Members Yoozer Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Remember how everyone was freaking out about polyphonic aftertouch? Infinite Response answered your call and released the VAX-77. Think they're flying off the shelves? Think anyone else is going to incorporate Poly AT anytime soon? Wasn't that because pretty much any synth's MIDI processor would get completely, utterly swamped with data when you'd send poly AT? Poly AT seems attractive because of the CS80, but the CS80 had it incorporated in the engine; there was literally no way for the synth to overdose on those messages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kpatz Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Wasn't that because pretty much any synth's MIDI processor would get completely, utterly swamped with data when you'd send poly AT?A properly designed/coded processor should be able to handle it. We've evolved beyond the slow Z80 chips of yesteryear. Unless you mean MIDI bandwidth. That can be a problem, but once again a smart controller can optimize the data to minimize this problem as well. Another key is to make the keybed not overly pressure sensitive; require a decent push before it starts sending Poly-AT messages. That will minimize the amount of extraneous midi messages from normal playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 My WFW311 PC running on an 80286 can easily handle polyAT traffic without breaking a sweat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Meriphew Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 There are plenty of keyboard players who would pay $5k-$6k for a polyphonic Moog. Look at all the guitarists out there who shell out Upwards of $4k on a custom shop Gibson/Fender guitar. There is certainly a viable market for a polyphonic Moog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 My JV2080 never had any problems handling polyphonic aftertouch, but it's not like I'm sending 60 notes with poly aftertouch simultaneously. It's usually one or two (you pretty much have to throw your body weight against the A-80 to get it to send it anyway, so I guess I'm not the best user to talk about this... ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Remember how everyone was freaking out about polyphonic aftertouch? Infinite Response answered your call and released the VAX-77. Think they're flying off the shelves? Think anyone else is going to incorporate Poly AT anytime soon? Actually AFAIK, you can't actually buy one. They keep redesigning it - the last time after people complained at NAMM about the terrible feel of the action. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 That's not really my problem I know nothing of the Model D, I've never tried one. Vintage in whatever condition it has degenerated to isn't of any interest to me. I like the things that the new wave of "analog with digital perks" has brought to the table. I have tried Voyagers out and I love them. I've never tried anything from Studio Electronics, though I'd like to. Needless to say, in the "recession" we're in, not all music stores are carrying a wide breadth of gear..... I know you're a synth enthusiast, and perhaps you would buy an 8-voice Voyager, but I'm still skeptical that most people who said they would, actually will. Just like TAW said - it's easy to ask for something without putting your commitment in the line. I'd love for such a synth to exist, but would I buy one? Probably not, and that doesn't mean it wouldn't be an excellent synth, it just means I wouldn't be able to afford it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sad Darwin Posted February 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 I know you're a synth enthusiast, and perhaps you would buy an 8-voice Voyager, but I'm still skeptical that most people who said they would, actually will. Just like TAW said - it's easy to ask for something without putting your commitment in the line. I'd love for such a synth to exist, but would I buy one? Probably not, and that doesn't mean it wouldn't be an excellent synth, it just means I wouldn't be able to afford it. I've put it down to this; I want an analog polysynth sometime in the next year. I'm willing to work a second job for a month or two to get it. The Andromeda seems to have been canceled and I had been eyeing that for a long time, so the market/competition is definitely thinning...... and you're right, this probably correlates with demand. Still, there is a luxury market for guitars, and guitars don't really even sound that different from each other. A 5k les paul doesn't sound different from a 2k one, trust me. Culturally, despite hip hop being so mainstream, synths have kind of fallen by the wayside though. If a form of music requires an operating brain and a little bit of a learning curve, it's doomed to fade into obscurity. Hence punk still existing......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 I wonder how many people who buy $5K Gibsons actually play the things. It's just a cool thing to have and brag about to your baby-boomer friends. Like a Harley. If they made synths as cool as Les Pauls and Harleys, then we probably wouldn't even be having this conversation... Who knows, maybe knobby synths will be cool in the near future... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paulz Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Still, there is a luxury market for guitars, and guitars don't really even sound that different from each other. A 5k les paul doesn't sound different from a 2k one, trust me. That's one thing about luxury markets, those are markets where pushing against the asymptote of the cost:performance curve is OK -- there's a willingness to pay more to eek out that last little bit of performance or better appointments. So the little differences can mean a lot in that market segment In "guitar, An American Life" - Tim Brookes forwards a stat that guitars (at lest in US) currently outsell all other instruments...combined. So even though the luxury market may be a small percentage, it can still be huge compared to other markets. That's not to say a smaller luxury market can't exist - your decent quality Viola da Gamba is probably going to START at around $6000-7000 and just go up from there. It's really small market and these are, essentially very specific custom shops (some of the chinese shops turn out gambas at maybe $3000 so there isn't really opportunity cost going this way or that way where a small manufacturing operation like Moog can have to weigh that cost Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members paulz Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 I know you're a synth enthusiast, and perhaps you would buy an 8-voice Voyager, but I'm still skeptical that most people who said they would, actually will. Just like TAW said - it's easy to ask for something without putting your commitment in the line. I'd love for such a synth to exist, but would I buy one? Probably not, and that doesn't mean it wouldn't be an excellent synth, it just means I wouldn't be able to afford it. It can be a risk. I remember, I think it was Bob Sellon (though it might have been someone in Lexicon Marketing) talking on loopers-delight a few years ago how there was a lot of emotional excitement and positive feedbackand such on the original Jamman looper, but that, in the end, that didn't translate to being excited with their pocketbooks on that one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sad Darwin Posted February 5, 2010 Author Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Who knows, maybe knobby synths will be cool in the near future... They sure as hell are to me, and a few of my friends who are musicians Software synths are anathema to me. I love real, physical instruments, and with physical synths I'd much rather have as high of a percentage of features on the front panel as physically possible. I feel this is certainly making a comeback, and a resurgence of interest comes from mainstream bands using them. Radiohead and NIN among others helped pass the torch down to people my age (mid to late 20's). Even in the underground a lot of bands like say Animal Collective are bringing synths and experimentation to the forefront again. At the heart of it interest in synths will always exist among those who truly want to create their own sounds and push the limits of what is sonically acceptable. Conversely they will always have a more limited breadth of appeal than guitar due to basic learning curve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundxplorer Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 If they made synths as cool as Les Pauls and Harleys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Yes, those look very good to us geeks Anyway... zero sex appeal to teh ladies :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members soundwave106 Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Yes, those look very good to us geeks Anyway... zero sex appeal to teh ladies :lol: I guess when the ladies don ze keytar then, they are trying to attract geeks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members augerinn Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 I guess when the ladies don ze keytar then, they are trying to attract geeks? I'm attracted. You do the math..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HFTobeason Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 Remember how everyone was freaking out about polyphonic aftertouch? Infinite Response answered your call and released the VAX-77. Think they're flying off the shelves? Think anyone else is going to incorporate Poly AT anytime soon? Actually AFAIK, you can't actually buy one. They keep redesigning it - the last time after people complained at NAMM about the terrible feel of the action. Not true on both counts - the VAX77 is now available at infiniteresponse.com. Also, at NAMM 2010, everyone was highly complimentary of the new "feel". Check out Eddie Jobson playing it . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members c+t in b Posted February 5, 2010 Members Share Posted February 5, 2010 sausagefoot, i wound up getting an andromeda used for about 1800. i think it was a steal. I heard the rumors about it being discontinued and im glad i didnt place an order. I'm a couple months in and i still dont completely understand the architecture 100% but im getting there. I would recommend it if you are trying to learn modular synthesis short of actually going the modular route. i can understand why people complain about the sound. im still on the fence about the sound quality because im running it through a pair of krk rokit 5's at the moment. since their woofer's are so small, im not sure if im getting an accurate perception of the bass response or not. all i know is that my friends little phatty sounds fatter through a keyboard amp than through my monitoring setup anyways if you are looking for the infrastructure of the andy, i dont think anything else is really going to give you that any time in the future. If you are simply looking for sound quality, i would save up for some of the rack units people have mentioned in this thread. i bought the andy to study synthesis and while i wish the sound was bigger on mono settings at times, im still glad i bought it. im looking to get something to compliment it in the near future though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Audacity Works Posted February 6, 2010 Members Share Posted February 6, 2010 Not true on both counts - the VAX77 is now available at infiniteresponse.com.Also, at NAMM 2010, everyone was highly complimentary of the new "feel".Indeed. Played it at NAMM 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HFTobeason Posted February 6, 2010 Members Share Posted February 6, 2010 Indeed. Played it at NAMM 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Hamburglar Posted February 6, 2010 Members Share Posted February 6, 2010 $3000 controller! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members c+t in b Posted February 6, 2010 Members Share Posted February 6, 2010 EDIT: Oh, and c+t in b, your avatar (Kristen Wiig) was my band's first singer, way back in '96. NO WAY! what were you guys called? do you have any stuff up online? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members percussion boy Posted February 8, 2010 Members Share Posted February 8, 2010 Couple quick thoughts on the original topic: - This discussion makes a great fantasy while humankind tries to survive a massive global recession and imminent climate change. - Assuming civilization lasts, a polyphonic Moog DOES seem possible -- if there are some chips in it. Remember, the Memorymoog was mostly Curtis chips (other than the filters, which I believe were six discrete Moog filters, one per voice). The Andromeda and the Prophet use chips too. - I happen to like the Omega 8, based on my one live encounter with it. But the Omega, the Andy, the Memorymoog, and the Prophet 8 are each a different creature, when you're actually in the room with them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted February 8, 2010 Members Share Posted February 8, 2010 $3000 controller! I have one, it was made in the mid-90s by Roland (the A-90 cost that much over 10 years ago... but of course I didn't pay near that much when I bought it used... in fact I got it in a trade) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members controlvoltage Posted February 26, 2010 Members Share Posted February 26, 2010 bump. the future looks bright. might be a dedicated forum for this discussion some time soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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