add the Roland System-8… insane sounding especially if you include all plugouts in the equation
Yup, an Elektron flagship would be more like a Korg Kronos or something.
- 4 voice analog section
- 8 voice Digitone section
- drum sampler section
- sample mangling section
All in one unit. Right now this doesn’t exist. If it did, well the contingent of forum members who casually order an Erica Syntrx and Waldorf Quantum like I casually order some new guitar picks would buy it at the drop of a hat and the rest would wail and gnash teeth. Because it aint gonna be cheap.
3 Likes
I mentioned earlier I have a Korg M3. When the Kronos “flagship” was released, fellow M3 owners jumped on board and tried to sell me on it. I told them “Why? My M3 is still working fine.” Then came the litany of bug reports, manufacturing defects, etc. It took Korg a while to get the Kronos line right.
Never gonna go the “all eggs in one basket” route. Not that I’d try to stop anyone else from trying - do what you want with your money.
1 Like
So… an A4, an OT, and a Digitone Keys to act as the controller? 
Maybe it does already exist.
I’m pretty sure he’s looking for an all-in-one unit.
You know I would prefer the collection you propose over the all in one.
I guess the abstraction of my observation is that: I don’t think Elektron is looking to play this game. By thinking of the various devices as “modules” in part of a larger system (a position that Elektron actively encourages), you can get much more functionality than an integrated “flagship” device would likely provide.
2 Likes
You can treat synths as elements without them being Elektron. Maybe a thread for best poly synth combinations then. Armadas.
1 Like
Yeah, I don’t think he’s familiar with how Elektron operates.
My first job was working at a McDonalds. I had a customer demand I sell him the “best” sandwich. We went back and forth a bit as I was trying to understand WTF he wanted. I explained to him we have a Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken sandwich… I couldn’t sell him a sandwich that had all that crap in one sandwich - just pick one!
Finally I said the McBLT or whatever was the most expensive sandwich on the menu. That seemed to satisfy him.
This thread makes me think of that customer.
PS. When we could get away with it - because most of us were still kids at 19 and younger - we made our own “best” bullshit sandwiches by stacking chicken patty on top of beef patties, fish filet… tasted downright nasty.
Oh, the above is just an anecdote. I really did have a customer like that. Well at least he didn’t threaten to kill me like the other customer. Glad my manager had his ass escorted out of the store ASAP. Never knew why he said he’d kill me - never seen him before.
1 Like
Right, I mean the best polysynth you can buy right now is the one you have the most affinity toward, for whatever reason: sound, interface, features, style. For some, that might be the “lowly” Minilogue, for others a bespoke Moog One. Someone will eventually chime in and point out the progress eurorack has made regarding polyphonic synth modules; another will point toward software.
I have a Summit. It’s nice. I like it. I did a lot of research and etc. and can provide a litany of reasons but it mostly comes down to the fact that it spoke to me; it makes sense to me, like other synths make sense to other people. I don’t lose sleep over wondering if there’s something out there better than it. I’ll probably convince myself at some point I need something else to complement it, and I’ll come up with a lot of reasons for that, too, but it will end up being some form of: because I like it.
I worked at a Wendy’s, and they mostly stuck me in the back with the not-so-recovering heroin addict, so most of my fast food work stories revolve around learning where the best places to shoot/score dope were in my hometown. Bridges feature prominently.
10 Likes
completely have no any idea about what you are talking！sorry！
Someone told me your mom would make a pretty good polysynth. Otherwise um, Had a minilogue XD. Loved it? So, I guess it was probably already mentioned as I didn’t read every post, but I enjoyed it while I had it. Sure, form factor of the knobs may not be the most alluring compared to a higher priced synth, but the sound, the fun, it is all there if 4 notes be enough fir ya!
The problem is that there’s absolutely no way to understand deep down that no all-in-one can do it for you unless you try a good selection of them. I guess that’s not a problem for manufacturers. There’s no way around the expense, though, because even if you’re lucky enough to have a good local store to try stuff as you please, you have to live with a device several months to grasp how well it will suit you. Maybe give up those burgers and get your first job in a Guitar Center or whatever.
Guitars are exactly the same issue, by the way, though you’re a lot less likely to encounter technological upgrades over the years that make you re-think the whole thing. After about 100 of them, I did surprisingly find my personal Holy Grail with guitar, a decision that’s stood for 15 years. On bass, after all the multi-strings and fancy onboard electronics and exotic woods, I do think I could simply live permanently with a P, no problem, given the choices of outboard electronics.
3 Likes
This is precisely it.
I must say, I’m currently a little torn between keeping the Iridium without having tested the Rev2 (the one other poly that’s always called out to me).
On one hand, the Iridium covers all the ground I haven’t had access to outside of a computer (as well as even in - seriously, it’s beyond bonkers), but on the other hand, I do occasionally wonder if the Rev2 wouldn’t be a more tonally natural fit for my setup (Rytm II/ A4 II) at present. hmm.
2 Likes
Please share!
1 Like
That’s my thing with the Iridium: I look at all the demos, and no matter how cool it seems, I can only envision it as a glorified computer. On the other hand, the whole thing with computers that we love to hate is the sequential access, i.e., slow-ass, non-stop, carpal-tunnel inducing mousing. I guess a touchscreen would go a long way to changing that, but I’m committed to Apple. Along with a whole lotta knobs, the Iridium’s touchscreen makes it look like just the kind of random physical access that I want. But then I saw Shoebridge’s latest demo where the touchscreen is less than 100% responsive, and being galvanically challenged, I don’t want to pay top dollar for that frustration–I’ve been there. To summarize: I’ll probably end up with one of these mf’s.
I don’t dare feed anyone the blue pill to go down my personal guitar rabbit hole, so I’ll cu to the chase: a Parker Fly Bronze Cedar (there are 6 in the world). I hear the laughing from here, but as I said, it’s a totally idiosyncratic decision: my entire life, I’ve always ended up coming back around to fat clean sounds. Due to unstoppable problems with tendinitis in just about every part of the body you can get it (and a few you can’t), no jazz box at any price would work for me, and then there are the expense, feedback, and weather-related instability issues of a floating humbucker beauty. My Fly is a 3 lb. 4 oz. (no typo there) godly sounding acoustic guitar that only does one thing well, but it’s the thing that I do. When I got it, I knew, and everything else went–including an Alembic Tribute. Also, I’ve never played out on guitar, so the wack look doesn’t matter. I play bass, and a P is always cool in any venue. I have picked up a Les Paul as a spare that I occasionally play through effects for about 10 minutes to remind myself how much I don’t give a shit about playing the kind of music that sounds good effected, then I go back. That Fly in the link isn’t me, by the way. Is this thread now sufficiently derailed?
5 Likes
Heh, thank you! I tried a Parker Fly once, as a clueless teenager, so I’m not sure I have an accurate frame of reference for it anymore. I remember agreeing with the typical/basic opinion that it was ugly, but I also had a lot of respect for how different it was and the amount of thought that had clearly gone into it.
My favourites are atm
- Modor Nf1
- MI ambika
- Jd 990
Thinking of trading my XT and perfourmer (not bad synths either… 
) for an Iridium.
1 Like
If you can buy one right now, Monomachine makes for a fantastic sounding polysynth.
Yeah, that’s what some folks have tried to communicate. Might be one of those things that one learns through experience, like I did.
Didn’t know you got a Summit. I’d consider it a worthy contender.
1 Like
Agreed. That is what I love about the OB-6. So much sweet spot.
1 Like