And now… curious… GAS! Thx to the link in this thread I installed the lira8 vst and now i like to know from users of the hardware unit: on what ground can you convince me to spend €699,- on the hardware unit? After installation of the VSt i spend hours on the knobs of a connected midi controller. Have the vst run through valhalla shimmer and other stereo fx. It’s very rewarding and tempting to buy this unit as a standalone and i am wondering if i won’t miss to be able to record automation and store and recall presets as the digital clone is able to. Also no bleed or noise. Is the hardware so much more handson and organic that the €699 is a no brainer?
I’d say it totally depends on what you want to achieve with the instrument. 700€ is a lot of money. If you’re planning to sample it or just use it for textures or drones here and there in your music, I think the VST is enough for that. That’s why I sold the hardware unit and haven’t really missed it. However, if you actually want to PLAY it, there’s no comparison between the VST and the actual Lyra-8, in my opinion. Many have said playing the Lyra-8, especially as a (more or less) solo instrument can be an almost spiritual experience, and I think that’s not an exaggeration. That thing is ALIVE like no other synthesizer I’ve ever played. Lira is a surprisingly good emulation of a near-inimitable instrument but it’s just bound to fall short in multiple areas of the whole Lyra experience.
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Thx. I am afraid i saw this answer coming. what you describe it is worth every penny. At least cheap for a russian tank 
Having had the Lyra-4 for a few days now (after having the 8) I can report it does sound pretty much the same. A little easier to control since the one set of four voices can’t modulate the other side. No input in stock form, a bit of a letdown. Still nice having for the size and rarity of it, and since it was Soma’s first official product.
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I have tried to balance my rig using synths mainly in 3 categories.
First out, the tweaks and easy access workhorses like Moog One, Voyager, Rev 2 and NL4
Secondly the synths being part to my modular rig. Matriarch, Mothers, Dfam and assorted moduls.
And then there is chaos, items you really can´t control.
In this category you will find Lyra-8.
The 3 categories have different functions for the creative process.
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If I sit too much working with preset synths I get a bit bored. It´s so easy to fall into a same kind of ideas.
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If I sit too much working with my modulars I tend to be a bit restless. Patching patching… come on!!!
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Chaos is what it is. I can´t stay too long since I will lose the structure.
But with the right mix, a little bit of everything, it will create a sea of possibilities.
With that being said I love my Lyra-8
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The bleed and noise is part of the reason to get it!
Hook it up to something like a Heat on High Gain, turn the delay mix knob up, and you hear all kinds of interesting sounds, even before playing a note. 
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I was about to say this! No bleed, no noise?! That’s half the point!
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Got bored of making nice music, so made some shitty noise crap. Just me, Lyra and a couple of effects.
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Come on be honest, its a cover of crazy horses by The Osmonds.
Edit: still listening. Man I’d be chucking this whole sample in the OT and slicing it up for techno noise filth. Add some drum sounds or DFAM or what ever.
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I’ve played around with the Lyra8 for some months now and really enjoy the immidiacy and unforgiveness of the instrument. Lately I have been trying to combine the sound with a DFAM to get some Industrial ambient kind of vibe to it. I did this improvisation and got a pretty nice result (raw sound, you need headphones to get the details).
I think they are a great combo and amusing to play albeit a bit uncontrollable to play live.
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Do you guys know of any actual albums that feature the Lyra predominantly? As much as I like to listen to separate tracks on youtube or soundcloud, I’d really like to just put a longer album on while reading or running.
You can read while the Lyra is playing?
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Hah, well actually I have done that, reading comic books while playing the Lyra 
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Funny you should mention it.
My last album is full of Lyra, on every track.
Shameless self promotion aside, Underworld used one a fair bit on their drift series. We had it on during my last kids birth, real nice. It’s not on every track, but when you hear it, you know.
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Thanks man, I’ll give that a spin tonight! And where can I find your album?
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Has anyone sequenced the Lyra8 with an A4? I’m new to CV in general and despite watching a few short tutorials, can’t seem to get the A4 to affect the Lyra through CV. Anyone want to hold my hand, hah?
So CV voices basically replaces the LFO with whatever CV you put into it, but it won’t track melodically. Make sure you have the voices you want affected set to the bottom of the three way switch.
CV delay just replaces the mod source for the delay, I’ve never bothered with that though.
The hold gate can be triggered via a gate or trig but you have to have your hold settings just right for it to work.
I’m not saying that using CV with the Lyra is a waste of time, but I tend not to waste my time with it.
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Looks like Soma updated the Lyra-8 manual.
Per Fin25’s (at this point he’s pretty much our resident Lyra-8 guru) comments this is all the Lyra-8 has for CV input:
4 HOLD GATE: A dynamic input for controlling the HOLD function. An input voltage of
+5 volt will fully open the VCA. The more the voltage is lowered, the more it will close the
> VCA. With the control voltage at 0, the voice levels will decay according to their individual
envelopes. Use the HOLD knob to adjust the level for each of the two voice groups. When
set to FAST, the synth will react faster to a decrease in control voltage.5 CV DELAY: This input allows using control voltage to modulate the delay time. When a
cable is plugged in, the SELF and LFO modes are automatically disabled and delay modulation
comes from an external source, regardless of the delay switch positions. Set the modulation
amount with the individual MOD knobs for each delay line. The input signal must have a positive
value and a 3 to 12 volt amplitude. The relation of delay time to the control voltage is linear.6 CV VOICES: This input is for using control voltage to control the pitch of voices. The CV
input will control the voice pairs with LFO CV chosen as their modulation source. Plugging in
a CV source cable in the CV VOICES input will cause the control voltage to replace the LFO
and TOTAL FB signals (which are bypassed automatically). The amount of modulation is set
by the MOD knob in a given voice section. This CV input doesn’t offer the standard 1V/oct
> logarithmic function necessary for achieving a tuned musical scale. It’s a modulating input,
not a tone-precise VCO control that covers the entire frequency range. Nevertheless, a step
sequencer can be used to build melodic lines by ear. Combined with the internal modulation,
this will yield interesting results. You can also try connecting an audio source to this input,
e.g. a drum machine or another synth
Given the above info, I think that’s why Soma created a special adapter to allow more convenient sequencing from Ornament-8… buuuuttt… Ornament-8 ain’t exactly designed for tight, bangin dance beats… And don’t forget the Lyra-8 is actually polyphonic, as each voice does have its own envelope. There’s no filter so no need to worry about shared filters. 
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This.
The CV stuff I tried didn’t excite me. Lyra is more of hands on thing for me. Or set up a drone and just leave it, it tends to change over time by itself anyway.
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