No emulations of Rhodes Chroma [Polaris]?

[bluedad]

I still have my Chroma Polaris tucked away in a closet. Due to the membrane issue, it hasn't been usable in almost 25 years, but I can't bear to throw it away.

[egbert101]

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[chroma]

there was a guy who did a run of membrane panel replacements on the polaris mailing list... let me see if i can find it, it might show up on google. the polaris is not as powerful as the chroma, but was much more fun due to the sliders IMHO (i miss mine, i don't have any hardware anymore).

as for emulations... don't know of any for the polaris, but there is the UVI Kroma (in the Vintage Legends) set. i actually have this and haven't played with it, will have to try it and get back to you.

[Ingonator]

Just found that the filter in the Chroma was a CEM 3350 and in the Chroma Polaris a CEM 3372.

More details about the Polaris here:
http://www.polynominal.com/site/studio/ ... laris.html

The CEM 3372 chip was also used in the Oberheim Matrix-12 while the filter in that one is much more complex.
The Prophet VS and also the Prophet T8 used the CEM 3372 filter chip too.

The CEM 3379 in the Ensoniq ESQ-1/SQ-80 seems to be mostly comparable.

Emulations of the Matrix-12 and the Prophet VS are e.g. Arturia Matrix-12 V2 and Arturia Prophet V3. In Prophet V3 you could combine the VS filter with the analog oscillators of the P5 using the included hybrid synth.

Would be interested in your thoughts about the Matrix 12 patches in Sonicprojects OP-X PRO-II:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3oUgMmEEWXI

Currently i got Arturia Matrix-12 V2 but not OP-X Pro II whch is sold some years ago. FWIW Op-X Pro II seems to be based on a discrete SEM design which is different to the Matrix-12, OB-8 and OB-Xa Curtis based filter chips. The Matrix-12 filter has around 15 different filter modes that could not be properly replicated with OP-X Pro II and most other synths/emulations.

Also never owned a real Matrix-12 (just an Oberheim Matrix 1000 back in 2004 and a Marion Pro Synth in 2005) while IMO Arturia Matrix-12 V2 sounds great on it's own and has even more features than the real thing which alraedy had tons of it. For additional low end i normally use a bass boosting effect like e.g. Waves OneKnob Phatter.
UVI Falcon also has a "Xpander" filter which is based on and/or inspired by the Matrix-12 or Xpander filter but IMO the sound quality is not even close to that in the Arturia Matrix-12 V2 filter.

Real analogs i got at the moment are Waldorf Pulse 2 and Novation Bass Station II and hybrid synths like Ensoniq ESQ-1 and Korg DW-8000 where the filter chip in the ESQ-1 seems to be comparable to that in the Chroma Polaris and Matrix-12 (while the filter in the Matrix-12 has a lot more modes).

[egbert101]

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[Ingonator]

LOL, was arguing in another thread about how close it sounds to a Synthex. It doesn't of course, but it's close and impressive. I think it does an impressive job of sounding like different synths.

Yeah I have the Arturia version, but it didn't leave me feeling inspired.

Well, the Matrix-12 was a complex synth (actually one of the most complex real analog polysynths) and the Arturia plugin has even more features. The interface of teh plugin seems to be simler to use than the real thing.

[vic_france]

I still have my Chroma Polaris tucked away in a closet. Due to the membrane issue, it hasn't been usable in almost 25 years, but I can't bear to throw it away.

Exactly the same with my Chroma! (but, down in the cellar, not in a closet )
The UVI is a kinda "missed opportunity".. WorkStation's architecture doesn't permit the Chroma's versatile (hardwired) modular capabilities, whereas, if it had been written for MachFive/Falcon, it could have gotten most of the way there.

[egbert101]

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[wagtunes]

I wasn't sure about this so I did some research. Can't find a thing. Can only guess as to why. I know in my neck of the woods, the Chroma wasn't popular at all. In fact, you couldn't find a store that sold it. So who knows? My guess would be that no emulations have been made because there isn't enough demand for one but that would just be a guess and only made based on personal experience.

[fluffy_little_something]

I wasn't sure about this so I did some research. Can't find a thing. Can only guess as to why. I know in my neck of the woods, the Chroma wasn't popular at all. In fact, you couldn't find a store that sold it. So who knows? My guess would be that no emulations have been made because there isn't enough demand for one but that would just be a guess and only made based on personal experience.

They were rather rare, and maybe expensive, too, although I didn't find a price.
There is one on ebay currently, 6,444 euros.

Also, they used power supplies of mediocre quality, so lots of problems there...

[wagtunes]

I wasn't sure about this so I did some research. Can't find a thing. Can only guess as to why. I know in my neck of the woods, the Chroma wasn't popular at all. In fact, you couldn't find a store that sold it. So who knows? My guess would be that no emulations have been made because there isn't enough demand for one but that would just be a guess and only made based on personal experience.

They were rather rare, and maybe expensive, too, although I didn't find a price.
There is one on ebay currently, 6,444 euros.

Also, they used power supplies of mediocre quality, so lots of problems there...

Well, then there's probably your answer. If very few people owned them there's probably not a big demand for somebody to make an emulation. And if that's the case, it's unlikely a dev is going to use resources on making something that might not sell all that well.

[chroma]

this was all before my time, but my understanding (may have some facts incorrect):

the Chroma was kind of ARP's 'last gasp' - produced as they were going under, and almost wasn't released at all. it was a pretty expensive synth even for its time IIRC, and like the moog source and some others, it replaced the sliders with a touchscreen to give it microprocessor control (presets! and some other things).

when Rhodes bought out ARP, they didn't really know what to do it iirc... it was also fairly unreliable. but well regarded - it's closer to an Xpander in architecture than a Polaris (you could change the routing quite extensively - much more than just 'filters in series or parallel'). for functionality, it was way ahead of its time and got a bit of a cult following. it also has what was pretty much the most advanced key assemblies for the time - velocity sensitive with a decent piano feel (which iirc was why rhodes bought them).

later they created a cheaper version called the chroma polaris. it really doesn't have much to do with the chroma other than the name honestly - they both use CEMs but a totally different series, and the polaris had much-needed sliders which made it more accessible, and it was a lot cheaper. you could drive a chroma

the polaris was my first dream synth... i would love an emulation. when i was in college, pulling samples off of hyperreal to dump onto a turtle beach maui, there were two filter sweeps that got my attention more than any others, and they were both from the polaris. even though it's CEM-based like many synths from that era, I think it kind of has its own sound - i don't think it really sounds much like a matrix 6 or an esq-1/m, or even just like other 3372-based synths (like the Xpander or the prophet 600) imho at least. (i never had any of the really expensive CEM synths though

[egbert101]

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[kevin brown]

Not even in Mr K Brown synth bundle ?

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=469363

Well, I sorta took a stab at it with Kroma flexPatch; just a loose approximation of the core synth functions, no layers, splits, etc. The Chroma's 'Patches' can be done (and few the Chroma could'nt) by connecting the 'modules' together any way you choose, using virtual cables.

[layzer]

Just found that the filter in the Chroma was a CEM 3350 and in the Chroma Polaris a CEM 3372.

yup, Akai AX80 also uses the cem3372 filter, obi expander as well.
the Ax80 does sound similar to the polaris when i listen to demos...
for that cem3372 filter in a vst, i go to Tal-Elektro or Asynth