We need more Solaris videos!

[marzzz]

I told myself the same thing two months ago - lol. At that time, though, there was little to no information on what DSI's next release would be, and I didn't see any legitimate alternatives to Solaris. Now that there is one coming out soon, and it appears to be designed specifically for the types of sounds I had hoped to coax out of the Solaris, there is less reason than ever to keep subjecting myself to this unbearable wait.

Having been able to play both synths at nearly the same time, I would advise you very strongly to play and listen carefully to the Prophet 12 before considering it a "replacement" for the Solaris. Their basic sonic qualities are most definitely not similar. As far as I am concerned, there is only one modern synth I would consider in place of the Solaris, and that would be the Schmidt EightVoice analog. And if I had the money for a Schmidt, I would most definitely be able to afford both....!

[Zahush76]

Some new Solaris videos would be nice, if only to remind potential buyers that it does kinda actually exist. I can see the Prophet 12 taking a lot of business from JB with its lower price tag, analogue circuitry, and knob-per-function interface. I personally like the curtis filters very much and found it was the lack of weight and flexibility in the oscillators that sometimes let down other DSI instruments; so I'm really looking forward to hearing this new one in person. And given Dave Smith's track record for getting instruments into production, chances are that will happen before I receive the Solaris I pre-ordered in 2009, which is pretty sad.

Me too , Ordered in 2009 ...It's very very long ...
I think i will cancel my order If i don't have my solaris in 2 month ...It's enough now

I told myself the same thing two months ago - lol. At that time, though, there was little to no information on what DSI's next release would be, and I didn't see any legitimate alternatives to Solaris. Now that there is one coming out soon, and it appears to be designed specifically for the types of sounds I had hoped to coax out of the Solaris, there is less reason than ever to keep subjecting myself to this unbearable wait.

The decision to keep or cancel my order may just come down to whichever company can get a finished synth out the door first. That said, even if I were to find a Solaris on my doorstep tomorrow, it would have to completely obliterate my wildest expectations in order to erase the bitter taste of this whole experience.

Wow. I had no idea. I was certain that the former batch of Solaris covered all those who pre ordered years ago - and that the upcoming production batch is only new guys, such as myself.
It's a tough waiting game, 4 years...

As for the other thing you said about the P12 vs Solaris - while it seems there's some features in common here and there, i don't think the P12 can touch the Solaris. The P12 doesn't have 64 wavetables (and proper ones. The wavetables on the P12 have only 3 waves to scan thru on each table), it doesn't have all the prophet vs waves, the morphing waves, the samples, the rotors. So head to head in the oscilator section - Solaris wins easy.
The rest of the features: Solaris has more of everything. Eg's, lfo's, mod routings etc.
User interface: Solaris wins.
Filters and VCA's: Here's the thing. The Solaris has a lot more types compared to the P12's real analog curtis lowpass and resonant highpass. That's supposed to be the winning ace, the advantage of the P12 over the Solaris. But as been said before - i think that the Solaris' purely digital filters sound better, fuller, bigger than the curtis lowpass that has been dried out to death on all former dsi synths.
So i think you should wait for the Solaris.

[John Bowen]

I told myself the same thing two months ago - lol. At that time, though, there was little to no information on what DSI's next release would be, and I didn't see any legitimate alternatives to Solaris. Now that there is one coming out soon, and it appears to be designed specifically for the types of sounds I had hoped to coax out of the Solaris, there is less reason than ever to keep subjecting myself to this unbearable wait.

The decision to keep or cancel my order may just come down to whichever company can get a finished synth out the door first. That said, even if I were to find a Solaris on my doorstep tomorrow, it would have to completely obliterate my wildest expectations in order to erase the bitter taste of this whole experience.

I certainly regret that you have this feeling of a 'bitter experience'! And you are certainly always in your rights to cancel whenever you want, up to the terms in your receipt document (4 weeks before delivery). I've tried my best to communicate to the pre-order group the situation as it proceeded, and it's definitely not been as smooth as I have hoped.
If you will let me know your real identity, I should be able to give you an accurate estimate now as to your delivery date, since we did get the first set of boards delivered this week.

Regards,
John B.

[Zahush76]

I told myself the same thing two months ago - lol. At that time, though, there was little to no information on what DSI's next release would be, and I didn't see any legitimate alternatives to Solaris. Now that there is one coming out soon, and it appears to be designed specifically for the types of sounds I had hoped to coax out of the Solaris, there is less reason than ever to keep subjecting myself to this unbearable wait.

The decision to keep or cancel my order may just come down to whichever company can get a finished synth out the door first. That said, even if I were to find a Solaris on my doorstep tomorrow, it would have to completely obliterate my wildest expectations in order to erase the bitter taste of this whole experience.

I certainly regret that you have this feeling of a 'bitter experience'! And you are certainly always in your rights to cancel whenever you want, up to the terms in your receipt document (4 weeks before delivery). I've tried my best to communicate to the pre-order group the situation as it proceeded, and it's definitely not been as smooth as I have hoped.
If you will let me know your real identity, I should be able to give you an accurate estimate now as to your delivery date, since we did get the first set of boards delivered this week.

Regards,
John B.

Hi John. I don't know who lotus is - but if you can give him an accurate estimate regarding the delivery date - can you give me my estimate?
Regards,
Tzachi Keinan

[John Bowen]

...As it is he's got a bunch of fed up customers (rightfully), probably fed up distributors and a competitor producing a sort of similar synth at less money.

Actually, most of the pre-order customers have been incredibly patient and gracious in their communication with me, so I would have to disagree with the statement that I have "a bunch of fed up customers". Frustrated, yes....as I am, but very few have come across as 'fed up'.

RE: "a sort of similar synth at less money"...well, it's all in the ear of the beholder. I think the sonic differences are quite apparent when hearing both the P-12 and Solaris side by side. Certainly Dave has done a wonderful job on the user interface and functionality provided.

For those comparing the use of 6 SHARC processors...the ones in the P-12 are less powerful, and are only handling the oscillators and FX (and probably the LFOs and Envelopes, but this was not asked). In the Solaris, the entire synth structure is being produced by the DSPs, as well as being run at 96 kHz, so the fidelity differences between these two to my ear was quite apparent. However, your mileage may differ

[Weston Underwood]

I don't mean to attach any blame to anyone in particular with the delay, as I said in my post I would imagine that you (JB) would be the most annoyed and frustrated out of everyone. I have no intention of cancelling my Solaris for a P12 for what I want I have every confidence it will be a better, more flexible machine. I just hope it comes soon, I'm in the second run so dare not hope too much.

Sorry for any offence, I was trying to diffuse trouble but in typical fashion the bloke in the middle usually makes it worse and ends up in accident and emergency!

Hope NAMM 2013 is going well.

[John Bowen]

No offense taken...and I didn't mean that anyone should think I was!
I just wanted to sum up a response to some of the comments, now that the NAMM show is done. (By the way, it was a great show for the Solaris! We had more new faces drop by - people who had not heard of or seen the Solaris yet, and several who came in just from having watched Derek Sherinian's Keyboard video post - thank you Derek!).

The number of positive comments and reactions I received at this show was tremendously gratifying....I am so happy to know that the Solaris has achieved the goals I had intended - to produce a sophisticated product of the highest quality, with a relatively 'user-friendly' interface and great sound. Thanks to everyone who came by to see and listen to the Solaris!

[marzzz]

You're welcome!

[BillySynth]

I'm suprised that there are no video's of the Solaris for this years NAMM 2013 show.

Strange that no one has filmed John and the Solaris this year...well i cant find anything.

Billy

[galaxiesmerge]

My take is this: (just my two cents)

Bowen is a USA synth designer working with a European company --- I have actually worked with some European companies, in France, and not a single one of them would wish to jeopardize the reputation of a star designer by failing to deliver: Sonic Core may be in the process of creating innumerable tarnish to their reputation since they are the ones building it, right? It is they who took it upon themselves to build units and deliver, right? It is they, who are responsible, even they could pretend in some technicolor dream that they are not and as a buying public that we do not see it. There are many amazing and reliable German companies: JOMOX comes to mind and a few others. I hope that SONIC CORE can get their act together because, ultimately, they will impact the perceptions of people that may wish to buy a Sonic Core product, given their performance on this project. I am certain they will read this email and that they *CAN, AND WILL, AND MUST DO BETTER!* Sonic Core has a chance to show the world what they can do, how well they can deliver and that they are high integrity. They cannot allow themselves the luxury of letting down their market, as well as their future and prospective market.

I am buying the SOLARIS because of others that I know, whom I respect that own one, and because of Bowen's reputation. Dave, talented as he is, knows that many people will buy DSI instruments because they *DO SOUND BETTER* than VST emulations. However, given the choice between Solaris and Prophet-12, and given that I own a lot of the great synths, I will stick with the Solaris. I own a KYMA Pacarana and I cannot over-emphasize the value of 96KHz --- in my Pro-Tools HD I use 96KHz and you can hear the difference. However, for a live instrument, on the road, in a gig in a crowded club or auditorium, the Prophet-12, Solaris and VST cheap synths all sound the SAME once they go through the cheesy live-sound board and booming speakers --- however, for studio work, you will hear the difference.

So I await my SOLARIS with patience too. I am excited and positive, and, it will be a very fine instrument to use --- some of the online demos on Soundcloud prove that. I expect a SOLARIS delivered in a couple of months or so and will update you when I do with not just soundcloud but with some cool videos.

Cheers!

[scope4live]

Solaris is my Shepard, That I shall want.
It maketh lie down in 96k pastures, it leadeth me by other competitors,
It restoreth my sound, it leadeth me in the paths of other FAT Bastards for it's names sake,
Yea though I walk through the Valley of inferior audio, I shall fear nothing Native for thou art with me,
Thy Ribbon and thy Joystick, they comfort me,
Thou Preparist my rig in the presence of my enemies, thou anointest our ears with FAT Filters,
My midfields and IEMs runneth over,
Surely FAT BASTARDS and Thick Audio shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the House Of Bowen forever.

[wouter]

I will never cancel my Solaris order. If the Prophet 12 turns out to be a really good synth (with good build quality and good encoders and pots) some day I will buy one, but also a Solaris

Clavia will also announce a new synth at the Musik Messe, I hope it will be a Nord Modular G3 (there is nothing wrong with hoping right?).

I'm only "waiting" for 4 months now so that is very short compared to others. It does not feel like waiting though, I have enough gear to keep me busy for the next 20 years.

My Andromeda is waiting for it's new friend

[John Bowen]

...given Dave Smith's track record for getting instruments into production, chances are that will happen before I receive the Solaris I pre-ordered in 2009, which is pretty sad.

For the record..I have you as placing your first deposit Jan. 8, 2010....still, a very, very long time to wait, I know.

john b.

[ryankraft]

...given Dave Smith's track record for getting instruments into production, chances are that will happen before I receive the Solaris I pre-ordered in 2009, which is pretty sad.

For the record..I have you as placing your first deposit Jan. 8, 2010....still, a very, very long time to wait, I know.

john b.

Ouch ! Indeed a very long time As it's now Febuary , Are the 2nd 100 solaris built yet and will it be at mussikmesse 2013 ?

[John Bowen]

I will be at Messe 2013, yes...located in the same booth as the last 2 years with Moog and Schmidt synthesizers.
The 2nd build of Solaris is not yet done.