The Legend vs repro-1

[Ingonator]

Is there something in Legend other than polyphony that makes Repro-1 seem limited?

I mean, when people say "limited", do they mean lack of specific features or do they talk about the limited use for them due to lack of polyphony?

I'm seriously interested in this because I had been of the opinion that Repro-1 is an extremely "unlimited" specimen of its kind, because ModMatrix, Velocity, flexible effects and stuff. If in comparison a Minimoog emulation such as The Legend is considered "more flexible" in terms of architecture, I'd wonder how people come to that conclusion unless they indeed mean unison and poly features.

The synth engine of Repro-1 IMO is actually quite powerful and versatile and it works nicely for all monophonic and step sequencing stuff. Anyway not having an option for polyphony creates another kind of limitation concerning for what kinds of sounds it could be used for.

For some people also the 3rd Oscillator in the Minimoog seems to be quite important and additionally also the unison that is included in The Legend.

[4damind]

Is there something in Legend other than polyphony that makes Repro-1 seem limited?

I mean, when people say "limited", do they mean lack of specific features or do they talk about the limited use for them due to lack of polyphony?

I'm seriously interested in this because I had been of the opinion that Repro-1 is an extremely "unlimited" specimen of its kind, because ModMatrix, Velocity, flexible effects and stuff. If in comparison a Minimoog emulation such as The Legend is considered "more flexible" in terms of architecture, I'd wonder how people come to that conclusion unless they indeed mean unison and poly features.

The synth engine of Repro-1 IMO is actually quite powerful and versatile and it works nicely for all monophonic and step sequencing stuff. Anyway not having an option for polyphony creates another kind of limitation concerning for what kinds of sounds it could be used for.

For some people also the 3rd Oscillator in the Minimoog seems to be quite important and additionally also the unison that is included in The Legend.

This.
(That's why for me the upcoming Repro-5 is far more interesting)

[Ingonator]

Don't get me wrong, Besides the monophonic Repro-1 and NI Monark I actually got two monophonic hardware synths here (Waldorf Pulse 2 and Novation Bass Station II) and love them but sometimes i wish those could be also polyphonic. With the Pulse 2 you could actually build a poly-chain using multiple units or use the paraphonic modes in a single unit (while those are limited to using a variable pulse or PWM).

The synth engine of the Bass Station II is very powerful, including a multimode filter section with 7 filter modes, and having a polyphonic version of this would be great (actually i also got a Novation UltraNova but this is not the same...). At the moment i have no softsynth including Repro-1 and The Legend that could fully replace the BS II. As in the Sub-osc you coul select 2 different octave ranges (-1 and -2 related to Osc 1) and 3 different waveforms it is almost like a full featured 3rd Osc (the Pulse 2 has one for example and a multimode filter with 4 modes too). Additionally you could also add the Noise source and Ring modulator in the mixer section.

Currently Xils Lab PolyKB III with the 3 morphable Oscs, dual analog modelled multimode filter and a step sequencer (+ a bunch of otehr features) looks very promising in terrms of having a very versatile analog modelled synth for both polyphonic and monophonic (+ Unison) use. Of course also Diva is still very powerful for this kind of stuff and i look forward to additional modules for it in the future.

Actually i am quite happy with my current collection of analog based soft- and hardware synths (also got a hybrid Korg DW-8000 with a real analog filter at the moment) and it's time to use those properly for both sound design and tracks (where most of those mentioned above were already used for doing sound design here).

[zvenx]

I bought both to use solely as monophonic instruments, so Legend's polyphony for me is not an advantage and Repro's monophony is not a disadvantage, for me.
For the original hardware I was much much more a minimoog fan than a pro-1 fan so was definitely expecting to love/appreciate legend more. For me that isn't the case.
I find repro-1 vintage presets to be way more useful for me than legend, yes I am not a programmer.

I find repro-1 use of velocity and aftertouch exceedingly useful for playing bass and lead sounds for expressiveness, and I find modwheel settings in repro-1 way way more flexible.

So I find myself almost daily playing repro-1 but legend not so much recently.
However I hear Richard is working on velocity and aftertouch controls for legend and for me that would probably help even things up, for me.
My two cents.
rsp

[etherdesign]

It's just bad to compare the two, they have completely different architectures, feature sets, uses and sounds.. They are both brilliant emulations in their own rights, and if looking for faithful representations to their namesakes is important RePro-1 wins out. Minimoog wasn't polyphonic so to call it more versatile when comparing vintage synth emulations is a bit problematic.

I know that there's many people here that have the idea that if your processor can handle it why not have the synth produce as many voices as possible, but I am in the camp of limitation is beautiful. And by limited I mean amount of voices, not programability where RePro-1 wins out again.

If you are looking for a modern polyphonic Minimoog sound, get The Legend.. if you are looking for a Sequential Pro One sound get the RePro-1.. There is not much wiggle room, if you are looking for something that can do it all, there are many other synths to be looked at, these are niche instruments though highly sought after, just like the ARP Odyssey used to be..

[egbert101]

Just to point out, that GForce's beautiful ARP Odyssey emulation (Oddity 2) also has a polyphonic option. If people want to impose limitations on themselves, then there's nothing stopping them, but from a marketing/business perspective, it makes sense to add such options for a wider range of customers.

[fluffy_little_something]

I only know the demo versions, but since they are not limited, I will comment, anyway.

Despite being monophonic, I found Repro 1 to be more versatile and interesting. Legend has 4 voices, but it doesn't feel like a polyphonic synth in my view. When I need a polyphonic synth, I sure don't want to limit myself to 4 voices. The 6-voice limit was already one of my main griped with Tal's Noizemaker as you can't really play pad chords with longer release times, you simply run out of voices quickly.
Repro 1's effects section blows Legend's out of the water, I would rather have the former's effects as a separate plugin than the latter's.
At the end of the day I would only use Legend as a monophonic synth after all, and in that department Repro 1 is better in my view. Unison one can kind of simulate via the effects, chorus specifically. But I don't like unison, anyway, too dominant most of the time.

I don't know how precise both sound in terms of emulating hardware, but I don't care. I take them for what they are, software synths.

[Ingonator]

Just to point out, that GForce's beautiful ARP Odyssey emulation (Oddity 2) also has a polyphonic option. If people want to impose limitations on themselves, then there's nothing stopping them, but from a marketing/business perspective, it makes sense to add such options for a wider range of customers.

After having played with the Korg ARP Odyssey multiple times i was close to buy the real thing but back in February 2016 decided to get Oddity 2 instead (the new hardware rack/module version that is available for less than 600 € was not available back at that time...). So far i am quite happy with it and it is different enough to both Repro-1 and The Legend to have all 3 IMO.

Oddity 2 could be a "modulation monster" a for all faders you could have it's own envelope and LFO (called "XLFO" and "XADSR").

I guess having a polyphonic Odyssey was a "wet dream" of some people back in the 70s/80s and as hardware even today so it is great having this option in Oddity 2 (and also in ARP 2600 emulations like Arturia ARP 2600 V3 and Wayoutware TimewARP 2600 that i got both).

[Robmobius]

Both are great sounding... But for the stuff that I do RePro is my main choice (that filter!).

I use both, a lot.

[wagtunes]

Okay, I'm going to ask a rather mercenary question so please don't jump all over me for asking it.

I've put off getting The Legend for 2 reasons.

1) I already have 2 Minimoog emulations (Monark and Arturia Mini V5) plus Diva which can certainly emulate a Minimoog with the right configuration so I don't feel some compelling need to add yet a 4th synth, no matter how good it may be.

2) This, however, is really the main reason. When I created my Arturia library, I made it for the following synths.

Synclavier
ARP 2600
Moog Modular
Matrix 12

You will notice I made it for the more complex synths. I did not make one for the Mini V.

Why?

Because I don't see a market for Minimoog patches. It's one of the easiest synths in the world to program not to mention probably the most popular in history. I assume most people just roll their own.

So my question is simply this.

Is this a fallacy on my way of thinking? Do people actually buy Minimoog libraries? For such a limited synth, programming wise, I don't see it. The Arturia collection, without any Mini V patches, is in my top 10 selling libraries. So obviously not including it didn't hurt sales any. Or did it?

Sound designers, what is your experience with Minimoog libraries? Waste of time or "What are you crazy not making one????" or something in between.

Given it seems how popular The Legend seems to be, while I certainly don't need it by any stretch of the imagination, I'll get it if there's a real market out there for Minimoog patches.

Like I said, mercenary question but if I don't ask, I'll never know.

[fluffy_little_something]

I don't think Legend is intended for people trying to make a living from sound design, but for people who simply want the authentic Minimoog sound in software, even if they just make the usual bubble synth bass with it.

[wagtunes]

I don't think Legend is intended for people trying to make a living from sound design, but for people who simply want the authentic Minimoog sound in software, even if they just make the usual bubble synth bass with it.

So then you agree with me, not worth getting for sound design purposes.

[fluffy_little_something]

I don't think Legend is intended for people trying to make a living from sound design, but for people who simply want the authentic Minimoog sound in software, even if they just make the usual bubble synth bass with it.

So then you agree with me, not worth getting for sound design purposes.

Hard to say. I think there are also commercial sound banks for Tal's Juno emulation, which is also rather simple.
Maybe some people want classic Minimoog sounds, but don't know how to make them on their own. Then again, maybe those are already included in the factory presets, I don't those.

[Ingonator]

One thing that has bothered me since that polyphony discussion about Repro-1 started is that if a polyphonic Pro One would actually sound really different to a Prophet 5 (like it was mentioend multiple times) it would be EVEN MORE interesting to have an option for polyphony in it as this would offer to receive sounds not possible with vintage hardware. Besides then there would still be the option to release a dedicated and proper Prophet 5 emulation (and the polyphonic Pro One could have included limitations like e.g. only 4 voices and no Unison).

FWIW the polyphonic The Legend (or other Minimoog emulation with an option for polyphony which also includes Diva) was never intended to sound or work exactly like a Memorymoog which was the only dedicated polysynth created by Moog (the Polymoog was different, more like divide-down organ technology). The Memorymoog only had the filters from Moog, the rest was based on CEM chips like e.g. some of the Oberheim OB synths or the Prophet 5.

For emulating a Memorymoog besides the "Memorymoon" Synth Edit based plugin Diva with the Moog modules seems to be the best choice at the moment (where teh Osc module allows some advanced features like e.g. Osc Sync and PWM taht were found in teh Memorymoog).

Actually Moog had created another polyphonic synth not too long ago as with the Little Phatty and multiple Slim Phatty racks you were able to build a poly-chain and a few years ago i had played with such poly-chain myself at the Musikmesse (at the time where i owned a single Slim Phatty myself). I was really impressed by this but did not see it as a replacement for a Memorymoog.
Not sure how this was with the Minimoog Voyager racks but maybe those could be poly-chained too (while this would be a lot more expesnice than a Slim Phatty chain).

[4damind]

I would recommend to wait for the release of the Prophet 5 emulation.
In the meantime The Legend is a more interesting option.. IMO