First poly Hardware Synth - Help

[V0rtex]

Bear in mind Argon is digital through and through. That's not a problem at all - there are some very good digital hw synths. If you're not bothered whether it's digital or analogue then digital might be the way to go - you usually get far more options on digital synths e.g more mod options, more LFOs, more oscillators than you do on analogue and you should definitely expect more voices. But they generally sound different to analogue. Still make sure you get plenty of knobs though...

Thanks ! , Many people told that you can not really hear the difference between analog and Digital synth, but I definitely hearing that fully analog or hybrid synth have to my ear more pleasing sound then full VA or digital wavetable synths.

If I would go with digital I will chose Nord or Virus I guess.

[ElVincente]

I think you should checkout the deepmind 12 too, if has a lot of knobs and faders, and you can have it used for peanuts...

Clearly what workflow you're after will be really important. Designing sounds with my hydrasynth doesn't feel the same as with vsts. Do you want a Powerhouse, or something more limited but you know what it's good at (it can help when you have less choices sometimes).
Good hunting

[kritikon]

Thanks ! , Many people told that you can not really hear the difference between analog and Digital synth, but I definitely hearing that fully analog or hybrid synth have to my ear more pleasing sound then full VA or digital wavetable synths.

If I would go with digital I will chose Nord or Virus I guess.

Last time I looked Nord and Viruses were pretty expensive. Actually ElVincente above suggestion of Deepmind is not a bad one for a first poly. Firstly it's analogue so you get that thicker sound (digital to my ears usually sounds thinner and often metallic), and secondly you get possibly more mod options than most other poly analogues for one of the best prices around. It won't scream character like some of the others, but it is a workhorse that does a lot of everything - you always have to compromise character vs price and it's a decision only you can make.

Also I have to say that you can get a 12 voice Deepmind for less than most other 8 voice synths. Deepmind is kind of an equivalent of old Junos - which have a name (mostly unjustified). They were and are popular simply because they were more affordable than most others at the time - they were actually bog standard and very limited and not that characterful. Whereas Deepmind gives you that but without the limitations - it's actually quite powerful, just vanilla sounding.

[ElVincente]

Yeah that deepmind definitely cliked with me sonically... I really did compared a lot of videos and take5 and peaks where top numbers on my analogue sounding poly list, but in the end the deepmind's sound got me, and the price made my wife happier...

Have you checked Jexus's reviews and videos ? Really deep ones imo.
http://sounds-for-synths.com/

[V0rtex]

Yeah that deepmind definitely cliked with me sonically... I really did compared a lot of videos and take5 and peaks where top numbers on my analogue sounding poly list, but in the end the deepmind's sound got me, and the price made my wife happier...

Have you checked Jexus's reviews and videos ? Really deep ones imo.
http://sounds-for-synths.com/

Thanks, guys for the input I am going to check Deepmind, before I pull the trigger, one think is that I am fear Behringer's quality, how long do you have Deepmind ?

[ElVincente]

Yeah I had bad experiences with cheap Berhinger mixers, so the name can sound like bad hardware, but it seems to me that it's a lot better now and especially all the synths seems to be really decent quality. And my deepmind feels like great building quality, but I had it only for 3 month or so. So don't take this as a real proof of something ! (Although the guy I bought it from first received a deffective unit that thomann quickly exanched, he told me).

[kritikon]

Behringer low quality is mostly a myth. Though some of their older Euro mixers certainly had some issues. I suspect a lot of the myth comes from people getting cheap stuff and expecting it to be expensive stuff - I've lost count of the number of forum whines I've seen along the lines of "my Behringer Composer doesn't sound anything like a LA compressor!" - well duh! Of course it doesn't - It cost 1/10 as much. Behringer have always been cheap and often sound cheap (what do you expect?) but much of their hw is solid as a rock. I've got old rack units from 30 yrs ago that are still going strong.

Their recent analogue stuff seems to be very well built - but time will tell. Mostly they've not been around long enough to know how long they last. I have a 2600, TD3, Wasp and a MonoPoly. TBH the 2600, Monopoly and Wasp seem to be built like Panzer tanks - the Monopoly especially. The TD3 is very lightweight and plasticy - but so was the original Roland 303 so it's not fair to call them on that. From what I've seen of the Deepmind it's of comparable quality to Roland Junos and some Junos were NOT reliable or long-lasting. It's entirely likely that the Deepmind might actually be better quality than Junos. And the keys on Junos were probably the crappiest keys you will ever come across - not a problem for me, but for some, maybe. Behringer keys are no worse than most out there - they're mostly the same. I feel no difference between say Korg keys or Behringer keys (excluding the Prologue - that has far better keys). Actually some of the knobs and switches on Behringers to me feel very solid and high quality - the sliders not quite as much. But sliders are often not great on any hw.

[kritikon]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention - Behringer first releases of some of their analogues did have some issues. Wasp, Cat I know definitely had some double-triggering of notes when they first came out. That was fixed pretty quickly though. My Wasp has no double-triggering of notes at all. From what I read the Cat was fixed also. So despite what some say about Behringer not listening - they obviously do. But actual Behringer company support has been known to be almost non-existent. THAT is what you sometimes pay more for with other brands, but not all of them offer much better support. There are certainly some internet "influencers" or whatever eejit name they have who were provided with Behringer synths that turned out dodgy but were taken back and replaced pretty sharply. Make of that what you will - companies all generally play nice if you're in the public eye - not necessarily as much for individuals with no clout.

But quality-wise...I have now defunct Korg, Roland, LA and Lexicon gear. Some of them 30+ yrs old admittedly but my Junos both started breaking when they were only 20 yrs old. The Wavestation same - 20 yrs when bits stopped working (though I have other even older Korg gear that is still going very strong). The Lexicon unit was in the same damp cellar that all my Behringer rack gear was in but those didn't break down like the Lexicon. LA compressor rack unit very comparable to Behringer one (though better sounding obvs) and the LA has some rusted pots almost welded together - not the Behringer.

Just sayin'. Take internet haters with a pinch of salt.

[simmo75]

Sequential Take 5 is a beautiful synth.

The build quality isn’t as bad as what some are making it out to be. I mean, compared to the latest Korg synths, the Take 5 is a tank

Anyway, I tend not to throw my toys around…. so…. I’m recommending the Take 5, it’s lush!

(… just don’t throw it about!)

[V0rtex]

Thanks for the opinion guys, I was listening to some deepmind demos on youtube and the sound is pretty nice.
It sounds more pleasing to my ear than Peak, but Take 5 is winning again.
I guess it is due to the difference between DCOs and VCOs, or maybe filter?

But yea Deppmind Desktop unit is so cheap I can not resist

Deep mind 600 euro, TAKE 5 1300..... damn

PS: I heard the rumor that Behringer is making a Replica of the Prophet 5

[kritikon]

Addendum to my Behringer quality posts - First time up with my Monopoly and the stupid PSU broke. Cheapo crappy unit that clicks in depending on what country plug socket you have - only it clicked in and broke the connections. Easy enough to get another one, or different replacement - simple 12V 1amp PSU, and have to say the actual synth is great - no, it's f**king awesome. Interim the Wasp PSU is the same so I used that one, but nevertheless...great synth, crap peripherals. Actually I think I might replace all of the Behringer PSUs with better ones - they are incredibly flimsy and don't sit very well in the sockets . Relatively minor irritants though.

[SLiC]

Save a little more and get a Novation Summit? The V2 firmware is excellent, probably the only poly you will ever need...

[chk071]

Sequential Take 5 is a beautiful synth.

The build quality isn’t as bad as what some are making it out to be. I mean, compared to the latest Korg synths, the Take 5 is a tank

Anyway, I tend not to throw my toys around…. so…. I’m recommending the Take 5, it’s lush!

(… just don’t throw it about!)

It's a nice synth, but, IMO, it's too expensive.

[kritikon]

In NZ anything Sequential is breath-takingly expensive. I like the knobbage on them but each knob must be f**king gold-plated or something. Surprisingly...they don't sell many here

[chk071]

I think the Rev2-8 is 300 € more expensive than a few months when I looked now as well.