Hydrasynth from ASM

The Lounge Other Gear
#3267

i dont understand this ,8 voice in 2022 year where cellphones use 3-4 nm chips ??
8 friggin voices ??? with 32/64 bit dsp/fpga chips ,that can run 2000 of them easy
with a ton of osc/env/filters , that will make vital/phase plant synth for 10year old

why dont hire some real programmers and make hw synth with modern specs ???
one cirus 64bit audio dsp cost on 1k under 300$ , fpga chips from 25$ ,memory modules 5-10$ per gigabyte, box pots keys under 400$ lookin midi keyboard prices ,
so add 500$ per synth and u have synth that will eat every other in 2k price with fat overhead

why go back in past and make this 1980 synth to not be analog ?? just wow

1 Like
#3268

You’re not buying the chip, you’re buying the synth. They make that synth from the cheapest materials available. This is why every piece of gear you have barely has enough compute, ram and storage to get the job done, and usually has flickery displays. They picked a price point, a product type, and then proceeded to make the manufacturing cost as small as possible. That means buying the 10¢/unit chips instead of the 12¢/unit ones. You’d happily pay the difference, but the price point is part of the design: it has to be 1333.99, not 1334.01.

Anyway, you’re right, it’s sucks. (But you’re wrong about the programmers. They’re usually as real as it gets.)

4 Likes
#3269

Less is more.

1 Like
#3270

First of all, “modern” specs (especially from the vantage point of the idealistic, armchair tech designer) will never be a thing. It takes years to develop a piece of hardware like this, and component decisions must be made at the outset. You have to build around whatever tech is readily available at conception, and must commit to that, from the drawing board through to manufacturing, if the project is ever to come to fruition.

Second of all, it seems to me that if you were capable of out-programming these brilliant engineers, you’d have their jobs.

Thirdly, as a musician whose primary focus when buying and instrument is playing it, I can’t say that I’ve ever needed 2000 voices; but if I did, I’d simply use software.

To that end, software will always be a decade ahead of physical instruments, because it’s dynamic: i.e. when code is your only concern, the burden of advancing hardware falls on someone else, like Apple or IBM, and a thousand unbranded subsidiary companies.

Anyway, bravo ASM, for making a truly remarkable, robust, and ridiculously capable instrument for the touring musicians of the world.

Cheers!

9 Likes
#3271

My guess is that would just sound like noise in the same way 2000 people talking would.

2 Likes
#3272
7 Likes
#3273

No Talking.

For those who’ve asked about the bass, or comparison to the MiniFreak.

1 Like
#3274

Interesting sounds, but not a proper side by side comparison.

2 Likes
#3275

A ‘proper comparison’ would be between the Minilogue XD and the Minifreak since they both have analog filters. I actually thought some of the switches between presets were well chosen, but, price point aside, it’s an apples/oranges comparison. Minifreak sounded nice, if a bit ‘samey’.

#3276

Alex Spiers did the music for this open movie Charge with just the Hydrasynth Explorer and Logic Pro. The sampled sounds come from somewhere else, i think.

The video itself is pretty amazing production using Blender.

Found this in a blog from retailer zZounds. Good on them for doing this.

#3277

OS 2.0 woohoo!

8 Likes
#3278

We are happy to announce the new 2.0 firmware for the full Hydrasynth line of products.

New features include: Expanded memory to 8 banks (49, Desktop, Explorer only); NEW modulation source, VOICE MODULATOR; OSC Bit reducer; LFO quantizer; ENV quantizer; LFO Step Advance; Global FX bypass; Increased Vibrato resolution; New Sustain pedal options including Sostenuto; more LED options; Glissando in glide options; Arp Range goes to 6 octaves; Arp Step Offset parameter; more Rand/Init shortcuts (all STEP LFO steps, Wavescan waves, Voice mod offsets), Local On/Off saved, and more.

This is a free update for all Hydrasynth owners.

17 Likes
#3279

So many new performance related features.

For instance the scale glissandos, and the LFO step advance, and the new pedal options.

Lots of fun. It’s going to take some time to get this all familiar for use.

Great release ASM ! Thank you.

4 Likes
#3280

I’m not going to get a chance to see if it’s possible until after work but I have a suspicion the per voice mod/LFO step advance could allow for Brecker style chord rotation.

#3281

Cool, they also have a nice series of videos for those new features.

9 Likes
#3282

Interesting :+1:t6:

Was starting to think it was what it was.
ASM :+1:t6:

2 Likes
#3283

Yep, improving existing products is the way to go these days.

4 Likes
#3284

Sure, but there is a time frame. Granted Hydra is still young. But still, it had been so quiet.

2 Likes
#3285

I don’t know why but last week I was looking for new FW from ASM almost everyday and now, this. Intuition.

3 Likes
#3286

Man… this really has been update season for me lol. Digitakt, SP-404 MK2, S2400, Hydrasynth, Matriarch, Oxi One all dropping updates in a few weeks of each other.

2 Likes