Members Pigger Posted July 21, 2011 Members Share Posted July 21, 2011 Is there any advantage to this synth over a new Mopho keyboard? Does it sound any "better"? There's one on CL here asking $900 in good condition, "all functions working, needs tuning". A freind of mine at the music store (keyboard expert) checked it out & says this one is a good one. I can get a new Mopho for around $750 locally. I have 2 Tetras now, which I enjoy. I know that the DSI stuff is not well- liked by all here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pigger Posted July 21, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 21, 2011 I should add that this would be just for fun, and for general use in my very small home recording "studio". It looks to be a little more "knobular" than the Mopho keyboard, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hogberto Posted July 21, 2011 Members Share Posted July 21, 2011 buy the pro-one. next please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pigger Posted July 21, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 21, 2011 buy the pro-one. next please. Have I offended? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The groin Posted July 21, 2011 Members Share Posted July 21, 2011 Get the Pro One, it sounds lightyears better Well, it is actually a matter of features v. sound, but since you already are a Tetra owner there's no reason to get a Mopho. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hogberto Posted July 21, 2011 Members Share Posted July 21, 2011 Have I offended? not at all. just that to my mind this is a no-brainer. i had a pro-one for 20 years or so. it was my first synth. it just seemed to get better and better year by year. i sold it to buy a voyager. but in many ways the pro-one was better than the moog. i've been tweaking my DSI Tetra to try to get somewhere close to the pro-one sound. ain't got there yet and i'm not optimistic. so if cash is not an issue, just buy the pro-one. imho of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pigger Posted July 21, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 21, 2011 not at all. just that to my mind this is a no-brainer. i had a pro-one for 20 years or so. it was my first synth. it just seemed to get better and better year by year. i sold it to buy a voyager. but in many ways the pro-one was better than the moog. i've been tweaking my DSI Tetra to try to get somewhere close to the pro-one sound. ain't got there yet and i'm not optimistic. so if cash is not an issue, just buy the pro-one. imho of course. Thanks to both of you for your input. I didn't know if they used the same IC's as the Mopho/P8/Tetra/Evolver for DCO's & filter, and if there were any differences to their sound. I like my Tetras, and just got an Evolver desktop yesterday, which I haven't had time to explore yet. Also have a Little Phatty, which, of course, is an entirely different sound IMO. Picked up a Super JX earlier this year, which I really like the sound of, although it's yet another different kind of sound. I appreciate your help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tspit74 Posted July 22, 2011 Members Share Posted July 22, 2011 Pro-One. Then add a Moogerfooger ring modulator and CP-251. Not that you need to. But it is expandable and all those CV inputs on the back cry out to be used.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Acid Hazard Posted July 22, 2011 Members Share Posted July 22, 2011 Depends on your needs. Apparently, i'm the only one who's been able to hit most of the sounds on my Pro-One with my Mopho. If you need MIDI, then the Pro-One is out. The Mopho you will most likely never need it serviced. And if you do, it will probably be cheaper than servicing a Pro-One. The Pro-One DOES have a bit of brashness on the Square Waves that the Mopho doesn't have. The Mo' has a bit more of a Rolandy square wave. But some Audio Mod of the Filter usually helps. You can't go wrong with either one. Also, the Mopho has the 4 track gated sequencer that the Pro-One doesn't have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pigger Posted July 22, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 22, 2011 Depends on your needs. Apparently, i'm the only one who's been able to hit most of the sounds on my Pro-One with my Mopho. If you need MIDI, then the Pro-One is out. The Mopho you will most likely never need it serviced. And if you do, it will probably be cheaper than servicing a Pro-One. The Pro-One DOES have a bit of brashness on the Square Waves that the Mopho doesn't have. The Mo' has a bit more of a Rolandy square wave. But some Audio Mod of the Filter usually helps. You can't go wrong with either one. Also, the Mopho has the 4 track gated sequencer that the Pro-One doesn't have. Your inputs are appreciated. I'm really on the fence with this. I don't want or "need" the "vintage & therefore cool" thing; more interested in how it sounds & the U.I. I'm also considering an MEK, for the knobbiness. As many here have noted, there is something gratifying about having most parameters available immediately & simultaneously. This is one of the attractions of the Pro One as well. While I love the sound of my Tetras, I wish DSI made a Tetra keyboard with knobbiness galore. I am curious, also, if anyone here uses a midi controller that's knobby & slidery to control their desktop-type synths, and how that works out for them; is the U.I. clumsy to use, or does it work well enough? I realise that these are probably pretty noob-y questions; I appreciate the patience shown here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Acid Hazard Posted July 22, 2011 Members Share Posted July 22, 2011 The problem with the DSI stuff it that it uses NRPNs as a means of MIDI control. Only some of the parameters are available via CCs. Even then, you'll run into problems like controlling the Cutoff Freq, using CCs will only close it down to 34. Because the available number of steps using NRPNs is greater than CCs. With CCs, you get 0-127. NRPN you get 0-164 on the Cutoff. So it doesn't sweep through all of the steps. So you'd need to find a controller that outputs 14bit NRPNs and learn how to program it. I use the editor for my Mopho. I'll even just program it from the 4 knobs sometimes. The KB version you don't need any of that. Only more uncommonly used parameters you'll need to dive for. I've only ever played one at GC, but i had no problems finding my way around it after about 30 seconds. The Evolvers are great synths as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pigger Posted July 22, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 22, 2011 The problem with the DSI stuff it that it uses NRPNs as a means of MIDI control. Only some of the parameters are available via CCs. Even then, you'll run into problems like controlling the Cutoff Freq, using CCs will only close it down to 34. Because the available number of steps using NRPNs is greater than CCs. With CCs, you get 0-127. NRPN you get 0-164 on the Cutoff. So it doesn't sweep through all of the steps. So you'd need to find a controller that outputs 14bit NRPNs and learn how to program it. I use the editor for my Mopho. I'll even just program it from the 4 knobs sometimes. The KB version you don't need any of that. Only more uncommonly used parameters you'll need to dive for. I've only ever played one at GC, but i had no problems finding my way around it after about 30 seconds. The Evolvers are great synths as well. That's exactly the kind of info I needed; thank you very much for your help, Acid Hazard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members grantb5 Posted July 22, 2011 Members Share Posted July 22, 2011 Depends on your needs. Apparently, i'm the only one who's been able to hit most of the sounds on my Pro-One with my Mopho. If you need MIDI, then the Pro-One is out... MIDI on the Pro One:http://www.musictechnologiesgroup.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Texas Noise Factory Posted July 23, 2011 Members Share Posted July 23, 2011 The Pro One is a great synth to learn about analog synthesizers. I still miss the one I owned. Picked it up in the late 90s for $100. Sold it for $600 a few years later thinking I made good coin off of it. If you audio sequence, then MIDI isn't such a big deal, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tspit74 Posted July 23, 2011 Members Share Posted July 23, 2011 Can't believe how expensive Pro-One's have gotten. There seems to be no end in sight. Great sound. Great synth. Flimsy build quality. They're relatively delicate compared to the Japanese stuff of the same vintage. Still, if you can grab one, do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members carbon111 Posted July 23, 2011 Members Share Posted July 23, 2011 The Pro-One sounds a lot better than any of the new DSI stuff to my ears. I really hate the lack of filter character paired with the DCOs on the newer Curtis chip Dave is using. Same reason the Marion synths sounded like crap to me. The Pro-One has the truly excellent CEM3320 filter and CEM3340 VCOs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChipCurtis Posted July 23, 2011 Members Share Posted July 23, 2011 I had a Pro One for about 4 years before selling it. I even had it serviced and made new polished Oak side-panels for it. It was a fine monosynth and had I a lot of fun with it. But it wasn't really for me. I use pretty standard type analog leads and basses, nothing that really pushes the VCOs to the limit, or pushes the P1 into sonic territory that belongs strictly to itself. And I needed patch memory. And to stay in tune. And didn't need knob access to EVERY parameter. So it really wasn't for me. The Pro One has now WAY exceeded the price-point that originally made it attractive. In 1980 it sold for around $750 new, and many people bought one because they couldn't afford any other synth. Most people at that time wanted a programmable polysynth but you had to fork upwards of $5K just to own one. Back then most synths were VCO anyway, so that wasn't the attraction. The P1 has simply found its niche in today's market for completely different reasons. The Mopho is kind of the modern equivalent of what the P1 was trying to be in 1980: Small, cheap & affordable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pigger Posted July 25, 2011 Author Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 So, I went to look at it friday after work; it was in an "Anvil" case (maybe? ) in which the interior foam had deteriorated to the point where the synth was covered in foam dust & bits. I didn't touch the keys, pots or switches because I didn't want to get that stuff in the works. Pretty sizeable synth for a monosynth; biggish footprint. Plenty of room around the pots, I guess. Called the seller & explained the situation; he said he'd clean it & call me when he had it ready. I don't think I want to deal with the contamination issues; seems like it could end up being a constant hassle to keep all the pots, swiches & keys operational. $900 is a lot to pay for a keyboard that cost less than that new, too. I'll probably just work with what I already have & be happy. Thanks very much to all for your helpful input. Carbon111; thanks again for your excellent site & info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members plaid_emu Posted July 25, 2011 Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 I'll probably just work with what I already have & be happy. Good decision. Get crackin' with that desktop Evolver. Those things are just bad-ass. And don't forget to buy the Soundtower software editor. You'll have a blast with the "Program Genetics" feature. Great for mangling external audio sources too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members carbon111 Posted July 25, 2011 Members Share Posted July 25, 2011 Carbon111; thanks again for your excellent site & info. You're welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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