John Bowen Synth Design

[quote="stardust"]anyone who wants can buy a weighted 88 and connect it to Solaris .... cant he[/quote]

And then you've got the space of a 61 key synth AND an 88-key controller which doesn't have the ribbon or joystick control directly connected... which is precisely what I wanted to avoid.

Just had an offer on the house, so I'll very soon be in a position to stick a deposit on one; but it looks like the 88 keys won't be possible so maybe I'll wait and see if a desktop model is produced with decent "playing" controls.

anyone who wants can buy a weighted 88 and connect it to Solaris .... cant he

[quote="ongoingtrend"]Moderator:
Would it be interesting enough with a poll :roll: :?:
[/quote]

I'm not a moderator but you can start a poll by starting a new topic, the ability to create a poll is at the bottom of the page. :)

Moderator:

Would it be interesting enough with a poll :roll: :?:


RichardKC6: What are your thoughts on a stacked version?

Since we will eventually get MultiMode having zones and extra notes sounds great....
And possibly PAT......

That Dog'll Hunt. 8)

The easiest way to find out is by making a poll.

There are 50 + who have ordered the Solaris, suggesting people might find a 88 key weighted keyboard tempting.

Polyphonic AT on top of that would be any keyboardist dream come true.

[quote="ongoingtrend"]:?:

Restarting the main topic:

Is there no real interest for a 88 key weighted keyboard?

Anyone?[/quote]

I think it looks like I'm out on a limb here, sadly, so I either have to DIY, pay a lot for a one-off, or find another solution.

If my house had sold now and I had the spare cash I'd have put down the deposit for a 61 key one, the more I read... well, I think I could find a way; and still consider the DIY approach once I have more technical info about the keyboard implementation. Ideally though, I'd like to stick with what I really want.

To reshuffle to stick with the same number of keys I'd need to get a Virus C rack to replace my Indigo 2, a Roland XV88 to replace my Trinity, and then a Solaris in place of the Indigo keys... but I like my Indigo 2 too much.

Racks lack expressiveness IME. I want the controllers to hand.

I addressed that in a comment elsewhere suggesting I'd want a rackmount synth, but then a plug in controller with X-Y, ribbon and perhaps patch selection as a small desktop unit, as remapping controllers is a PITA.

[quote="scope4live"]I would love to see an XPander module of Solaris that fits at an angle to the 61 noter.......[/quote]

Well, in that case I would want a rackmount module that just adds DSP power, sort of like the PolyEvolver Rack. You just put it in the rack and forget about it, while enjoying all the extra power!

I would love to see an XPander module of Solaris that fits at an angle to the 61 noter.......
I don't believe this, I don't even have the 61 noter yet and I am already dreaming of expansion possibilities....

Man's purest emotion is Greed.. :roll:

I can see a 76 key semi-weighted synth keyboard that can double as a master controller (and maybe have some polyAT while we're at it?), but usually if you want an 88-key controller you are looking at a big, piano-weighted controller that is usually more suited for either stand alone or a workstation. To tell you the truth, I can't even think of an 88 key synth (as in pure synth, not ROMpler worksation) that has ever been manufactured. The Solaris is already somewhat of a niche product, no need to make it even more so.

I would just as soon have the Solaris be an Xpander-type module that would sit right on my MIDIBoard, but I think it is pretty well suited the way it is. :)

:?:

Restarting the main topic:

Is there no real interest for a 88 key weighted keyboard?[color=yellow][/color]

Anyone?

Richard,
That's a pretty fair description, I think. Also, the output of the TI is really 'hot', making it sound very aggressive to me. Then there are the little tricks such as the transient sample they use to insert a 'pop' or 'punch' at the note-on event. It definitely makes for a certain type of sound approach that has become very appealing to the European music market.

-john b.

[quote="John Bowen"]I can't say regarding the Virus B - I only played with the TI - but I would say the Virus has more 'hardness' to it - I don't know how else to describe it in my mind.
-john b.[/quote]

I moved to a Virus after a Supernova II; I'd been trying to work with a Roland JX10 (the synth that convinced me that really, I don't WANT to own the synths I lusted after as a kid; my old setup was more of a museum than a studio!) and reluctantly decided to give up my JV-50, JD800 and JX10 in favour of an XV3080 and Supernova II.

At first the Supernova seemed pretty impressive, but some big synth pads sounded like my speakers were breaking up. I tried the same sounds on a friend's Virus b desktop after repairing it, and... no breakup. I can only assume it's down to internal clipping/lower resolution DACs.

Some people like that sort of thing.

I can make the Indigo 2 do similar things, but I have to be being really harsh. It's definitely got a very distinctive sound though; I think of it as being a bit like the progression of computer video technology (or, you know, just video media), and the JP8000 was perhaps 256 colour graphics, but they'd figured out dithering well; the Supernova was that weird period of 32,000 colour, and the Virus is 262,000 - for most output situations it's good enough to be true colour.

That's oversimplification in a big way, but I have to keep reminding myself that 10 years ago I wanted a Nord Lead, really quite badly, and now they're cheap... I also have to remind myself that synthesizer technology HAS progressed, that newer is NOT necessarily "worse", despite the obsession with classic synthsizers that people display (myself included).

I even bought the Waldorf Edition (£20... how prices have fallen) for the Wave 2.v plugin to get my PPG fix. You wouldn't have caught me doing that 5 years ago.

JB your being too much of a diplomat.

I bet you heard the TI first right?.......Then you went and built the Solaris after the fact...........

Thanks. :D

You partner bushwacked me at the show so I couldn't torture him w/ all the silly questions I wanted to ask like where are the drum kits located, and could I track the Karoke sub texts w/ the joystick like the old Pizza Hut bouncing ball thingy. :roll:

But I forgot the best one that would surely jerk you off......
Since Solaris has high quality chores done at 96k....could I dither it down to 44.1k and get more polyphony...?

Nobody said this couldn't be fun. :D