Which hardware synths can be fully controlled from the DAW?

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chk071 wrote: Mon Aug 03, 2020 11:09 am I'm a bit surprised about the question. Isn't the whole point of hardware synthesizers to not be dependent of working in the box? Better choose a software synth, if you want to be fully in the box. That will beat ANY hardware DAW integration.
Well unless you own a big hardware mixer, complex hardware sequencer and a room full of synths and outboard effect units, you'll be using some kind of hybrid workflow. Things will eventually have to get routed into a DAW.

VST integration simply makes it easier to recall the complete project, it doesn't mean you never touch the knobs on your hardware synths.

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roman.i wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 8:13 pm Which hardware synths can be fully controlled from the DAW?
Including saving current state in a project.
Basically synth that can be integrated into a DAW like a virtual instrument.
If "saving [the] current state in a project" is your main concern, then any DAW that can store SYSEX data (which is pretty much any DAW) can do this. Just remember to save the current state of your hardware synth as a SYSEX dump in your project, and send it back out to the synth when you re-load that project. With most hardware synths (probably all), you can just store the current patch. With multi-timbral ones, you can store the current "setup", "performance" or whatever it's called.

Of course, sending the SYSEX data when you load a project will change whatever's in the synth at the time, but if you only store and send one patch, you don't risk changing much. And if you've saved the setup in a different project, it doesn't matter if you change it when you load another project; you'll get it back as soon as you load the first project again.

I'm guessing your interests are deeper than this, but if not, this is a pretty easy way to do it.

Steve
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Elektron hardware can do this, the analog4, rytm and the digitone
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planetearth wrote: Wed Aug 05, 2020 8:50 am
roman.i wrote: Sun Aug 02, 2020 8:13 pm Which hardware synths can be fully controlled from the DAW?
Including saving current state in a project.
Basically synth that can be integrated into a DAW like a virtual instrument.
If "saving [the] current state in a project" is your main concern, then any DAW that can store SYSEX data (which is pretty much any DAW) can do this. Just remember to save the current state of your hardware synth as a SYSEX dump in your project, and send it back out to the synth when you re-load that project. With most hardware synths (probably all), you can just store the current patch. With multi-timbral ones, you can store the current "setup", "performance" or whatever it's called.

Of course, sending the SYSEX data when you load a project will change whatever's in the synth at the time, but if you only store and send one patch, you don't risk changing much. And if you've saved the setup in a different project, it doesn't matter if you change it when you load another project; you'll get it back as soon as you load the first project again.

I'm guessing your interests are deeper than this, but if not, this is a pretty easy way to do it.

Steve
You can also just store the bank/program change with the project, but this of course requires you to keep track of which patches are used in which projects, so you don't accidentally modify them.

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+1 on Elektron Devices with overbridge. Works very well. Basically best of both worlds.
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I always found Virus Control to be buggy and Elektron Overbridge 2 (after all its delays) still adds too much latency for live tracking. Moog's VST editors are the best. Studio Electronics produce an editor for Roland SE-02. Modal have editors for their synths. SoundTower and Codeknobs cover all Sequential. Other producers of VST editors for various synths include Midisynth, Momo, and Mystery Islands.

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Korg Minilogue XD with Sigabort‘s MIDISynth editor (VST/AU) fully integrates into any DAW. It offers total recall, a librarian, bi-directional control...
It‘s behaves like any VST, but with full hardware access (knobs & switches), analogue OSCs (+ digital) and filters.
The latest version of MIDISynth also supports Prologues.

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For my knowledge Virus Ti & IK Multimedia UNO.

I have them both, use them within FL Studio

Uno works very well, stable ect.
Virus Ti works well too sort of, the synth itself often gets sync errors and goes out of sync for few seconds. But this something of a known problem that has been going on since Access introduced TI line. Also keep in mind Access has stopped development of synths with the last ti line that came out 11 years ago and last software update was 5 years ago or so. But nevertheless it still works. Even tho I don't use virus in my most productions anymore, I fired up on a remix I'm working now, no complains (minus sync error which is unavoidable), works even more stable then some of the instruments with the latest updates :-D

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There are some hardware synths, workstations, which offer own "DAW Integration" solutions, for example like others written here the Virus TI, Korg Kronos, Yamaha Montage, Elektron ... and also some older machines have good editors. But even if it's more "complicated", the best solution is to learn, how you can control every hardware with your DAW, because then you can buy and use every synth you like! Meanwhile some DAWs have good auto latency corrections and own MIDI Out tools. With them you can control every hardware over MIDI and save the settings in your song template like with VST plugins. For that a good recording card could be helpful, because of MIDI Jitter / MIDI Clock. And not every DAW can work with SysEx data!

Okay, the easiest solution is to use VST plugins, which sound as "analog / fat" as especially "modern" hardware toys! :D

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https://ctrlr.org/panels/
Just use that or similar commercial offerings and spend the extra money on extra inputs for a low latency interface, most DAWs will have some kind of insert effect that allows the routing to be near invisible, a low latency interface like an RME is going to be vastly superior in terms of latency and stability.
Duh

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