Hey y’all…I want a polyphonic keyboard synth without presets because I want all the controls to be WYSIWYG and therefore not too many controls. So far I’ve found the Juno 6. I’m going to default to getting that, but is there anything else?
PS: I mf there’s a preset-having synth with a “preset-less mode”, that would work too. I just want the knobs to be in sync with what is coming out.
PPS: I’ve had the Nord Lead 3 but I didn’t love the sound.
Minilogue is simple to use and has a “panel mode” where every knob is just what the knob is set to at that moment, so WYS is pretty much exactly WYG.
Pretty much knob-per-function, too.
Several of the modern Sequential synths have a “preset” switch that toggles between the panel settings and the currently selected preset. The Prophets, Trigon, OB6 at least do
That’s close to what I’d be into. Really need at least a couple more voices though. (I’m a player.)
And if it doesn’t have a full size keybed (61 keys preferably) then a desktop module might work…
Oh awesome. That’s what I was hoping for. Any others people know about that have this feature, feel free the chime in…
The Vermona Perfourmer is knob-per-function-per-voice. It’s basically 4 monosynths that you can also play polyphonically.
Check this fairly recent thread too :
One of a kind analog polyphony with a keyboard and no presets, could be a NiftyKEYZ with whatever creative content you wanted to stuff inside. It’s been my adventure ( thought experiment ) for a while. Plus that could evolve as you grow.
The keyboard is 4 note CV / Gate, but that isn’t necessarily the limit with this.
I would forget about the “analog” stipulation. It means nothing.
Analog or analog modeling is fine.
Juno has 61 keys but no velocity and it is decades old, more worryingly.
The System 8 has 49 keys (as does most modern polys) and has a convincing Juno inside it, the Jupiter 4 you can purchase for it is more vintage sounding. The main System 8 engine is one the best sounding synths I’ve experienced.
UDO Super Gemini is the ultimate synth on sale right now, imo. That has 61 keys, if you can’t afford it that the Super 6 has 49 keys. The UDO synths are thee best sounding synths I’ve used.
OB-6 is very analog sounding, but almost to a parody degree. I don’t find it very useful and becomes tiresome after a while.
Do they have manual mode?
Yes there is a button for that.
Seconding this sequential note. I hardly ever use the presets on my OB6, mostly just using the manual button (WYSIWYG) or doing an init patch and then twisting all the controls until they’re where they should be.
Tempted to add a sticker to show the init patch positions for all the knobs.
Oh how I wish for the Nina motorised knobs thing to become a standard.
I went for a prophet 5 in the end because of the simplicity, but there must be a more affordable option. The Behringer desktop clone is pretty close if you already have a midi keyboard
Prophet 5 is a very good WYSIWYG analog synth. Looks and sounds beautiful.
The pro800 looks like it might be perfect. Thinking about sticking that in a eurorack case with a couple of effects pedals…
Very interesting concept. If only it had midi out.
Pro 800. Sounds decent but…
No keys (desktop), external FX, and low build quality = a detached feeling and not inspiring. If indeed what you are after is inspiration and to get lost in sound design.
It does.