That was lovely!
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About 4 years ago I gave a Rev2 a spin, and it just wasnāt working for me so I sold it. But Iām all for second chances (if any of my ex-girlfriendās are reading thisā¦just kidding Sharon), so I gave one a spin again last year, and I have been gelling with it a bit more. As others have said, you do need to loosen it up, because it is a bit stiff and sterile.
Also, wasnāt the P08 released in 2007? I mean, weāre basically buying a vintage synth at this point.
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I love my Rev2, I keep getting back to it, no doubt the best poly Iāve owned (with the OB-6).
The Gated Sequencer blows my mind, itās so inspiring.
There just one thing I really dislike, but maybe, after all, Iām missing somethingā¦ I find that the tiniest amount of modulation is often too much. Modulation in the very first steps is too wide. Iāve been looking for a trick, like using a modulation output as a modulation source, but couldnāt make it more subtle.
Am I missing something ?
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Indeed and Iād wish the 3rd wave had this.
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Agreed. Are there any other synths out there with a gated sequencer like the Rev2, i.e., ability to have sequences of different lengths controlling parameters?
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NGL these patches are pretty fricking magical
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Fantastic @jayhosking !
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The sound pack is lovely. Itās also surprising diving into the patches, some of them you expect to use all slots of the mod matrix but then itās just some clever use of one LFO or so. Gets a bit samey though after having scrolled up to about preset 30 I just stopped at some point.
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There is something about the rev2 (a meta-aesthetic if you will) I have trouble letting go of. It is both simple and complex, not gaudy but also not boring.
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YES! these patches (or a previous version from the same patch creator) are what drove me over the edge into getting one, back in 2020.
They are and I thought about posting them earlier. I was quite obsessed with those patches and they were also the reason why I got the Rev2. Mostly as a proof of concept of what the synth can do. Really impressive sound design! They work especially well with all the retro 80ās science videos.
His patch videos for other synths are pretty great, too. I think they do a good job of showing where each synth pulls the user, as he is aiming to make the same sorts of sounds on each.
Anyone know whatās up with the insane price increase on the Rev2?
Iām own one but want to sell it so Iām curious why itās now more expensive than the OB-6 Desktop.
(Itās 2499 Euros on Thomann now)
A lot of reasons. I think they pushed it just a bit further than they should have honestly, but itās still worth it for the price for what you get. That said, Iād be looking for a discount if I was going to get one now. Probably a discounted 8 voice, then add the upgrade card. I think they were initially selling them for maybe a little too little.
I think the Take 5 and Teo kind of took over the more cost effective range for them too, so they could charge a bit more for the Rev2.
Everything is more expensive now. Metal work, components, PCBs, knobs, switches, employee time, etc. Itās all really about that much more than it was when the 8 voice keyboard was in the $1500 region. Iāve felt this a lot myself building synths, and am much less motivated to build them right now, as I have to charge a lot more than I used to. I still do of course because I love it, but itās not cheap to build a synth, even in larger numbers. At least a good one with good quality. (unless fully mass producing on Yamaha scales)
For me, I think $2500 for a 16 voice Rev2 sounds more like what Iād want to pay for one. $3000 is a bit much, when like you say, you can get some of the more flagship synths for close-ish to that. $3400ish for some of them.
I noticed this quite a bit though when I just bought the Super Gemini. I was able to get it and a Digitakt II for the same price as the 3rd Wave keyboard version that I set out to get. Prices for the higher end boutique companies are definitely high right now, and unfortunately, I donāt see that changing much any time soon.
A lot of people put the Rev2 in ābudgetā territory because thatās kind of where it was released at, but in no way is it actually a budget synth. Itās a high voice sound design work-horse with a lot of cool performance features like splits and layers that many other synths donāt have in its price range.
Iām sure there are other factors at play, but those are the ones that come to mind from my perspective. I get it, but itās definitely not good news. Especially for someone selling one now. People expect a fairly stable price point for used synths, and Iām guessing most will expect it to be in line with what it always has been. Something like $1200-1500 for a 16 voice keyboard maybe? Which in the current market is not reasonable to expect from a seller if they paid the current new price. But thatās kind of how used buyers think (from what Iāve seen anyway).
When I just sold off my studio to get a new setup, I priced things WAY below where I would have until maybe the last year or so. Iām sure if I had been more patient I could have gotten a bit more for each thing, but I had an idea and just wanted to go for it.
Good luck with your sale. In the current market, I would be inclined to hold onto it if there wasnāt an immediate need to sell.
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Iāve wanted a rev 2 since 2017 and finally got a demo unit last week before price hike, so phewā¦
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Interesting points J3RK, thanks.
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Can anybody who owns or has played with one of these comment on how fun/convenient it is to play bi-timbrally?
Iād like to get one to play on two different MIDI channels in multi mode, using either the onboard sequencer/arp or my MIDILooper. I want to be able to play a improvised/live piece with two different parts.
I get the sense that this should work well on the Rev2, but just want to get some first-hand accounts before I really commit to getting one.
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Itās doable for sure (and easy to use the separate outs for layer B - just plug them in) but it will take some time to learn the muscle memory for editing the two layers during a performance.
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I used mine almost exclusively in multitimbral mode and it works very well. I sequenced it externally with the Digitone.
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Ok thanks. When you say editing layers, do you mean doing stuff like fiddling knobs during performance?
I figured I would have all my patches saved and set up before playing.
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