An Octatrack!
Sorry, I’m late! But yea, I love the OT sequencer with my HSK. Love being able to mute/disengage/reengage individual CC automation by pressing the encoders in. Combined with the dedicated envelope knob and mod wheel on the HSK, I’ve found it an ideal combo for jamming out and recording classic synth driven techno.
My head still hurts a little re-reading the Deluxe Manual on Multi Mode.
You can have two arpeggiators running separately, different in various ways or the same on Up and Lo.
You can set separate chords in Chord Mode on Up and Lo.
You can set different Voice Key and Scale for Up and Lo.
Maybe I’ll get it all on third reading. Perhaps i’m just thick headed.
Very Hydrasynth, you can do things in a variety of different ways.
I didn’t find a way to modulate Up Lo Balance yet.
Am I right that HSK + HSD with polychain on/off provides identical functionality to HS Deluxe (aside from the bigger kb, of course)? It may actually work out better for me spacewise to have the separate HSK and HSD, at least until I can make some detailed measurements to see how I could make a Deluxe work in my main, compact setup.
Do you mean Overflow ON/OFF instead of Polychain ?
The answer is No, at least not with current HSK Firmware.
If what you want is Single Mode on the Deluxe meaning 16 identical voices, i think the answer is Yes. I need to think more to be sure.
With the Deluxe in Multi Mode the answer is a big NO. You have no way to split the HSK keyboard. You do have an advantage/disadvantage of having two separate set of controls. The Deluxe shares the same controls, and you switch between Up and Lo to connect the controls individually, or press both to control Up and Lo together.
I believe an external MIDI processor would get you close, maybe very close, you need to do MIDI via USB, as you’re likely to be bogged down over DIN MIDI.
I need to think more about all the modes of arp, chord mode, ribbon, etc to consider the differences.
SIDE NOTE: The Deluxe also has Overflow, so i guess it can go beyond 16 voices.
Now that’s interesting: replace the HSK with a deluxe, but keep the HSD to polychain and get 24 voices. Still, I’m not sure I have much use for more than 8.
A small difference, Unison mode on the Deluxe density goes to 16, but it is limited to 8 on the others, so with current firmware a unison note doesn’t Overflow.
ADDED: Overflow of Unison notes via MIDI, even on USB probably wouldn’t work. Too much delay.
You might presume two Deluxes gives you 32.
I’m still digesting the chewed up pieces of manual in my head.
I really want HSK Firmware with Keyboard Splitting.
I would prefer a „Don Solaris“ preset pack. That man did magic with his presets on the Waldorf Blofeld and Iridium…
I demand (
) a 16 voice desktop model 
Just for reference, the prices in USD:
So lat3shift, how much do you think a “Double D” would cost ? ( Deluxe Desktop )
( The pricing list in Euros requested. )
in the post you responded to, i was talking about Daniel Fisher’s name being in the manual. I was not talking about a preset pack.
Anyway, hit up Don Solaris with your request and see what he says.
He would probably say…gimme a Hydrasynth, and i´ll do it.
I keep thinking about this paragraph from the Deluxe Manual, page 35, from a section on Multi Mode talking about the four separate audio outputs on the Deluxe:
This unleashes a host of audio routing options: Upper to front, Lower to rear, complementary patches and effects, pads and arpeggios that circle the room…a person could get lost in the music. That’s what it’s all about for us.
I’m scratching my head a bit here. We’re in Multi Mode, so we’ve got two separate patches, one going out the stereo pair for the Upper, and the second patch going out the stereo pair for the Lower. How do I get either patch to “circle the room” ? Either i don’t understand something or there is something else going on among the four audio outputs, that i haven’t seen described anywhere else in the manual.
I’ve been thinking of connecting the Deluxe to a two stereo in to quad out audio signal processor, but if it already has this built-in, or even an internal capability waiting in the wings, then i could spare the trouble and expense.
Is the Deluxe intended to have quadraphonic like output capabilities ? Or is the manual being just a little dramatic here ? Or am i just missing something ?
I think I noticed something about a crossfade between patches going from lower to upper on the keyboard. In the talk video of Glenn he talks about this. In circles I guess not but that will create a cross fade between front and back which should feel pretty immersive
Yeah that’s the UP LO Balance knob, which has an LED Ring. Good idea DaveMech.
It’s early so i still am trying to understand, but increasing or decreasing UP relative to LO, doesn’t make a patch “circle thd room” does it ?
Also there is no output to the UP LO Balance in the Mod Matrix listed in the manual.
ADDED: The HS being a digital synth, the audio is in digital form right up until it is converted by the final output DACs — four of them in the case of the Deluxe. Moving the four audio signals in 3-D is certainly possible to do in firmware. It’s basically a special four in four out mixer.
Speculation: You could add control of 3-D sound control as outputs to the Mod Matrix. The UP LO Balance knob could be an input control, or obviously any of the Macros could be as well.
Or it might just be an added effect in the last effects processor in the UPPER engine. Then the controls would already be in the Mod Matrix.
Yeah I might’ve been thinking about this in the wrong way haha. It’s late 
My thinking was there might be crossfade bleeding across channels? That would require a setting of course. But let’s say you play the lowest note, it would play over the front and rear. And when you move up the upper fades in from front and as you move to the highest note it goes to front and back.
Something like that maybe.
You have the option to output only stereo.
According to the manual if you only have the UP stereo outputs plugged in the 8 UP voices get mixed with the 8 LO Voices, according to the setting of the UP LO Balance and output in normal stereo. But if you plug anything into the LO stereo ouputs you get in Multi Mode, 8 voices out the UP stereo outputs and a separate 8 voices out the LO stereo outputs. You have the Left Right control, for each like you have in the HS presently. The UP LO Balance knob then controls balance front to back.
Or at least this is how i understand it. It’s always “late” though in my mind.
I think this is what is happening.
Mhm ~1300ish € ?!
Exactly the price i was thinking about for a Double-D.
Two hearts.
It would be more if it had more than 24 Pads. Being a Deluxe Desktop, maybe more Poly-aftertouch pads ? I wonder if all the electronics would fit in a regular sized box ?
One can only speculate, but early in a design cycle, a designer plays with a lot of ideas, and i’d bet a Double-D was thought of. At four, the product list is large now, but going with a winning line works.
At a similar price to the HSK, would that change peoples decision ?