John Bowen Synth Design

And my point is that a synth needs to sound [i]good[/i], and the way I personally define [i]good[/i] involves a certain quality to the sound, not particularly [i]how[/i] that sound is made. When I first got my Andromeda, I still had an Access Virus B, and for certain sounds that were important to me the differences were actually pretty subtle. For a while I had a Yamaha CS-80, and was able to program CS-80 style patches on my Andromeda (I had one called "Van Jealous" which was a string patch) that were very close to the CS-80; Even now, I can use Logic's ES2 synth to get a particular type of pad better than with the Omega, except for the aliasing in the higher registers.

Selling off some analogs is more with regard to simplifying my studio- they sound great, but are not completely necessary for what I am trying to do. Everyone's needs are different, I have heard the more pure analog purists complain the Andromeda doesn't sound "analog;" there was also a famous review of the Omega 8 in Sound on Sound magazine (UK) where the Omega was compared [i]unfavorably[/i] to VA!

As my brother says with annoying frequency, "it's all good!"

yeah something between a DSI polyevolver and a Clavia G2 would be nice :)

For moog sounds, I got moog :)

Up till now I haven't heard a demo that was really good - they weren't crap but not something to die for. YMMV as always.

I am sure that once people get the Solaris, they will start making Moog and SCI sounds and everyone will complain soon afterwards about not sounding close.

I don't think that the Solaris would replace either the Andromeda or the Omega 8 - I am sure that there's a sonic overlap (as with most synths) but I would never sell the A6 in favor of the Solaris.

What I do expect to hear from the Solaris is something DIFFERENT.

I totally agree with all of you, the Solaris is much more than a VA-machine. That wasn't my point anyway. So far from the samples I've heard, the sound is very musical, detailed and dynamic, that's what truly matters.
As others here mentioned, all the features now included, like seperate osc glide rates and so on, is gonna make this one great synth.

[quote="marzzz"]. It is not that I am looking for the Solaris to emulate analog synths [i]per se[/i], the important thing is for it to have that sense of depth and sound quality, and what I heard at NAMM confirmed it to a significant degree. Another one of my favorite synths was the DSI PolyEvolver, but I ended up selling one for a Prophet '08 and realized I missed a lot of what made the PolyEvolver unique; I am expecting the Solaris to cover all of those sounds as well as provide a satisfying "polyanalog-ish" experience without the artifacts and aliasing.

(Note: Anyone looking for an Omega and/or Andromeda in excellent condition, please contact me by PM).[/quote]

First, my apologies for spelling your username incorrectly. :oops:
I fully understand what you're saying and agree completely. I am looking forward to the beefy analogish sounds(the FAT BASTARDS, as jimmy is fond of calling them), the Solaris will allow us to make and use, I just don't want to think of it as some type of VA synth, when it is so much more, and, I'm sure many if not all of the pre-purchase customers feel the same way and totally "get it" as to what the Solaris is about.

It's funny how people hear different things from different synths, the digital side of the PolyEvolver use to drive me crazy with it's artifacts and aliasing. I use my headphones a lot and it got so bad I sold it but it's still in my view a great synth with tons of potential for creating unique one of a kind patches.
What's funny, is one of the patches I created on the PEK, I have not been able to recreate with any other synth but one day while editing a sound on the Andromeda it reappeared, made me a happy camper.

:D

For me, the important thing is the sense of "depth" and the [i]quality[/i] of the sound- one of my favorite synths, purely in terms of the sound, is the (digital) NED Synclavier. It is not that I am looking for the Solaris to emulate analog synths [i]per se[/i], the important thing is for it to have that sense of depth and sound quality, and what I heard at NAMM confirmed it to a significant degree. Another one of my favorite synths was the DSI PolyEvolver, but I ended up selling one for a Prophet '08 and realized I missed a lot of what made the PolyEvolver unique; I am expecting the Solaris to cover all of those sounds as well as provide a satisfying "polyanalog-ish" experience without the artifacts and aliasing.

Rather than expecting it to perfectly emulate a MiniMoog, it just so happens I have a MiniMoog Voyager, so it doesn't make sense for me to "replace it." However, an extremely important part of the polyanalog experience for me is polyphonic aftertouch- the Solaris will respond to it (as JB demonstrated to me at NAMM), and the Omega and Andromeda don't. It is important enough for me that I am willing to replace those polyanalogs with the Solaris, and I am sure I will be quite happy with it, as well as thrilled with everything else it can do....

(Note: Anyone looking for an Omega and/or Andromeda in excellent condition, please contact me by PM).

I agree with the idea of using vintage analog right alongside modern digital synths. I decided to sell my A6. Although it has far more modulation and routing capabilities, I love the sound of my Jupiter 8 and Minimoog. The Solaris will cover most of the sonic spectrum that's not already in my setup. At the end of the day it's really all about the sound and the ease of use.

I for one don't want the Solaris to be an emulative synth, although I do appreciate and desire to have vintage analog properties at my disposal.
I want Solaris to be new and fresh, something you don't find in the VA pages of online magazines or catalogs.

I believe John has created something here which will stand far out in front of the pack in terms of technology, design and that undefinable thing when listening to a new synth..the "WOW" factor.

My Voyager is going nowhere and when I first made the decision to purchase an Andromeda I was concerned having 2 beasts(the A6 and the Solaris)would be too much to have in the studio, like one would cancel out the other.
marazz I can tell you after working with the A6 for quite a few months, they are 2 completely differently sounding synths and I believe will compliment one another.
I love my A6, it is what it is and I love it's distinct sound, but I think that is achieved when creating your own style.

Marzzz,
I completely agree about your point to keep favorite analogs around!
Even if you have the emulated components of something (for example, the Minimax filter, oscillator, and VCA), the way you arrange the audio path, the other variations, all tend to affect the final result (in my opinion), and I would be the first to say that one should not expect to be able to exactly replace a Minimoog, Prophet, or whatever, with the Solaris. Rather, as I've said elsewhere, these are elements that give some idea as to the character of sound one will get - a way to help imagine what kind of sound you might be going for - but I don't think the purist will ever be satisfied with anything but the original. Hopefully what one will find (and from what I've heard back from others who have worked on sounds with the prototype) is that the emulations give a very satisfying result, and allow one to create sounds that echo the character of the original, but allow for new expression.
-john b.

I was originally skeptical about the Solaris, but made it a point to check it out at NAMM this past January and came away impressed (and placed an order). I think it will do polyanalog emulations [i]quite[/i] well, but I think it wouldn't be unreasonable to keep a favorite mono analog around if you absolutely have to have [i]that[/i] sound. I don't see selling my Voyager in this lifetime, but I will have a chance to directly compare the Solaris to an Alesis Andromeda and a Studio Electronics Omega 8.

Thats really good news, because the ASB series are by far the best VAs on the market (and quite a few years now already) Maybe the Virus TI can get close, it has more specs, but the sound of the ASBs is amazing.

I had the Minimax, Prodyssey and still have the PRO12

The minimax sounds really good next to a Moog Voyager, ofc it lacks the real analogue feel and sound, but it comes close really realy good. I liked it more than the MAcbeth M3X for moogish bass, it works so fast for quick bass patching the minimax, uncomaprable with other VAs.

The prodyssey is also great, lots of controls on it.

but my allround fav would be the PRO12 this things sounds so retro, its unbelievable, and not even like a Prophet but more like some 70s itialian movie score stuff and so, absolutly instant timetraveling...(and even more when you hook up a (tape)echo after it, wow.

I sold the most of em, because i got the voyager instead of the minimax, a PolyEvolver keyboard instead of a Prodyssey. I hope my PRO12 will be sold before the Solaris arives, because like John said, there will be much overlapping in sound, although not the same, thats understandable.

But 2nd hand these things are worth twice their money without doubt....
Forget 80 voices and 20 multifx, this sounds just phat :)

Cant wait to lay my hands on the Solaris btw....

[quote="Arstein"]I think I expressed myself a bit poorly. :) I was actually wondering whether Bowen is using the same creamware osc and filter atoms in his Solaris synth, or new updated/improved DSP models.[/quote]Arstein,
While some of the code was taken from the Minimax and Pro-12 ASBs as a starting point, all of it had to be re-written to be optimised for the new dsp chips we are using in the Solaris. Since we have the same engineer who coded the ASB emulations now coding for Solaris, he was able to improve upon his original designs as well during the optimisation process, based on his additional years of coding experience since the first ASB projects.
-john b.

Wow, nice! The only real issue I had with the Creamware synths I used, was that they had a certain digital "sheen" and "un-analog" brightness to the sound, though they are clearly the best sounding VAs on the market and far better than the alternatives (well except for the Zarg synths obviously, which are the best).
Hopefully the Solaris will present another step even closer to those heavenly analog sounds.. :)

Solaris has been coded from scratch. The code has therefore nothing to do with creamware DSP atoms.
Well, only John knows how much his creamware experience is part of the soniccore journey.

I think I expressed myself a bit poorly. :) I was actually wondering whether Bowen is using the same creamware osc and filter atoms in his Solaris synth, or new updated/improved DSP models. But it's gonna sound awesome either way!
Though, I definately agree with you. The ASB boxes are not gonna change, considering the lack of support for them, I doubt they were very successful.