IK announces UNO Synth Pro

[kcearl]

Im so on the fence about this, I really dont want a desktop as I just end up not using them (I currently have a bookcase full of unused desktops) but to get the keys version Id likely have to sell my Karp to make room. So Im really playing it just now to see if I wanna let it go…even harder the akai range have a build in oddy I can use as a placeholder…what a problem to have, too much gear

[SLiC]

I guess it depends how much you will sequence and how you just ant to play it live- the little keyboard is great for sequencing (even has LED's) and personally if I want to rip I would rather plug it in a 61 note controller- should sit on top of my Nektar P6 just fine

[kcearl]

I rarely, if ever, use on board sequencers…Im not OCD (I think) but general clutter distracts me. I use to have everything out, crammed everywhere and it just niggled me…I see some folks desktop setups and I can feel that niggle rising lol.

[SLiC]

OK- got it! (good old next day Amazon!), cant get over how small and light it is for so many features and such a big sound!

Registered and updated firmware (went without a hitch other than having to find another shitty 'micro' USB cable as it said you needed USB and separate power...why Micro USB IK, why!)

It sounds and big and bally as all the reviews say, that analogue distortion helps. Plays USB midi nicely and I could do program/patch changes easily so I am playing it now with my Nektar P6...aftertouch set up on all the patches, everything just works...very cool. The p6 has a nice hardware mode where you can map and remember everything as a hardware profile so I may have a go at that later, just need to find the cc map.

It's pretty good at 3 note chords, almost sounds like a poly!

Can you transpose sequences whey are playing by hitting a note? This is nifty on the XD, turns the sequencer in to a performance tool. I love setting up a little sequence running then noodling over it with another synth...

Not sure I like that the hold button turns the synth off if you hold it too long...I know its a latch, but it would be nice if it could act as a 'sustain whilst hold' (alt- hold to lock) and maybe have to hold 2 different keys at once to turn off to avoid accidents (especially as the re-calibration isn't exactly instant!

Guess I'll have to look at the manual fore the sequencer, bit more to that but the synth is self explanatory and easy to program (FX take a little digging but its a small box!)

[SLiC]

Ok, I hate that I can’t read the alt text under the buttons as there are a lot of alt commands (shift + button) and the writing is unreadable to me even in bright light….dark grey text on black

Some not marked at all so it’s a memory test…for example, transpose sequence is ALT Octave - (nothing written on the UNO to indicate that, so you need the manual and a good memory! )

I don’t like the red case, looks cheap and the shiny black top is a dust and fingerprint magnet.

But I f’in love the sound it makes, and ultimately that’s what it’s all about…it’s alive! The filters and analog distortion can be balanced to get that just on the edge sound that has a life of its own…it reminds you that VA sounds nothing like good analog, and even a lot of analog synths are quite tame in comparison to the UNO Pro, it has to be heard in the flesh I think (and every preset benefits from more distortion in my opinion )

Keeper.

[pdxindy]

But I f’in love the sound it makes, and ultimately that’s what it’s all about…it’s alive! The filters and analog distortion can be balanced to get that just on the edge sound that has a life of its own…it reminds you that VA sounds nothing like good analog, and even a lot of analog synths are quite tame in comparison to the UNO Pro, it has to be heard in the flesh I think (and every preset benefits from more distortion in my opinion )

Keeper.

That perks up my ears! I live for that just on the edge sound. Wish I could try one... hmmm

[BONES]

...why Micro USB IK, why!)

Because it is USB 2 and it is a slave device, so the choices would have been miniUSB (which nobody uses any more), USB Type B (printer cable, which has been the standard for a while) or microUSB. I think of those, microUSB was by far the best choice. The sheer range of cables you can buy for it are amazing. My Unos both use reversible right-angle (Type A end only) braided cables in the same shade of red as the Uno Pro. The Seaboard uses a silver Type C cable, the KeyStep a black microUSB. Rocket has a blue Type B and the Zoom I/O device is a Type B with a clear plastic sheath. Each is a good length for the rig, so there aren't cables going everywhere, and the colour coding makes it so easy to plug it all in in a hurry.

It sounds and big and bally as all the reviews say, that analogue distortion helps.

What amazes me is how good a lot of the paraphonic patches sound. I wasn't sure a single oscillator would be up to scratch but most of the time you can't tell if it's paraphonic until you play a chord.

Plays USB midi nicely and I could do program/patch changes easily so I am playing it now with my Nektar P6...aftertouch set up on all the patches, everything just works...very cool.

I've only played mine from its own keyboard, which I don't mind and it's the same size/spacing as the original Uno. It's how I'll use it live. I've developed a one finger playing style for them where I don't lift my finger, I just run it up/down the surface. It's amazing how quickly you can move your finger when you have to.

Guess I'll have to look at the manual fore the sequencer, bit more to that but the synth is self explanatory and easy to program (FX take a little digging but its a small box!)

You know, I don't think I have so much as turned the sequencer on since I got it. I've used the one on the little Uno to preview patches but I can't recall doing that on the new one. I use the buttons to change patches.

[BONES]

The filters and analog distortion can be balanced to get that just on the edge sound that has a life of its own…it reminds you that VA sounds nothing like good analog, and even a lot of analog synths are quite tame in comparison to the UNO Pro, it has to be heard in the flesh I think

I don't get that. It sounds great but it's not a patch on my best VSTi. In fact, last night I accidentally made a patch in GR-8 that sounded almost identical to the best patch I've made in Uno Pro, except the GR-8 patch had more width that gave it a presence in the mix that Uno Pro couldn't manage. Mind you, GR-8 was in 8 voice unison mode, on full spread, and Uno Pro was just its three oscillators. Perhaps you could share a patch that illustrates what you mean?

(and every preset benefits from more distortion in my opinion )

It's a known fact that EVERY preset in EVERY instrument benefits from more distortion.

[SLiC]

Perhaps you could share a patch that illustrates what you mean?

It was patch 69 with resonance up and obviously a little more distortion- playing lower notes and riding the filter- I will try and record something for a demo.

[BONES]

Cool, ta. I'll check it out when I can tear myself away from Prophecy's Prophetic Steps.

[SLiC]

Cool, ta. I'll check it out when I can tear myself away from Prophecy's Prophetic Steps.

Ironically I did the Korg upgrade today and am playing the the Prophecy VST at the moment- I used to own a second hand one many years ago so this is a real blast from the past- some of the pre-sets remind me (probably as I used them!) of songs I wrote and subsequently lost (on to an X26 tape deck, multitracked with guitar..no midi!)

[BONES]

My bandmate has had one for 20 years and he just spent several hundred dollars getting it fixed. He'll be more than a little annoyed, I think.

[SLiC]

OK- just played this in on the UNO cap keybed, not tweaking or using mod wheel, just playing a few notes and holding. Sounded massive on my monitors, not sure how well it translates when recorded!

https://soundcloud.com/slic-5/uno-patch

[lfm]

Picking one notch better opamps for electronics may be enough sometimes for way nicer sound.

I use a Mackie 402 VLZ4 for all external gear, and it sound way better than built in phones out in every unit. Kawai, Hammond, Nordlead, DeepMind, Wavestate, Prologue, D-05, Neutron. Just line out from gear into line in on Mackie and phones out(patch bay for everything, done in 2 secs).

Sometimes just a couple of opamps make all the difference. Same thing in a dac I modified.

The tone of Uno seems nice, even though not sure since most demos is bathing in 2 cathedrals reverb, but seems nice. Monosynth and too much menu diving though is nogo in my taste.

Use of panel space seems really weird to me, to have 1/3 or 1/2 even for just backlit texts depending on mode for knobs. You could use all that space for more handson knob per function, and slightly larger display and have knobs placed around display having text in display that is altered there instead. I like how Kawai think in regard to this - and you can even pick which 4 parameters you want on knobs in non-edit mode for each preset(2 pages x 4 parameters selectable).

[BONES]

It doesn't need any of that, the way it is is great. Adding the things you mention would probably make it more expensive than I'd be willing to pay for it. At the end of the day, less than 10% of the time I spend with Uno Pro is spent patching it and once the software editor is available for it, I won't touch any of those controls at all. Ever. Surely you buy hardware to play, not to play with? Once I have the sounds in it that I want, the controls become irrelevant and I got to that point 6-8 weeks ago. Now it's 100% about playing and zero about the front panel.