image via this postMini review sent to the AH list via Synthfanatic who found it on www.safebra.co.uk. If anyone knows who wrote it, feel free to let me know.
"When you first load the thing up it's got real crap preset sounds. They tried to emulate the cheesy 80's Van Halen "Jump" sounds with a lot of other sub par sounds. They also tried to create sounds similar to other manufacturers that had similar synths in competition: Roland Juno 60/106/JX3P, or Korg Polysix. Then you start getting into the programming and start fiddling around and realize it's like a cheaper version of the Elka Synthex. Man it's lush!
Some thoughts so far:
The Good
* It's multitimbral so you can layer 2 analog patches on top of each other. This is especially great if you have 2 pads with different lush tones over
one another. It sounds completely filmic. It's also great for creating more evolving/complex tones than most polysynths. Very unique sound!
* The chorus is so perfect, I reckon it sounds good if not better than the one on the Juno 60 which I used to own.
* Good industrial design. Has the faux wood sides, and multi-colored LEDs (green, red, yellow) and a insanely-great red LED that looks like
K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider. The font makes it trippy and unique.
* Good simple sequencer from which to program some quick ideas. Tried hooking it up to the TR-606 and they sync perfectly.
* Has a Low-Pass Filter/Hi-Pass Filter which you can use in conjunction to get really interesting vocal sounds and some acid tones. Dedicated
Envelope for the VCF.
* Interesting Oscillator options and Polymodes. Has 2 DCO's but you can use Poly-4 mode and Monomode. Has chord memory feature.
The Bad:
* No option to mix the different Oscillator and Sound sources in terms of percentage. There are only simple on/off modes except for the exception
of the noise generator.
* Only an Alpha Dial. Easy to edit parameters quickly, but not as great as having dedicated knobs and sliders at your fingertips.
You can however route the LFO or Filter Cutoff/Resonance to the pitch bender.
* No ultra complex modulation techniques here. There's no Oscillator Sync, Cross-Modulation between the Oscillators, or any more complex
analog synthesis features like ring modulators or S&H
Still overall I say a amazing find and an amazing unique polysynth especially for under $1000! I don't think there's anything else in the price range that comes close and it's definitely best in class. Definitely a unique synthesizer that's capable of synths that cost way more. I read that there are less than 1000 in existence and that they are quite rare. If people only had an opportunity to a) first play the synth in person and b) spend some time messing with synth to open it up to what it's possible of."
I've wanted one for a while. Good luck finding it on The Bay, though. They only appear a hand full of times per year...
ReplyDeleteActually, there is ring modulation featured, it's labeled BRASS for some reason. It's not the most effective ring mod I've heard, but you can coax some bells and FX from it.
ReplyDeleteOne more thing - be wary of these boards. They suffer from the same battery leaking syndrome that the Polysix does.
ReplyDeleteI've come across three so far with this problem. If it's not been changed, get that battery out ASAP!