CyberGene

Just got an email about the update. Nice one from Studiologic! I remember Gianni also mentioned that they may fix the faulty damper pedal response of the electric pianos when used with the Roland DP-10 pedal in one of the continuous modes. That would make me really happy because the current implementation prevents me from using the DP-10 in continuous mode and as a result it acts as a binary switch which leads to the infamous Numa X issue with loud machine-gun damper noises on acoustic pianos, which in turn is even more annoying because those noises are always on whenever you add a piano part (hopefully in a next update they will allow for globally configuring and storing such settings).

I wish Apple made a workstation 😀 Like: integrate Logic Pro, MainStage, iPad, Mac, AppStore and their expertise in making intuitive and usable products into a sleek keyboard with great touch and feel and some revolutionary stuff only Apple can do.

This was my first analog synth. It came faulty, with sound disappearing for 10 minutes then coming again. I had a lengthy conversation with Studio Electronics who immediately responded to me in a very condescending manner, accusing me how stupid I am and how I didn’t know how to use it. I kept the civilized tone and managed to demonstrate to them that it was a faulty product. After which they responded that I should have never contacted them in the first place, but seek Roland instead. And no apology for their rudeness. The Thomann support also confirmed it was a faulty product. At that point I didn’t want to purchase a product that had anything to do with Studio Electronics. I know it was not their fault and I think their design is great but I am not supporting a product made by a**holes. Which is when I purchased the Behringer Model D and it’s been absolutely fantastic 👍🏻 BTW, the SE-02 had some shortcomings too: the knobs are too crowded and it makes it a bit tricky to tweak. And the filter knob was steppy. The Boog is simply a better and more authentic clone. YMMV.

How does that work? Can you put the Mac somewhere hidden and only use the Fantom interface to control MainStage?

I watched it and even posted that the video makes me postpone selling mine for a while. But realistically I just like my Hydrasynth so much more.

How long after Montage is the corresponding MODX announced? 😀

@timwat generally I agree with everything you said. Let's clarify something though. There have been three topics in this thread that are both interrelated, and at the same time have no connection whatsoever: 1. Moog's troubles 2. Behringer's ethics 3. Capitalism and its varieties Let's assume Behringer are everything they have been accused of, and even worse. (Frankly, I don't care, I don't like them either.) People stop buying their products at all. Behringer are gone. Would that save Moog? Would people start purchasing $5000 Model D reissues in millions? Nope. Not at all. Simple and clear. I understand why people love Moog, I love Moog too. I understand why people hate Behringer. But let's not be silly and accuse Behringer of why Moog failed. As to capitalism, it's an interesting new angle to the discussion, although IMO it's an entirely different topic again, and hardly related to Moog either. As a Bulgarian, born and raised during the communist era, from a family that was repressed by the state (my grandfather was declared enemy of the state and thrown in one of the deadliest detention camps, luckily he was released a few years later), etc., etc., so with all that history I've been taught to hate socialism/communism in my blood. And I did, but I've started recently just slightly opening my mind towards why it all happened and whether capitalism is inherently good, and without any shame I can admit that I like some small parts of the left ideology. But anyway, I think it also has nothing to do with Moog's troubles. Can't we just accept they weren't good in doing business? Why should we blame it on this or that?

I’m not much into organs, so I’ll leave it to more knowledgeable people but my understanding is the AWM organs such as in the reface and CK are not exactly “modeled” (depending on what one means by modeled) but rather more clever sample-based programming where the various drawbar levels and param values (vibrato/chorus, etc) can all be implemented as sample mix levels + FX. Might be wrong though.

In the video, Ben makes it clear that it’s not Behringer recent copies of current Moog products that are selling well (DFAM/Edge and Mother-32/Crave) but the Model D and Poly D. They are clones (or whatever word suits you) of the Minimoog. First of all, it’s an old design and all possible patents have expired long ago. And then, there had not been Minimoog reissues by Moog for all these years and the latest $5000 one was released only very recently. You can’t blame Behringer for finding a niche that Moog themselves missed. But we’ve already discussed it to death. What I’m wondering though, are we blaming capitalism now?

I’m wondering if the 128 elements per part will also allow them to provide a tonewheel emulation. As far as I know the one they use on the reface and CK is AWM based and probably just mixes different layers. With enough elements and a UI overlay it would still be better than relying on presets. Otherwise it would be pretty odd for such a recent and expensive workstation to omit any TW emulation, let alone a proper one (such as on the YC).

If I can have all the sounds of a Montage/MODX in a VST without the crappy and unresponsive touch screen, then that would be ideal. So, I doubt Yamaha would offer it as a standalone product.

Increasing the number of AWM elements per part, or in other words having a single instrument (e.g. a nice multisample piano) in a single part is a huge improvement. It was one of my biggest complaints about the MODX6. For instance, the best CFX grand takes 4 parts. Try creating a split with another instrument on the fly…

The AN-X demos are OK-ish, nothing spectacular. Honestly, the Fantom-0 series have better sounding synths. And I expected to hear a CS80 poly AT demo 😀

That doesn’t necessarily mean they are different DSP-s. Rather less DSP-s or less capable ones. Which would also differentiate them better, otherwise the MODX+ would cannibalize its bigger brother.

Probably a firmware update for the MODX+ that adds the AN-X. Which would explain why they bothered to release a new MODX without any apparent changes besides an increase in the sample memory, maybe they prepared it for the AN-X but decided to wait for the new Montage first.

Wow, that must’ve been great. Well, unless you have to move it, I guess 😀 Thanks for the first-hand experience and nice memories 👍🏻

P.S. Hard to find pictures of the action… I found a few with low quality and it seems what I thought are weights might actually be spring wires 🧐

I think I’ve seen it's weighted with heavy weights, so pretty much qualifies as a hammer action since it’s mass, hence inertia, that requires force to accelerate, rather than springs that have no inertia and require only initial force equal to the spring force and no inertial resistance. I might be wrong.

Ha, didn’t know about that. Thanks. Seems Kurzweil used to be a very innovative company.

A hammer action with poly AT is world's first, errr… after the CS80, that is. Kudos to Yamaha.

I know there are many type of string machines but I’m still baffled at how bad the following demo sounds: I can’t remember any famous recording with such a cheap and dull sound. It’s not a Solina, nor a Melo (tape) sound. What is that? This could have been the perfect portable Pink Floyd keyboard but it isn’t 🤦🏻‍♂️

I’ve been researching the CK for a while but to me it also seems the sounds are a bit lukewarm and not up to the same quality as the ones in the CP/YC series. It’s possible that they are lite versions (less memory for AWM samples?) of the same patches. In any case the CK is a tempting option for live playing, especially for the price and all the features.

I recently watched a video of a guy who demonstrated the most famous patch people associate with Vangelis, the CS80 brass. And it turns out it’s a stock preset on the CS80. Vangelis only added reverb (and possibly other effects). We all know that he’s a good synthesist and not a preset guy but in any case, sometimes it’s about popularizing a stock patch rather than inventing it yourself. I get what you mean when you say Joe Zawinul is more into synths and their programming/manipulation than Chick and Herbie. Blame it on my preference of the latter two, but because I like their playing and improvisation approach better, intuitively their synth work sounds better to me, even if it’s stock patches only.

That’s impressive! How does it work?

Quite possible 😀 Still, he’s absolutely unique in the jazz world and I wouldn’t even call him a jazz keyboardist. While Joe, Chick and Herbie are all more or less within the jazz/fusion universe, Lyle is closer to being a modern classical composer, rather than straight ahead jazz improviser.