Winter NAMM 2013 releases

[namnibor]

Originally Posted by Ashe35

I never said the filters weren't analog.



I'm pretty sure the specs Pym posted on the DSI Forums are accurate. Since he works there and all...

no real need to come across as such an obnoxius __s!

[AndrewM]

You two make a good team.

[namnibor]

Originally Posted by AndrewM

You two make a good team.

Apparently, a good team of oxen! What's 'blue' to him would most probably be 'turquiose' to me! In the end, all points to continued vitality of DSI, a small company that continues to innovate and sometimes aggravate!

[Timo]

Easy, guys. It hasn't even been released yet.

Found these (by Pym) on GearSlutz:

Quick specs:

• 12 voices
• 4 Oscillators per voice capable of classic and complex waveforms
  • Low alias digital oscillators of several flavors: tri, saw, pulse, sine, noise and 4 wavetable based sources
  • Oscillator params: FM, AM, Sync, Level, Pitch (Coarse+Fine), extended slop algorithm, shape, shape mod/pulsewidth
• Sub oscillator
• Shape Mod/Pulsewidth control changes based on oscillator type:
  • Pulse and Tri - Pulsewidth control
  • Saw - Supersaw effect (note: not complete in NAMM units)
  • Noise - Pink on the left, White in the middle, Blue/Violet on the right
  • Wavetables - Blends between 3 different waveforms, one on the left, one in the middle, one on the right
• Post FX section, fully analog signal path (no DAC/ADC converstion) with digital effects summed with analog signal at wet/dry points
  • Analog VCA and panning
  • Analog stereo distortion
  • Analog resonant Lowpass filter per voice
  • Analog resonant Highpass filter per voice
  • All analog parameters are modulated at >11kHz sample rate
• Digital FX 'Character' Section:
  • NOTE: Effects are not finalized (besides Drive) and will be improved and possible changed before release
  • Air - High shelf with soft clipping
  • Girth - Low shelf with saturation
  • Hack - Bit Crush
  • Decimate - Sample Rate Reduction
  • Drive - Overdrive/Saturation
• Tons of modulation:
  • 4 LFOs up to 4kHz rate, sync and multiple shapes
  • 4 Envelopes - VCA, Filter and 2 Auxiliary. ADSR plus delay
  • 16 Mod slots - Oscillators can be used as sources for FM control of a wide range of params
• Two Pressure- and Position-sensitive touch faders for added control in addition to the pitch and mod wheels
• 4 Delay lines
  • Can sync to internal arp clock or to external MIDI clock
  • ~1 second buffer for each delay line
  • Amount, Feedback, and Rate controls on front panel
  • Delay time ranges from reverb and flanger effects to a looper with feedback turned to max
  • Delay algorithms not finalized in NAMM units and will be improved by release
• Tuned Feedback
• Expanded Arpeggiator modes
• Quick mod section:
  • example: holding 'mod source' and hitting 'Osc 1' creates a new mod with 'Osc 1' as the source and brings up the screen. Then holding 'mod destination' and moving the 'Air' encoder assigns the destination to 'Air'. Simple!
  • Sorting of mods by slot number, mod source or mod destination which includes the fixed mods (destination params for LFOs and Envelopes) to quickly deconstruct programs. Makes it very easy to see what mods are affecting what parameters at a glance
• Playlist mode for queueing up programs to use in a set for quick 1-button access to quickly load presets. 4 Playlists with 10 presets plus an extended playlist mode if more complicated setups are needed

Originally Posted by Pym

Some answers to questions and some comments off the top of my head:

• The oscillators are digital. Some options are wavetable based, but we may change the selected wavetables by the final release. You have fully sweepable wavetables between 3 waveforms, one in the center of the shape mod param and the other two on either extreme.
• We are still planning on including 12 wavetables total: 4 wavetable osc waveforms where you can morph between 3 of the wavetables.
• I do not believe we will have user wavetable uploads. This is due to the implementation where we very carefully craft multiple wavetables to improve the oscillator across a larger range with extremely low aliasing
• The 4 delay lines, per voice, have a REALLY large range. Nearly a 1 second buffer and lots of resolution on the fine end so you can easily get effects of flangers, chorus, reverb, delay, and even a looper using the feedback control. We are looking into adding additional modes for the final release, including stereo and ping-pong type effects
• The analog lowpass filter has been cleaned up and extended an extra octave from the Prophet '08 series. This gives it a noticeable sheen in the high end that is not present in our older voices
• The highpass is similar to the one present in the Tempest but with resonance. There is a 'hidden' feature allowing you to push it into self-oscillation
• The stereo analog distortion is based off of the distortion circuit in the Tempest with an improved, smooth dry/wet transition

Originally Posted by Pym

However we are talking about some additional options to add digital processing (possibly of multiple types) on each oscillator to add the gritty character that, I agree, is missing from the clean sound the synth has right now. This would give you the old character but with even more control and variation since we have the clean waves as the source. Maybe bit and sample reduction like we're doing in the character section, or a couple other ideas I have up my sleeve... got a few months to figure out the details still.

The LFOs are indeed free running, as are the oscillators. There is a flag to reset the LFOs and oscillators on each new note that you can enable/disable on each if you want more consistent attacks.

[Ashe35]

Originally Posted by namnibor

no real need to come across as such an obnoxius __s!

no need to keep trying to tell me I'm wrong after I've shown references.

[namnibor]

Thank you, TIMO! Yes, it appears I am mistaken on analog osc's and am man enough to admit that. There's definitely a hybrid here because I clearly read analog LPF/HPF/VCA, et al.
This year's NAMM has certainly excited ALOT of we synth-geeks! When one takes statistics into count, this little 'discusion' is but a microcosm in the most excitement over a new synth release in quite a while. I DO hope other companies are acknowledging that as technology evolves and innovates, we as musicians kind of like to do the same as Cultural Creatives. (a hollow few knocks on Waldorf Castle's Dungeon Door !!!) DSI is going to sell a ton of these! They are not expected to be shipping according to Sweetwater here in USA, June, 2013. (that would be June 2015 in Waldorfian Time-Frame )!!!
Thanks again, Timo!

[namnibor]

Originally Posted by Ashe35

no need to keep trying to tell me I'm wrong after I've shown references.

No worries...you are doing a GREAT job of showing your *refrences* to sizable ego and id! Are we 12?

[Ashe35]

Originally Posted by namnibor

No worries...you are doing a GREAT job of showing your *refrences* to sizable ego and id! Are we 12?

I don't know, are you? I've been 12 a few times over now.

Seriously, I'd love a Prophet 12, its just even further out of my price range than a Ti2 Keys is I have nothing against hybrid synths, I own two already (ESQm and K3m) and a VS is one of those 'someday' synths for me anyway. Too bad the P12 doesn't have a joystick (despite Yamaha owning Sequential's vector synthesis IP, that patent would have expired about eight years ago) (and yeah, I say the same thing about the Evolver)

[TweakHead]

It makes a lot of sense to use digital oscillators on this one, as it brings more precision and versatility into the mix.

But overall, I think the Korg MS 20 is much more then a classic, since it now has midi in, and usb connection for triggering notes. It also has, like the original, the possibility of using audio - like a guitar or other synth to control it. And just thinking of what I could do with it gives me chills. Much more so, then having some digital oscillators feed into some analogue filters and fx, I think. Which one can also do with say, the Virus going into the MS 20... Or even a software synth like Zebra with my own designed wavetables, easilly. Because of that, I think this thing really calls for creativity, while also providing all the retro sound and feel you can dream off.

If there's a wish list for recreations of classics, I'd go with the Roland SH 101!

And btw, having 12 voices using digital oscillators isn't that much impressive, really. One thing about it, though, and all the DSI's keyboards, is that it looks like it's built like a tank! Must be great for live performance!

[Ashe35]

and the MS-20 Mini, I can afford