by epoxy2600 » Fri Mar 09, 2012 9:40 pm
I agree with JimmyV's comment that there is a "cool" psychological component to having emulations of classic synths actually being packaged and labeled intentionally as direct Minimoog, Prophet-5, Jupiter-8, etc. recreations, but it really is purely psychological. I think about all those cheap downloadable VST instruments that claim to emulate classics, but in reality the only thing they have in common is a gorgeous recreation of the vintage synth's front panel on your computer screen...and often the actual SOUNDS are millions of miles away from authentic. And yet...if you had the SOUND 100% dead accurately modeled, but had a GUI front panel that looked nothing like the original synth, some people might still be drawn to the sexy image instead!
On the Solaris the MINIMAX emulation is essentially in there, just not "hard-wired" up as such. So while I admit there is something cool about a dedicated Minimoog mode, or Prophet-5 mode, etc. , the truth is it is MUCH more enjoyable having the creative freedom to flow among/between all of those, using Mini VCOs with Prophet-5 VCFs, or Microwave tables with Oberheim VCFs, etc. One fun example is being able to switch from "Minimoog mode" to "Memorymoog mode" by swapping out those Mini VCOs for 3x CEM VCOs...takes all of 5 seconds to do and you've jumped from 1970 to 1982.
But again, I agree there is a coolness factor for having a "Minimoog mode"...but there's a somewhat higher coolness factor for having "the-most-amazingly-flexible-synthesizer-ever mode"...which is simply called "Solaris".
Howie
I agree with JimmyV's comment that there is a "cool" psychological component to having emulations of classic synths actually being packaged and labeled intentionally as direct Minimoog, Prophet-5, Jupiter-8, etc. recreations, but it really is purely psychological. I think about all those cheap downloadable VST instruments that claim to emulate classics, but in reality the only thing they have in common is a gorgeous recreation of the vintage synth's front panel on your computer screen...and often the actual SOUNDS are millions of miles away from authentic. And yet...if you had the SOUND 100% dead accurately modeled, but had a GUI front panel that looked nothing like the original synth, some people might still be drawn to the sexy image instead!
On the Solaris the MINIMAX emulation is essentially in there, just not "hard-wired" up as such. So while I admit there is something cool about a dedicated Minimoog mode, or Prophet-5 mode, etc. , the truth is it is MUCH more enjoyable having the creative freedom to flow among/between all of those, using Mini VCOs with Prophet-5 VCFs, or Microwave tables with Oberheim VCFs, etc. One fun example is being able to switch from "Minimoog mode" to "Memorymoog mode" by swapping out those Mini VCOs for 3x CEM VCOs...takes all of 5 seconds to do and you've jumped from 1970 to 1982.
But again, I agree there is a coolness factor for having a "Minimoog mode"...but there's a somewhat higher coolness factor for having "the-most-amazingly-flexible-synthesizer-ever mode"...which is simply called "Solaris".
Howie