M-Audio Venom Analog Modeling Synthesizer

Anything about hardware musical instruments.
Post Reply New Topic
RELATED
PRODUCTS

Post

PFozz wrote:Hi Everyone,

An 'E' key is dead on the good old keyboard I use for testing purposes on my main "dev desktop".

The Venom sounds appealing :-)

However, unless I forgot to read some posts, I did not find many reviews about its keybed. Could someone tell us how it compares to some classic MIDI keyboards?
Unfortunately, I will not have the opportunity to test it in a shop (noone have it in stock in my local area).
I'm not looking for a piano feel (got a 88 keys for this) and my fingers seems to like E-MU xboards (but my 25 keys is quite short for what I have to do).

If the keybed is good enough, all the rest will then be extra things to have fun with :-)

Many thanks!

Well, if you can get it at a good price its fine to use as a controller.

Nothing fancy but it can get the job done.

It does have the capabilites to also sound very good with some decent presets ("Sonic Boost" sounds promising).

AT $200, (The price many paid), its a fine controller and hardware synth.
--After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.

-Aldous Huxley

Post

Define classic MIDI keyboards :?:
The Venom is a bit spongy but you can play incredibly fast on those keys. If you by classic mean a DX7 (MK1) there's no comparison. It had the best synth keys of all time and even though my dx7 is over close to 30 years, they feel better than ever. :D

Post

Many thanks for your messages!

I finally ordered a Venom 2 minutes ago (after all, it's my birthday today!)...
...and managed to find something at €2 to avoid shipping costs ;-)
A 5m USB cable did the job...

Thanks again!

EDIT: Spongy and fast is exactly what I'm after. Should I want to play a piano part, I still have an 88 keys ready (3 meters away from the desktop, though) ;-)
Image

Post

PFozz wrote:Hi Everyone,

An 'E' key is dead on the good old keyboard I use for testing purposes on my main "dev desktop".

The Venom sounds appealing :-)

However, unless I forgot to read some posts, I did not find many reviews about its keybed. Could someone tell us how it compares to some classic MIDI keyboards?
Unfortunately, I will not have the opportunity to test it in a shop (noone have it in stock in my local area).
I'm not looking for a piano feel (got a 88 keys for this) and my fingers seems to like E-MU xboards (but my 25 keys is quite short for what I have to do).

If the keybed is good enough, all the rest will then be extra things to have fun with :-)

Many thanks!
The keybed is decent. Not great, but beats many others i've tested. For example it's got a more sturdier and stiffer feel to it than Arturia or Akai keys i was first considering. I'm used to playing weighted(or semi) keys so this stiffness feels more natural to me. I also used a Roland PC200MK2 for a while as my main keyboard and i feel Venom is better.
Nothing really beats testing it out yourself though.
www.mkdr.net

MophoEd - the BEST DSI Mopho Editor VSTi

Post

PFozz wrote:Many thanks for your messages!

I finally ordered a Venom 2 minutes ago (after all, it's my birthday today!)...
...and managed to find something at €2 to avoid shipping costs ;-)
A 5m USB cable did the job...

Thanks again!

EDIT: Spongy and fast is exactly what I'm after. Should I want to play a piano part, I still have an 88 keys ready (3 meters away from the desktop, though) ;-)
Happy B-Day PFozz!

The keys are OK, they seem as good if not better then most controllers in the price range that DON'T offer a synthesizer and editor.

Its a good deal, no question.

Can be a bit finicky at times but cant we all? :)

Post

Many thanks PatchAdamz!

I'm more and more excited about this keyboard.
My son has even been allowed to play (kill?) the old PC-200MKII ;-)
Image

Post

I have been working with Venom for some time now and found some strengths and weaknesses.

MANY problems can be solved by doing a reset.

For example, mine was spitting out MIDI data at a frantic rate, a reset solved it.

I have read several problems folks have had that a reset fixed.

Keep in mind that a full reset will replace your presets so always back them up.

Venom lets you do a soft reset or a hard reset.

Soft Reset
A soft reset restores all Global parameters to their default settings. A soft reset will not delete your custom
stored Single, Multi, and Pattern presets.

To perform a soft reset:

Press and hold both OCTAVE buttons simultaneously while powering Venom on.
Hard Reset

A hard reset restores all Global parameters and User Banks (presets) to the factory default settings. Note that
you will lose any custom stored Single, Multi, and Pattern presets when performing a hard reset.

To perform a hard reset:

Press and hold the Multi and Single buttons simultaneously while powering Venom on.

Thats it, keep this in mind as it can solve some issues that simply turning the synth ON/Off will not.

Enjoy!

Post

Many thanks for the tips!
I'll keep this in mind.
Image

Post

M.L.M. wrote:Whats the Status about the Vsti Plugin?
It's progressing nicely. I've finally got through most of the manuals oddities and synths bugs. Now i'm doing some gui design. Shouldn't be too long until i can release the first beta version.

The structure and feel of the editor is much like on MophoEd. As this is a 4 part multitimbral synth i need to have a few different pages in it, but my goal is to keep it tidy and easy to edit. Which in turn means that for example all sound controls are on the same page.

Here's a pic of it's design and look so far:
Image
www.mkdr.net

MophoEd - the BEST DSI Mopho Editor VSTi

Post

Lookin' good mkdr!! 8)
the secrets to old age: Faster horses, Richer Women, Bigger CPU's

https://soundcloud.com/cristofe-chabot/sets/main

Post

Ooof... $183.25 on Amazon...
Bachmaninoff

Post

mkdr wrote: Image
Put me down for a beta version please! :)

Post

Thumbs up mkdr :) :tu:
beta beta beta!!! :D :hihi:

Post

bachmaninoff wrote:Ooof... $183.25 on Amazon...
431,40 EUR here... :x

Post

Totolitoto wrote:
bachmaninoff wrote:Ooof... $183.25 on Amazon...
431,40 EUR here... :x
http://www.thomann.de/gb/m-audio_venom.htm

Bought mine here, shipped quickly to UK from Germany.

198 Eur

Post Reply

Return to “Hardware (Instruments and Effects)”