Sounds similar to my experience with the Hydra. Even though the controls and signal flow are layed out pretty easy i struggled to have fun programming my own sounds.
And i wished it had 4 knobs for the filters, 2 for each instead of arp knobs.
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I had better results after posting. Anyway I donāt want to make analogish sounds only, but I think it is a good start to learn a VA synth, to appreciate filters / envelopes / lfos behavior, from simple saw waves.
Which one ? Do you still have it ?
I thought about the Desktop version for the knobs 5-8, audio / cv inputs, exp pedal, but I think the keys will still put the balance for Explorer for meā¦
Another complain (donāt worry it wonāt last), which seems a buggy UI behavior :
Home page : I see macros 1-4
Filter 1 : page 1
Home page : I see macros 1-4
Filter 1 : page 1 > PAGE 2
Home page : I see macros 5-8
So when you press an Access button, you systematically get first page, and when you press Home after, you still have macros 1-4.
But, if you press an Acces button twice, getting 2nd page, you get macros 5-8 after Home press.
Doesnāt seem logical at all. If someone can confirm, Iāll write to ASMā¦
I had the desktop version.
Currently debating getting an Explorer for couch duties (not in love with the sound character or mini-keys really but all things considered it seems the best option at the moment) but no matter how hard I Google something is eluding me: which of the effects are per-voice/polyphonic?
The blurb suggests there are two āmasterā effects which I assume are the delay and reverb, so Iām guessing those arenāt polyphonicā¦ But then if thatās the case surely the post-effects canāt be either, unless Iām missing something? How about the pre-effects? Can those be assigned to the polyphonic aftertouch and modulated on a per-key basis?
Please put me out of my confused misery 
I canāt check right now but Iām 100% sure all the effects are per channel, & the pre/post refers to before the Delay/Reverb. You can see where they are on the flow diagram:
Thanks, yeah I know where they occur itās more the properties they have I guess. Thatād be great if theyāre all polyphonic, I think it was the āsome effects are inserts, some are masterā terminology in their own materials thatās thrown me off. Iāve seen reference to global effects elsewhere as well.
It made me unsure if the signal flow diagram was entirely per-voice or if global/master effects came in at the end of the audio chain on top of the final stereo output, like maybe everything up to the amp was polyphonic and everything after not. Or after the pre-effects perhaps.
Normally I wouldnāt really consider getting something when Iām not jiving with the sound but since the couch synth Iād like doesnāt really exist the more silly I can get with this the better really. If you can do stuff like per-note reverb thatād add a lot to the fun factor.
I just got an explorer ā¦ and i really donāt know what the hell Iām talking about ā¦ but the manual states that the ātechnically the voice module isnāt in the signal path ā¦ā in poly setting, āthe Poly setting allows all eight of the Hydrasynth Explorer voices to trigger independentlyā
check out the manual link ā¦ again, Iām just learning but your question got me thinking and exploring (pun intended).
See page 51 on the link (page 53 if you have the printed manual included with the Explorer)
Fx are master fx. Any example of polyphonic fx gear ?
FDSP on the Yamaha EX5:
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Prophet 12 character effects, Korg Opsix since effects can be operators, Kurzweil VAST synths DSP blocks. Others, Iām sure.
Plenty of software, which is obviously what the Hydrasynth is. I think thereās a fair argument that the mutators are already per-voice effects since they have wet/dry.
When a synthās marketing is largely focused on polyphonic aftertouch and a high degree of modularity it seems fair to wonder, no?
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TBH my brainās a bit too small to understand polyphonic FX & why itās important, but will weigh in because thatās what numpties do online.
The FX canāt be rerouted or feed into other modules. Thatās the only oversight in its workflow Iāve thought about (would be nice to smear an oscillator with reverb in a mutant).
You canāt specify āvoice 1 go to delay, voice 2 go to delay, voice 3 youāre dryā. Is that polyphonic FX?
A polyphonic effect would be something that acts like a cutoff filter or envelope in that it can be modulated differently for each held voice.
Haha no, āvoiceā stuff does have a tendency to feel slippery somehow, I think. One of those things that isnāt that complex once youāve got it but is difficult to initially grasp and even worse to explain without further confusing matters (which is probably why itās hard to grasp 
)
I donāt have a Digitone so hopefully Iām not off with this example but my understanding of its overdrives illustrate it pretty well. Thereās a master overdrive which is monophonic: thereās only one āinstanceā of it so if you play a chord the whole lot goes through it, like if you put a poly synth through a single guitar pedal (which doesnāt tend to sound too good). Then there are also track overdrives which you have eight of, so you can play a chord with those and have polyphonic overdrive, because thereās one for each voice/note. So itās like, every note in the chord goes through its own individual guitar pedal rather than all being mushed together.
Hopefully thatās a reasonable illustration
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Probably the easiest example for anyone that owns NI Kontakt, is group FX slots which are all per voice where you can add Filter/EQ/modulation/Drive/Lofi modules, you can then assign modulators such as Envs/LFOs/velocity/Aftertouch to parameters in those modules polyphonically.
I would simply want a better fx, a reverb that doesnāt sum to mono, and a Level setting. With just Dry/Wet you loose voice stereo settings, or the reverb is too low.
The delay generate annoying pitch artefacts when synced to midi clock.
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Write ASM 
Perhaps your observation may addressed at some point. Sounds like valid request/concern
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The sound designer who made all those rather amazing atmospheric patches for the Novation Circuit just released a pack for Hydrasynth:
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theā¦āI Wanna BeOCā pack