Hartmann R.I.P

[Colonel Flashback]

not the 150 euro ones from thomann...

[soma]

Where did it say they were stolen? I'm sorry I was having problems reading that babblefish thing but it sounded like the distributer sold goods that were ordered but never paid for by Hartman. This is called something like 'collection of due returns' and is legal in the states, AFAIK.

[loachm]

... perhaps the best would be if a rich investor with more experiences in the young software synthesizer market should buy Hartmann, dump the hardware version, let it become a collector's item and release the software version for a reasonable price without that dongle/controller thing. Or at least let it work as a regular xy-controller, as there seems to be a growing demand for such a device. Finally let's hope it won't be Apple to implement it only into Logic - I'd like to use this thing...

[diverdee]

I know that my dad's company (he basically make's binders & presentation materials) had problems with non-payment, so they also sold off the goods.
The order & spec may have been the (non-paying) customers, but the money & time was my dad's company.
If it is a similar case here I reckon the supplier of the items was justified in trying to sell them & recoup some of their investment.
But it will probably be a while before we know the full story.

[aMUSEd]

Can you still get it for 150 euro!?
Did that include the controller? Does the controller work as a midi controller too?

I hope you're kidding. Even when someone would make this offer to you, I hope you would deny it, if it would not be an offer from Hartmann! Any other could only be stolen.

Nope - that's what I paid for mine (from Thoman - apparently at Hartmann's bidding)

[munchkin]

In a way, who cares? They were so expensive it's like hearing that truffles are no longer available. Next!

[Majken]

...it's like hearing that truffles are no longer available.

God no! Tell me that's not true!

/Majken

[droolmaster0]

Frankly, I don't find it shocking, odd or unexpected to see them go down. From everything I ever read about their products and marketing tactics, they seemed like just the kind of company to go bust early. Their products were very high priced, reportedly unstable and I'm not really sure how ground breaking their technology was (I've read that much of what made them sound good were the FX). On top of all that, their marketing claims were nothing short of hyperbole.

The combination of high price and fickle product quality is a dangerous and volatile combination.

It was an attempt to sell PC based processing technology at a very, very high price by hiding the PC inside the shell of a classic keyboard synthesizer. The small VST version was an attempt to extend the market when the sales of the main unit were too poor. Both products were overpriced and the market corrected itself.

Couldn't it be argued that all digital synths could be realized on a computer? Although I haven't used the keyboard version, my understanding is that the interface is really quite nice. As for whether they were overpriced, that's another matter entirely. But (if you didn't have the compatibility issues that some users report) the combo of the vs and the nuke is quite amazing. I'm not going to worry about whether I paid too much. It's unique.

[droolmaster0]

Frankly, I don't find it shocking, odd or unexpected to see them go down. From everything I ever read about their products and marketing tactics, they seemed like just the kind of company to go bust early. Their products were very high priced, reportedly unstable and I'm not really sure how ground breaking their technology was (I've read that much of what made them sound good were the FX). On top of all that, their marketing claims were nothing short of hyperbole.

The combination of high price and fickle product quality is a dangerous and volatile combination.

LOL. You 'read' that what made their products sound good were the effects? Thanks for posting that information.

Yeah, in Sound On Sound's review of it when it first hit the store.

There's been much talk about the Neuron's sounds, so, as soon as I received the review instrument, I was keen to hear what it had to offer. On the basis that most manufacturers place their most impressive sound in the first patch location, I waited for it to boot, saw the name 'Nata' appear, and began to play. My first impressions were good: it's a vaguely oriental sound comprising an ethereal pad and a plucked arpeggio. However, the sound is swamped in effects and reverb, so I switched them off, and was presented with something which to me, sounded very Wavestation-esque. The next patch, was based upon a drum loop and sounds like... a treated drum loop. You may be tempted to think that it's the Neuron itself creating the rhythmic patch, but it's not; it's merely using the rhythmic model of an existing sample.

After a few days of experimentation, I was becoming discouraged. Many of the Sounds were of high quality, but the interest was coming from the effects, not from the unaffected Resynators. I would happily have used some of these sounds, although there was little to tempt me to replace my Korg Trinity or Triton, or indeed to give a Yamaha Motif or Roland V-Synth a run for its money. Where were the towering spires of sound, the ephemeral tinkling, and the celestial beehive that I had been promised? To be fair, the ability to choose inappropriate parameters in Modelmaker later opened the door to a great deal of experimentation, but the results were still not as diverse or radical as I had expected.

And you read the SOS review of the VS? that's just so ridiculous, commenting on how a synth sounds when you've never heard it or played it. You don't know shit.

[Colonel Flashback]

lol, are you 150 euro pissed off or 700 euro pissed off? or maybe 10000 euro, whatever the hardware synth did cost - now fetches 2000 euro on ebay (or so i've been told)

[bmanic]

And you read the SOS review of the VS? that's just so ridiculous, commenting on how a synth sounds when you've never heard it or played it. You don't know shit.

Sound on Sound is one of the few mags that I find the reviews being helpful and more often than not, true. I've listened to all the demo mp3's and examples that users have posted around the net. They are only mediocre imho. Nothing to be too excited about. For the money of an original hartman neuron one could have nearly gotten a kyma capybara system which IMHO sounds much better and can create a wider pallette of sound.

Not to mention the nearly free Synth Maker now or even the good old Reaktor from NI. Both of these can create similar sounds to the neuron with perhaps different synthesis methods but who cares? It's the sound that counts, not how it was made.

Cheers!
bManic

[droolmaster0]

lol, are you 150 euro pissed off or 700 euro pissed off? or maybe 10000 euro, whatever the hardware synth did cost - now fetches 2000 euro on ebay (or so i've been told)

the hardware synth has been selling for about $3900 new, so 2000 euros for a used one doesn't seem that far out of line for a digital synth. Andromedas go for about $1700, and analog synths tend to retain their value more.

[Colonel Flashback]

you're right, guess i had the Oasys in mind...

[droolmaster0]

And you read the SOS review of the VS? that's just so ridiculous, commenting on how a synth sounds when you've never heard it or played it. You don't know shit.

Sound on Sound is one of the few mags that I find the reviews being helpful and more often than not, true. I've listened to all the demo mp3's and examples that users have posted around the net. They are only mediocre imho. Nothing to be too excited about. For the money of an original hartman neuron one could have nearly gotten a kyma capybara system which IMHO sounds much better and can create a wider pallette of sound.

Not to mention the nearly free Synth Maker now or even the good old Reaktor from NI. Both of these can create similar sounds to the neuron with perhaps different synthesis methods but who cares? It's the sound that counts, not how it was made.

Cheers!
bManic

Just always amused about how people can comment so knowledgeably from mp3's. But I appreciate the jumping on the bandwagon impulse. I own a Kyma and love it. It sounds nothing at all like the VS, which is totally unique. An instantaneous timbre on the neuron could probably be duplicated on a number of synths. however, it's ability to morph seamlessly between drastictly different timbres is quite unique. You can get there a lot faster than you can on a Kyma, which is obviously way more powerful as a general tool. Obviously, for the sort of person who would want the type of capabilities that the Kyma offers that would be BY FAR the better purchase. However, one could make that argument about the Kyma vs any $3000+ synth, of which their exist a few. If overall synth power is what you're looking for get the kyma.

[glaucomys]

And I just bought a VS at full price a few weeks back... silly me!

Glau