Hi Seth !
I think it is no prob to mention the Solaris.
It\ufffds a very interesting machine because it combines several of the ZARG synth engines and modulators and it can be it has to replace old analogue synths for me in future.
The haptics of the Solaris are perfect, but -
Up to now, I haven\ufffdt heard any audio demo which sounds on par w/ a real analogue synth like the Minimoog or Xpander.
Solaris, by nature, sounds more digital to me,- it is a digital synthesizer and it is based on the same technology the S|C XITE is.
Since I have the XITE-1, I\ufffdm not sure if it would be necessary or essential for me to dump another EUR 3.650.- for a keyboard instrument except I\ufffdd need it for touring because of the haptics.
Up to now, I wasn\ufffdt able to decide for selling the Minimoog and/or Xpander to make Solaris affordable for me,- the creamy and buttery sounding analog synths are hard to replace by digital technology.
Functionality wise and on the modulation side, Solaris is a winner for sure and also the Zarg software Solaris device is different from the hardware Solaris.
Hardware Solaris is a unique instrument.
But ideally,- I\ufffdd like to keep MinimoogD and Xpander and eventually buy a Solaris in addition one day, but not as a replacement for my Oberheim Xpander.
John Bowen is a cool and genious guy and I appreciated, he himself said Solaris isn\ufffdt a Moog or Oberheim synth even it\ufffds capable to deliver some sounds in that department.
In fact, I\ufffdd like to have a Solaris in my hands for some programming for a week or so before making a decision,- audio demos in the web don\ufffdt tell me very much, so the pre-order strategy for purchasing a Solaris is not for me.
It is also not sure if Solaris will get MIDI multi mode one day w/ a system upgrade, so in that department the Xpander/Matrix-12 rules.
In fact, it depends on if it will be possible to implement MIDI multi mode w/ the technology Solaris is based on.
Up to now, it is a 10 voice synthesizer because it\ufffds realized that way, 2 voices of Solaris run on one of the new Sharc 333MHz DSP chips (5 DSPs for the voices) and the 6th DSP is for FX and the I/O routing stuff.
Solaris depends on the development of\ufffd S|C SCOPE SDK which is also responsible for XITE-1 functionality.
There are some optimisations necessary in regards of automatic DSP assignment (loading and off-loading of devices/ software components) which is essential to get MIDI multi mode on Solaris and more devices loadable on a XITE-1D or XITE-1.
\ufffd
Am 18.07.2012 00:38, schrieb Seth Elgart:
I think it is no prob to mention the Solaris.
It\ufffds a very interesting machine because it combines several of the ZARG synth engines and modulators and it can be it has to replace old analogue synths for me in future.
The haptics of the Solaris are perfect, but -
Up to now, I haven\ufffdt heard any audio demo which sounds on par w/ a real analogue synth like the Minimoog or Xpander.
Solaris, by nature, sounds more digital to me,- it is a digital synthesizer and it is based on the same technology the S|C XITE is.
Since I have the XITE-1, I\ufffdm not sure if it would be necessary or essential for me to dump another EUR 3.650.- for a keyboard instrument except I\ufffdd need it for touring because of the haptics.
Up to now, I wasn\ufffdt able to decide for selling the Minimoog and/or Xpander to make Solaris affordable for me,- the creamy and buttery sounding analog synths are hard to replace by digital technology.
Functionality wise and on the modulation side, Solaris is a winner for sure and also the Zarg software Solaris device is different from the hardware Solaris.
Hardware Solaris is a unique instrument.
But ideally,- I\ufffdd like to keep MinimoogD and Xpander and eventually buy a Solaris in addition one day, but not as a replacement for my Oberheim Xpander.
John Bowen is a cool and genious guy and I appreciated, he himself said Solaris isn\ufffdt a Moog or Oberheim synth even it\ufffds capable to deliver some sounds in that department.
In fact, I\ufffdd like to have a Solaris in my hands for some programming for a week or so before making a decision,- audio demos in the web don\ufffdt tell me very much, so the pre-order strategy for purchasing a Solaris is not for me.
It is also not sure if Solaris will get MIDI multi mode one day w/ a system upgrade, so in that department the Xpander/Matrix-12 rules.
In fact, it depends on if it will be possible to implement MIDI multi mode w/ the technology Solaris is based on.
Up to now, it is a 10 voice synthesizer because it\ufffds realized that way, 2 voices of Solaris run on one of the new Sharc 333MHz DSP chips (5 DSPs for the voices) and the 6th DSP is for FX and the I/O routing stuff.
Solaris depends on the development of\ufffd S|C SCOPE SDK which is also responsible for XITE-1 functionality.
There are some optimisations necessary in regards of automatic DSP assignment (loading and off-loading of devices/ software components) which is essential to get MIDI multi mode on Solaris and more devices loadable on a XITE-1D or XITE-1.
\ufffd
Am 18.07.2012 00:38, schrieb Seth Elgart:
\ufffd
On Tuesday, July 17, 2012 at 3:43 PM, PeWe wrote:John Bowen\ufffds beautiful ZARG synthsI've almost been afraid to mention it, but I'd like to recommend the Solaris as sort of modern Xpander. It's not analog (which was why I haven't mentioned it yet) but it's got 6 displays, tons of modulation sources and destinations, a large number of oscillator and filter types, etc. Worth taking a look at.
Seth