Dave Smith Instruments "TETRA" Synthesizer Review Pt. 2

[dancetech]

good review, we linked it on our site Tetra product page

[djthomaswhite]

@dancetech - Thanks Dancetech, I love all of your Logic tutorials. They have helped me discover many new ways to do things. I hope to see more soon.

[M3sslah]

I just love all the fools sticking to their Softshit, more awesome gear for the rest of us and softsynth still sound shit in comparison. A sound in an analog or virtual analog make you inspired to do something with most of the sounds. With softsynths I just sit and go through 200 sounds without ever feeling that magic moment. And yes I listened to Poly-ana now, same crap they try to make it so analog but compared to this it just sound boring.

[psynapsurfa]

i have a few dollars saved up. i can afford a virus ti 61kb, or i could get a tetra, and a mopho, and a maschine for the dollars, and a motu ultra. or maybe ozone. or i need some monitors too.

i have an evolver d/t.

i use live8 suite. i use ni massive, absynth, fm8, reaktor. dcam s/s.

i really want a virus ti.

but would i be better off getting the other things i need first like monitors, and ozone. and then a few dsi synths. or is virus so good i should get it. so confused right now. help

[psynapsurfa]

i agree people are always wanting the next thing. and then they complain that it doesnt sound like the classic vintage old things. weird eh.

i say lets forget whether it is old new ana or digi, and just enjoy what it sounds like..

it is a bit like having friends. we dont all want clones..in fact we lik people for their different qualities. and in fact we love people for their differences..

so let us be the same about synths. be they virtual, hardware, ana, or digi. lets just dig it all!.

[redwraith122]

Bladerunner soundtrack. Lol.

[drum4life42]

Can you create a sequence per voice and play it as a combo?

[djjessebase10]

hmm.. pretty much every synth can sound like this.. :P

[cazmo222]

Guys, the mic recording and youtube's compression really doesn't do this synth much justice - listen to some actualy recordings, it's got a great analog sound.

[bradtwo]

I know you did this video ages ago, but I must say it is amazing. You have the best statement every "paying attention to whats not similar than what is."

Keep making more videos.

[donato77]

Haha. 3:25 to 3:33 was rad. Should've kept going there.

[marillo18]

great review mate, the best on the tetra for sure..it also sounds great for a youtube video..

[djthomaswhite]

@corganb - while the Tetra can do some mean bass, I think the Taurus 3 would be the ultimate bass synth from modern analogs. I don't have one, but demos online are pretty clear. However, the Taurus can't do Tetra stuff like slick chords and pads.

[corganb]

How would you say the sub oscillator bass on this compares to the Moog Taurus 3? Can it get as huge?

[Moonwerk]

isn't this the doctor from ER?

[corganb]

Is this an English class or a Synth Review? C'mon guys, cut him a break!

[vstbull]

can the speed of the rhythms on the tetra be changed? -

as well, it sounds very digital, strange - i´ve seen a couple of other vids where it sounded a bit more analog... it makes me doubt about buying it or not...

[vstbull]

can the speed of the rhythms on the tetra be changed?

[af1sCore]

oh!...maybe i should have watched the whole video first...

[af1sCore]

i dont get it. do u play a guitar through it? or a keyboard? or does it make the sounds it self? can some one explain?

[jansonmorr]

your speech suks

[gridsleep]

And wishes do come true, since the Mopho Keyboard came out for the same price as this Tetra. Unfortunately there are no plans for a Tetra Keyboard, and that's direct from Gordon Reid of Sound On Sound magazine who spoke with Dave Smith. The Tetra is definitely not worth missing, regardless.

[alittlebitoffiddle]

Thanks for the demo. I liked it - and I liked your description almost as much - hilarious.

[SaltyJK]

are you limited to the factory patches?

[duggabax]

Great great demo. Don't listen to all the nitpickers complaining about how you pronounce things dude. Thanks for putting this up.

[ryanquist1]

07:53 Did you use your synthesizer wipes?

[docfraktal]

Combo 1, 33 and 5 are really great !

[peterkadar]

Nice two part series Thomas.

Apparently, the Tetra, in combi mode, is able to trigger four different sounds as you play the keyboard, like the Korg Mono/Poly. So if you play a chord, each note in the chord is a different monophonic synth sound. They could be similar, or wildIy different. I haven't seen or heard any examples of this. Have you had any experiences like this yet?

[SPAZZOID100]

the tom sawyer sound came from an OBXA not a prophet!!

[nikolaiprangemusic]

dope studio

[muurtalo]

Why would one want to pay $800 for this thing? For the "pure analog signal path"? Gimme a break!

[papersky1]

the programs of that you played with the virus sounded intense great work man / this thing rocks!

[zerocrossing]

While it's true to deal with a project plug ins make for an easier work flow, but to the poster who commented that he doesn't think it sounds better than Poly-ana, you're dead wrong. I started with a MoPho and ended up getting a Prophet '08 (similar voice structure to the Tetr4, but more voices and a real interface) and frankly they can produce an analog sound that I've not found in Poly-ana (yup, I do own it and it's one of my favorites) or any other virtual analog, hardware or software.

[Biopharmer]

Hey! Your wish came true, there's the Mopho keyboard now.

[isham16]

I have nothing against soft, I love sylenth, d.cam, minimonsta... but this thing sounds way better without spending hours trying to improve the end result in a mix (something musicians need to consider...)

thanks for these demo ! well organized and explained

[isham16]

I have nothing against soft, I love sylenth, d.cam, minimonsta... but this thing sounds way better without spending hours trying to improve the end result in a mix (something musicians need to consider...)

thanks for these demo ! well organized and explained

[isham16]

I have nothing against soft, I love sylenth, d.cam, minimonsta... but this thing sounds way better without spending hours trying to improve the end result in a mix (something musicians need to consider...)

[skatechatham]

Trying to decipher all of the tiny writing on the "knobs" of poly-ana is about as productive as having this Tetra with barely any control knobs of its own. Either way they have their own sounds, to each his own.

[pulseforce]

Yes, the text on the 3D rotary dials on Poly-Ana is very hard to read (search for Poly-Ana on Google Images).

HOWEVER! There is a HIDDEN setting that turns the knobs into regular text dropdown boxes, where you can *immediately* see what is selected and easily make new choices from a dropdown list. It's much better that way.

They also offer lots of beautiful skins. The default one is a bit boring, but with a skin-facelift, voila! Beautiful sounds and easy GUI to match! I love it so much!

[simon12332]

i think its just cause he used a microphone, cause i've been listening to this and the mopho, and they both sound great in other vids...

[WithExtremePrejudice]

I agree. This thing really doesn't sound very good, especially compared to a quality soft-synth such as Poly-Ana. In fact, the Poly-Ana is easily one of the best sounding soft-synths out there!  You should definitely check it out.

[regularmagnolia]

Maybe it's because you recorded it from a Mic but this doesn't seem to sound better than modern softsynths. For instance Poly-Ana, known as probably the most analog sounding softsynth available. I'll stick to that. And it's not because I'm poor, I could easily afford a couple dozen minimoogs, I just a) don't think it sounds better than good softsynths like Poly-Ana, b) the more software you use, the easier it is to handle projects since it's all saved in the box.

[pulseforce]

@regularmagnolia and @TheRealCritique:

I agree with both of you, it sounds sterile. I listened to the full quality MP3 demos and it didn't sound much better than these Miced demos. Get a good softsynth instead.

[regularmagnolia]

@pulseforce Hehe that was a quick reply.

Do you use Poly-ana? If not, download the demo. It's *s i c k*. Also listen to this YouTube video which is all made with Poly-Ana:

Search for: "Stunning Software Synthesizer Poly-Ana!"

Then when the video opens, add "&fmt=18" (without quotes) to the end of the URL and press enter to reload the page and get stereo, 44.1khz sound.

That last tip works on most videos and is vital when checking out synth demos.

[pulseforce]

Hehe yes I use Poly-Ana ever since a friend showed it to me (a Eurovision 2010 producer). The sound blew me away and it's by FAR the best bass I've ever heard from a softsynth. I love how you can control how much analog characteristic it has, like oscillator drift. Thanks for the video link, I hadn't seen it, cool demo.

[thedefog]

Do you guys work for admiral quality or something?

I'm not here to knock soft-synths, because I definitely use them as well as VAs, modern, and vintage analogs. Actually, use anything I can get my grubby little hands on...whatever works. But to say the Tetr4 sounds sterile is a bit warped imho. I have no clue why the newer Dave Smith stuff gets scrutinize so harshly.

[simon12332]

@thedefog  thumbs up:D

[MARANTZamp]

maybe not sterile, but a bit harsh

[thedefog]

You guys are entitled to your own opinions on the matter, but in order to give your argument more merit, you really should give more details as to why you think what you do. Have you played/compared these directly (not just based on this video)? Just curious.

[Thompsongs]

I don't understand why you got 6 thumbs down...you make a valid point.

[thedefog]

@Thompsongs

It's because people just want to fire from the hip on here. Oh well, it doesn't bother me at all honestly. Their ignorance on the matter will only limit them in their creativity.

[detroitcalling]

@regularmagnolia well it is based on DCO´s - digital controlled oscillator. these are not truly, fully analog synths. neither the mopho nor the tetra are real analog synths. as i understand, all dave smith synths are based on DCO´s. if you want true analog, there are not many options out there for quality new analogue gear that is affordable.

i think these products form dave smith are extremely overpriced. not worth the money they ask for a china produced digitally controlled synth.

[bsyndrom]

@detroitcalling They are digitally controlled analog oscillators. Maybe you should go look at what that means before casting judgement. Good luck using analog synths that don't have digital clocks, you are obviously one of those guys that hasn't reached analogue nirvana until their synth is out of tune! :P

[dubbymacky]

@regularmagnolia why do all the successful producers have hardware then?

[lordkufu]

nice XIO.. and If you feel like you are running out of space in your studio I will gladly take that sp1200 off your hands... For real.. I can see dust on it.. I'll treat it kind and golden..

@goth 108 It would not be a review w/out talking..

[Goth108]

dude sorry, but it would really make a good picture if you spare the talking

[BudgeBurnley]

can u record midi from this into Logic 9? also can you record the automation as midi? thanks :D

[TheRealCritique]

sounds kind of sterile to me, but it all depends on the one controlling it.

[ande1718]

@TheRealCritique Good luck guessing how it really sounds from youtube

[jesus1poptart]

so if u had to pick from the mopho and the tetra which would u pick and why?

[Sherbrick]

wag - nerian? someone doesn't know his classical composer's names...

[D3R1D3X]

Interesting thoughts and good demos. Thx m8

[zahush76]

I want to get a small synth to compliment my Poly Evolver Keyboard, and i'm trying to make up my mind between the Tetra and the Virus Snow.

These are very different beasts, i know. On one hand, the Tetra is 100% analog signal path, and it will give me 4 more sequences to work with (live). But, having a PEK already gives me the "curtis" filter sound - so i thought maybe another option is something completely digital, with multimode filters, formant, wavetables etc - as the Virus snow. Opinions?

[auidofoxx]

Hi,

Can i ask how you have ypu tetra set up?

Midi to controler only?

Tetra to PC controller to PC?

Is there a PC involved?

Tetra to midi interface to PC ??

I'm having a little confusion with the company I'm buying my tetra4 from - as to what cables I will need. I thought just midi to novation controler woukld work with the novation USB to PC.

Could you shead a little light?????

[rlr41771]

I have a mopho and I picked up a berringer BCR2000 to serve the purpose of controlling it. So far I haven't been able to get it to talk to the mopho or anything else. If I can get this to work, it will be a great controler for it.

[skatechatham]

some people want warm sounding synths... then they make a track and squash the life out of it with compression anyhow!

[Usethebanana]

:oD :oD :oD :oD

it's funny because it's true :oD

[MARANTZamp]

very good point!

[thesearethesuns]

Dare I say, for sake of resale value, that this unit sounds like a refined version of my Prophet 600?? I might have to consider getting one, and selling off my Prophet 600 to make room in my studio. :)

[lewdie]

Like Roland MC-303 warmth?

[djthomaswhite]

what?

[lewdie]

It was a poke at TheRealCritique for the Roland warmth comment. Let's see more videos Thomas!

[PilferMusic]

@djthomaswhite LOL :)

[thesearethesuns]

Sarcasm I hope. My MC303, once very expensive new, is now more of a good door-stopper. I do occasionally use it for really basic sounds via MIDI control.

[CTRLSHFT]

D: i don't know if we're supposed to lol or facepalm here.

[FuriousCoder]

It's not "WAG-nerian," it's "Vahg-nar-ian", after Wagner (pronounced "Vahg-ner"), the German composer who was famous for his sweeping thematic operas, such as the "Ring Cycle."

[djthomaswhite]

Thanks! Might come in hand errrr... uh.... someday? I thought it was /ˈvɑːɡnər/ or /ˈwæɡnər/ which also have the same basic level of relevance to the demo of the Tetra and not my lack of knowledge of Opera composers.

[FuriousCoder]

It's a great video review!

I just don't want you to be hitting on some concert violinist someday, and offend her because you mispronounced the name of her favorite composer. ;)

[sorePenis]

Yes, it's "Vagner" I am him speaking to your from the spirit world beyond. Suck me.

[jacquelinedeepsearch]

It's actually a patch named after famed American actor Robert Wagner. He played number 2 in Austin Powers.

[vboy13]

@FuriousCoder shhhush little man….why offer unnecessary snobbiness

[TheRealCritique]

I'm not hearing the famed Roland warmth that I own. I know I'm opening a can of worms, but there ya go...

[djthomaswhite]

1. No chorus like almost all Roland polysynths. Even Juno 106 has DCO's but analog chorus and sounds warm. 2. It's not a Roland.

[itsowheeze83]

Can you midi this to another synth to add more polyphony.

[mjw555]

yes, you can chain it to another tetra or a prophet 08

[LALLZ]

Roland aren't famous for warm. Sequential, Moog, Oberheim are more appropriate.

[thesearethesuns]

Dude, that's an uninformed opinion. It's all a matter of filters/ filter chips. For one thing, early discrete circuitry (Moog, Arp, 70's Roland and 70's Oberheim to name a few), as well as SSM based chips, are generally considered "warmer" than CEM-based chips. And it is debatable what "warm" really means... I consider my Matrix 6 to be much warmer than other CEM based synths that I've owned/played.

[phfrixion]

@LALLZ

Hmmm. What Rolands did you play? I owned a System 700 (sold last year) and we have many other Roland synths in our studio that are sounding "warm" (like the Jupiter 4, SH-09). OK, a SH-101 is more plastic-fat, but a Jupiter 8 is in the same league as a Pro-5 (SSM-Version),OB-X or Memorymoog (I played these, so I know how they sound).

[TheRealCritique]

jupiter 8 is 4k - forget it at that price.

[phfrixion]

Sometimes even higher !!! I had a MKS-80 (older Version) plus MPG-80 programmer, but it was more sounding like a Jupiter 6 than a JP 8. Not bad and I used it many years, but I didn't regret to sell it tho.

[MARANTZamp]

this is correct.

The American synths were much warmer than the japanese ones.

[harrymerchant456]

@TheRealCritique I agree DSI are not as warm sounding as Roland analogs. Daves stuff does have a digital(ish), sterile quality about - some - of the sounds - which can be good for cutting through the mix. I do find DSI synths more versatile than many analogs though. I have a Moog Little Phatty and whilst its warmer and perhaps fatter sounding I do find its range limited at times. I tend to use it only for bass, which of course is great.

But regardless this is better than any VSTs

[TheDriveMaster]

Great review!!! Thanks! =)

[muloka23]

Now I bet playing on the Tetra using an Axis 64 controller would be a lot of fun!

[Dogboy73]

Man, You got a fu***ng nice collection of gear there! Running out of space? No s**t!! You say you're an amatuer producer as well? Your one dedicated amatuer. Good on ya. Seing all your gear helps make up my mind it's okay for me to spend 550 green queen sheets on a Tetra :-)

[Carsonduke1]

The patch at 6:08 is nice. Very tasty

[Dogboy73]

The combo patches are fantastic! I usually hate that sort of thing where you trigger a patch a complete track starts playing! But these sound so bloody good. This is a bit of me for sure. I've wanted an analogue poly synth for ages but never wanted to spend the money on something older than me. The Tetra could be just the ticket :-)

[caseyforever]

are you making it sound like every bad 90's game console music on purpose (form 4:40 on?) ..ugh... stop that! :)

personally i'm not that sold on the old skool analog lust. it definitely does a couple sounds AMAZINGLY. the really sonic (tom sawyer, and at 3:50). that sorta thing. i like the 'idea' of old skool analog more than most of the sounds.

[Biopharmer]

be quiet

[caseyforever]

hahahah. didn't mean to offend your religion! "BLASPHEMY!" :)

[Biopharmer]

lawl

[MARANTZamp]

you should play a prophet-5 in person...it will make you a believer

[generix83]

Anybody knows about other reviews for this synth? I couldn;t find any other one on the net....It'd be nice to have other points of view.

[ajdevlin]

Great video. If you have the free time, please put up more Tetra videos as you get deeper with the box. You're the only one posting videos besides the standard DSI intro videos!

[synthdood]

deej deej deej! shit I need a Tetra, it's what I have been looking for. It sounds excellent, love those pads.

[oscamt]

I see you have a matrix 1000 on your rack. How does it compare?

[liquidjustin]

Very good question. I was wondering the same thing.

[Cable3999]

Great review!

[tc1992]

is it possible to process external audio through the tetra, or propht 08?

[djrite]

Thanks for both answers! I think programing Tetra wont be too bad, I wont be using the mouse to set something,but will use software. On the Mopho Software there is an assign column, where you can quickly assign all 4 knobs from a drop down list. -So you see what you want to tune(Software shows everything), and just choose it for a knob from the drop down list. Im guessing thats the fastest way to program Tetra with the knobs. We havent got any Tetras in Switzerland yet!

[MANGSCHEUONiCS]

love the video. great talk at the end

[trunks2861]

great view

[twelvebits]

excellent review. good thoughts on the vintage synth comparison.

and i saw an SP 1200!!

[djrite]

Whoa! thanks for great review! Sounds great!

Ive been thinking of getting the Tetra, but am not sure if the Evolver would be better. search on YT "denkitribe evolver"

I was pretty amazed of what the evolver can do, so now im confused in between these two! On the evolver you can sequence each ocillator different, you can also get mixed sounds out of it! + it has effects! So I saw that you have both evolver and tetra, which one would you recomend for melodys and rythm sounds! Thank you

[djthomaswhite]

Melodies: Both

Rhythm Sounds: Both

The main difference comes down to Evolver having a highpass VCF, 3 digital delays, digital waveshapes and the Tetra having Sub Oscillators and 4-voice multitimbrality. I'll be keeping both for these reasons. The sub oscillator addition to the Tetra is underrated and adds a lot to the synth IMHO

[duncanperson]

The evolver tents to overdirve quite easily - not sure about the tetra - but the evolver is also really easy to program without software, where as tetra seems pretty reliant on the software - especially if you want to start from scratch.

[daveparry]

It looks great in black without any wood, modern looks and vintage sounds go well. That Wagnerian patch sounds just like my old P600, check out the mp3 of the T8 on vintagesynth's website, that sounds similar too. Hopefully the Tetr4 will be in the uk soon!

[kidgloves2]

I heard a rumor that DSI is working on a REALLY user friendly synth. Think Roland SH-201, with automated sliders. Everything moves around for each patch. AND IT"S ALL ANALOG!

[kidgloves2]

I just ordered a TETRA!!!

Guitar Center has a 20% discount on it until the end of August. But only if you place the order over the phone. So I just got a Tetra for $640.

Sick!

[djthomaswhite]

Dammit... how'd I miss that? Oh well, I got serial #069... and you know what 69 means... (don't you?) It is almost as cool as having really big feet some say. Me, I'd rather have saved $200 (sh*t)

[kidgloves2]

I'm thinking about using the 20% discount and ordering a Prophet 08 Pe for $1,680.

I have to keep telling myself the Tetra is all I need.

[Scrubsobsession]

20% percent discount. That sounds fantastic how do you get a 20% discount

[kidgloves2]

yea, they have the sale until August 31st. But it's for phone orders only for some reason. Just go to the Guitar Center website and the phone # is on the main page.

[kidgloves2]

Excellent demo!

I'd love to see someone do Pink Floyd's "On The Run" with a Tetra.

[Cable3999]

I don't know if you are aware or not, but djthomaswhite has already done it.

[pierlooqup]

Good review!

One question though, couldn't find it answered : in the combo mode, can you assign a preset to any of the four voices? How can you switch between them? I mean what if i want to have one part for a monophonic baseline and the rest of the 3 voices a 3-voice poly pad and assign different midi channels? is that possible?

[Biopharmer]

I seem to recall that the Prophet 08 couldn't be dynamic like that, I doubt this will be.

[hexfix93]

Pffft, it sounds like it's own DCO thing, not a vintage prophet.

Please.. stop being a, new can do the old fool.

[djthomaswhite]

Uh oh... vintage lover. Well, can't please everybody. Nothing wrong with that purity if, well... I am sure you use multi-track tape instead of a computer.You'd have to or your music would sound so "sterile" and digital. I actually don't own any synths at all. I made all the sounds on my Texas Instruments calculator. Hahaha JK. Anyway... Watch the video again and listen for phrases like "sort of" and "not a prophet 5".

[hexfix93]

yeah i commented before i saw the whole thing, you said at the end the right thing, sorry.

[djthomaswhite]

Thanks for that Brotha!

[IbyatRecs]

Thank you very much for this review!!

[skabot0045]

that was one oh so sweet sweet jam at 3:26

[MrDanyLoud]

...thank's 4 video!

[MrDanyLoud]

Beautiful, to have absolutely!