Mopho x4

[MBTC]

These things seem like they might be fun... $1,300 isn't exactly the cost of a cheeseburger but it doesn't really seem that expensive for a polyphonic analog synth.

Anyone want or not want one of these? Why or why not? I really like the option to expand it by adding a Tetra.

[nutrinoland]

Have You looked at Dave Smith's 'Tempest' ?
I really want one of those...

[MBTC]

Originally Posted by nutrinoland

Have You looked at Dave Smith's 'Tempest' ?
I really want one of those...

I've seen them, and they surely look like fun, but since I got a Maschine, I'm feeling like all my percussion or groove machine needs are worked out at the moment.

I've always had an interest in DSI's line of synths, but the stuff that's priced where I want didn't have enough features and the stuff that had the features cost too much... the Mopho x4 might have hit the sweetspot between the two for me. Still thinking about it.

[oscillator]

I have a Tetra and it sounds good. If you already have a midi keyboard you should consider it. Forget about multipart in Tetra 'cause it's buggy, but you got 4 voices like the mophox4, and you can stack parts in a big 4 sounds synth, which is not possible with the Mopho.

I know it's not perfect for its 8 knobs only, but the price it's a winner.

[namnibor]

I already have an DSI Evolver Desktop, which is defintely a versatile little blue beast! I actually looked into the Mopho x4 as a possible analog addition as my only analog is presently the half of Evolver that is so and it sounds amazing isolated playing from the digital side of things, being able to route/modulate anything to everything. when I learned that that DSI's kind of propriatory poly-chaining is actually limited in that if you presently connected a Tetra to the Mopho x4, you would indeed get those extra voices but multimode becomes even more limited than the Tetra inherently is by design, at least for my wont of a utilitarian addition--this may not be an issue for others.
What I am going to do instead is by year's end, purchase a Mono Evolver keyboard, since they officially discontinued it upon release of the mopho x4 and poly chain it to my Evolver Desktop and have all those extra buttons and knobs to control a massive sonic palette even though it may seem that duophonic may sound bleak--it's hardly the case with the genius of Dave Smith's Evolver. The external input signal processing makes it even more versatile, and again, the Mopho x4 has no external input as the Mopho has but alas, it's impossible to polychain a Mopho to an Evolver.
I find new sonic territories EVERY time I dedicate some programming time to it and I think I made contact with an alien culture one very early morning by routing the Evolver's output to the external input of my Waldorf Microwave XT orange beast rack. My Maine Coone Cat's tail became as large as a featherduster and I think I have about three hours of unaccounted time in my life during that experiment.
Yes, the Mopho x4 is a great price for a four-voiced analog polysynth, but still find the Evolver much more interesting so shall travel to some far away region in space today twice, I suspect because plan two more experiments by running Virus KC through external input of Evolver and when returning will run the Evolver into my Virus KB's external input. Anyone else here have similar pleasantries with DSI Evolver in their set-ups? I know this is a strong statement but of all the beasts in my studio arsenal, the Evolver is in equal top three with Virus KB and my KC. By the way, I find enough profound differences between the KB/KC that justify owning both, with the key-action of the KC being the best these fingers have ever danced upon! BTW--the Mono Evolver Keyboard is at same price as the Mopho x4 and is a no-brainer which choice to make and sorry so long but wanted to share my experience with it and why it plays nice with our beloved Virae!

[MBTC]

This thread makes me want to just splurge and get a poly evolver... almost three grand! fuck me!!!!... I'm so damaged. lol

[namnibor]

I will confirm that JUST with the two DCO Analog Osc's on the Evolver Desktop, I made a really convincing "Bladerunner" sound on JUST half the mono sound path of Evolver. The Poly Evolver should come packaged with a straight-jacket!!! People that have never played any version of the Evolver and depend upon YouTube Demo's *never* or hardly ever see a demo using it without it's sequencer. That sequencer can work very well as a modulation sequencer 16 X 4 with just Evolver desktop akin to way Korg Radias' modulation sequencer works. Sorry if there's Radias haters out there but like anything else, go beyond the presets and you can force her to do whatever DADDY TELLS HER TO!!!! HA!
I think more people should exploit their instrument's external input abilities and is really MAIN reason I still hang onto my Alesis Ion.
It's worth stating to be on-topic here, that with the DSI Mopho x4 polychained to a Mopho, you LOSE the external input capability of Mopho as confirmed by DSI query made and that's why IMO the Evolver is the more versatile beast and to build further with it's capabilities.

[namnibor]

FYI-I thought it would be nice to share fact that if anyone already has an Evolver or plan to, there's a free download (do a web-search), of a comprehensive instructional manual FOR the Evolver published by Anu Kirk called, "The Definitive Guide To The Evolver". So great in fact that DSI now has it officially as a download on their website because it such a better manual than what comes with instrument and is from a musician's mind rather than an engineer's perspective. I am in no way shape or form associated with DSI, just think of this awesome device as an accessory that is most probably most ingenious creation Dave Smith has come-up with and a great augmentation to the Virae!

[MBTC]

namnibor, just stop all of this right now What you're doing here, combined with my own research around the Evolver's sound is making me think that unless a super-powerful Thunderbolt-enabled Virus Ti3 is announced with about twice the DSP power of the existing Ti2 very soon, I may just have to get a Poly Evolver PE (I want the pots) in the next few months.

The only hard part to swallow is 4 voices for $2,700 USD. I don't think I would be as happy with the 8-voice Prophet though, I have not heard one in person but I think it has a sound profile that the Evolver breaks through.

[namnibor]

I am so sorry that I am enabling your bad case of GAS....LOL!!!! I think that you will find that since a mono evolver desktop's 4 oscillator structure totally fooled a buddy of mine into thinking I had a new "poly-crazy-synth/sequencer", that just as MANY other people often even forget it's "mono" because of it's very unique stereo/twin path within it's signal paths! I have a buddy in Southern USA that has a PolyEvolver and he actually could never fathom a fifth voice and often finds four almost difficult to tame, when he wants to....if you can go PLAY one somewhere I think you would easily see where 4 voices multiplied by 4 oscillator's EACh that can individually rather than globally routed to anything--is hardly a limitation. I totally agree with you on the Prophet 8...years ago I had an SCI Poly 600 and I have to tell you THAT is much better than the Pro 8 other than the Pro 8 having a better sequencer--in "better" I am meaning in "sound" rather than number or modulation routings, etc.
On the subject of "THUNDERBOLT connections", I actually am wondering why USB 3 is not being exploited by audio interfaces, etc., let alone external drives utilizing eSATA connections. I think it comes down to Capitalism in a negative way because it does not really benefit the PC Mfr's to make full use of faster connections when they continue to keep the data transfer/read rates WELL below what is actually quite possible...that's WHY they use the verbage, "up to 6 GBs transfer speed"...it's a form of legal disclaimer keeping people sucking the teats of deliberately slow connections in use. So, based on THAT hypothesis/theory, I wonder if Thunderbolt will end up in same pile of crap not utilized such as USB 3 or even eSATA, which is faster than USB 3 in most "bench tests" but then again, any bench test is also squed by whatever they continue to use to compare to. My AMD+ processor for DAW is actually more efficient with it's six cores unlocked than ANY of the Intel's they commonly compare to. Also, if say Apple owns propriatory rights to Thunderbolt, that traslates to ANY product being sky-higher in price to pay apple their bite (mind the pun). Rant over and sorry if your GAS is out of control with my inadvertant enabling.