I like the purity that comes with the enthusiasm and consistent information of a fan versus an employee… There’s a fair presenting of facts devoid of marketing intentions that I have come to appreciate, and @Jukka exemplifies these qualities.
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Thank you everyone, i truly appreciate this. I will just be me here, and around the forum. This is about the Hydrasynths. It’s about what each of us thinks, and experience. So let us return to that.
The Hydrasynth is still young, and there is much happening as it and ASM matures. To all the future ideas and posts and exploration we do here. 
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I just bought a Desktop, rather than the Explorer, for one main reason–the Explorer gets rid of four of the encoders on the right side. After watching lots of how to videos of the Hydrasynth, the original 8 encoders seem like absolutely essential to the work workflow. Yes, I am sure there is some kind of switch to go back and forth between the two sets of four to get you back to eight, but I love the immediacy of all of those options on a single screen, whether its macros, mod matrix or module parameters. Now that I have the desktop, I can’t imagine getting the Explorer instead, although it might be tempting to get an explorer for the additional 8 voices, if I can use the desktop and explorer together that way.
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Those additional arp knobs are also so handy to have.
Find myself constantly tweaking them.
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Nope, keeping the Desktop. I sold Peak instead…
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I do wish the Desktop had dedicated ratcheting and gate knobs for the arp. I don’t think I miss those as much as I’d miss the four additional encoders–they are used for so many things.
This has probably been talked about to death, but as a standalone portable device, I do find myself wishing there was a sequencer built in, something simple. I may try to use the Step LFO as a sequencer. I am guessing a future version will add a sequencer. Even my small Mother 32 and Cobalt 8M have sequencers. I am not complaining though. This desktop already does so much for its size and price.
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You could assign those to macros ?
Yes you can. Of course you can also get to Ratchet, Gate ( and Chance too ) by mapping the Master Controls to the Arp directly [ Shift+Arp On ].
What i would miss on the front panel though is the Tempo knob. You can get access to Tempo, on the HSD and the Explorer, by mapping the Master Controls to the Arp directly. ( Or Tap Tempo, if you can control that. ) But it is not accessible through Macros or the Mod-Matrix. Even if you’re not running the Arp, a lot can be controlled all together at the same time via Tempo. If you choose Envelopes, LFOs, Delays, and Vibrato – all can be BPM Synced to Tempo. Having a Tempo knob on the front panel is handy for that too, imo.
The three Arp controls not on any of the front panels, and available only via mapping the Master Controls to the Arp directly, or via Macro, or Mod-Matrix, are:
OctMode, Length, and Phrase
The first two, are kind of forgotten as interesting ways to vary Arpeggiation.
( Note: Most everything in the Arp controls are available via NRPN too. Any Electra One users here ? That would fit on “The Shelf”. )
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Those are some great ideas. I often go to [Shift-Arp On] for the extra Arp controls but it never occurred to me to use the Tempo knobs to control all of the BPM Sync options. My Enthusiasm for this synth just grows and grows (I know it is new and shiny, but still). I created an arpeggiated pattern based on the “300 BC China” microscope using oscillators that to me seemed to mimic some asian instruments and played it for a friend, who was so enthralled, he said he might buy his own HS, even though he doesn’t own any synths!!
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Oh wow !!
That counts big with me. When someone who doesn’t use synths but can see potential and be inspired by something just seeing and hearing it played.
Your patch sounds like a great idea. Coming up with good ideas like that can be difficult sometimes.
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I apologize for the seriously crappy audio. I am up at my cabin, so I have no way to record the HS into my laptop, so I played it on my Bose Resolve and then recorded it as a video on my iPhone. It sounds way, wayyyyyy better on my Beyerdynamic DT 770 Pro headphones (I have a pair of those here at the cabin and at my house four hours to the south of here).
Which is preferable, an HSK + HSD or one HS Deluxe? Aside from some very obvious pros and cons, it’s hard to tell which config I’d like better. At this point, I guess almost everyone purchasing new would buy a Deluxe rather than a K plus a D, but since I already have the latter two in hand, I wonder how worthwhile it would be to replace the two with the one. I wonder what subtle angles I might be missing.
don’t say all three ffs.
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I’m going to generalize this out, so it includes everyone. We each can work the detail to match our particulars.
A dashed off bunch of random thoughts.
Pro for Deluxe :
Shared Resources:
- Complex options for layering and splitting and velocity splitting the keyboard.
- Shared Chords if you want.
- Ability to split keyboard as a MIDI controller.
- Having Macros and Arp and Filter controls UP, LO, or both together.
- Patch changes are one operation in Multi-Mode. You can also split patch change if you want.
- Shared Tempo control.
- Can mix two with no external mixer and cables. You still have two stereo outs if you want that instead.
=-=-=-=-=-=-= - 73 key keyboard.
- Unknowable upgrades — like quadraphonic effects option, or whatever ?
- Less expensive.
Pro for HSK with second HSK, or, HSD, or HSX :
Separate Resources:
- Twice the number ( or so ) of controls. Control is more one-to-one.
- More CV
- You could run two separate tempos if you wantes.
- With HSK x 2 — Dual keyboards, 98 keys, dual ribbons.
=-=-=-=-=-=-= - Unknowable upgrades — like a MIDI keyboard split option, or whatever ?
- Better option for portability, particular with either the HSD or HSX included.
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I begged you not to say all three!
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Explorer is the one I’m looking into. But that is just for ME
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The power for the price with the Explorer is phenomenal ( in my opinion ).
Losing both Mod1 and Mod2 CV inputs, which go to audio rates is unfortunate. If they could have kept one input and perhaps lost Mod2 out and perhaps something else instead ( maybe some other fixed controls ? ), to hold price, that would have been my preference. The Explorer could then have functioned as a very versatile audio processor too, with two filters, overdrive, and four stages of effects all highly modulatable. The Hydrasynth with the mono input is a high quality audio processor and would add a lot to all the other things the Explorer can do, and really makes sense if doable in something that compact and inexpensive.
Nick did his Friday Fun with the Explorer and the Soma Cosmos. I’m really impressed about how sturdy the construction, just like with the rest of the HSs. You need to keep in mind the base is still rugged metal and it looks like the mechanical tie-ins to that metal base were well engineered.
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Unless the AK I picked up this morning turns me into a guy who can actually play keys, I’m pretty sure Desktop is the Hydra for me.
Poly AT keys are cool and the giant touch strip is cool, but will I really use them?
Learn your chords, ( or at a minimum use the Voice Key and Scale ) and learn how to rock your hand back and forth. Works great with the right patch, and with the arpeggiator.
ADDED: Nick isn’t doing too much more than this in the video with the Explorer. And he only uses the Cosmos as a simple looper.
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I’m thinking about it because my favorite local coffee and tea shop just started doing open-mic nights. Nobody showed up at the first one so I want to go there and do something so they don’t give up the idea too soon.
Explorer is a great size for a small gig like this. I could just use my Keystep 37 as the keyboard controller but I like keyboard controllers that can double as synths.
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