FXpansion releases Cypher2

[Ingonator]

Until some years ago i had owned DCAM Synth Squad including the first version of Cypher and now had a first look/listen at the Cypher 2 demo for Windows (my system specs are in my signature).

Feature wise it is great and there seem to be a lot of really usable and/or "old school" presets.

Concerning the overall sound which is very important i am a bit disappointed so far. I am missing that "analog magic" that i easily get with plugins like e.g. Roland Cloud Jupiter-8, U-He Repro 5, Synpase Audio The Legend, U-He Diva and some others.
As a fan of Synth Brass sounds of course i checked the corresponding presets in Cypher 2 and am not really impressed when comparing similar sounds in e.g. Roland Jupiter-8, Repro-5 or my own Synth Brass collection i made with The Legend.
To get a better comparison i will also try to recreate similar patches in Cypher 2, Roland Cloud Jupiter-8 and Repro-5.

Maybe the overall sound qualoity of Cypher 2 is great for others here but so far it does not really fit my tatse in that respect. FWIW recently even with Icarus and the built-in analog filter models (+ single cycle waveforms done by sampling real analog synths) i got better analog sounding patches than i was able to hear from Cypher 2 so far.

Of course this is only a first impression and i might be proven wrong soon, also by doing a few of my own patches with the Cypher 2 demo.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

As a fan of Synth Brass sounds of course i checked the corresponding presets in Cypher 2 and am not really impressed

The brass sounds were some of my favourite Mind you, I only had a quick run-through. I also think that much of the fun I had was from using them with a Rise 49

[Ingonator]

As a fan of Synth Brass sounds of course i checked the corresponding presets in Cypher 2 and am not really impressed

The brass sounds were some of my favourite Mind you, I only had a quick run-through. I also think that much of the fun I had was from using them with a Rise 49

I "only" have a NI Komplete Kontrol S61 MK1 as my main controller (and no Seaboard Rise...) but i do not think this matters when talking about sound quality which i did in my post above.

The Brass sounds in Cypher 2 might be programmed nicely indeed but my point was that at least for my taste they do not sound as nice and/or as analog like as they do in e.g. Roland Cloud Jupiter-8 or Repro-5 which are emulations of synths that were famous for that kind of sounds.
FWIW besides a bunch of analog modeled plugins i still own two real analog synths like Novation Bass Station II + Waldorf Pulse 2 and two digital/analog hybrid synths which are Ensoniq ESQ-1 and Korg DW-8000.
For all 4 of them i got really nice Synth Brass sounds including some i created myself.

On the other hand also wit hreal analog synths not all sound the way i like. So even if other people tell me that Cypher2 sounds "100% analog like" maybe the sound does just not fit my personal taste.

[zvenx]

I somewhat agree with you Ingonator with regard to Analog Brass. The factory bank definitely wouldn't be my first call for Analog Brass.
I have that covered elsewhere and will certainly use Cypher2 for type of sounds that I don't have covered elsewhere.


However I do think the factory bank does have some really nice analog sounding leads, bass, pads....
rsp

[db3]

Concerning the overall sound which is very important i am a bit disappointed so far.

+1. Yet to be inspired by the demo. I remember feeling the same with Strobe 2, I felt it lost its mojo.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

As a fan of Synth Brass sounds of course i checked the corresponding presets in Cypher 2 and am not really impressed

The brass sounds were some of my favourite Mind you, I only had a quick run-through. I also think that much of the fun I had was from using them with a Rise 49

I "only" have a NI Komplete Kontrol S61 MK1 as my main controller (and no Seaboard Rise...) but i do not think this matters when talking about sound quality which i did in my post above.

The Brass sounds in Cypher 2 might be programmed nicely indeed but my point was that at least for my taste they do not sound as nice and/or as analog like as they do in e.g. Roland Cloud Jupiter-8 or Repro-5 which are emulations of synths that were famous for that kind of sounds.
FWIW besides a bunch of analog modeled plugins i still own two real analog synths like Novation Bass Station II + Waldorf Pulse 2 and two digital/analog hybrid synths which are Ensoniq ESQ-1 and Korg DW-8000.
For all 4 of them i got really nice Synth Brass sounds including some i created myself.

On the other hand also wit hreal analog synths not all sound the way i like. So even if other people tell me that Cypher2 sounds "100% analog like" maybe the sound does just not fit my personal taste.

Judged purely on sound alone, you could be right. But I find that expression influences perception of sound quality i.e why sounds like 'Glorious Guitars', from Omnisphere, to me (and others, it would seem) sound so great.

All I can say is that I spent the most time with the brass presets, yesterday (Only the MPE ones, though). At this early stage I can't divorce the sound from the expressiveness offered by MPE. And luckily, I don't need to try

Anyway, if you have the money, I'd really recommend one of the Roli boards

[fluffy_little_something]

Did anyone else get a safety warning when downloading the demo?

[zvenx]

Everyone has different sound aesthetic tastes, and none is more right than the other.
Falcon is very popular here, there is no demo, but I can't ever recall hearing any sound demo from it ever that made me want to buy it.
Alchemy was very popular here and I was never in love with the sound engine.

Different strokes for different folks....
Indeed for me a big part of the beauty of cypher is its expression capabilities and a lot of its FM style stuff.....
It wouldn't be my first call for many type of analogue sounds from all the other synths I have, but for other sounds indeed it will get used.

My two cents.
rsp

[W23]

There are a couple of 3rd party vendors that are letting the upgrade version go for $66.99. Sounds worth it to me

[bbtr]

I think it's not supposed to be a 100% analog affair, more like 'analog inspired'. So comparing it with HW emulations is a bit off.
The patches are always up to the skill of their maker.

Would have never thought to use it for brass. For me, it's just fine for drone excursions.

Everyone has different sound aesthetic tastes, and none is more right than the other.

Then there are those people called 'experts'. And 'pro's'. E.g., violin makers. Or violin players. Or brass makers. Or brass players. Have you ever played real sax in your life?

[zvenx]

I think it's not supposed to be a 100% analog affair, more like 'analog inspired'. So comparing it with HW emulations is a bit off.
The patches are always up to the skill of their maker.

Would have never thought to use it for brass. For me, it's just fine for drone excursions.

Everyone has different sound aesthetic tastes, and none is more right than the other.

Then there are those people called 'experts'. And 'pro's'. E.g., violin makers. Or violin players. Or brass makers. Or brass players. Have you ever played real sax in your life?

No I haven't.....why?.......but if indeed there were right and wrong answers they would probably be much less manufacturers of instruments, maybe?
rsp

[fluffy_little_something]

The brass sounds are indeed not so good. But I assume it has more to do with the programming than with the sound of the synth.

What I don't like is that effects seem to carry over when switching to another preset.

The interface is odd and crowded. I can't even seem to find the effects

But at least the RAM buildup thingy doesn't seem to affect my computer.

[zvenx]

The effects are on a separate tab ..... fortunately
rsp

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

Different strokes for different folks....

While that is often true, that is not what is happening here.

I didn't disagree with Ingy, just pointed out that I enjoyed playing the 5D brass presets, and that my perception of their sound quality was likely influenced by the expressiveness the sounds afforded me.

I also have not yet been totally convinced by this synth (Strobe 2 did nothing for me). I'd been lusting after Thorn after noticing the current Tantra crossgrade deal, and I still prefer that to this. However, as a 5d 'board owner, it makes a huge difference to be able to have all these expression modes built into the foundation of the instrument. Strobe has the same, but I am not inspired to try sound design within that as much as I am within this.

We shall see.

[bbtr]

Everyone has different sound aesthetic tastes, and none is more right than the other.

Then there are those people called 'experts'. And 'pro's'. E.g., violin makers. Or violin players. Or brass makers. Or brass players. Have you ever played real sax in your life?

No I haven't.....why?.......but if indeed there were right and wrong answers they would probably be much less manufacturers of instruments, maybe?
rsp

Yes, there are right and wrong answers, because some achieve success, and some go out of business. Please don't throw away expertise. 's all I'm sayin'