Solaris has arrived!

[Jaime Chimuelo]

Reaktor is good for sound creation, but even the Ventilator so many here love, was made in Reaktor, transferred to a true audio chip, so I'd say it's designer agrees with the sound quality, and also the very same AD21369.

Personally I need realtime control so I can't use softsynths, and even Kontakt I must remove the sterile effects, and won't even use the 0-128 MIDI, I need audiorate modulations.

If I wanted to recreat sounds I'd get Reaktor, or if I was actually making money in the field a KymaX box like Capybara, or Pacarana.

I think it's great though that such powerful tools like Reaktor can be had at such cheap prices.

I would be so much more skillful if I had a PC and Reaktor when I was a kid. Wouldn't need the experts to make presets for me.

But I have fun stealing their presets and then adding my name so everyone thinks I am a genius.

[Jim Alfredson]

Maybe it´s a matter of taste, but comparing VST/AU synths w/ hardware synths is comparing apples & oranges IMO.

 

Not really. In the end, it's all just software, right? One is running on open-ended hardware, one is running on specifically designed hardware, but both are making their sound via software.

[Al Coda]

Reaktor is good for sound creation, but even the Ventilator so many here love, was made in Reaktor, transferred to a true audio chip, so I'd say it's designer agrees with the sound quality, and also the very same AD21369.

 

Neo Ventilator might be created in Reaktor 1st, but isn´t realized using Reaktor.

Scroll down and look at that pic left beneath the line:

"Sometimes More is More"

http://neo-instruments.de/en/ventilator/ventilator-overview

 

How does that look to you as a experienced SCOPE user ?

Isn´t that Scope environment ?

That´s not Reaktor for sure.

 

If I wanted to recreat sounds I'd get Reaktor, or if I was actually making money in the field a KymaX box like Capybara, or Pacarana.

I think it's great though that such powerful tools like Reaktor can be had at such cheap prices.

 

Yeah, but all that has nothing to do w/ Solaris which is designed as a performers keyboard instrument, offering re-creations of all kinds of vintage modules like Minimoog OCSs and VCF, Oberheim & SCI Prophet filters, vector synthesis stuff from Prophet VS & Wavestation, wavetable synthesis and all kinds of derivates from ZARG devices plus FX,- all combinable in a (half-) modular way incl. the audio inputs and user samples as a oscillator source.

Well, for me, that covers a lot of bread & butter stuff I need synthwise and what Solaris cannot do, does my Kurzweil.

 

We all know that there´s a s**tload of software plugins out there being cheaper, sometimes more flexible and more rare,- really sounding good.

In fact, most of us here own some of these.

 

To me the attraction of Solaris is getting all the controllers,- wheels, joystick, ribbon, enough pedal inputs, audio inputs, single outputs, the keyboard and big knobs and large displays, just that we like(d) on a Oberheim Xpander/Matrix-12 and there´s more.

 

Whether I could program an accurate acoustic instrument like a solo violin or not w/ Solaris or any other synth is 2nd row to me,- especially because if I need a solo violin for a recording, I can hire a good violinist all day,- and eventually for cheap,- recording the part in an hr. for most pieces, not to forget the fingerboard of the violin is the most accurate interface this instrument needs and not a keyboard.

What´s a sound worth if it isn´t played correctly ?

 

Anyway, you know it all, you own Solaris and you know why.

 

A.C.

[Jaime Chimuelo]

Well let me be candid.

I work every week, sometimes pulling doubles at a private function or convention and I have always made great money.

Money has never been much of a factor as I need write offs, and love sounding better than my competitors who usually are sidemen and don't contract the work.

So I buy whatever sounds the best, it's that simple.

 

As soon as somebody builds something that sounds better than Solaris, I will buy that.

I take my system to a store or trade show and play great orchestral instruments in software, and hardware VA's and Analog synths.

Whatever sounds the best is what I buy.

 

Solaris won for the last 3 years, but I am not disillusioned into saying it will never be replaced, but right now, nothing else out there can compare, and 4k for this is worth every penny.

Just depends how good you want to sound at your job.

 

As Mr. T. was quoted saying at NAMM 2012 about his Solaris.........

 

Anderton: Do you accept the challenge in a battle of synths from NI Komplete, Access and Novation...?

Mr.T: I refuse the challenge, as other VA's and soft synths are no challenge, but I'd be happy to beat up on them some more...

[johnbowen]

Reaktor is good for sound creation, but even the Ventilator so many here love, was made in Reaktor, transferred to a true audio chip, so I'd say it's designer agrees with the sound quality, and also the very same AD21369.

Neo Ventilator might be created in Reaktor 1st, but isn´t realized using Reaktor.

Scroll down and look at that pic left beneath the line:

"Sometimes More is More"

http://neo-instruments.de/en/ventilator/ventilator-overview

 

How does that look to you as a experienced SCOPE user ?

Isn´t that Scope environment ?

That´s not Reaktor for sure.

Yes, I was also going to point that out - this is done with the Scope software before they put it into a standalone box. The screenshot there is the Scope SDK, and I was told about this by Sonic Core some years ago when he first made it. I never heard about it being designed in Reaktor, although he may have started with that as a rough sketch.

[Al Coda]

Yes, I was also going to point that out - this is done with the Scope software before they put it into a standalone box. The screenshot there is the Scope SDK, and I was told about this by Sonic Core some years ago when he first made it. I never heard about it being designed in Reaktor, although he may have started with that as a rough sketch.

 

Hi John !

Great to see you here in the forum b.t.w.,- and thx for confirmation!

Now it would be excellent if we could get Neo Ventilator as a SCOPE device.

 

O.T.:

Just a question by occasion.

I got a Scope card w/ SCOPE v4.0 3 years ago and included are some Zarg devices.

I have the .rgy file including the devices.

I plan upgrading to Scope 5.1 in february, so I wonder if I can shoot you a PM to get new keys for SCOPE 5.1 and your devices or how is the procedure to do it otherwise ?

I already registered the card w/ it´s serial number @Sonic Core but got no response.

 

thx in advance

 

A.C.

 

[zahush76]

By doing this also I figured this would put an end to people saying I'm cheating by using samples since anybody with a Solaris can now see how I programmed them. No samples were used! And no Karplus Strong type stuff either. Not only that, but in all sounds except one, I refrained from cheating

 

Of course. Cheating isn't your style. Btw - how's that Bahn Sage comming along?

 

Last time I checked, all that has come from Solaris purchasers is one guy running through the factory presets, one guy comparing the tone of his Solaris to a JP-8, one guy who wanted to imitate a boring sawtooth bass sound from a boring song on his $4000 synth, and a few photos of Solaris' in people's living rooms. And that pretty much sums up the state of synth use these days.

 

I bet it all sounds better on your Bahn Sage.

 

Seriously though, can someone be more full of himself than that?

[Jaime Chimuelo]

LoL,

He did make a few cool presets though, especially the Vocal effects.

But I posted a few sounds that I couldn't find that I heard in my head and needed to ensure I had an edge on the Receptor NI guys.

The sounds definately don't lack balls, and do not have that VSTi sound that seems to eminate from the back of a speaker, but again I needed to compete with real musicians using Marshall Mesa Boogie stacks, and SVT cabinets, and believe it or not a real drummer, so the Windows/Mac synths just can't give me that kind of presense in a live scenario. On headpohones and mp3's I am sure it's no biggie, but on stage those dogs won't hunt.

Unless you want to punish Guitarists and Bassists with fat sounds, I am sure at home Reaktor and other virtual synths will satisfy. But don't take them onstage next to a Solaris, or a Bahn Sage.

 

http://soundcloud.com/you/tracks

[ElmerJFudd]

For the owners, v1.3.1 firmware

They say you can get it from the forum in the Data files section,

http://forums.johnbowen.com/

 

1) Joystick position is now stored in the preset.

2) Assign buttons and Unison Chord stack now stored with the Preset.

3) A Random Tune parameter both in a preset and at the global level. This works per voice, and only affects the whole voice's tuning.

4) Preset names and categories of the current bank are now loaded into a memory cache, making selection and viewing of them faster.

5) New MIDI Realtime on/off in the global MIDI page to send/receive Start/Stop commands.

6) Ribbon now outputs MIDI controller on CC18 & CC19.

7) Solaris remembers the last presets selected when you turn it off, so it will resume where you were.

8) Global override parameters added for Sustain and Expression Pedals.

9) Changed the Mod Source listing of Ped1 and Ped2 to "ExpPed and "SusPed" to make it more clear.

10) The ribbon Offset parameter now works differently. It adjusts the "neutral" point from the left end to the right end of the ribbon.

11) FX Bypass now does not alter the on/off state of the Preset's effects parameters, but truly bypasses the FX bus, and stays bypassed when selecting through presets or using the Compare feature.

12) All remaining system bugs fixed. These include numerous display-related issues (parameters not being refreshed, wrong pages appearing where they shouldn't, etc..)

 

[hardware]

Really great update.

The MIDI Controller features make SoLarry a very decent controller.

Aftertouch curves are really useful too.

 

Still the best live synth I've ever owned.

It's like having 3 or 4 vintage polysynths and a few monosynths.

 

It's sound through the Mains, especially with RCF / DBA Array is incredible.

Somebody always notices the sound and says how fat it sounds.