Synthesizer Gear Porn ;-)

[Rarebird]

I can always do with more organs. I have my trusted Nord Electro, the Arturia collection, with Hammond, Vox and Farfisa, but I would like some other organs, like Lowrey, Yamaha, church organ and harmonium.

[battema]

Yeah, I have a Hammond XM2 in my gig rack and it's the bomb. I've got it paired with an M-Audio Axiom with its faders in "reverse mode" so that the faders operate like drawbars...it's good fun.

[pstrawser]

Yeah, I’m mainly a Hammond guy as well to cover most organ needs (love the IK Multimedia B3 for in the box stuff, my Roland VR09 for gigs, and of course my A100/145 setup at home). And I honestly used to ignore most any other organs, no matter what they were (Farfisas, etc.).

But I gotta say, there is something about some of those combo organs and even some other home model organs that sound super cool. They don’t really take the place of the Hammond archetype sound (almost nothing does); but I kinda dig the sounds I’m getting out of my Electones. The CSY1 even has a variable-speed rotating speaker (similar to the “Shine On You Crazy Diamond” RA-100 vertical-spinning horn), which is cool. It also has what amounts to an SY1 mono synth built into the top manual! And the 415/D85 has some really rich synth sounds, almost mimicking a Solina or Polymoog even, including a similar mono synth with a crazy early version of aftertouch, if you can believe it!

I’d call these instruments a bit more novel than those of a Hammond (more of a “nice to have” than a “need to have” in my own personal arsenal of sounds). The YC is one I’ve not spent much time with, though I’m imagining it sounds similar to the other Electones (minus the cool synth voices).

[pstrawser]

I’d be curious to know who produced that YC plug-in! Any idea?

If I’m not mistaken, Chick Corea, Lyle Mays and Kerry Minnear (among others) were known to use the Yamaha YC organs at times, so there’s that!

[Jimmy Giant]

Yamaha. I must have gotten it with my MOXF6. Its YC-3B, tone wheel plugin.
YC-3B.jpg

[Czyszy]

Yamaha. I must have gotten it with my MOXF6. Its YC-3B, tone wheel plugin.
YC-3B.jpg

Certainly. I mean, I'm 99.89% sure. From what I've read this plugin was bundled with the MOX/MOXF keyboards and it was the only way to get it. It couldn't be purchased separately. I was looking for it and willing to buy it, but nope. Nowadays, since those Yamahas are now discontinued, the plugin is impossible to get hold of anymore.

[Rarebird]

Well, Farfisa was the first organ I sometimes was able to use. It was the organ of a neighbour, who sometimes let me borrow it, so it has a special place in my heart. The neighbour died relatively young and I think of him at times. Especially when using my Nord Electro, or the Arturia stuff, thinking how he would probably have liked those possibilities. He used to play at parties together with a drummer. Sometimes he rented a Fender Rhodes, if there wasn't a piano available.

[Rarebird]

And what will Cherry Audio bring on November 21st?



A prog classic, but what?

ELP used Moog, Rush used Moog and Oberheim, Camel used Moog, but well the MiniMoog are already available.

I recognise the synth opening, but what was it? I think Genesis. Tony Banks used ARP Prosolois I think.

[Jimmy Giant]

I would guess a Pro Soloist.

I have a broken Pro/DGX that'll likely be a retirement project to fix. It's pretty jacked up but physically not bad.

[Rarebird]

I would guess a Pro Soloist.

I have a broken Pro/DGX that'll likely be a retirement project to fix. It's pretty jacked up but physically not bad.

Some people suggested that, but a Prosoloist is a preset synthesizer, not dure how that could be made more interesting. We'll see.

[TheNefariousHED]

My bespoke organ "patch" is a Kawai K5000 organ I tweaked combined with a similar tweaked patch on the Waldorf Micro Q. I also love using the Arturia Farfisa.

[Czyszy]

I'm incredibly impressed by the UAD Waterfall B3 organ plugin. It's very similar in terms of sonic faithfulness to IK Mutlimedia's software Hammond organ, albeit not as tweakable. But for me, what makes me reach for it way more often is the faster loading time and a more compact GUI. My first impression from a different thread I posted 3 weeks ago:

I bought the Waterfall B3 "Clonewheel" VST from Universal Audio today for it was on sale for 50% off. It sounds really nice. It's not as flexible in terms of sound shaping possibilities inside the plugin as IK Multimedia's B3X, but it loads up faster on my machine, and its GUI doesn't take up 90% of my screen.

In comparison with the Air DB33, the Air plugin is basically a low class baby's toy. But since DB33 loads ultra fast and is very CPU friendly, I use it as a sketchpad for my organ parts, which MIDI notes I later replay with Waterfall B3 and freeze them to save CPU.

[smcfee]

I would guess a Pro Soloist.

Speaking of which, has this been mentioned here?

http://www.grpsynthesizer.it/index.p...ge-genesi.html

And yes, I'd imagine the primary appeal is to cover bands .

[battema]

Speaking of which, has this been mentioned here?

http://www.grpsynthesizer.it/index.p...ge-genesi.html

And yes, I'd imagine the primary appeal is to cover bands .

Cool! Yeah, not for me personally but I bet the final product will be very impressive

[Rarebird]

Cool! Yeah, not for me personally but I bet the final product will be very impressive

Not for me either. I want something I can create my own sounds with.

But still wondering what the prog classic Cherry Audio announced will be. Is there any other classic prog synthesizer, besides the MiniMoog? ARP Odysee perhaps?

[battema]

My money is on a Pro Soloist that is editable and/or polyphonic in nature.

[Rarebird]

My money is on a Pro Soloist that is editable and/or polyphonic in nature.

It might be, perhaps some combination of Pro Soloist and Odysee? I think almost all Cherry Audio synths are polyphonic, exept perhaps the Voltage Modular, which is only polyphonic if you use polyphonic modules.

I don't think the Pro Soloist really was a prog classic. Don't know other users than Tony Banks.

[Jimmy Giant]

I agree it may be an ARP hybrid. Pro Soloist / Odyssey / Axxe / Omni - some kinda beastie combo? The Odyssey has been well already.

I don't think the Pro Soloist was a very good synth to begin with, but it had a distinct sound. I bought a broken one cheap 25 years ago. Definitely a retirement project.
I have to deal with those damn faders on that and the Omni 2.

[Rarebird]

I agree it may be an ARP hybrid. Pro Soloist / Odyssey / Axxe / Omni - some kinda beastie combo? The Odyssey has been well already.

I don't think the Pro Soloist was a very good synth to begin with, but it had a distinct sound. I bought a broken one cheap 25 years ago. Definitely a retirement project.
I have to deal with those damn faders on that and the Omni 2.

Of course Cherry Audio already has the Quadra. I hope for some kind of hybrid. Don't really know many synths that are classic prog, besides MiniMoog. Perhaps VCS3 and ARP Odysey, but that's all. I don't think Cherry Audio will do a Hammond, or Mellotron.

[Progbear]

Some people suggested that, but a Prosoloist is a preset synthesizer, not dure how that could be made more interesting. We'll see.

Not just preset, but single-oscillator to boot.

I don't think the Pro Soloist really was a prog classic. Don't know other users than Tony Banks.

It was actually rather popular, owing to being ARP's cheapest synthesizer. Having a pressure-sensitive keyboard meant it offered keyboardists a modicum of expression, and the fact that it was a preset instrument meant that it was easier for keyboardists to get into synthesis without a steep learning curve. Unfortunately, the price came at a price: they were not just cheap but cheaply made. Even Tony Banks upgraded to an ARP 2600, presumably frustrated by the limitations and reliability issues of the Pro-Soloist.

I do know for sure that Herbie Hancock used one, alongside a bunch of other ARP gear. The predecessor (the Soloist) got used on one of the Tangerine Dream albums, and on Roger Powell's Cosmic Furnace (made as a demo for ARP's product line while Roger was their sales rep). Most of the Genesis cover bands spring for the last upgrade in the line, the Pro DGX. I don't think most Soloists/Pro-Soloists survived the 70s, they were that cheaply made. There's a photo of one of Eloy's 80s keyboardists (either Hannes Folberth or Hannes Arkona) with a Pro DGX atop his synth rig.

I don't think the Pro Soloist was a very good synth to begin with, but it had a distinct sound. I bought a broken one cheap 25 years ago. Definitely a retirement project.
I have to deal with those damn faders on that and the Omni 2.

I believe it was "Skunk" Baxter who loved to tell the story about the band (Steely Dan) growing so frustrated with the Pro-Soloist during the recording of "King of the World," that they took it out to the studio parking lot and set it on fire. According to him, the bottom panel was made out of cardboard (Not Masonite, cardboard!). Honestly, if it hadn't been made iconic by Tony Banks, I doubt anyone would care about the Pro-Soloist these days.

[Rarebird]

Well, we'll just have to wait till November 21.

[Top Cat]

Cherry Audio...want my money? lets do an Alesis Andromeda A6.
I was able to buy a brand new one from the last run, think it was for $2695US.
I love love loved it, but once they stopped production and everyone was talking about the proprietary chips and stuff, I started looking around to buy up a spare board, and someone was buying them all up, until they were gone.

But like a lot of great synths, it didn't do everything, and I found myself editing patches all the time to come up with something fresh, which kept me from creating music. I had the same issues with my Emulator EII+HD. Sampling my synths and never writing, OB6 was the same way, I'd get lost in it's awesomeness, and just play and play.

So, Cherry Audio, please, please help me recover from my Seller's regret and recreate the Alesis Andromeda.
I know UVI has one, and so does SampleTank, but from the demos I've listened to, not even close...no soul.


I agree, if it weren't for Tony Banks, most people would pass on the Pro Soloist.

[Jimmy Giant]

My Omni 2 and Pro DGX are built like tanks. No cardboard here. They are easily the heaviest keyboards I've ever owned, and they aren't even full sized! The peeling leather end caps blow though. Need a proper wood panel replacement.

I had a chance to buy an Andromeda at 10% over cost near the end of their run and didn't. Still kicking myself over that. Then again, might have dodge a lot of nightmares too.
Not to mention passing up a MemoryMoog Plus and Super JX for a grand apiece in the late 80's. Doh!

[Rarebird]

You never know what they will come up with. But at this moment I think I need to explore the stuff I already own, exept buying something new. But in the end I'll never know when I will be tempted to buy something.

[battema]

^^ in truth this is where I'm at. I'm curious about this new CA synth next week but I'm not 100% certain I'll buy it outright. I feel like my collection of soft-synth vintage emulations is near the saturation point, and my interest is more in new/unusual original synths. Bring on another Dreamsynth or Sines and I'm all ears!