I want a REV2, but really don't need it - I just know that it will be easy to program and sound great.
The SoundTower editor/plugin should be considered a mandatory purchase. It won't do anything and everything, but it is delightful and sounds great. It is almost impossible to make it sound bad, and small changes make a meaningful impact. What a great synth! DSI did an amazing job setting up the control ranges. I have an OB-6, which I bought for the state-variable filter, and it has not disappointed. Then the Solaris opened up, and it has been a never-ending garden of delight - it is a VERY deep and capable synth and all the modulation options are there for extremely expressive patches. I learned to program synthesizers from that tutorial program. The Syntorial application made all the difference for me. The John Bowen Solaris was my first pure hardware synthesizer - what a beast! I made some things and learned the architecture well. I learned a little about synthesis, but still mostly just adjusting presets - and that Omnisphere is so good, you really don't need to know much. Years past and it was lots of VST/AU's in Mainstage - I was on that from 1.0 forward. I never really learned to program synthesizers on it. I'm still a mainly AP, EP, B3 type of sound guy but the recent acquisitions of Montage's FM-X and the OB6 have really wetted my beak musically and creatively and inspired me to compose and reharm more.įirst synth was a Korg 01w/FD. Very rewarding! I'm still working on the analog strings - surprisingly DSI doesn't have anything close as a factory patch. The second osc's frequency modulation from xmod with a short decay envelope high-to-low nails it. My first education was recreating Lyle's Ocarina solo sound from the Keyboard Mag description. Talk about an enlightening instrument! I've started manually programming with it, and it is just unbelievable. The Montage sampled strings are hard to beat for this. One of my recent quests was to realize the analog strings of Lyle Mays. Took a ~20 year musical sabbatical to move up the corporate ladder, then morphed it into a more quality of life position, and for the last 6 years have been able to come back to the music. I soon took it out of the arsenal for lack of expression with no velocity sens and replaced it with MKS-20 + TX7 + SC-55 and Roland Rhodes as a controller. I'd play it with the right hand and bass on the Rhodes suitcase. I've always been mostly a Piano, Rhodes, Organ player.
I know brotha Markyboard never strayed too far away from analog synthesis considering his KB room man cave.įeel free to share your journey, whether you actually left or not and where you are today with synthesis even it means using a ROMpler to cover the bases. Still, I find it amazing that 40+ year old technology has come back with a vengeance (P6 and OB6 price points) and is just as viable musically today. The Rev 2 feels like a sound designer's tool where the P6 instantly feels like a musical instrument. However, the Rev 2 doesn't grab me the same way as a P6. I'm still not a huge fan of the Curtis filter but having spent more time with the Rev 2, I could make it work. Initially, I was not impressed with the DSI P'08. It begins and ends with programming and playing the *right* RA synth. The S8 sounds great but it is out because I have to go RA poly synth. But, the Roland System 8 (S8) is almost out the door. I've been in Virtual Analog (VA) land for several months short of a year now. I picked back up on the Real Analog (RA) train with the Moog Sub 37. I got off the ROMpler treadmill when I unloaded the Motif ES8. I've been through all types of synthesis, ROMplers, DPs, samplers, etc.
Where are you in terms of synthesis nowadays?