Dave Smith Instruments SYNTHESIZERS

The Evolver pages are a little newere with a new sounds page here.

http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/listen.htm

I guess its safe to reveal that I am a lucky beta tester since some 
of my sounds are online. All I can tell you guys after using an 
early beta verion is that this little synth is GREAT and remarkably 
rock solid in use, no crashes freeze ups or anything, minor minor 
things, which are all taken care of or will be taken care of. I will 
rue the day I have to give my beta version back! Until then I am 
trying to come up with as many very good patches as I can. And I 
can't wait to get the finished product.

The amazing thing about this synth is that in some aspects it is 
hardly a monosynth. It is true stereo in that there is a filter per 
channel. Also with 4 oscillators and a 4 track sequencer with each 
track having a single oscillator pitch as a destination, you can 
have 4 note polyphonic sequences as my sequence samples show. The 
kicker is that while the sequences are rolling, you merely can play 
a keyboard note and the sequences will immediately transpose to that 
note (as you can hear). Wow! Also I was amazed while playing one of 
the sequences using 4 separate oscillators, I put glide on one 
oscillator and then when the sequence is running and I transpose it 
up a lot, you can hear the single oscillator glide up and down while 
the others continue to play their sequences, after the glide, then 
the gliding oscillator resumes playing its sequence (or that is what 
it sounds like at least!) Monophonic? Bah! Its stereo-
quadraphonic!! :)

Anyway, I don't think anyone waiting for one will be disappointed. I 
have it up side by side with my Waldorf Pulse and Minimoog, and it 
is holding its own extremely well.

The step sequencer is very versatile in that you can have any 
destination per track and you can have each track loop at a differnt 
step for many wild grooves. Its not as mental as a Notron (what is?) 
but it is as good as most standalone (expensive) step sequencers.

Ravi

Ravi,

So those were _your_ sound clips. Wow, good job! It's hard to believe 
that you were using only one Evolver, but having 4 assignable rows on 
the sequencer it makes sense.

On the site's spec page it mentions that there will be bipolar 
modulation available. That's good. 

My wish list for additional features on the Evolver are: 
 
 It would be nice to be able to modulate the speed of the sequencer.

 It would be nice to have the step length adjustable past the 16th 
step. Be able to use other rows for the extra steps.

  It would be nice to have the waves on the digital oscillators 
capable of of being sequenced from other sources other than the 
sequencer.

As it is though, it is very impressive. October can't get here quick 
enough.

Dave

Dave,

Thanks! (just the clips under my name are mine though).

I will pass your wishes onwards and upwards. Good ideas.

Unfortunately the soundclips were reduced to 128kbs mp3s and sound a 
little dull to my ears.

The good news is that if you all like what you are hearing now, WAIT 
TILL YOU HEAR THE REAL THING!!

To take you a little closer, I uploaded my same mp3s but in high 
quality VBR format here (they sound better):

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DSI_Evolver/files/Evolver%20Sounds/

Ravi


--- In DSI_Evolver@y..., "synthmanic" <synthmanic@y...> wrote:
> Ravi,
> 
> So those were _your_ sound clips. Wow, good job! It's hard to 
believe 
> that you were using only one Evolver, but having 4 assignable rows 
on 
> the sequencer it makes sense.
> 
> On the site's spec page it mentions that there will be bipolar 
> modulation available. That's good. 
> 
> My wish list for additional features on the Evolver are: 
>  
>  It would be nice to be able to modulate the speed of the 
sequencer.
> 
>  It would be nice to have the step length adjustable past the 16th 
> step. Be able to use other rows for the extra steps.
> 
>   It would be nice to have the waves on the digital oscillators 
> capable of of being sequenced from other sources other than the 
> sequencer.
> 
> As it is though, it is very impressive. October can't get here 
quick 

> enough.
> 
> Dave

Thanks for the link to the clips, Ravi.
My favorite is ravi03, this amongst other cips does really show how
versatile this thing is for a so called monosynth, great.

One thing that causes hesitation on my part, regarding the first
production run of a hardware synth, is how well this thing is going to be
debugged. What about future upgrades to the OS, or minor hardware fixes
to future releases. Anyone have any comments....

blit

-------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------

I guess its safe to reveal that I am a lucky beta tester since some 
of my sounds are online. All I can tell you guys after using an 
early beta verion is that this little synth is GREAT and remarkably 
rock solid in use, no crashes freeze ups or anything, minor minor 
things, which are all taken care of or will be taken care of. I will 
rue the day I have to give my beta version back! Until then I am 
trying to come up with as many very good patches as I can. And I 
can't wait to get the finished product.

The amazing thing about this synth is that in some aspects it is 
hardly a monosynth. It is true stereo in that there is a filter per 
channel. Also with 4 oscillators and a 4 track sequencer with each 
track having a single oscillator pitch as a destination, you can 
have 4 note polyphonic sequences as my sequence samples show. The 
kicker is that while the sequences are rolling, you merely can play 
a keyboard note and the sequences will immediately transpose to that 
note (as you can hear). Wow! Also I was amazed while playing one of 
the sequences using 4 separate oscillators, I put glide on one 
oscillator and then when the sequence is running and I transpose it 
up a lot, you can hear the single oscillator glide up and down while 
the others continue to play their sequences, after the glide, then 
the gliding oscillator resumes playing its sequence (or that is what 
it sounds like at least!) Monophonic? Bah! Its stereo-
quadraphonic!! :)

Anyway, I don't think anyone waiting for one will be disappointed. I 
have it up side by side with my Waldorf Pulse and Minimoog, and it 
is holding its own extremely well.

The step sequencer is very versatile in that you can have any 
destination per track and you can have each track loop at a differnt 
step for many wild grooves. Its not as mental as a Notron (what is?) 
but it is as good as most standalone (expensive) step sequencers.

Ravi

On Tue, 17 Sep 2002 22:03:41 -0000, "Ravi Ivan Sharma"
<noision1@...> wrote:

>.... you can have each track loop at a differnt step for many wild grooves. 

Ah, Dave I love you.... 8)

Paul (soon, it's gonna be soooon, right?)
---
Paul Nagle - SoftRoom Music - www.softroom.co.uk

The waves can be changed just like any other parameter, with the 
sysex command. So any external sequencer that can send a short sysex 
parameter change on every step will work.

--- In DSI_Evolver@y..., "synthmanic" <synthmanic@y...> wrote:
> 
> My wish list for additional features on the Evolver are: 
>  
>  It would be nice to be able to modulate the speed of the 
sequencer.

> 
>   It would be nice to have the waves on the digital oscillators 
> capable of of being sequenced from other sources other than the 
> sequencer.
>

> The waves can be changed just like any other
> parameter, with the 
> sysex command. So any external sequencer that can
> send a short sysex 
> parameter change on every step will work.

be that as it may, I think what "synthmanic" may have
meant (and something I would also request myself) is
to have this function addressable by other internal
sources, such as LFO's, envelopes, etc... don't get me
wrong, I'm sure the sequencer will still be great for
this purpose... it's just that addition internal mod
sources for wave-selelction of the digital oscs would
be a nice feature :-)

=====
http://www.mp3.com/Spectralab
alternate e-mail: spectralab@...

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! News - Today's headlines
http://news.yahoo.com

On Wed, 18 Sep 2002 17:44:49 -0000, "Ravi Ivan Sharma"
<noision1@...> wrote:

>The waves can be changed just like any other parameter, with the 
>sysex command. So any external sequencer that can send a short sysex 
>parameter change on every step will work.

Sysex? Ugh - not many step sequencers can do *that* (including the
Zeit, Polymorph, Notron etc.). Hopefully MIDI CCs will be assigned for
such important parameters - it was one of the things I insisted on
during development of another cool wave-based synth, the Monowave.
Check out:

http://www.modulus.wavesynth.com/monowave/

And listen to some of my wavesequencing MP3s (using a Regelwerk to
send the notes and CCs).

Paul
---
Paul Nagle / Soft Room Music
Email: paul@...
Web:   www.softroom.co.uk

> Ah, I see. Well I don't know the answer, but it
> seems from reading 
> the specs, that having waves in the two digital
> oscillators is not 
> the same thing as having a "wavetable" synth. As
> such there is no 
> real correlation between one wave and its neighbor
> wave, so the 
> actions of lfos and envelopes etc on which wave is
> playing would be 
> dependent on the happenstance of the order of the
> waves in the osc's.

good point... however, if there was an added parameter
to define "boundaries" for which waves would be
"swept" (ie. out of waves 0-96, it would only sweep
between 36-48, or 68-72, or whatever)... as well as a
parameter to define whether it would sweep forward,
backward, or in both directions... well, it would
still be a pretty nice and useful feature... plus, a
random/S&H waveform on the LFO could randomize the
selection order as well, no?  :-) 

oh well. maybe I should shut up... it's not even out
yet and here I am with a wishlist already :-|

=====
http://www.mp3.com/Spectralab
alternate e-mail: spectralab@...

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! News - Today's headlines
http://news.yahoo.com

Yes, I though about the random LFO function when thinking about your 
question too. I don't think you would need a boundary parameter 
though, since you would just use lfo "amount" to determin how far 
the sweep would go around the center wave set in the osc. Also the 
directions would be set (in regard to lfos) but the lfo shape sort 
of.

Damned right aren't we horrible wishlist people!!! :)

Next we'll be wanting keys and extra knobs added on!

I would be all over this synth even if it didn't have waves! I love 
my Pulse and just with analog oscs only, this seems better already. 
Nice and puny for live gigs . . . . connected to my uQk and perhaps 
the MC505 or E-mu XL7: FINALLY a keyboard rig that makes sense in 
NYC taxicabs!! hell I could even take the subway!

Ravi


--- In DSI_Evolver@y..., kevin paisley <k_paisley@y...> wrote:

> 
> > Ah, I see. Well I don't know the answer, but it
> > seems from reading 
> > the specs, that having waves in the two digital
> > oscillators is not 
> > the same thing as having a "wavetable" synth. As
> > such there is no 
> > real correlation between one wave and its neighbor
> > wave, so the 
> > actions of lfos and envelopes etc on which wave is
> > playing would be 
> > dependent on the happenstance of the order of the
> > waves in the osc's.
> 
> good point... however, if there was an added parameter
> to define "boundaries" for which waves would be
> "swept" (ie. out of waves 0-96, it would only sweep
> between 36-48, or 68-72, or whatever)... as well as a
> parameter to define whether it would sweep forward,
> backward, or in both directions... well, it would
> still be a pretty nice and useful feature... plus, a
> random/S&H waveform on the LFO could randomize the
> selection order as well, no?  :-) 
> 
> oh well. maybe I should shut up... it's not even out
> yet and here I am with a wishlist already :-|
> 
> =====
> http://www.mp3.com/Spectralab
> alternate e-mail: spectralab@h...
> 
> __________________________________________________
> Do you Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! News - Today's headlines
> http://news.yahoo.com

> Yes, I though about the random LFO function when
> thinking about your 
> question too. I don't think you would need a
> boundary parameter 
> though, since you would just use lfo "amount" to
> determin how far 
> the sweep would go around the center wave set in the
> osc. Also the 
> directions would be set (in regard to lfos) but the
> lfo shape sort 
> of.
> 
good point on the boundary parameter being taken care
of by LFO depth... I never thought it through that
far... I suppose uni-directional travel could be taken
care of by ramp-up and/or ramp-down saw waves in the
LFO... what would by nice though would be a
"uni-polar" setting for the LFO... and not just for
this purpose, but for any kind of LFO purpose... hell,
*every* synth should have the ability to go uni-polar
on the LFO's :-)

> Damned right aren't we horrible wishlist people!!!
> :)

oh well. we're the ones who end up using the machines,
aren't we? ;)

> Next we'll be wanting keys and extra knobs added on!

no, I like the compact nature of the Evolver myself. 
 
> FINALLY a keyboard rig that
> makes sense in 
> NYC taxicabs!! hell I could even take the subway!

see above :)

=====
http://www.mp3.com/Spectralab
alternate e-mail: spectralab@...

__________________________________________________
Do you Yahoo!?
Yahoo! News - Today's headlines
http://news.yahoo.com

--- In DSI_Evolver@y..., kevin paisley <k_paisley@y...> wrote:
> be that as it may, I think what "synthmanic" may have
> meant (and something I would also request myself) is
> to have this function addressable by other internal
> sources, such as LFO's, envelopes, etc...

Yep, on target. That is what I meant.

> don't get me
> wrong, I'm sure the sequencer will still be great for
> this purpose... 

Without doubt.

>it's just that addition internal mod
> sources for wave-selelction of the digital oscs would
> be a nice feature :-)

I'd like it if it could respond to MIDI controllers too.

Well we're one day closer to October. :^)

On Wed, 18 Sep 2002 14:08:42 -0700 (PDT), kevin paisley
<k_paisley@...> wrote:

>no, I like the compact nature of the Evolver myself. 

Me too, I reckon that an Evolver plus a Korg Prophecy as controller
would be my ultimate solosynth combination (as I can't afford a
Voyager). 

Thinking along those lines, can you process audio at the same time as
playing the onboard oscillators? So I could mix in the Prophecy's
stereo signal alongside the 4 Evolver oscs through the delay,
distortion and filters? 

I'm drooling already.. 8-)

Paul
---
Paul Nagle - SoftRoom Music - www.softroom.co.uk

--- In DSI_Evolver@y..., "Ravi Ivan Sharma" <noision1@h...> wrote:
> note (as you can hear). Wow! Also I was amazed while playing one of 
> the sequences using 4 separate oscillators, I put glide on one 
> oscillator and then when the sequence is running and I transpose it 
> up a lot, you can hear the single oscillator glide up and down 
while 
> the others continue to play their sequences, after the glide, then 
> the gliding oscillator resumes playing its sequence (or that is 
what 
> it sounds like at least!) Monophonic? Bah! Its stereo-
> quadraphonic!! :)


The step sequencer was a huge selling point for me. I've always 
wanted a Quasimidi Polymorph, mainly for the knob-controlled step 
sequencer - but I couldn't justify the cost. I'm glad I waited, 
because the Evolver sounds better and costs less than half of a 
Polymorph.

BTW - the newest sound samples are awesome! Good job, beta-testers ;) 
I can't wait to get my hands on one.

-jp

On Wed, 25 Sep 2002 03:06:33 -0000, "jpyn8" <jp1@...> wrote:

>The step sequencer was a huge selling point for me. I've always 
>wanted a Quasimidi Polymorph, mainly for the knob-controlled step 
>sequencer - 

It was a big selling point for me too although I *have* a Polymorph.
Remember the Polymorph is polyphonic and has 4 parts, each with its
own independent effects and sequencer with 1 note sequence and 3
controller sequences (all capable of being different lengths and even
- with limtations - directions). So the two instruments are quite
different really. 
Oddly, the internal synth engine of the Polymorph isn't great for
"traditional" sequencing (it's an awesome pad machine) and I usually
drive a Novation Nova from mine. I wonder if the Evolver's sequencer
will transmit its sequencer data? Probably not so vital as it sounds
so cool... 8-)

Paul
---
Paul Nagle - SoftRoom Music - www.softroom.co.uk