How would you owners compare and contrast the two analogue hybrid beasts.

16 voices vs 4 voices, is the Poly Evolver going to be limited?

I am in need of a poly synth with a good amount of voices for pads, chords, etc. I have an A6 on order but have become curious of the Poly Evolver.

The main thing for me is layout, controls, and not so much ease of use. I like complex, for me it makes things more interesting.

I have also considered the Virus Ti (i know its a VA) but its also on the top of my list. The Ti is feature galore.

Cheers.

Do you like the way the evolver sounds?

Are 4 voices OK for you?

They are very different synths. IMHO the evolver sounds are bad, especially the demos on the site.

Yeah i know what you mean about the demo sounds. They are cheesy and do no justice to the synth.

I would say the Andromeda demos are just as bad, like most demos on company websites.

At the moment i am favouring the Andromeda, as i have read lots of good things as well as some nightmare stories about tuning problems. But i have been told that its a great synth when its in full motion.

The evolver only popped up as a another poly synth alternative, although i do wish it was an 8 voice and not a 4.

I can see Dave Smith making an 8 or above voice version in the future, but im not prepared to wait for it.

I just wanted to know the range of sound possibilities with the two synths. which one can go further and reach sounds un heard before?

check this huge thread on the very same subject:

http://www.vintagesynth.org/phpBB2/v...57e1e86589c6b4


very different synths indeed. if classic analog sound with semi-modular abilities you want - go A6. if something new, and specialized is what u need: PEK might be a more interesting solution - it got some DCO subtractive analog, curtis analog filtering, limited wavetable synthesis (no interpolation like waldorf/ppg) and then its own unique bag of tricks in digital domain: sequencers, hpf, feedback, dist, delays etc etc.

first can be extremely warm, creamy. second one is more cutting, hybrid sound that can go from analog to metallic, even harsh at times.

bang for the buck is clearly on A6 side, but it depends what u need the synth for, and what other boards u already have.


i choose andromeda. all the way. one of the few greatest analogs of all times.

Doesn't the Andromeda cost more?

Buy them both you will NEVER regret this decision.

I dont know guys. I have been doing some heavy listening with my headphones and monitors over the past couple of days sourcing all the web demo files of the Poly E and the Andy A6 that i can find.

I have been playing them back again and again trying to picture sound character and sound emotion.

Not sure why, but i dont feel for the sound of the Poly Evolver. Maybe i need one in front of me, use it and then make a comment. But just from the Dave Smith website demos, along with a few other links, i have gone through about 40 sound files, and it just seems that the Poly Evolver synth has a more clynical sound, but less of memorable character.

On the flip side, the A6 has a very interesting sound about it. String and pads have a certain character that kind of makes you wanna hear more. Although it doesnt seem as sharp the the Poly Evolver, it does have a more authentic sound IMO.

I do have an A6 on order, but that has nothing to do with my findings. Im still prepared to send the damn thing back if its not quite for me, when it arrives.

Maybe i need a break...not sure.

I've owned both, in addition to a whole host of other analogue keys like Jupiter 8, Jupiter 6, Oberheims, Prophet 5, Studio Electronics, etc.

I sold the A6... just plastic compared to the Jupiters, Prophet and Oberheims.

On the other hand, I kept the Evolver because it was diferent than the rest. Rather than a "lesser than" version of my other synths, it was doing something slightly different than any other. It is part Prophet, part Prophet VS, sort of PPG, etc.

Unique.

My two cents, go for the best of what a synth is trying to do...but first determine what you are looking for it to do. You can't really compare the Evolver and the A6.

-a

DIRTY HALO www.dirtyhalo.com

the best A6 demo is to listen to every ferry corsten single of the past several years; he certainly loves his andromeda - he uses it all over everything!

Wow, I'm very surprised.

The A6 can also be cutting in addition to everything Cluster said. I would pick it over the PEK, although the PEK is for when you want Hybrid sounds. I would pick the Omega 8 over both of those.

And to take it a step further, if you wanted some hybrid, but still really analogue sounding, then the Prophet VS will beat out all 3 IMHO. The VS can get really creamy yet cutting hybrid sounds. Think of a ESQ1 but more of a pronounced analog sound. The VS is really rich sounding and as many have reviewed on Harmony Central and other places on the internet, the Prophet VS has the best and most dreamy pads you can come across. It's a dream machine. Basses and leads are nice and thick.

So it depends on what you want. The A6 has some issues that people seem to be complaining about. I've actually noticed quite a few saying they have to return their A6 once they got it because of it not working properly. Don't let that discourage you, because it's a really cool synth (and the best looking I might add), but just be aware of that. The PEK seems to have no problems, but the sound is on the digital side for me. I own a tabletop Evolver and like it a lot, but wouldn't want to dish out the money for a PEK when I could have a different analog. The SE Omega 8 is a sweet and dreamy synth with optional oldschool filters to add, more expensive, a tad limited, but very nice sounding. The Prophet VS is pretty stable and never gets me worried like other older analogs. If you do want some of the PEK 'type' of flavor, I would no doubt buy a VS. The PEK has the sequencer that the VS doesn't, but the VS is a way better synth IMHO.

i would respectfully disagree with this. my experience is different - as i still own most of old big polyanalogs like jp8, p5rev2, obxa etc, and as far as fundamental sound quality, andromeda definetely holds its own it this company, having original character like they all do. dual filters, one 24dB lp and multimode sem-styled 12dB with 4outs, that are all individualy modulatable/mixable really offers a tremndous range of unmistakeably analog sounds right form the start.

not to mention its posibilities in sound mangling, modular style matrix that far surpasses anything else in polyanalog world, including the (also very nice) matrix12/xpander.

tho its flavour is unique, when used with SEM-style 12dB filter for mute pads, its vcos organic motion come across somewhat reminiscent of older (pre-CEM) oberheims. (i was also sucessful in doing some vco+sub SH-2 style bass, using original for comparison).

check some paddage i did here:


BerlinPad - bandpass (SEM is HP, moog is LP)
MeltsInYourMouth - classic obie, a la ECM era Lyle Mays
NotchPWMPad
VintageStrgs



ditto on Prophet VS for hybrid sounds. i'd much rather have that than PEK. preferably in rack version. warm n big sound. its the analog vcf into vca going to outputs - no return to digtal like pek, that makes the difference.


unofrutnately Alesis quality control has gone completely to shreds this year. im counting something like 7 or 8 andormedas with tuning issues now. DO NOT buy a new Andromeda, or one younger than 6 months. go for a used one until the word is out they sorted their affairs. im afraid tho it might easily turn out its their last batch or something. it is , after all, its one of the longest produced polyanalogs in history. almost seven years straight. for today's standards, that's a LONG time.

Those sounds are nice, and this is a fine example of the sound im talking about. Its very unique ( organic motion ) , must be the plastic sounding Alesis filter clone of the Oberheim...

Seriously, i am lost between old and new. The A6 i have ordered is a so called last unit in the UK thats boxed new. I am covered for a return if any problems.

I just wish Alesis were more stable, and able to get a proper run of these unit on a regular. I have been told by Alesis UK and US that they are still making the A6, and expecting new units in Jan 2007. Who knows?

The other units i am considering include the Virus Ti and Waldorf Q+ or a Micro Q (for a very cheap price).

I could couple an A6 with a mono Evolver rack unit, or an A6 with a nice VA like the Ti rack or Micro Q.

i notice u r in fact toying w the idea of wavetable-into-analog synthesis as well as pure analog;

so if Prophet VS is too much money, may i suggest Waldorf Microwave 1. it's the same principle as VS, or PPG - analog vcf/vca. it does not sound as huge as VS, but still fantastic (more focused n punchy), and as far as analog circuit goes, much better than both q+ or dsi. really punchy envelopes. imo it complements the analog andromeda in the nicest possible way. and its CHEAP.

mw-demo1 mw-demo2 (by Mush @ VSE)

as for VA complementing the A6, i really dig Nord Rack 3. great for ambient/illbient stuff of all kinds, and cold cutting sequences,,. fm synthsis, multimode filtering etc. ime virus has much less too do next to a6 than nord3.

I have both the VS and Microwave 1. Both are awesome sounding, but the MW1 can't do pads as sweet as the VS. Nice sound clips Cluster MW1 would be a good alternative to the rest, but IMHO the VS beats it out in every way. You could get a Evolver tabletop + MW1 which would cost less than a PEK.

Just got my new Andromeda A6. Wow


It works perfectly without any tuning issues so far. It seems that i got a unit from a good batch, that never got sold. I have tested each voice and it seems normal for the last 2 days. I hit auto tune on start up and hit again after 20 mins. I had the A6 on for over 8 hours yesterday and came back to it, still in perfect tune. I use a harp patch to test it with each time, and you know if it sounds off.

It sounds amazing to my ears, quite fat on some sounds, thin on others. The filters are very nice. Compared to my soft synths, the A6 is much warmer and fatter sounding. The sound is unique.

So far im very happy.

Perhaps a Mono Evolver next, followed by the Virus Ti Desktop.

Nice that you got a working one, the sounds it outputs are immense eh? :-)

Never got on with the evo myself, I thought the A6 sounds much much better.

ten

Yeah definately. I have already created 2 very unqiue sounding pad patches, they are different to anything i have heard before.

I plan to create more as i go deeper with this beast. Its quite a monsterous looking thing, and puts you off at first. But the layout is well thought out imo.

How are you finding yours? DV going to sort you a new unit.

I just hope i dont get a dodgy voice chip or two in the near future. To be honest i could live with 12voices or above, but its no excuse. I have an extended 2 year warranty, if, when i need it.

Yea, I have to wait until Jan for a replacement, but they said I can keep this one and use it until then so not all bad. 2 voices are bad on it so I have only 14, but I think that is more than enough :-)

ten

at that point I'd buy a Waldorf Q+ and be done with it. hybrid and brutal, with more knobs than the VS.

I played around with a Poly Evolver yesterday. That thing has some pretty incredible sounds in it. I wasn't expecting to be that impressed with it. It's ugly as hell though.

It depends on your expecting levels from a synth, especially something like the Poly Evolver. After listening to more mp3 demos, viewing some online videos on Youtube, etc, i can hear that big open sound. But the 4-Voice structure worries me, even with my 16 Voice Andromeda i notice some patches suffering.

I love playing pads, and holding down 4 notes and moving on to the next lot, only to find the sustain being cut off...is a let down.

I just wish Dave Smith made an 8 voice (at minimum) version in one box, as apposed to chaining multiple units. Even the classic Prophet 5 had five voices, and i thought technology evolved, not taking a step backwards.

In my opinion, out of the entire range of Dave Smith products, i would say that the Poly Evolver keyboard is perhaps the most usable product from a hands on approach right to the finish (apart from the 4 voices). The rack mono Evolver and Poly rack still need a PC / Mac editor to make full use of the features, and with that in mind i kind of feel being better of with something like the Artuia Prophet V soft synth on my Mac

For those that can live with 4 voices, the Poly Evolver keyboard is probably one of the best choices at the moment, especially for an Analogue / Digital hybrid.

I suggest that you don't use the autotune at all. I have not used it for 2 years now. The synth gets into right tune in about 15 minutes. The autotune can sometimes lose voices. I lost 2 voices when using autotune and I rebooted the synth several times and ran the full reset and autotune again and finally it found all the voices. I never ran the autotune again and all 16 voices work very well.

That's true. A6 can sound very fat or thin too. It depends on how you program it. Many of the presets sound thin because of too much filter resonance and stupid use of the oscillators. I have done all my best sounds with andromeda.

I don't understand if somebody tries to compare andromeda to jupiter 8 or some other old analogs. It's totally different but good. If you don't like the sound, it's not the right synth for you.

However, for me, it's the perfect synth. The pads and strings can be wonderful. Very poweful and beatiful lead sounds, especially some plug sounds. I really like the filters and the oscillators, noise generator, modulators, everything give endless possibilities to tweak the sound. It needs some time to get into programming the a6 but once you know how to program it, it is a beast.

Here's a clip I recorded a couple of hours ago. I used a6, boss ce-300 chorus and eliosound air eq. What I tried to do was to get a sound very close to juno106 which I used earlier. A6 + Boss CE-300

I have watched the evolver demo videos and listened to the sound demos now too and I'm planning to purchase MEK soon. The mp3 demos at dave smith website are strange and not at all the style I would ever play so imo they're rubbish. These synths can do so much better sounds.

Anyway, I really like the pure tone of evolver and the mono evolver keyboard has all the important knobs and looks very cool.

I guess both A6 and PEK can be a good choice if you can program synthesizers. For presets I wouldn't buy either of them.

Nice sound, i can hear the drift. Is that on purpose?

Thanks. Yes, it is. There's a very slow lfo pitch modulation and the chorus also makes it's own modulations which have an effect on the sound. I just tried to make the sound as close as possible to the sound which I made with my 106 to play the terminator theme. However, I sold my 106 because I was a bit worried about how long it will last. Juno sound is very difficult to make with other analogs but I am satisfied with this sound. The boss ce-300 chorus also does wonders. I use it alot.

In terms of the Poly Evolver: If you consider the analogue side in isolation, there might be other alternatives. For me the Evolvers are convincing as hybrid synthesizers, means the unique combination of analogue part, digital components and stepsequencer.

I had a Moog Little Phatty a while ago. It has that unique Moog sound, that surpsisingly broad sweet spot when tweaking patches, it is excellent for fast programming of all those well known basses, leads and analogue burbles.
I switched the Moog on, said "now I'll make a bass" and I made a good bass in one minute. But in the end I made oldstyle tracks with it.

It is different when I use the Evolver. I switch it on and say "now I'll make a sound". This will take a while and I don't know in advance what the result will be. In the end the result is always surprising, new and quite different from what other analogues can do.
If one is after new sounds, he should think about an Evolver, if you're after oldstyle sounds, think about and old synth or about a synth who primarily tries to emulate a vintage synth.

I personally like the Evolver because it gives me ideas.

Some sounds from last saturday (all PEK including drums):

Lithosphere

Hey I know everyone has an opinion but I totally disagree with you. My matrix 12 has 15 lfo's ,6 envelope generators, tracking and ramping generators, FM modulation and more, totally assignable in any config you want. Will Sh%$t all over your andy and bury it sound wise in a mix...my most humble opinion...lol

If you like the Andy thats cool I think it sounds thin as hell including your audio samples ,but thats just my opinion I never liked thin!!!!!! sort of in a Nova like way.

I've had my poly Evolver keyboard for 3 mos now and I don't think alot of people understand what this synth is about. It does things no other synth can do and can be soft or incredibly raw ( maybe some big modular system can do it) .

The 4x 16 step sequencer is plain stupid ( Stupid ,meaning in a great way) It's a whole other animal compared to an A6. I do agree about the 4 voice can seem a bit limited but i just ordered the polyrack to chain to it. 8 voice monster coming!!!!!

My next purchase will be that omega 8 i talked about last December I bought the Virus Ti instead.

I finally got my virus Ti keyboard , the thing sounds great! I have issues with the Virus control but thats for another thread.

this must be a Matrix 12 owners' thing. you sound just like my brother, who's got one as well!

Yep damn skippy! ( that means you are correct)

I've had my Matrix 12 since 1987, I've parted with prophet 5, OB 8 voice, Xpander, OBxa,Jupiter 8, 2x mini moog model D's( with much regret), but I've kept this old lady around.

I like big fat ass sounding Synths . not your standard modern wimpy sounding...........well to each his own...lol

I just have to reply after reading this... You say that andy sounds thin but virus ti sounds great.

Of course it's apples and oranges but I like both synths. I also understand what you mean by saying that andy sounds thin but imo it isn't that thin. It doesn't sound like some vintage synths but it's good at what it does.