only interested in buying 1 of 4 'synths' some1 choose 4 me

Yeah, I've played a few in shops, never grabbed me, I kept tweaking it expecting some ill sounds, but it takes more than a quick run to really get the goods. The filters are good, but they don't have that strong analog sound of most analog filters you would have heard, it takes some careful control of the VCO volume levels into the filter to get them growling, and even then you need some filter FM just to get it who other filters are just naturally. THere is a feedback parameter, that helps too, and you can overdrive the filter, which is killer, but you get so much range of motion that it becomes a responsability to learn it like algebra. Also, few synths have mod routngs like it, something like 80 sources and 70 destinations? It's no joke, but a lot of people sell them, sometimes it's cuz it's too deep, othertimes it's because the basic sound of it is hard if not impossible to get away from. Plus the LCD< even with the jumping to a parameter when you tweak it, just has no place on an analog synth. Dave smith has the idea with the LED display, keep it simple, an instrument needs to have a certain level of immediacy, if it's a synthesizer, it's in the editing, but people think presets are the immediate aspect, but that's only for performance, if it takes hours to make a decent preset to save then use live, well, then you get the DX-7 syndrome where no body makes theor own sounds or uses the full potential of the machine.

But, short of a modular, it is more powerful than anything, and I wouldn't kick it out of bed, but as far as what I would spend my money on, it's the evolver keyboard, even with a quarter of the voices of the andromeda.

the Andromeda is a big time commitment, no doubt it is rewarding, but it's one of those synths that either gets you hot or leaves you cold.

It left me cold, except for the ribbon controller, that was pretty ill, but soundwise, I think it is the most chip sounding analog, more so than the CEM or SSM based ones.

ever consider
1. NORD LEAD > wow
2. KORG MS 2000

hs have mod routngs like it, something like 80 sources and 70 destinations? It's no joke, but a lot of people sell them, sometimes it's cuz it's too deep, othertimes it's because the basic sound of it is hard if not impossible to get away from.
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i was hoping this wasn't the case but seems it is- i love full mod routings- even if you never ues 2/3 of them but i need to be able to forget which synth i programmed sounds on and some of the old ones ive used have definitly had character....and at that prices id expect more sonic flexibility

greg

it's got sonic flexibility, but some people don;t jive wth the general tone of it. but to jimisteele's point, the Andromeda kills the Nords and the MS2000 as far as sound goes.

When we talk andromeda we are really comparing it to other Analog Polysynths, the Omega 8 is great but not enough mod routings for the money, much ballsier than the Andromeda though. the Poly Evolver Keys is probably gonna be a huge classic, like the evolver already is.

Expect big things from Dave Smith, he's doing it right.
out of the new ones that's pretty much the analog poly corner, if you go with vintage you have more options but may have maintenence issues. maybe not though.

If you want Poly with mad mod routings a matrix 12 is nice, but don't expect huge bass or really punchy sounds, it's more on the intricate sound tip. The OB8, OBXa, and OBX are really fat synths, great sound, massive balls like bon scott, weird mod routings but it's hard to get a bad sound on it. The OB 8 is one of the few synths that turning the resonance up sounds as good as turning it down. Really amazing yet stll very immediate, no screens just buttons and knobs,

That's where the andromeda kinda looses it, it went so complex that it needed a screen, but if you can dig it and get into it, there's little it can't do. Closest thing to a modular synth in a poly.

Jupiter 8 and 6 are nice, great sound but not nearly as flexible mod wise as the others. even the 4 has great sound, Prophet 5 is a classic and probably covers more ground than most other polysynths.

For VA I think the Novation stuff and Waldorf stuff is top notch sound wise, the others are OK, but for basic tone these have more character, don't sound as sterile, and have nice mod capabilities, especially the waldorf stuff.

The Andromeda isn't bad, but it' not for everybody, and I wasnt drawn to it after playing it for a few hours, I am a big interface kind of guy, it's gotta sound good and feel good when you program it.

el has the insider!!

would you say though that the imporvment of sound justifies double the price? i guess you would rather get say two decent analogues- i liked the ms2000 great features for price- the waldorf mq was the best cheap va i ever heard- man there was some pure craziness when the mod routings started getting abused...and i have a novation a-station- very easy to have all the patches sound quite similar unless you get a bit deeper with it...but its a truly great synth- i can do almost anything with it- except vocode...

ive always wanted an ob....had an idea worrell used one along with a solina/arp and of course minimoog- not sure thats true but loads of peeps have told me its a little funk machine-

another classic piece ive always lusted after was the edp wasp...

ob8 you say? ive always got a litrtle dissapointed with some synths when you play with the res- for example the aj1 is too quiet at very high settings....lovely res but too much limiting- a-station is the opposite- i always use some res lim to keep sounds in check...

greg

Greg wrote: "..like four sound modules- triton, motif, mo phatt or fantom.... 2) has anybody ever heard of any synth outside what dre uses and what scratch reviews "

Good point dude..

elmacaco wrote: "and I can't think of any other synths I would rather not own than these 4."

100% with you on that one.

I've been in this forum for about 7 months now and still can not believe the majority view that you have to stay completely within a rigid mould; diversity seems to be discouraged. I do not know of any other musical genre other then Hip Hop that has such a rigid approach to production..

Also don't understand how everyone uses the Motif. The reviews that I have read say its almost unusable in multitimberal mode due to its midi timing problems.. The Rack ES is supposed to have cured these problems.

Finally, I absolutely believe that the big-boy Hip Hop producers are pulling the wool over their listener's eyes with regards their setups. People often quote the kit lists for Dre etc. Boll*x is what I say to these lists! Some of these guys are making highly original, cutting edge tracks (something quite rare within Hip Hop); there is no way they are getting their unique sounds using a quoted setup that is identical to every wannabe Hip Hop producer out there.. To sound original you have to be original and this means NOT buying Tritons/Motifs/Fantoms/etc..

Also agree with the previous comments about the PolyEvolver. This is one sexy synth. To me it represents everything that has been lost by the big synth manufactures..

Just my thoughts..

I've been in this forum for about 7 months now and still can not believe the majority view that you have to stay completely within a rigid mould; diversity seems to be discouraged. I do not know of any other musical genre other then Hip Hop that has such a rigid approach to production..
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hey i love my hiphop but it must be a totally unique genre in its approach (everyone wanting same gear) and dissemenation (selling beats over collaborating).......
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Finally, I absolutely believe that the big-boy Hip Hop producers are pulling the wool over their listener's eyes with regards their setups. People often quote the kit lists for Dre etc. Boll*x is what I say to these lists!
>>>>>>>>>>>

its not that i dont not believe them but think its more than just; dr dre: 'i pulled this preset of a micro korg' - me: 'yes, then your engineer eq'ed it, put some pro verb and delay on there and put through a lovely pro end warm compressor, which was before the mastering sheen was applied'
-

if it was as easy as using a reason preset none of the cats here would be asking so many questions- then again there are only a few e-producers who really go on about anal techniques- the majority of them (at least publicly) prefering to appear that its more effortless cool than nerdy-late nights eqing delay lines....

gauntlet-: write only a hiphop track using only 24-bit samples, phase distortion synthesis and a 6/8 time sig:D

greg

PunkDisco Represent!!

Dub, I don't get what you mean, double the price / improvement in sound.

Real Analog, yup, absolutely if it is the right synth for you. The tone of the synth has to appeal to you, otherwise you're gonna keep fighting to get it to sound good, but if the general tone is good then any crazy tweaking you do will be fairly rewarding.

the AJ has quantized resonance, but moist polysynths do, so don't feel so bad. A nice analog monosynth will get you what you want. The Novation stuff to me is one of the few VA's with any mojo at all, they did something right as far as the sound of it goes.

This is Beautiful sounding Analog Synth I think it would make a great buy, just Make sure you can return it with no Problem! what will you be using this synth for again???

http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/pol ... ounds.html

ya know a great sounding sounding unique synth thats a little more intricate but not as fat as a jupiter8 but gots great string's, fm kinda sound,bass- fat analog bass- nasty- but the envelopes r very touchy,and a absolutely killer trumpet, plus with the free software is way more programmable than anything roland put out in the 70's-80,s-well beside the d-50, and it's fully analog. dont listen to what most say it's just got a microprossecor that controls the oscillators but the oscillators r analog and the filter too.but wont self osscilate but u cant have everything. it's called a jx-8p and it sounds good. the jx-10 got a serious problem with sys-ex, so if you use midi dont buy that. and the little one doesnt sound as good to me, sounds a little like a juno. it should still go for like $200 dollars on ebay or thing's of that nature.

Yeah philly, that's the one we've been talking about, one of the masters came back and designed another classic. Byt he way, Dave Smith helped create midi (probably more than any one else involved, it was his idea) and created the best system of making polyphonic keyboards with the Prophet 5.

ah over here el the andromeda was at least twice the price of the nord when first released- wondered if its real analogue nature and 'sound' justified it...obviously does but id prefer a few classics for that price...

the aj1 is a strange beast- even thoigh its dco i soon heard the difference in sound when i got it- much more bland i thought initially but then got into the fiklters and stuff and was well impressed- plus it has some of the smoothest pitch sliding ive heard- lovely synth for an analogue-faker....

greg

To answer your original question. I would have to say the motif. But get the ES.. I have the keyboard and I would trade it for anything. That's just to answer your question. I'm not going to discourage you from getting it. It really depends on what kind of music your making. I use it if I want close to real sounding instruments, for any RNB track I do. I rarely use it for hip hop..There are a ton of alternatives though take your time and listen to them all and and pick what you like. Pick what you like, because what you pick will shape the way your music sounds.

Peace..

Damn, logic you missed the point of this thread. Check the first message.

Dub, the aj1 is not a faker, it just uses DCO's, they are analog but with digital timing so they dont go out of tune, which is part of the fun of analog VCO's as long as they dont do it too much. The 106 is DCO as well, it's not a faker.

Hey, the AJ1 has a lot on many other synths, those weird waveforms are pretty unique, and 8 satage envelopes? that shyt is ill, few analogs have that.

I dunno about the Motiff.. I use the s-90.. basically the same thing, but no sequencer and no sampler, but it doesn't do much as far as bending up sounds. I would not advise anyone on a synth if they have no previous experience with one. Most folks have a hard time using an MPC and a synth is much more complicated. Sure, anyone can turn a few knobs and hope for the best, but to actually know what your doing can help you out a whole lot more. I bought an MS2000b about a month ago, and even that took a little time to get used to. I loved it right out the box, but the more I played around with it, the better I got. I still haven't read the manual to this, and I can work my way around it. When I tried a korg poly-6 (a vintage analog synth) I was lost.. and I thought I was a hunk of junk.. but that was because I didn't understand synthesis. I still don't, but I learn more about it whenever I use the MS2000. It has it's limitations, but you can work around them. And for the price ($649) how can you go wrong?? Sure there are much better synth out there, but why pay a couple grand for something you have no idea about?