2023: A Year in Gear (What You've Bought or Want to Buy in 2023)

[PieBerger]

But... What's the monosynth you're waiting for?

Moog Mini Model D re-issue is my guess!

[rob_lee]

New arrivals from JUNO UK

x2 DNIPRO DOT



Intentions are to control my Quad Drum

[styphonthal]

Bet that's a great and flexible poly.

But... What's the monosynth you're waiting for?

Moog Model D. I have it now, sitting next to the prophet X

[WatchTheGuitar]

Thought I was done with spending on hardware for a few weeks, but I ended up cancelling my Roland Cloud renewal which freed up £200 and the next second something popped up around that price on eBay that I'd been wanting for a long time so I've ordered one of these...

...as it's a bit of a rarity, a physical modeler for cymbals in eurorack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqs-QoMw0EM

[McLilith]

Thought I was done with spending on hardware for a few weeks, but I ended up cancelling my Roland Cloud renewal which freed up £200 and the next second something popped up around that price on eBay that I'd been wanting for a long time so I've ordered one of these...

...as it's a bit of a rarity, a physical modeler for cymbals in eurorack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pqs-QoMw0EM

I think that sounds awesome! I didn't know anyone made a physical modeler for cymbals.

[WatchTheGuitar]

I think that sounds awesome! I didn't know anyone made a physical modeler for cymbals.

Yeah, WMD are stopping production so these things are going to get rarer and rarer too.

[cryophonik]

I can't believe this just happened... early bday present for me!!!

OK, I think I achieved my two main goals for 2023 already

[ghettosynth]

Ok, I "need" (f**k me no I don't, but we all agree that, in fact, I do, right?) a new keyboard. This keyboard is to be my master keyboard. These are the contenders:

Choice 1) PolyBrute: Aftertouch, but not poly. Awesome f**king synth with the patch morph feature that I really like. I'm a huge fan of the Steiner Parker filter and I can see myself sitting at this for hours just noodling. Even though it's not poly aftertouch, it does have other expressive features that gives it some additional edge.

Choice 2) Osmose: I love everything about it except that it's not enough keys to be my main squeeze. I'm only considering it because of how expressive it is. I might get one of these later anyway.

Choice 3) HydraSynth Deluxe: Ok, if one of it's two filters were actually analog I would already own this. In the demos the filters do not sound convincing to me. Not bad, but bad enough in places. Other than that, poly pressure plus Matrix12/Ensoniq style editing make this a a compelling choice in many ways. I really like having more than 61 keys. I wish that my Super JX10 was a better keyboard.

Choice 4) Trigon 6: Great sounding ladder filter plus three oscillators and mono aftertouch make this a reasonably compelling choice as well. (On Edit: Probably not, I just assumed that it was five ocatves, it's 4. If that was ok I'd probably prefer the Udo Super-6)

I have not touched or heard any of these in person. Looking mostly for opinions backed by specific likes/dislikes. I don't think that there are any other alternatives, but I could be wrong.

[WatchTheGuitar]

I have a HydraSynth Deluxe, upgraded from the standard HydraSynth. I enjoy playing with the poly aftertouch, but it’s not my main interest in the synth, I love the engine and I also use the ribbon way more than exploiting polyAT. I upgraded to get sound layering and the extra couple of octaves of keys so I could lose my old 88 key controller.
I guess what I’m saying is, although nice to have I wouldn’t make PolyAT a must have.

[ghettosynth]

I have a HydraSynth Deluxe, upgraded from the standard HydraSynth. I enjoy playing with the poly aftertouch, but it’s not my main interest in the synth, I love the engine and I also use the ribbon way more than exploiting polyAT. I upgraded to get sound layering and the extra couple of octaves of keys so I could lose my old 88 key controller.
I guess what I’m saying is, although nice to have I wouldn’t make PolyAT a must have.

Sure, I use it quite a bit with my original push and feel like I miss it on a keyboard. That said, I don't have a keyboard with poly-pressure, so I don't really know. I do like the wider keybed though.

What do you think of the filters? In particular, do you use them with the resonance cranked?

[WatchTheGuitar]

I have a HydraSynth Deluxe, upgraded from the standard HydraSynth. I enjoy playing with the poly aftertouch, but it’s not my main interest in the synth, I love the engine and I also use the ribbon way more than exploiting polyAT. I upgraded to get sound layering and the extra couple of octaves of keys so I could lose my old 88 key controller.
I guess what I’m saying is, although nice to have I wouldn’t make PolyAT a must have.

Sure, I use it quite a bit with my original push and feel like I miss it on a keyboard. That said, I don't have a keyboard with poly-pressure, so I don't really know. I do like the wider keybed though.

What do you think of the filters? In particular, do you use them with the resonance cranked?

I think I'm not the best person to ask about the filters on the HydraSynth as I tend to use it for more standard keys/pads and I use the modular for the really nutty filter stuff. You can get some good stuff out of the digital filter on high resonance, but generally I prefer it when it's more sedate (closest example I can think of is the slow bits of Rez by Underworld, that sort of stuff) rather than absolute bonkers and for that I dive into the modular and use the filters there (Wasp/Ripples/MS20 Clone/Ladder clone etc).

One other alternative you may want to look at is the Novation Summit. It's got 61 keys and genuine analog filters. It's basically two Peak modules stuck together with a 5 octave keyboard.
I think everyone I've seen on here who owned one has said good things about it.

Re the HydraSynth though, this video really sheds some light on how to use the filters - a lot of the early demos had exactly the issue highlighted here, they maxed out the signal and crashed it into the filter creating a kind of digital mush sound, but if you keep the oscillator levels low it gives much more headroom and you can get pure sounds back.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibQ5Twzuhuw

[cryophonik]

I can only speak for the PolyBrute. Out of the hundreds of hardware synths I’ve owned in my life, it’s hands down my favorite one ever. So much expression and so many routing options, two awesome filter models, excellent effects, a great software editor/plugin, and an endless sweet spot. Every time I sit down in front of it, I get lost for hours and constantly find myself thinking “damn, Arturia thought EVERY feature through!” It’s definitely a modern sounding analog, so if you’re stuck in 70s nostalgia, you can stop reading now and scratch this one off your list. Some people complain about the keybed, but it’s fine to me and I’m usually pretty picky about them. But, the Trigon has a Fatar keybed that most people would probably prefer (myself included, but like I said, the PB keybed is perfectly fine with me). The 6-note polyphony is fine but I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t welcome a few more voices on occasion. Fortunately, I have a 16-voice Rev2 and digital polys for big sustaining pads and the PolyBrute does everything else I want from it. It’s a beast.

[cryophonik]

Ok, I "need" (f**k me no I don't, but we all agree that, in fact, I do, right?) a new keyboard.

Yes, you do need it. This is not even questionable.

Choice 4) Trigon 6: Great sounding ladder filter plus three oscillators and mono aftertouch make this a reasonably compelling choice as well. (On Edit: Probably not, I just assumed that it was five ocatves, it's 4.

Honestly, if I was looking for a master keyboard from the Sequential line, it would undoubtedly be the Rev2 over the Trigon 6, Prophet 6, or OB-6. I have the 16-voice Rev2 desktop and a Prophet 6 desktop and, between the two, I love the P6’s mojo, but the Rev2 is my workhorse. It’s become pretty fashionable to trash it, but the Rev2 offers so much, covers a ton of range, sounds great, and is basically two synths in one when you layer it and send each layer to its own outputs. And, most importantly, it has the 5-octave Fatar keybed and that knobby interface that are perfect for a main synth/controller. Buy that now (because you need a new synth) and then buy the Trigon desktop when it’s (presumably) released in a few months because you’ll obviously need another synth by then.

[ghettosynth]

I can only speak for the PolyBrute. Out of the hundreds of hardware synths I’ve owned in my life, it’s hands down my favorite one ever. So much expression and so many routing options, two awesome filter models, excellent effects, a great software editor/plugin, and an endless sweet spot. Every time I sit down in front of it, I get lost for hours and constantly find myself thinking “damn, Arturia thought EVERY feature through!” It’s definitely a modern sounding analog, so if you’re stuck in 70s nostalgia, you can stop reading now and scratch this one off your list. Some people complain about the keybed, but it’s fine to me and I’m usually pretty picky about them. But, the Trigon has a Fatar keybed that most people would probably prefer. The 6-note polyphony is fine but I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t welcome a few more voices on occasion. Fortunately, I have a 16-voice Rev2 and digital polys for big sustaining pads and the PolyBrute does everything else I want from it. It’s a beast.

Yeah, no. I guess I need to put my hands on one.

[pekbro]

I got one of the Midronome prototypes interestingly. A bit of a sneak peek before it actually ships.
Just happened to be in Hawaii is all, guy was like, you wanna test it? I was like ok sure...