I’ve been playing my friend’s Oberheim TEO-5 and I’m a bit torn. I love the overall concept (knob-per-function, layout, immediacy, compactness, nice keybed etc.) and modern features (mod matrix, TZFM, FX (basic ones like TEO-5 is fine, I have lots of guitar pedals), sequencer etc.), but in practice it’s just a bit too bright for me, and the SEM-style filter feels hard to tame. Even when I dial things back, it tends to sit more on the bright/zingy side than I’d like. I love the “quality” of the sound otherwise.
So, I’m looking for “the same as TEO-5”, but:
More than 5 voices
Can get genuinely dark/warm/mellow more easily
I’m not necessarily trying to clone the TEO-5 sound (although that but can go tamer and darker from its SEM filter would be great), just something that scratches the same itch but with a mellower, less in-your-face top end and more polyphony.
What would you put on the shortlist, and why? Budget is not much of an issue. I like how compact TEO-5 is, but I can go a bit bigger (to around 80 cm?).
Thanks!
(I just saw Melbourne Instruments Delia for 1.390 € at Thomann, would that fit?)
Check the Novation Peak, or possibly the Rev2.
Both can do 8 voices and go in dark territories.
Peak can also do digital sounding, and the filter + distorsions + FX + many modulations make it a real powerhouse. The sound is really powerful, and I feel like one can reach any sound they want with this, including very analog sounds you can expect from old gear.
Rev2 is the fastest synth ever, assigning a LFO or an envelope on this one is the best workflow ever, unbeatable. The sound of the oscillator + filters may not be your taste, but I tend to like them now.
Have you tried a Prophet 6 or an OB-6 desktop? They are great solutions as well. I really love the sound of the OB-6, it’s always a pleasure to play on this one.
Moog Muse or Arturia PolyBrute 12 are of course in another category, but they are dream synths, should take a lifetime to get bored of these ^^
Last thing: I got myself a Vermona Perfourmer mk2 at the begining of the summer, never heard a synth like this, it’s the most analog sounding synth I’ve ever heard, at the same level of a Serge module.
Only 4 voices, but completely hands on and absolutely fascinating.
You might want to search the forums for more details, but nothing beats trying one for real.
If 6 voices are enough, definitely try Dreadbox Artemis as well. Don’t own or have played it, but I’m sure it can get dark and has that “quality” sound.
I second Artemis. I was torn between TEO-5 and Artemis and went for TEO only because I was in the opposite situation as you were I wanted a brighter synth.
Artemis doesn’t have the same mod matrix, only preset mod destinations, but that arguably makes it more intuitive. It also has amazing FX!
As an owner of the TEO-5, get it. You can then polychain the desktop module to get a full 10 voices and spend less than an OB-X8. That being said, if you want darker/warmer and more voices, you’re describing a Prophet 10. Oddly enough, purchasing the TEO-5 has made me fall in love with the Prophet 10 all over again - they complement each other fantastically. I say this also as the current owner of a Summit, Moog, and 4 different Elektron boxes, who has also owned a variety of other synths over the past 20 years.
For the above comment suggesting the Novation route, it’s not a terrible option - while it may not be quite as warm as the Prophet, it’s certainly the most versatile synth I have owned, and the FPGAs are so high frequency (25 MHz, IIRC) that you really can’t tell it’s not analog save for the fact that you don’t get the natural detuning - both a pro and a con. No calibration needed, but you also have to program the drift in if that’s the sound you’re seeking.