Korg Opsix 2.0

[Constructed Identity]

Well, last month I got Flow Motion for next to nothing because Waves had a big sale and it seems like it provides all the FM abilities you would ever want.
There is no reason to buy any hardware for FM synthesis, it is a digital process!
I know there are some workflow considerations, but that is why you adapt.

There are a shitload of reasons. The main one being I f**king hate working with software synths on a mouse with an absolute passion. And it ends there. I can buy 3 or 4 plugins for every hw synth I buy but hey, I simply don't want them and likely never will. Doesn't mean I don't use plugins where it gives me some advantages etc but for every reason you name for preferring s/w over h/w I can give you a reason for preferring hw over sw. It's one of those silly arguments that Bones gets into and I simply dunno why people even suggest it...you have your preferences, we have ours. I can do exactly the same thing on a plugin Opsix as I can with a hw Opsix. I have both. I mostly prefer using the hw one. Why do you even want to start such a puerile argument?

No, I didn't say I preferred software over hardware, I prefer hardware over software because my astigmatism will make me get headaches looking at a screen for too long.
I am just saying that one synthesis method that is most usable via VST is FM because it has come a long way if you look at the software I just got.
BTW I have only opened it once so far in the couple weeks since I got it....so I just have first impressions.

[Alex_Longard]

Can anyone tell in which store in Munich I can try MODWAVE and OPSIX?

The problem is that I am blind, and I need to try as this synthesizer suits me to control all parameters.

[kritikon]

Sorry, I don't know Munich at all. However Modwave looks to me as though it's got maybe a little less menu diving for basic control. The filter sections, envelope sections etc are more like a traditional analogue synth than Opsix, though I notice there are shift parameters on pretty well all of the knobs. Possibly Opsix has more immediate menu diving to patch it, though knob and slider control of the operators is very hands on and immediate and alters the sound considerably. I would imagine menu-diving is an issue if you're blind. But both Modwave and Opsix have a reasonable amount of menudiving. Modwave's X-Y pad should be useful for you I'd imagine. That's a nice addition - a shame they don't put that on all of their synths (I guess Wavestate has the joystick instead). Modwave is definitely more knobby though.

[kritikon]

Well, last month I got Flow Motion for next to nothing because Waves had a big sale and it seems like it provides all the FM abilities you would ever want.
There is no reason to buy any hardware for FM synthesis, it is a digital process!
I know there are some workflow considerations, but that is why you adapt.

There are a shitload of reasons. The main one being I f**king hate working with software synths on a mouse with an absolute passion. And it ends there. I can buy 3 or 4 plugins for every hw synth I buy but hey, I simply don't want them and likely never will. Doesn't mean I don't use plugins where it gives me some advantages etc but for every reason you name for preferring s/w over h/w I can give you a reason for preferring hw over sw. It's one of those silly arguments that Bones gets into and I simply dunno why people even suggest it...you have your preferences, we have ours. I can do exactly the same thing on a plugin Opsix as I can with a hw Opsix. I have both. I mostly prefer using the hw one. Why do you even want to start such a puerile argument?

No, I didn't say I preferred software over hardware, I prefer hardware over software because my astigmatism will make me get headaches looking at a screen for too long.
I am just saying that one synthesis method that is most usable via VST is FM because it has come a long way if you look at the software I just got.
BTW I have only opened it once so far in the couple weeks since I got it....so I just have first impressions.

Yeah you're right. FM is very suited to s/w - sorry, I don't want to start a fight. Must have been crotchety after night shifts the other day. Actually I had quite a close look at that F'em plugin. It does an awful lot of modulation of the FM stuff that is quite deep, and I was tempted. But in the end I preferred Opsix because obvs it's got knobs on it, and I particularly liked the FX operators, which seem to be unique. If anything F'em seemed to me to be a little too complicated. The fact it's s/w probably enables it to do more than some hw synths but throwing the kitchen sink at plugins is also one of the reasons I dislike them - too much complication. And it sounded absolutely FM - very digitally harsh and precise, which is not a bad thing in itself. I like FM for that - it's one of its strengths. But Opsix can do both the obvious FM and smoother stuff which seems to be rare in anything FM.

But yeah - nice to see that FM has progressed so much from DX days.

[UncleAge]

I know I'm late to the party on this but in my running around trying to glean info I ran across this sonicstate review. In it around 30:37 Nick talks about using Dexed to load and then transfer DX7 patches to opsix. There are links to the Dexed software and the patches in the video. Might make for good starting points for those new to FM programming, like me.

https://youtu.be/PdXxQjX5F18

[Alex_Longard]

Sorry, I don't know Munich at all. However Modwave looks to me as though it's got maybe a little less menu diving for basic control. The filter sections, envelope sections etc are more like a traditional analogue synth than Opsix, though I notice there are shift parameters on pretty well all of the knobs. Possibly Opsix has more immediate menu diving to patch it, though knob and slider control of the operators is very hands on and immediate and alters the sound considerably. I would imagine menu-diving is an issue if you're blind. But both Modwave and Opsix have a reasonable amount of menudiving. Modwave's X-Y pad should be useful for you I'd imagine. That's a nice addition - a shame they don't put that on all of their synths (I guess Wavestate has the joystick instead). Modwave is definitely more knobby though.

Thank you!
The long menu is not a problem for me))) I freely used Virus TI, Yamaha Motif XF, Korg Oasys.
I remembered how many times i want to press the buttons to access the parameters.
In any case, I want to try to felt the synthesizer and start collecting money to buy it. Asm Hydrasynth user-friendly, but I really love Korg synthesizers.

[trusampler]

https://youtu.be/FFtQUJ-t3LU

[cryophonik]

My opsix came this week. I opted for the hardware version instead of the newly released software. And I'm glad I did! I really like how immediate and accessible everything is on the synth. I am pretty much a FM rookie. I stayed away from programming FM synths for years. But this synth is so easy to use. And it seems to be more than just straight FM. It's such a simple layout that I am surprised it hasn't been done (this way) before. Kudos to Korg!

I've only had it for a few days but I spent about 3 hours last night with my headphones attached to it in bed programming sounds. My initial impressions are very positive. I found a few gems in the additional 100 presets that come with the update. Today I plan on taking a deep dive into the mods & fx. In particular I want to see how far the virtual patchbay will take me.

I have only two minor issues that are more like requests. I wish it was bi/multi-timbral and I wish the sequencer was more than 16 steps. That's it really. I found it easy to update (v/2.0.1) and I found it easy to get up and running. Haven't opened the manual or quick start guide yet. The whole layout is pretty self-explanatory.

Also, I don't know if I'll get the vst, still undecided.

That just about sums up where I am right now. I was not in the market for another synth, but found a good deal on a secondhand Opsix yesterday, then started studying up on it, and made an impulse decision to buy it and I'm really glad I did! Korg really made FM(PM) synthesis a breeze with this thing. I'm just floored at how capable it is, easy to use, and how great it sounds.

I'm not crazy about the build quality, though. It feels pretty cheap and flimsy and has the worst keybed ever, but at least the knobs, sliders, and buttons seem durable enough. I wish Korg would've opted for a decent keybed with aftertouch and mark the price up accordingly, or just make a module (my preference), or both. I guess the good news is that, despite its footprint, it's lightweight enough to sit on my lap if I want to noodle around while watching hockey, so I guess that's a silver lining.

More importantly, it's a lot of synth for not much money and it really does sound good. This evening, I'm going to try loading it up with some of my old DX7 sounds that I have saved somewhere (if I can find them).

[kritikon]

Yeah, when I got mine I was surprised at how light it is. Same with Wavestate.. I think it's a mental bias thing - I automatically assumed it was cheap'n'nasty just because it's so light...but the knobs/sliders etc seem to be pretty solid.

Weirdly, I got both the native versions when they were released on intro sale and mostly didn't actually use them. I really like Opsix Native GUI and thought I'd use that a fair bit. Initially thought Wavestate Native GUI was a bit impenetrable and thought I'd rarely use it. Recently had a proper go on both, and I absolutely get the Native version of Wavestate now. There's just so much in there, that I found my way around it easier than the hw, and got into a fair bit of automation (which I could do with the almost endless LFOs etc on the hw). I think I might start using Native quite a lot more, at least for complicated stuff that I want to automate. Whereas Opsix is so well laid out tht I still prefer the hw version. There's shitloads in there, same as Wavestate but the hw kinda invites you in to play knobs with the FM parameters. Odd but I've turned around 180 degrees to what I thought when I bought them both.