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Hardware synths that blew away your expectations
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- KVRist
- 98 posts since 20 May, 2020
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- KVRAF
- 3897 posts since 28 Jan, 2011 from MEXICO
not for bones, i always wonder why he gets away with so many insults
dedication to flying
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- GRRRRRRR!
- 15955 posts since 14 Jun, 2001 from Somewhere else, on principle
Context is everything.
NOVAkILL : Asus RoG Flow Z13, Core i9, 16GB RAM, Win11 | EVO 16 | Studio One | bx_oberhausen, GR-8, JP6K, Union, Hexeract, Olga, TRK-01, SEM, BA-1, Thorn, Prestige, Spire, Legend-HZ, ANA-2, VG Iron 2 | Uno Pro, Rocket.
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- KVRAF
- 4376 posts since 15 Feb, 2020
Yes, the context that you get away with stuff others wouldn’t, year after year. And I’d imagine you know why 
(Not the above insult, per se, rather the countless other, harsher ones over the years, and your relentless trolling)
(Not the above insult, per se, rather the countless other, harsher ones over the years, and your relentless trolling)
I lost my heart in Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateaturipukakapikimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuakitanatahu
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- KVRAF
- 15517 posts since 13 Oct, 2009
ROFL, that's funny as shit.
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- Banned
- 178 posts since 31 May, 2023
Seriously, he needs to be attending a daily anger management class. I'm honestly concerned that he's going to have a ruptured brain aneurysm with that much unresolved rage.
D-550, EX-8000, Juno 60, Matrix-1000, MicroWave I Rev A, MicroWave II XT, MKS-7, MkS-20 x2, MKS-30, MKS-50, MKS-70, MKS-80 rev 4, MKS-80 rev 5, Nord Rack 2, Nord Rack 3, Pulse 1, Pulse 2, REV2, Shruthi SMR-4 MKII, Shruthi 4MP, Tetra, Virus TI2 keyboard
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- KVRist
- 98 posts since 20 May, 2020
Just needs a hug. Here you go Bones, have a snuggle from me.Ex Machina wrote: ↑Sat Jun 10, 2023 2:11 pmSeriously, he needs to be attending a daily anger management class. I'm honestly concerned that he's going to have a ruptured brain aneurysm with that much unresolved rage.
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- Banned
- 178 posts since 31 May, 2023
Here are the hardware synths that blew away my expectations:
Roland Juno 60 (It was my first synthesizer which I still own. I still think it sounds amazing.)
Roland MKS-80 (It's everything a VCO analog poly should be.)
Roland MKS-70 (Such a unique sounding analog synth. It's an absolute pad monster.)
Roland S-770 (It was and is maybe the best sounding sampler of all time.)
Waldorf MicroWave I Rev A (As soon as I ran the MW through my TC Electronic chorus pedal and my Lexicon PCM 70 reverb I thought it was the best sounding synth I had ever heard.)
Waldorf MicroWave II XT (For an all digital synth it sounds incredible. Some of the filters are the best I have heard, analog or digital.)
Waldorf Pulse 1 (SO aggressive that it will practically rip your head off.)
Clavia Nord Rack 3 (I'm still a little ambivalent about the sound which is as much FM as VA. But the interface is hands down the best of any hardware synthesizer.)
Roland Juno 60 (It was my first synthesizer which I still own. I still think it sounds amazing.)
Roland MKS-80 (It's everything a VCO analog poly should be.)
Roland MKS-70 (Such a unique sounding analog synth. It's an absolute pad monster.)
Roland S-770 (It was and is maybe the best sounding sampler of all time.)
Waldorf MicroWave I Rev A (As soon as I ran the MW through my TC Electronic chorus pedal and my Lexicon PCM 70 reverb I thought it was the best sounding synth I had ever heard.)
Waldorf MicroWave II XT (For an all digital synth it sounds incredible. Some of the filters are the best I have heard, analog or digital.)
Waldorf Pulse 1 (SO aggressive that it will practically rip your head off.)
Clavia Nord Rack 3 (I'm still a little ambivalent about the sound which is as much FM as VA. But the interface is hands down the best of any hardware synthesizer.)
D-550, EX-8000, Juno 60, Matrix-1000, MicroWave I Rev A, MicroWave II XT, MKS-7, MkS-20 x2, MKS-30, MKS-50, MKS-70, MKS-80 rev 4, MKS-80 rev 5, Nord Rack 2, Nord Rack 3, Pulse 1, Pulse 2, REV2, Shruthi SMR-4 MKII, Shruthi 4MP, Tetra, Virus TI2 keyboard
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- addled muppet weed
- 105849 posts since 26 Jan, 2003 from through the looking glass
tbf to the lad, military indoctrination does have its issues
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- KVRAF
- 7873 posts since 24 May, 2002 from Tutukaka, New Zealand
I reckon Opsix qualifies too. I don't use FM that much, but it still has a place and does certain types of sound incredibly well. I was hunting around for something basically to replace my DX and very nearly bought another Yamaha - as long as it could do "Solid Bass" I'd buy it 
(or should that be 
). But Opsix blew me away not only for how it does classic FM but how it takes it into such new territories. Have to say initially I was a bit disappointed with the FM side of things, but I discovered it can do most of it if I programme it right. But the new FX operators etc is a huge innovation.
And it brought back to me how useful sequencers can be on hw synths - chapeau to Korg for a superb easy implementation of sequencer. But the best is how flexible it is. I can make very fluid and even soft sounds on it - nobody in their right mind could call traditional FM as fluid or soft. I don't use it for soft lush pads, but it is capable of it. Same for blips and bleeps. But obvs it can shred speakers when you start abusing the metallic FM manipulations, so much more than any DX I used. In fact, it can be such an abusive synth that it's unusable in a real world track (a double-edged praise indeed). It really expanded my view of FM, which used to be very limited. Opsix and Wavestate are the 2 most versatile synths I have by far. I'll always love and cherish proper analogues and use them 90% of the time for everything I do, but those 2 synths leave all of the analogues in their wake in terms of breadth of potential.
I will NEVER choose to not prefer and use analogue. But if I was made to pick only 2 synths to make music, it would likely be those 2, which are both very digital...weird, huh? (But they're nowhere near as much fun to actually use, which is crucial to me)
(or should that be ). But Opsix blew me away not only for how it does classic FM but how it takes it into such new territories. Have to say initially I was a bit disappointed with the FM side of things, but I discovered it can do most of it if I programme it right. But the new FX operators etc is a huge innovation.And it brought back to me how useful sequencers can be on hw synths - chapeau to Korg for a superb easy implementation of sequencer. But the best is how flexible it is. I can make very fluid and even soft sounds on it - nobody in their right mind could call traditional FM as fluid or soft. I don't use it for soft lush pads, but it is capable of it. Same for blips and bleeps. But obvs it can shred speakers when you start abusing the metallic FM manipulations, so much more than any DX I used. In fact, it can be such an abusive synth that it's unusable in a real world track (a double-edged praise indeed). It really expanded my view of FM, which used to be very limited. Opsix and Wavestate are the 2 most versatile synths I have by far. I'll always love and cherish proper analogues and use them 90% of the time for everything I do, but those 2 synths leave all of the analogues in their wake in terms of breadth of potential.
I will NEVER choose to not prefer and use analogue. But if I was made to pick only 2 synths to make music, it would likely be those 2, which are both very digital...weird, huh? (But they're nowhere near as much fun to actually use, which is crucial to me)
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- KVRAF
- 2945 posts since 23 Dec, 2002
Kritikon wondering if you had any similar experiences with a Hydrasynth? I am also an Analog first person but found the Hydrasynth appealing for similar reason you have articulated here for the Opsix.
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- KVRAF
- 3468 posts since 24 Oct, 2000 from A Swede Living in Budapest
Microfreak have me constantly blown away for how fun and capable it is.
On the other end of the spectrum, the 3rd Wave sounds and looks like my holy grail of synthesizers.
On the other end of the spectrum, the 3rd Wave sounds and looks like my holy grail of synthesizers.
ANALOG DEEP HOUSE 2 for U-HE DIVA
HARDWARE SAMPLER FANATIC - Akai S1100/S950/Z8 - Casio FZ20m - Emu Emax I - Ensoniq ASR10/EPS
HARDWARE SAMPLER FANATIC - Akai S1100/S950/Z8 - Casio FZ20m - Emu Emax I - Ensoniq ASR10/EPS
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- KVRist
- 406 posts since 10 Mar, 2005
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- KVRAF
- 7873 posts since 24 May, 2002 from Tutukaka, New Zealand
Hydrasynth never appealed to me personally, so I've never even tried one. Wavetables for some reason jar with me and I can't think of a single wavetable synth I ever really liked. There's some kind of metallic edge that always seem to sit with wavetables. Hydrasynth itself looks incredibly capable, but the wavetable bit instantly turned me off it. Same with Korg Modwave - I wanted to want it and the idea of owning a trio of matching-but-different synths really made me quite moist, but the sound just irritated my ears in some small way despite absolutely loving the features it has on it, so I passed. If Hydrasynth was some other form of digital oscillator source, I might go for it, because I've heard nothing but good things about it - though obvs from people that like wavetable character.
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- KVRAF
- 7873 posts since 24 May, 2002 from Tutukaka, New Zealand
When I read back my own post it seems weird that I don't like metallic wavetable character, because FM can sound incredibly metallic. But FM doesn't pretend to be anything else - it's unapologetically out there flaunting it's metallic credentials. Whereas wavetable seem to me to be coy wannabe analogue waves that are dressing up to sound like something else but not very well. I never figured out exactly why I dislike wavetables but tolerate and even like FM. 
