
Hopefully someday. I think it will get the recognition it deserves. Already in the last month or two, I’m seeing way more people realize what it can do. Gives me hope
@Unifono I am very interested to hear your opinion once you get a few days with it. Please let us know how it goes
Tough call. I am not a hardcore synth guy in fact I may sell all my synths over $1k just to free up some money for my true loves - drum machines, samplers, and hand held production devices. I think the Take5 is easier to use and faster to use. The Rev2 really appeals to guys who love to sit down and sound design on synths. I like to work faster and either simple patches that I have made and twist them up with effects or use a preset and tweak that.
So it matters what your style is. For speed and quick satisfaction. I’d say Take5. If you are a sound designer, and more hardcore synth guy I think the Rev2 is worth a look. Then there are the guys who need that exact vintage sound and will drop $3k+ on a synth. If you are that guy, you probably just need to buy an Ob6 or a Prophet 5/6/10…etc.
I’ve got the Take 5 and the Pro 3. Honestly, I like the Take 5 better even though the Pro 3 can technically do more. The Take 5 just sounds really, really good almost all the time. There’s enough modulation to be satisfying without becoming overwhelming, and it’s easy to go from bread-and-butter sounds to something super out there, especially with some of the weirder mod sources (noise, voice number). It does bass surprisingly well in unison mode, although it’s a different flavor than you’d get out of the Pro 3. I do wish the envelope routing was more flexible, but you learn to work with it. I also wish it would show knob values on the display - it’s such an odd choice not to do that, just indicating when you reach the preset’s position for the knob with a dot next to the patch number (but only if you move the knob very slowly). I guess they want you to ‘use your ears’ but sometimes I like to be super precise.
The Pro 3 is powerful, but I frequently feel like I’m not utilizing it to its fullest. The synth is an absolute monster and there are so many knobs that it can feel overwhelming at times. I rarely use all 3 LFOs or envelopes but I love having them on the front panel - there are so many features I’d likely forget about them if they were buried in a menu. The mod matrix is extensive and very easy to use.
It really wants you to make grimy sounds (there are like 4 or 5 knobs dedicated to distortion/overdrive and feedback), which isn’t something I need very often. I don’t use the sequencer much because I drive most of my stuff from an MPC or Ableton, but the Pro3’s sequencer is powerful. I love paraphonic mode - it round-robins through the voices, so with careful programming and playing it can sound like you’re playing 3 different synths at once and make really cool evolving lines. That said, I use it for bass 90% of the time. Having 3 (4?) filter modes is cool, but the ladder filter borders on being useless - it just sounds weak. I also feel like the pro 3’s knobs are just a little too stiff, they actually start to hurt my arms after a while. The touch strip next to the pitch/mod wheels are really fun - I wish the T5 had one.
I guess it kind of comes down to use case - do you need pads, chords, classic keys sounds and quick patching? Or do you need ripping bass, distortion, wild modulation and a fantastic sequencer?
If you are on the US let me know. I just got an analog rytm (again) and need to free up some space in the studio. Take5 is my favorite synth but compared to my samplers and drum machines it gets criminally underused.
I think for non hardcore synth guys like myself who still want a nice analog, the T5 is an amazing option.
I know I know. Honeymoon is a thing.
But just a short first reaction after playing it for three hours…
It’s much heavier than I thought. It looks much better in reality than on the web.
It feels very sturdy and quality.
It sounds… superb. Amazing I could say. Sweetspots all over the place. I couldn’t produce any sound I didn’t like.
Even just one vco saw and a little filter - lovely.
Maybe I’m too used to fighting with the A4 for 7 years, hunting the sweetspots. But this just flooded me with sounds I like.
And it does big bass too… Very weighty, I had a similar perception when I heard the Toraiz AS1 for the first time, which I only sold due to the bad interface.
But this interface is quite the opposite. Everything is laid out well.
It’s probably quite a bit of honeymoon, but I was so used to elektrons and other grooveboxes that I forgot how nice a knob per function interface can be. And how nice a directly attached keyboard can be.
Let’s see how it goes, but in my head I‘m already swapping some stuff for another keyboard synth, that throws sweetspots at me.
Nice little write-up. I loathed Analog Keys when I had it for exactly the same reasons you mention – it sounds like shit without a LOT of tweaking. Now I’m seriously looking at either this or the Matriarch. I can’t decide!
I know the marketing campaign (sort of ridiculously) portrayed it as a lap synth. And I mean… if you really wanted to, you could. But just because it’s more portable than a Prophet 5 doesn’t mean it’s really portable in the sense that Sequential wants to portray it as. It’s heavy enough to be uncomfortable, and wide enough that I’d be worried about tipping it if playing with vigor at either end of the keyboard.
it’s not a lap synth, despite what the marketing video shows, but it would be okay on a coffee table. it sat on a coffee table near my couch when i got it before making its way up to my music space.
Got both and agree completely. Sound wise the Matriarch edges it for me, it just sounds more alive to my ears. But the T5 is a proper poly and the Matriarch isn’t.
have to catch it up from the postal office tomorrow.
