…errrrr, i was…until now…
never had one…but played it a lot back then, when it was out brand new on display at elektron hq in berlin…hmmmmmm…
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Months - I got the Hydra back in fall 2023.
I’m well past the honeymoon stage and on to living with the synth and using it regularly. It fits comfortably in my studio, is fun to just jam on and also fun to program. It sounds great and has a wide sonic palette.
One of the great challenges of product design is balancing power and ease of use. The DX7 is powerful, but isn’t easy to use until you’ve memorized the menu structure, and even then it isn’t a breeze. The DX200 is arguably the first easy to use synth of the DX series, but that is achieved by sacrificing much of the DX’s power (although you still have access to the full DX engine via sysex).
Prior to the Hydra, the Novation SuperNova II Keyboard was my favorite VA, but knob-per-function on a VA yields a massive keyboard. The Hydras offer one of the most powerful VA engines ever and combines that with a user interface that is truly easy and intuitive to use.
If I had to complain about something, it would be that the Hydras are monotimbral (bitimbral for the Deluxe). I don’t really mind because MIDI doesn’t have enough bandwidth to do the sort of real time modulations that I’d want to be able to do with a 4- or 8- part multi Hydra. I’ve got a Virus TI1 and Blofeld if I need a multitimbral VA, but the Hydra is still my preferred synth.
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Does seem like Hydrasynth is the all the boxes ticker here. I’ve seen them recently on Reverb for under your budget. I had the Explorer and man that was bang for buck,
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I would also consider the Modal Cobalt or Argon. Great synths both, and amazing keybeds
I totally forgot the nord wave! Thank you!
That was all I wanted to know!
Not too prohibitive for me.
Indeed!! All I have to do now is sell my Ion before buying it.
I’ve considered those and still would prefer the hydrasynth. But thank you!
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