Sure ! Why not ?
The HS screen saver is christmas lights too.
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Considering swapping my HSKB for an Explorer, for the space savings (since newly added Nord lead 4 takes a lot of space),
but I fear the fewer encoders will contribute to menu annoyance. 
Not into the desktop/pads, so a bit torn.
For me just playing with the 4 Master Controls would not be a problem. But for sound design, they would be a show stopper for me, unless you do little sound design, or will be using that new editor.
This is just me but Iād miss the 49 full sized keys.
Yea, itās the sound design I worry about.
Prob just stick with what I have. Might have to shell out for a 2 tier stand to make it all work.
i used the desktop for a year and loved the sounds i was able to program and the experience reminding me alot of the esq-1, but i have preordered the Explorer and am actually greatly looking forward to dealing with 4 parameters/macros at a time (i like their paging system which reminds me of the monomachine in a way) while playing the keys with my left
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Are the desktop pads fun and responsive to use? Like the idea of scales and fretboard layout.
IMHO very nice, responsive pads. I mostly use a quality keyboard controller, since I prefer keys. The poly AT works very well with the pads, though, and the layout options are nice. I wouldnāt want to have the pads be my only control interface, but they work nicely in plenty of situations.
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+1 PADS are great.
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Do the pads detect position, or just velocity and pressure?
I donāt understand what you mean.
Just (note on) velocity and pressure
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When you hit a pad, does the pad detect the x/y position of the hit within the footprint of the pad, or does it just note which pad was hit?
Apologies if this has already been posted (donāt feel like scrolling up through 4 months of replies)
but this is some great patching:
Just discovered something, new for me, iām sure quite a few people already know about this. ( Hey Jukka ā RTFM ! ) I knew you can shorten regular Arpegiator Sequences by changing the Arp Length parameter. What i didnāt understand is the Arp Length parameter applies to Arp Phrases too, and changing this number is useful !
The default length for all preset Phrases is 32 ( all the ones i tried anyway ) so setting it to another number gives a new phrase. Sixteen in general works really well, it keeps the essence of the phrase, and removes a second variation. Twenty four is good often too. Also non multiples of 4, even smaller numbers, makes the phrase lope, if you want that.
So add to this modulating the Arp Length in Phrase mode is good to. Again make sure you turn Trigsync OFF in the LFO.
Try Phrase 60, Length set to 8, and play some interesting 3 and 4 note chord progressions over that. A babbling brook, with the right voicing ? Oh and always with the arpeggiator mess with the scale ( like PentaMaj ) and key.
ADDED : Phrase 42, Length 4, Tempo 30 BPM, Division 1/4, Ratchet & Chance mid settings. I use this with a very simple Custom Scale set in Voice. Latch in both low and high notes.
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Anyone have an updated ship date for the Explorer? I pre-ordered from B&H in September and havenāt got a shipping notification or anything yet. I did get this weird email saying it was āstill backorderedā though - not sure what thatās about.
Probably in a shipping container, on a boat, a quarter mile off the coast of Long Beach. Originally expected to dock and off load two weeks ago but now they have no idea when.
Or itās off the dock but under a pile of containers, for which they have fifty fewer drivers to haul them away with, than they are accustomed to.
Global supply chain crunch is crunching ultra hard right now.
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Are the pads velocity sensitive?
Iād like to hear what HiGrade1 thinks of velocity sensitivity on his HSD.
The Physical Specification for the Hydrasynth Desktop on the ASM main page says :
24 PolyTouch pads
- 24 velocity and pressure sensitive pads
There are settings in the Systems Settings for both the Velocity Curve and an Aftertouch Curve for both the HSD and the HSK.
( I think the velocity options are slightly different between the two. ADDED : Or so iāve been told. )
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i love playing the pads, but my opinion is worth about the 3% of this devices capabilities, that I am probably using. kinda like buying a high performance race car, but barely know how to drive a golf cart. but iām learning slowlyā¦
I am facing a weird thing on my HSD: some patches, when triggered by a sequencer (MIDI notes from Reaper), act weirdly when stopping the sequencer: it sounds like the OSCs are āre-syncingā, some sort of a weird delay tape style effect
Those very same patches do not act as such when triggered from the padsā¦
Anybody has any idea?