Solaris keyboard - specifications

Discuss John Bowen Synths - Solaris
John Bowen
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Post by John Bowen »

What you have to know about the Rotor object is that it takes 4 inputs and combines them into a single output, like the Vector Mixers. In fact, you could simulate both the Rotor and Vector sections by just using one of the standard Mixers, and carefully applying modulation to each input accordingly. For Vector control, you apply the X and Y control signals to modulate the Mixer inputs; for a Rotor, you would need a quadrature sine or triangle oscillator to create a similar effect of hearing one input after the other, and so on. (So, with the Vector Mixer, you can set it to hear all 4 sources together; with the Rotor, you can only hear 2 inputs at a time max, as the signals are crossfading each other).

I don't think this can provide what you are describing here....

-jb
B787
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Post by B787 »

Hi JB

Well we would have to work with it a bit. But I understand your infomation perfectly. Well let's wait to hear it and program it for ourselves, maybe we can make a work around situation.

Cheers,
"Enough silence can make good music great"
John Bowen
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Post by John Bowen »

I've copied my very first page posted on this forum regarding the specifications (way back in the beginning) to make some current updates, now that we are getting towards production release. I've deleted items and made changes where appropriate:

* Price - retail US price will be $3,999
* General availability - April 2009 (after all pre-sales are filled)
* 4 Oscs, 2 Rotors, 4 Mixers, 4 Filters, 4 Amp/Pan sections, 8 Envelopes, 5 LFOs, 4 External Inputs, Flanger/Chorus, Phaser, Delay, 3 band EQ, Overdrive
* 2 Vector Mixers
* 2 separate AM (amplitude modulation) sections, with Ring, AM, Rectify, & Clip algorithms
* Joystick and multi-touch Ribbon controllers
* Arpeggiator and control Step Sequencer provided, with MIDI output
* Performance buttons include 2 assignable switches, Arpeggiator Start, Sequencer Start, Hold, (Tap) Tempo, Unison
* Polyphony count - expected to be 24 voices with all 4 oscs, 4 filters, 4 mixers, envelopes, LFOs, etc. running
* 96 kHz internal processing rate
* Insert FX pre-/post each filter section, with BitCrush, Decimate, and Distortion
* 4 pair of outputs; Main pair for v1.0, additional outputs reserved for future use (when Multi-Timbre Mode is implemented)
* separate Headphone out

Detail per section:
Oscillators - each osc type selects from standard waveshapes (MultiMode Osc), wavetable (PPG) type, sample (WAV) playback, CEM (Prophet 5) type, or Prophet VS type. The MM (MultiMode) type provides the following waveshapes:
Sine, triangle, ramp, saw, pulse, noise, S&H, morphing sine-to-saw, morphing sine-to-square, and a stacked "supersaw" with varible detune (based on the Shape parameter).

Hard Sync is only available for MM saw, ramp, pulse, and the CEM osc models.
New types will be added as they are developed via an upgrade to the OS.

Individual "analog-style" glide is available for each oscillator.

There are 4 mod paths. Each one is freely assignable to select exponential frequency (normal pitch mod), Linear FM, or Shape as their destination. Mod Sources include any oscillator, any filter, the 4 external inputs, any of the lfos, envelopes, controllers, etc.. A 'sidechain modulation' function is provided for each path, using Controller (non-audio rate) signals. Controller signals are all lfos and envelopes, velocity, note, aftertouch, mod wheel, ribbon, joystick, select MIDI controllers, assignable CC knobs, etc.

Filters - 4 filters, each with selectable inputs.

Filter types include:
1) all pole possibilities for the MultiMode (MM1) filter, including 24 dB Lowpass, Highpass, and Bandpass, 12 dB Lowpass, Highpass, and Bandpass, and 6 dB Lowpass, Highpass, and Bandpass, along with some other combination modes, for a total of 23 variations.
2) 24 dB Lowpass modeled on the Prophet 5 Rev1 filter (SSM2040)
3) 24 dB Lowpass modeled on the Rev 3 Prophet 5 (CEM3320)
4) 12 dB Lowpass modeled on the Oberheim SVF
5) Comb/Tube filter (the "tube" is a comb with negative feedback)

New filter types will be added as they are developed via an upgrade to the OS.

For filter modulation, it's the same structure as the Oscillators - there are 4 mod paths. Each one is freely assignable to select Cutoff, Resonance, or Damping (if Comb/Tube is selected) as their destination. Mod Sources include any oscillator, any filter, the 4 external inputs, any of the lfos, envelopes, controllers, etc.. A 'sidechain modulation' function is provided for each path, using Controller (non-audio rate) signals. Controller signals are all lfos and envelopes, velocity, note, aftertouch, mod wheel, ribbon, joystick, select MIDI controllers, assignable CC knobs, etc.

ADSRs - there are 6 standard DADSRs. Each overall amount can be modulated by Velocity, and each segment can be individually modulated from Velocity, Note, Mod Wheel, and assignable Midi Controllers (CC1-CC5). Also, each segment can have a variable slope, from linear to exponential.

Looping Envelopes - there are also 2 looping envelopes, each with 8 Time&Level segments. There is overall modulation possible of Time and Level.

LFOs - there are 5 identical LFOs, with the fifth being permanently connected to the frequency of all oscs (therefore, it is called the Vibrato LFO). The LFOs have the standard waveshape types, and range from 0-524 Hz. There are parameters for Delay Start, Fade In, Fade Out, Rate, Waveshape, Retrigger, Phase, Level, MIDI Clocking, and Offset (offset provides a positive unipolar signal for the lfo outputs). There are 3 mod paths, similar to the Oscillator modulation structure. The destinations here are selectable for Rate or Level.

VCAs - There are several models implemented for the final output stage circuit. VCA Types include: Linear, Log, and Sigma (Minimoog style). There is 1 mod path for the VCA, and 1 for the Pan position.

Vector Synthesis - There are 2 Vector Mixer sections. The Joystick (non-spring loaded) in the leftmost section is normally connected to both Vector Mixers, but can be disabled.

AM Sections - 2 Amplitude Modulation sections, each of which have Carrier, Modulator, Algorithm and Shaper parameters. Ring Mod is one of the algorithms provided.

Effects - Initially available will be delay, flanger/chorus, reverb, EQ, Overdrive. As with the other sections, additional FX types such as a vocoder or resonant filter bank will be added as they are developed via an upgrade to the OS.

All pre-order customers have been advised that Multi-Timbre Mode will not be available for the v1.0 release of Solaris. I know some have posted here that no Multi-timbre Mode would be a 'deal-breaker' for them, so I wanted to make it clear here that the first version will not have it. Those who have been reading here will also know that this was an unknown for me, and depended on a number of things in the development of the OS. We will make it a priority for one of the first upgrades to be offered.

=John b.
Last edited by John Bowen on Sun Dec 28, 2008 7:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Howard
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Post by Howard »

In a word ... POW!
scope4live
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Post by scope4live »

Ladies & Gentlemen..............Howard.
Ankyu...........ankyuvarymush.

Howard are you helping out with the presets?
I would love to hear some of your stuff.
Will you be at Anaheim?
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marzzz
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Post by marzzz »

The specs look amazing....

I am very interested in how this synth is going to SOUND. Many people look for analog emulations (Prophet, CS-80, etc.) but the things I am looking for are that sonic "omphh" or "weight" and lack of aliasing at the top end. I am one of those people who can hear the differences between VA and real analog, BUT one of my favorite all-time synths was the NED Synclavier, it just had an "organic" sound that was simply amazing (examples: Eddie Jobson with "Theme of Secrets," and Trevor Horn with Grace Jones' "Slave to the Rhythm."), and this was with sampling and FM!

I am looking forward to hearing the (near?) finished product at NAMM.....
John Bowen
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Post by John Bowen »

marzzz,

And I'll be very interested in your comments about the sound! Mind you, I don't think the basement section (Hall E) at NAMM is the most pristine environment to hear such details, but we'll give it a go as best we can there.

john b.
marzzz
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Post by marzzz »

Actually, the basement is a bit more "intimate" than the main floor, where you are more at risk for sensory overload. A lot of cool stuff tends to be in the basement. To tell you the truth, last year's booth upstairs wasn't that bad, given the general cacophony of the Analog Haven bunch. The China Joy Keyboard company didn't know what hit them....
Carbon111
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Post by Carbon111 »

marzzz wrote:The China Joy Keyboard company didn't know what hit them....
:lol: :lol:

...I felt kind of sorry for them. :lol:
Best Regards, James
--
http://www.carbon111.com
scope4live
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Post by scope4live »

Micheal Jackson's 256 I/O Synclav did sound really good live on the Victory Tour.
BTW, I just found out why he and Lisa Presley really got divorced........
There was a big misunderstanding when he said he wanted to have Kids.. :roll: ....................Ankyu.... :lol:
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marzzz
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Post by marzzz »

Where is that facepalm icon when you need it?? :P
scope4live
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Post by scope4live »

Hey Brotha' Man Marzzzz.
I'll be @ the booth on the 17th.
I think you'll like Solaris.
I've been using the soft version for a few years now 'cause I needed to replace the sound of my Oberheims live.
It sounds quite large in the box, so I also am anxious to hear an outside of the box version.
W/O having the luxury of a crew I had to quickly find a B3/synth replacement, and Scope DSP Pro's and JBowen fixed that.
Magnus C350 on a TV Dinner Tray Stand with 2 x PigNose Amps for stereo


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urge
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Post by urge »

John,
There was a question over at VSE about the Hard sync; whether multimode was the only filter type available for that function. Someone was curious about hard syncing the P5 OSC type.
Will this be available during the initial release? If not is it on the planned to-do list for future OS updates? Finally, I vaguely recall a discussion here about Hard vs. Soft sync ( like on the AX-80 et al.) I couldn't remember if you had said that you would try to include that as well. This might have happened before the Programmer went AWOL. (Tried to find it but alas no luck)
Happy holidays to everyone here......Ron
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Post by seamonkey »

urge wrote:John,
Finally, I vaguely recall a discussion here about Hard vs. Soft sync ( like on the AX-80 et al.) I couldn't remember if you had said that you would try to include that as well.
Happy holidays to everyone here......Ron
I believe the discussion you refer to is on page 3 of the audio examples thread
John Bowen wrote:.Last week saw my first Solaris OS update since Messe, adding hard sync functionality. Klaus has worked really hard with the intent to make the hard sync work as well as possible, without the aliasing problems evident in many other software versions out there (including his older Scope models). You can hear the results in the following comparisons.

From the first time I heard an oscillator hard sync'ed and pitch swept with an envelope (at an in-store ARP Odyssey demo that Roger Powell did in the mid 70's), I fell in love with the sound! It was one of the reasons I strongly insisted the Prophet 5 have hard sync capability, and the PolyMod function of envelope to pitch, and it was one of my favorite patches when I created the factory presets for it. So, it's only natural that I drag out my Prophet 5 (rev 3 in this case) and do a 'real-time' comparison.


Thank you Ron for your holiday wishes, my holiday is Christmas so I wish everyone Merry Christmas and best wishes for whatever holiday everyone celebrates. :)
rick
scope4live
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Post by scope4live »

Merry Christmas To You Also Brotha' Man.
Christmas and Hannukah are celebrated in my Familia.

Being a Nevadan, I welcome any Faith into my home, afterall one must have faith in something.
On the Black Jack Tables I actually take no chances.
I pray to Mohammed, Buddha, Kwanzee, Allah, Jesus, Oden, Zues.
One of them is bound to answer. :wink:

Be Festive.
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