Is Analog Four a good complementary to DSI OB-6?

the Delta CEP does indeed look awesome, but I think it’s going to weigh in at quite a bit more ££ than a PEAK - I’ve noticed you can can get the PEAK for sub £1000 now. Aren’t we talking more like £1250 for the Delta CEP ?

The price range might be different depending on which national market you’re on, but for me it’s only a 75 EUR difference between the Novation Peak and the Radikal Delta CEP (pre-order price).

However, I haven’t had time to do much research on the Radikal Delta yet. It seems very powerful-sounding, but isn’t it more like a very advanced semi-modular unit geared towards Euroracks, rather than a full-fledged polyphonic synth? (Obviously there are technical differences, plus Desktop-version availability, but I mean in terms of value parity).

Shame you sold the OB-6, it is my favorite synth :slight_smile:

Check out the Vermona Perfourmer MKII - very interesting layout, 4 VCOs which can be used concurrently to create a mono monster or as 4 separate voices used in Poly mode…

Definitely within the same budget.

simple yet powerful interface with sweet filters and inserts on every channel. Not to mention instant flexible routing… think of it as a cross between Roland & Moog.

Here’s my take on Deadmau5 “Strobe”. Just the Perfourmer and an Eventide H9 pedal:

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Aaaaah the Vermona!
what a beautiful peace of gear. :star_struck:

similar to the Vermona Perfourmer with it’s butter-ladder filter ? :star_struck: :star_struck: :star_struck:

I much prefer the Perfourmer to the Sub37… :slight_smile:
and it has crazy snappy envelopes!

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I have both :sweat_smile:

I also generally prefer the spirit and sound of the perfourmer but … when it comes to BALLS, you cannot beat the Sub37! :joy:
It is the only device I have that wouldn’t benefit from an analog Heat! :rofl:
I love it too

I see the perfourmer as an old Moog and the Sub37 as the new Moog!

Sub 37 is my favorite synth…ALWAYS sounds like complete perfection.

But a virus is one versitile bit of kit compared…not great at everything but its like having 10 different synths.

Eitherway…by them all. I have the 2 above and still want the A4 and and OB6…

Very nice! You caught the essence of the base sound very well. Here are my demos on the manufacturer website: https://www.vermona.com/produkte/synthesizer/produkt/perfourmer-mkii/#tab-demos-div

The Perfourmer has indeed a very classic vintage sound. I miss mine…but can´t have em all…

Excellent demos! yes I’ve owned it a couple of times… at the moment I am really enjoying it.

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I love the voice settings. I was very happy when i found out that the Analog Four has the same flexible voice settings.

OP here – I just thought I’d give an update and continue to ask for opinions really.

Since I created the thread, some time passed and I had the chance to pick up a Prophet-6 to go along with my OB-6. So now I have two of these “retro”-sounding synths but am still looking for something quite “modern” to go with them.

I would probably call the Analog Four “modern”-sounding, but I’m not sure if it’s versatile and unique enough compared to the OB-6 and Prophet-6 already own. Unfortunately I have no good way of demoing the Analog Four myself at the moment.

Between the Analog Four, Digitone, Novation Peak and the Access Virus TI2, which would you guys personally recommend to add versatility and the “modern” range? I’m going to add a couple of software synths like Serum and FM8 to my setup, but I’m probably looking to add just one more hardware synth before settling down for the foreseeable future.

Digitone, depending on how much you’re equating FM with modern. Novation Peak is my frequent recommendation and that will definitely do some more unusual /digital-ish / heavily modulated stuff that the Sequentials don’t.

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Thanks to the deeper modulation and filter scheme, A4 is capable of a wider variety of sounds. It won’t be as “unique” though, because OB6 and P6 are heavyweights in that regard and their OSC and filters are world class.
But I would argue you don’t need a synth that is such a heavy hitter as those. Let them shine and buy something that is deep enough to do everything else.

I think the best way for you to decide if the A4 is up your alley , without demoing, is to look for tracks made with the A4 and just listen. I personally find it incredibly versatile with a wide range, thanks to the nearly endless modulation capabilities. It rewards exploration. The more time you put into it, the more you’ll get back from it down the road.
To really hear its capabilities, look for tracks where it plays a big role as part of a small ensemble.

Here are a few I’ve done:

https://detund.bandcamp.com/track/no-home-for-clones (Everything except kick/hat/snare is A4)
https://detund.bandcamp.com/track/dynaform (Everything except kick/hat/snare is A4)
https://detund.bandcamp.com/track/the-vault (Everything except kick/hat/snare is A4)

Some dateline AK faves of mine:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ_xzLIDUtQ (AK with Volca Sample)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGQhZyqIg0A. (A4 alone)

A4. The 4,096 sound library size is fantastic, and so are KITS. Dedicated FX track in the sequencer is highly underrated as well, and can give you some modern tricks like reverb gating and the like.

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I listened to Luke Neptune’s Prophet-6 and OB-6 sound packs a while ago. There was one in particular which sounded very modern/FM/EDM like. And there’s more of the same out there if you look.
So the DSI synths you already have can likely get to where you want to go. They don’t always have to sound like awesome retro synths.

Also spend some time exploring OSC2 as a Mod source.

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I like the sound demos I’ve heard of the Digitone and would consider its sound “modern”. I’d want to incorporate some IDM-like elements in my music and it looks like it’s appropriate for that. Do you think the Digitone sound can be replicated by FM8, or are they practically different?

Novation Peak is pretty interesting. This widely spread demo I think shows that it’s capable of creating interesting sounds with effects, although I would categorize it as sort of “modern-leaning vintage sound” if that makes sense: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTlJbTOkuHg. I recall the DSI Rev2 being able to do some similar sounds but perhaps not being as versatile.

Access Virus TI2 is one I’ve had a hard time getting my head around. It’s almost getting universal praise for its large sweet spot. It does do the “trance/hypersaw sound” very good which is back in vogue. But beyond that I haven’t heard anything in Youtube demos that makes me fall in love or become very intrigued with it, it just sounds kind of normal. Still, when one has it in their hands, it might be that its able to conjure up a wide range of useful sounds. Its darker tone does sound slightly better than Serum and soft synths, but I’m perplexed what would take me the furthest between having an A4 or Peak or a Digitone + Serum/FM8 vs. Virus + Serum/FM8 and not being able to retrieve what’s special about one of those other synths.

have you considered a blofeld? inexpensive, virtual analogue/wavetable and you can upload your own wavetables. unfortunately the desktop version only has midi in, not out for some reason.

The Blofeld desktop does midi in/out over USB. That said, you’re right to mention that synth. When I got it, I was not super-impressed but I bought some banks, took some time to get familiar with the matrix-style interface, almost sold it, but it kept on popping up into my music, often in a decisive way. After 8 months of offs and ons, I now am convinced it’s an awesome synth. So much potential for the money!

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Same colors as OB-6, they look pretty great one next to the other :smiley:
And very different sound palette !

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Wait for this: https://kodamo.org/index.php

300 voices of polyphony, 16 part multitimbral, innovative UI, very impressive from what I’ve seen and heard so far. I might let go my Digitone for this (maybe not though, because it’s the only Elektron sequencer I have that can p-lock Program Changes on its midi tracks and that feature alone is worth keeping it for me…)