KVR Audio

Amberience · Post by **Amberience** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 12:58 am

I'm considering taking the plunge on one of these because I'm studying Sonic Arts and I could do with something a little wacky.

.jon · Post by **.jon** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 7:08 am

C'mon guys - no cons?

Thanks anyway

great answers!

I should have expected this kind of response... Mr Smith has done things right in the past as well.

DocT has made excellent stuff for VSTis as well, and those Evolver demos are incredible- nice link, Endmusik!

I do like the sound, no voiced complaints on build quality, highly versatile (I don't have any "outboard" FX so those inputs would surely find use)... and I haven't seen any units on second-hand sales - this really seems to be a wise buy. I've been working my butt sore this summer, and I feel I should use the overhour additionals to something that'll keep me happy for years.

(and thanks suthnear for the headphone tip!)

Sunny days,

Jon

.jon · Post by **.jon** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 7:19 am

btw, the Evolver is around $430 from JRR Shop after you enter the 'forum' coupon code. I hope nobody's offended by my plugging that here.

Not offended... not at all

Really nice, have to check the overseas shipping details on JRR Shop. [/quote]

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 8:11 am

The Evolver is light (as I'm sure you can imagine) so shipping should be no more than $40-50 anywhere. Don't trust what our site says for shipping, we can usually get a rate that's 1/2 to 1/3 the price.

I was going to list some cons just to be fair but, in all honesty, it's hard to do! Even the matrix editor is fantastic, I initially didn't like having to hold the shift button to get to some parameters but got used to it very quickly. The sound has a bit of that modern analog thing going, like a Doepfer or MAM has, but then I don't think anybody was every thinking they were going to get a Minimoog in that little package.

It wouldn't be unfair to say that the tighter sound probably complements the delays, distortion, & "output hack" better than a looser sound would, anyway.[/list][/list]

suthnear · Post by **suthnear** » Fri Aug 13, 2004 8:34 am

Uncle E wrote:The sound has a bit of that modern analog thing going, like a Doepfer or MAM has, but then I don't think anybody was every thinking they were going to get a Minimoog in that little package.

But the analogue components will age and this will change the sound somewhat. My voyager and doepfer system both sound better now than when I got them (they're still tight but they're warmer, more rubbery now too). And I am sure that my evolver will as well (it's still pretty new and I tend to use the digital side more than the analogue side). Make no mistake, though, you can still get big analogue sounds out of the evolver.

pakana - the only cons I can think of is that the HPF is not resonant and that it doesn't have any CV outs (I'd love to use the sequencer with my doepfer). But I'm just being greedy here - the evolver is one of only a few things (along with the sherman filterbank and ohmforce plugs-ins) that I would recommend without any reservations.

GW · Post by GW » Sun Aug 15, 2004 1:48 am

Can someone describe the sequencers a bit for me? I don't get much detail at the site. Can the sequencer run in steps other than 4,8,16 and can each line have a different length? I have one old computer utility that does this and the effect is really hipnotic. I don't see this in hardware.

DocT · Post by **DocT** » Sun Aug 15, 2004 7:45 am

You can choose any number of steps between 1 and 16 and each sequence can have a different length.
The sequence speed in bpm has but to be the same for all 4 sequencers in a patch.

ugo · Post by **ugo** » Sun Aug 15, 2004 8:26 pm

pakana wrote:C'mon guys - no cons?

only one from me...i dont dig on the cryptic little display.
i always have to go back to the manual to decipher the abreviations.

no voiced complaints on build quality

nothing to complain about. i think the build quality is great. very solid.

-ugo

karlto · Post by **karlto** » Sun Aug 15, 2004 9:17 pm

I own one of these little monsters as well, I can't recommend it high enough. You can coax both smooth, musical timbres as well as the wackiest FX you can imagine out of this. Lots of programming depth - it feels almost modular. At the price, it's a real bargain and complements softsynths very well. Very versatile for a monosynth. It doesn't take up much space either...

.jon · Post by **.jon** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 7:24 am

Thanks guys for your replies - now it's just a matter of doing some math, atm JRR Shop has the best price even after our taxes and whatnots. (We Finns are cursed with a ridiculous VAT of 22 f***n percents.)

I'm also going to splash out on decent headphones (and an amp, mic & pre but that's another yadayada)while I'm at it - I understand there are differences in the "ohmage/resistance", if you have any tips what hphones would be easy to drive from Evolver's output, I'd more than glad to know.

P.S. Sounds like DocT not only makes out-of-this-world patches, but his music is pretty damn GOOD, been listening to it all morning...great stuff, kudos to that direction!

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 8:43 am

Low impedence headphones like the Audio Technica ATH-M20 will sound louder than others, making them better for driving straight from the Evolver outputs. Be sure to get a Y-Cable so you can get the full effect of sequenced panning.

DocT · Post by **DocT** » Tue Aug 17, 2004 9:05 pm

Thanks a lot, Pakana *blushing*

So this Poly Evolver Multi is for you:
Mod Destination Distortion

1 Poly combo in midi trigger mode played live from the keyboard, parts
spread over several split zones. Some controller twiddling.

CDRIKE · Post by **CDRIKE** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 9:15 am

Uncle E wrote:btw, the Evolver is around $430 from JRR Shop after you enter the 'forum' coupon code.

Sorry for the silly question but where can I find the coupon code ? Is it for KVR members ? I'd be interested....

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Thu Aug 19, 2004 9:49 pm

There's a field on our checkout page where you can enter coupon codes. It's the last page just before you finalize your order.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Wed Aug 25, 2004 10:10 am

It turns out that the Evolver & Poly Evolver use real Curtis chip oscillators & filters so they really ought to be very equivalent in sound to a Prophet 5 ver. 3, Pro One, & Prophet VS. I personally think my Pro One sounds a bit looser but perhaps this could have to do with the age of the components. Dave?

Also, if anyone's interested in getting one, the price is supposed to be going up on September 1.

Dave Smith Instruments Evolver - owner comments?