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A little Solaris update...


carbon111

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I assume they're freely routable.

 

 

Yep...though #6 is hardwired to the VCA (though you can decouple it and use it elsewhere).

 

The oscillators and rotors can be used more than once in a patch and routed to any mixer(s) of choice which in turn can be routed to any filter(s) of choice...and fed back in at choice points...whatever you desire.

 

So each patch is sort of like a multi with inter-patch modulation and signal flow.

 

Hopefully John will get some demos up soon...it's very sweet sounding. Very organic.

 

Once again, the specs:

 

* Price - retail US price will be $3,999

* General availability - April 2009 (after all pre-sales are filled)

* 4 Oscs, 2 Rotors, 4 Mixers, 4 Filters, 4 Amp/Pan sections, 8 Envelopes, 5 LFOs, 4 External Inputs, Flanger/Chorus, Phaser, Delay, 3 band EQ, Overdrive

* 2 Vector Mixers

* 2 separate AM (amplitude modulation) sections, with Ring, AM, Rectify, & Clip algorithms

* Joystick and multi-touch Ribbon controllers

* Arpeggiator and control Step Sequencer provided, with MIDI output

* Performance buttons include 2 assignable switches, Arpeggiator Start, Sequencer Start, Hold, (Tap) Tempo, Unison

* Polyphony count - expected to be 24 voices with all 4 oscs, 4 filters, 4 mixers, envelopes, LFOs, etc. running

* 96 kHz internal processing rate

* Insert FX pre-/post each filter section, with BitCrush, Decimate, and Distortion

* 4 pair of outputs; Main pair for v1.0, additional outputs reserved for future use (when Multi-Timbre Mode is implemented)

* separate Headphone out

 

Detail per section:

Oscillators - each osc type selects from standard waveshapes (MultiMode Osc), wavetable (PPG) type, sample (WAV) playback, CEM (Prophet 5) type, or Prophet VS type. The MM (MultiMode) type provides the following waveshapes:

Sine, triangle, ramp, saw, pulse, noise, S&H, morphing sine-to-saw, morphing sine-to-square, and a stacked "supersaw" with varible detune (based on the Shape parameter).

 

Hard Sync is only available for MM saw, ramp, pulse, and the CEM osc models.

New types will be added as they are developed via an upgrade to the OS.

 

Individual "analog-style" glide is available for each oscillator.

 

There are 4 mod paths. Each one is freely assignable to select exponential frequency (normal pitch mod), Linear FM, or Shape as their destination. Mod Sources include any oscillator, any filter, the 4 external inputs, any of the lfos, envelopes, controllers, etc.. A 'sidechain modulation' function is provided for each path, using Controller (non-audio rate) signals. Controller signals are all lfos and envelopes, velocity, note, aftertouch, mod wheel, ribbon, joystick, select MIDI controllers, assignable CC knobs, etc.

 

Filters - 4 filters, each with selectable inputs.

 

Filter types include:

1) all pole possibilities for the MultiMode (MM1) filter, including 24 dB Lowpass, Highpass, and Bandpass, 12 dB Lowpass, Highpass, and Bandpass, and 6 dB Lowpass, Highpass, and Bandpass, along with some other combination modes, for a total of 23 variations.

2) 24 dB Lowpass modeled on the Prophet 5 Rev1 filter (SSM2040)

3) 24 dB Lowpass modeled on the Rev 3 Prophet 5 (CEM3320)

4) 12 dB Lowpass modeled on the Oberheim SVF

5) Comb/Tube filter (the "tube" is a comb with negative feedback)

 

New filter types will be added as they are developed via an upgrade to the OS.

 

For filter modulation, it's the same structure as the Oscillators - there are 4 mod paths. Each one is freely assignable to select Cutoff, Resonance, or Damping (if Comb/Tube is selected) as their destination. Mod Sources include any oscillator, any filter, the 4 external inputs, any of the lfos, envelopes, controllers, etc.. A 'sidechain modulation' function is provided for each path, using Controller (non-audio rate) signals. Controller signals are all lfos and envelopes, velocity, note, aftertouch, mod wheel, ribbon, joystick, select MIDI controllers, assignable CC knobs, etc.

 

ADSRs - there are 6 standard DADSRs. Each overall amount can be modulated by Velocity, and each segment can be individually modulated from Velocity, Note, Mod Wheel, and assignable Midi Controllers (CC1-CC5). Also, each segment can have a variable slope, from linear to exponential.

 

Looping Envelopes - there are also 2 looping envelopes, each with 8 Time&Level segments. There is overall modulation possible of Time and Level.

 

LFOs - there are 5 identical LFOs, with the fifth being permanently connected to the frequency of all oscs (therefore, it is called the Vibrato LFO). The LFOs have the standard waveshape types, and range from 0-524 Hz. There are parameters for Delay Start, Fade In, Fade Out, Rate, Waveshape, Retrigger, Phase, Level, MIDI Clocking, and Offset (offset provides a positive unipolar signal for the lfo outputs). There are 3 mod paths, similar to the Oscillator modulation structure. The destinations here are selectable for Rate or Level.

 

VCAs - There are several models implemented for the final output stage circuit. VCA Types include: Linear, Log, and Sigma (Minimoog style). There is 1 mod path for the VCA, and 1 for the Pan position.

 

Vector Synthesis - There are 2 Vector Mixer sections. The Joystick (non-spring loaded) in the leftmost section is normally connected to both Vector Mixers, but can be disabled.

 

AM Sections - 2 Amplitude Modulation sections, each of which have Carrier, Modulator, Algorithm and Shaper parameters. Ring Mod is one of the algorithms provided.

 

Effects - Initially available will be delay, flanger/chorus, reverb, EQ, Overdrive. As with the other sections, additional FX types such as a vocoder or resonant filter bank will be added as they are developed via an upgrade to the OS.

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Amazing stuff. Hope it finds some buyers in these tough times.

 

The first couple batches are pretty much spoken for so there's no immediate worry. I honestly think John will do fine in spite of the economic downturn because of the Solaris' unique desirability based on its depth and ease-of-use especially for sound design.

John Bowen Synth Design has solid financial backing as well.

 

That said, I'm glad I preordered mine as it would be harder to afford at this point. :(

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Looking at those specs, I think we have a synth packed with features, and exquisite looks, and all this reminds me of Waldorf Wave somehow.

 

I think that Solaris has the most beautiful UI I've ever encountered on a synth. Really. It's well worth the money. I mean, c'mon, FOUR FILTERS? That's, like, crazy.

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The UI is what appeals to me most.
:love:
Looks very straight-forward.

 

When I first spoke with John about the Solaris, he'd come over to our house for one of our "synth parties" and he told me about how he was thinking of making one of his plug-ins into a hardware synth...his two major concerns were, first, the quality of sound and, second, the ergonomics of the UI.

 

...it's a few years later now and none of that has changed. The internal rate is 96k throughought, the filters and oscillators are lush and organic sounding and the UI makes getting to and tweaking 800-some parameters relatively quick and painless. :love:

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...it's a few years later now and none of that has changed. The internal rate is 96k throughought, the filters and oscillators are lush and organic sounding and the UI makes getting to and tweaking 800-some parameters relatively quick and painless.
:love:

 

800? That would be quite a feat to accomplish. Looking forward to demos. I think the cream colored one looks the best. This thing screams Xpander for design, which is very cool.

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