I am always looking for a better live replacement
synth than my minimoog. I have a waldorf pulse, and that is great unit. The
pulse lacks effects (a delay is key for monosynth work I believe--so much so I
bought a rack delay just for my moog/pulse). Also the Pulse has limited preset
memory. Other than that, it is one of the punchiest little synths out there and
has a decent arpeggiator too. It is mono but has stereo outs so you can progam
pan effects. The Pulse's filter is 24db, the Evolver's are
switchable
Now the Evolver looks to me like having the
potential to be a Pulse killer if you will. Same fat analog moog style
filter--but hey TWO of them, running for each stereo channel for ture stereo
synth action. The cool thing about them is that they can be unlinked from each
other. I am not sure, but too me this means that you could run them either in
parallel or serially (I am not sure about this). There is an old much sought
after synth called the OSCar which had this unique feature where it had two
filters running in serial but with a single knob controlling cutoff frequency of
both, but another knob (called separation) that changed the distance
between the two filter's actual cutoff frequencies either closer or further
apart from each other. Apparently this allowed some wild almost vocal style
filter effects. here's a link on that: http://www.sospubs.co.uk/sos/sep99/articles/oscar.htm I
could be wrong, but I think the Elvolver may be the first synth since the OSCar
that can do this (I wish Dave Smith would get on this list . . . ). -- having
gone over the prelim manual, I don't think it will precisely do what the OSCar
did, but you can unlink the filters and have the left and right filters be
modulated differently or have different settings than each other I think. Some
clarification is necesary to see whal the "Split" function of the filters can
achieve.
Another thing about the Evolver in regard to the
Pulse. The Pulse has an excellent user interface and pretty much the Elvolver
has copied it. If you put the knobs at the bottom of the Evolver you would
pretty much be looking a picture of a weird pulse with 8 knobs instead of six (
btw I like the knobs at bottom rather than the top--at the top your arm blocks
the inscriptions when you tweak). So the Evolver looks like it will be fun and
easy to program.
Specs wise it is killer, I mean FOUR oscillators
plus FOUR lfos, deep matrix patching and effects? Wow. Not to mention
two oscillators are analog and two are digital wavetable type things. Essentiall
this a full blown analog synth but with the addition of having two digital
oscillators go into it, plus having the whole thing running out through digital
effects. Would have been nice to have a digital out. (Don't know if it has one,
doubt it).
All that alone would sell me (assuming that it
SOUNDS good). But the addition of the 4x16 step sequencer per patch is simply
WOW as far as I am concerned. People spend almost this much or more just to get
that kind of sequencer. Since each of the 4 16 step sequencer, PER PATCH, have
the ability to control anything in the matrix, not just pitch or note on note
off, but filter cuttoff, delay parameters, you name it, it seems like you could
build some very way out rhythmical patches.
Also the interesting distortion stuff in the signal
path is fresh and makes the box an easy effects box as much as a
synth.
Many are correct that the patches on the websight,
are merely okay and dont' show off what the thing can really do. But listening
to the tone of what is presented, I think that the machine is bound to have the
punch and balls that a good monosynth should. If it lacs that, then no amount of
features will fix it.
The fact that the developer is a VERY known
quantity with a stellar track record make me all the happier. Can't do much
better than this. Name any big time synth designer, Bob Moog, etc, this is just
as good as that for a new product.
Now if Dave has hired a crack programmer to create
the presets on the machine, someone like Rob Papen or another great programmer,
then this box will probably be simply one of the best synths ever released in
the past 10 years.
Finally one of the reasons I like this synth is
that, given the fact that it is mono and perhaps it doesn't have a digitalout,
the question I ask myself is, what is it missing? Not much I think. It seems
like it has all the best stuff that 30 years since the minimoog has come
out.
I hope it sounds as good as its specs. I am willing
to gamble at under $500 no problem. Good bet I think.
Ravi
----- Original Message -----From: klown_mrSent: Saturday, August 17, 2002 4:55 PMSubject: [Evolver] HowdyHey crew---
Just to get things rollin'...
What is it about the evolver that gets your interests?
klown
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