Dave Smith Instruments "TETRA" Synthesizer Review Pt. 1

[AlexisNembrode]

Im really trying to decide whether to get this or the mopho. This one is two times more expensive and doesnt have an audio input (which is a bummer for me). On another hand, the 4 voice polyphony is quite incredible when compared to mopho's monophony. mmm...decisions decisions.... this one lacks an on/off button too :)

[angie4josh]

nice try dave, 4 notes poly = lame.

[M3sslah]

Would you say this unit is like a small prophet 08, which one to go for, I was planning for a prophet 08 but I wonder if they have the same build otherwise and the same sound?

[Exalcoholic]

I have a question for you. I guess you send midi from both your drum machine and your keyboard to the Tetra? So how do you set this up with only one midi in? Great demo btw!

[squeakyfromme69]

thanks for the great review! a good mix of explaining the features and actually letting us hear some good usable sounds that are possible in decent audio quality. the resonance sounds a bit harsh to me, but i dunno. i guess it has it's own thing goin on.

[johnnycastello]

so this would blow away a Roland Gaia or M-Audio Venom...right?

[djthomaswhite]

@johnnycastello - Interesting question. Hard to compare modeling synths to analog synths. Gaia makes great pads and leads but lacks focus in the low end compared to a true analog (had one, sold it). Haven't played with Venom, but sounds like Virus by Access at best. Have a Virus, love it. But Tetr4 has warmth none of the other synths mentioned have. Depends on what you are looking for really.

[jigneish]

Hi Thomas. Thanks for this video. I watched it a couple of times before finally purchasing the Tetr4. It was my first piece of "Analog" gear and i must say, great sound. Can you tell me a little about hooking up via Midi to a drum machine? Im being a little lazy here, i could sift manuals but was curious, i have Maschine (by native instruments), what is the process of getting it hooked up to this drum maschine as you did in this video? I currrently use Tetra inside logic pro for music production

[djthomaswhite]

@jigneish Send MIDI out of Logic into both the Tetr4 and your drum machine if you want Logic to be the master clock. If Machine generates a clock (sorry, don't know much about it), then you can send the clock from Maschine to the Tetr4. I hope this helps!

[guitarharpsichord]

havent noticed anyone with a new 4 voice or more purist analog setup..especially with a keyboard as interface...

[YeggmanX]

Yeah, it's paul-IF-annie.

Which is funny to spell out that way.

Polyphony isn't pronounced like polyphonic because they are different words. 'nuff said.

[Alterstateresearcher]

Grew up listening to your groovin house productions, great review.

Its intriguing to see the parallels of music interest, evolution and development of many people. From listening enthusiast to DJ to music production and gear junkie to DIY synth hobbist and sound designing.

[Senj1n]

the "holes" are for rackwings

@djthomaswhite very nice review! much appreciate it!

[Senj1n]

the "holes" are for rackwings

[peterkadar]

Sounds great when you sync it to the drum machine. I have a Prophet '08, which is great, but I love the sub oscs and the internal feedback loop. Two very important differences that I wish my P'08 had...

Cool sound at 8:10. Almost gamelan like...

[peterkadar]

Sounds great when you sync it to the drum machine. I have a Prophet '08, which is great, but I love the sub oscs and the internal feedback loop. Two very important differences that I wish my P'08 had...

[TherapyHiccup]

this would be nice to have with my mopho keyboard

[plinko747]

very solidly analog sounding!

[plinko747]

The missing screws you speak of might be for a rack mounting bracket.

[Frankjames5454]

clear explanation, thanks!

[DaiReborn]

I've always said it, and heard it pronounced by people that would know "pol-if-uh-nee" not "pol-ee-fon-ee." Frankly that's how a child learning to read would say it. Why are so many people talking about the sounds that come out of his mouth and not the sounds coming out of his synth? I gotta add though, potentiometers did sound a bit off, but I didn't even notice it the first time. And yeah, I was pretty much just watching those "push it" lights the whole time.

[big1mitch]

thanks man, got the technical info down, and a demo of the sound possibilities, which is a nice contrast to most reviews on youtube.

[freezazoid]

Polliffanny? hahah. That's a really pretentious and confusing way to pronounce it. It's Pollly-fonny. Like how you would pronounce polyphonic... you wouldn't say "poliffuhnik".

[djthomaswhite]

Not sure how mispronouncing a word can be pretentious.

Anyway, some words are pronounced with different emphasis. Take "Tone" and "Ton". Tone has the "e" so you hear the open "Oh" sound. Ton doesn't, and neither does polyphony, so you hear "ton" as "tun"... so you can see how I end up with polyphunny. Maybe I should go answer the Phon. Are give my dog a Bon. LOL. It should be spelled Polyphoney. English is so cumbersome at times. Really it just being lazy when speaking. I am entirely at fault.

[freezazoid]

@djthomaswhite : nah, I was just being a dick.  sorry.

[djthomaswhite]

@freezazoid ... No worries man! Thanks for checking out my videos

[delicatebeats2008]

What drum machine do you use to trigger the Tetra ?

[rightxheremusic]

@djthomaswhite you pronounced it correctly in the video.

[rightxheremusic]

@djthomaswhite You pronounced it correctly in the video.

[synthcraft]

@djthomaswhite nuthing wrong with your pronunciation dude.

[DisgruntledSlave]

@freezazoid "Pollifanny" is actually the correct pronunciation. Don't be a grammar Nazi unless you actually know what you're talking about.

[Chewie947]

@freezazoid Honestly? You pronounce it Polly Fonny? Where do you live? I've been a musician for nearly two decades and a college music student for 5 and I've never heard any musician, music professor, or professional musician pronounce "polyphony" the same way one would pronounce "Polyphonic" ever, unless they were making a joke, or if it was someone who was reading the word for the first time in their life. Please tell me you don't pronounce the "i" in "Timbre" as an i

[freezazoid]

@Chewie947 : I'm sure I'm wrong on this one... but i'm just saying: it just makes more sense that way.  So why not pronounce polyphonic "polih--fuhnik"? Doesn't make sense that one word is pronounced one way and the other similar word is totally different. Why does it change from one to the other?

[markgriskey]

Actually that is the correct pronunciation

[ausgeno]

@freezazoid Dude, you're wrong. Pol-i-phonic, Pol-if-any

[freezazoid]

@ausgeno Nobody pronounces "polyphonic" paul-if-funic... they pronounce it, paul-ee-phonic. But I already admitted that saying poll-if-any is fine. So I was wrong about my original comment, but not about how to pronounce polyphonic. Pollifany just sounds funny to me, and that's all I was trying to say originally. But you are the one who's wrong about polyphonic. It's like polly and then phonic. Not too difficult. This is a dumb argument anyway that's distracting from this dudes vid.

[ausgeno]

@freezazoid I never said "paul-if-funic", not sure where you got that from, however I didn't see that you had already apologised to the OP for calling him pretentious, if so apologies for dredging it up again.

[jmljunior]

@freezazoid Yeah, actually you're wrong, guy. He pronounces it correctly. The word is pronounced [puh-LIF-uh-nee].

[SuperVillaingroup]

@freezazoid  Sorry, it is PO_LIF_AN_E

[Blizzard4242]

Which one's better, the virus or this one?

[ProjectsTJ]

screw holes on the side are for mounting to rack ears

[LeDudareeno]

Awesome review man. U got some great synth gear AND u live in California, boy r u 1 lucky dude ;)

[w0rmaster]

really diggin the four LEDs around the push it! button.

[ndallthtcldvebn]

Hey djthomaswhite, appreciate the review! Just fyi: it's pronounced "Poh-tentchi-AH-meter" like POtential.

[DonClark7]

got da virus 2..dats a good look!!!lol

[iTzBRu]

808, 909

[daviddoyle1978]

So, say I had 4-5 grand today, what would I pick up that's better than this?

[skylerstupid]

with 4-5 grand you could build a build huge modular synth!

[ozzlanda]

@daviddoyle1978 are you serious? this thing costs under a grand... with 4-5 grand you could look at getting a prophet 8.. if you liked dave smiths sound.. Personally I would consider an alesis andrometer A6... so much modulation capability..

[ndallthtcldvebn]

@ozzlanda Where are you getting your prices from? The Prophet 08 only costs around $2000. He could buy TWO!

[alanjayee]

@ozzlanda andrometer is incredible

[plague1715]

@daviddoyle1978 a voyager

[neolojism]

Not sure if it's like 4 mophos .... it's missing the suboscillators, isn't it?

[wsplatinum]

i like to think the screwholes in the sides are meant to be used to attach wood end panels like the prophet 08 has. Or rather some device for rack mounting. But the again who cares.

[Cds56]

@wsplatinum :D

[RainMainDein]

Not bad, i would go with the old analog stuff, more expensive but the filter and resonance is much better thän today...great vid, helped me alot not to buy a tetra, thanks

[TR0jAX]

make a review with the 909.

[TheSynthFreq]

Great Video.

[auidofoxx]

thankls dude - gettin me a TETRA soon....hookin in up with a novation 25SL

[sorePenis]

Timbral is pronounced TAMBRAL

[toranamunter]

yeah it is pronounced like that, if you're an utter tosser

[network909]

Great review!! Please never sell your 9o9!! =)

[Roelandvinken]

So no "on off" button?? That sucks

[boisbrut]

woh thats true... wtf!!

[naturalbluesky]

So I've read you can hook this up with a prophet 08. Does the prophet 08 have the sub oscillators? Would it be an advantage to use this in conjunction with a prophet 08?

[Dogboy73]

Bought one of these in the week. Great sound. I'm loving it ;-)

[squeakD]

Awesome review man!

[torxTV]

why it is skipping through 4 voices (1-2-3-4-1..) when you play single notes not chords?

[THELugworm]

That allows the voice to finish what it's doing before it's triggered again.

[LosLatinitos]

you have a horrible alias! you're no dj

[djthomaswhite]

Actually I have been a DJ since 1992. started with that, moved to production, then synth diy.

[tomhikon]

Ive only heard online demos of the Tetra and the Mopho but is it just me or does anyone else think that these synths resemble the Sequential Max aside from obvious things like cleaner audio outs etc?

[harrychristner]

because this has usb and midi out/in/thru and the extra audio outs could i use it as an interface for my computer in live cuircumstances?

[gantman]

If I have no need for 4 voices at once because I'll just record tracks individually, does it makes sense to get this over the mopho? Although this is polyphonic and the mopho is...mono. But does the tetra just have a lot more sound? Thanks

[AppA]

100% analog signal path, so that means the oscillators are still digital?

[hogberto]

so give me the short version then. is it any good?

[Cable3999]

DJThomasWhite looks a lot like my Philosophy teacher. And I mean that in a good way.

[Thalassa77]

Hello, I've posted your review on my blog switchedonsynthesizer.blogspot . com

Great review.

[MatsNorway]

double post!!"!"!

[musicaedm]

Question. Does this have a separate LP filter setting possibility for each on of the 4 mono outputs? So I can use it to program leads, basses and process separately through hardware or is it just one filter setting for all four voices?

[djthomaswhite]

Yes, imagine 4 full MOPHO synths on a desk in front of you, each with their own sets of knobs and jacks. Now imagine all one jumping in this box and sharing rent. Et voila, 4 separately editable voices. Yes, you can edit through the hardware, but the USB interface and editor is EASY and fun. Why punish yourself with the small display. That's why Dave makes the interface anywhoo. -Thanks!

[Biopharmer]

haha! I've got the Nova Musik shirt too.

Got it when I got a Blofeld.

[djthomaswhite]

Got mine when I ordered my Moog Voyager. Nice one

[Villi490]

@djthomaswhite Yeah really nice shirt actually!

[Biopharmer]

Damnit! I want an FS1R so freaking badly.

[djthomaswhite]

Just found an editor for it free online. Now I'll start using it more. I was sold on it by Paul Schrieber at Synthesis Technology way back when. They sat on racks and nobody bought them. Sad for Yamaha. You'd think they'd learn before doing more stuff like Tenori-On, but the good news is updates for the TO are coming soon.

[oubliettezombie]

Thanks for the videos! BTW, the screw holes are for a rack mount

[circuitbent]

btw... if i had to guess.. those screw holes on the sides are probably for a rack kit.

[Biopharmer]

nah, too small for a rack

[djthomaswhite]

Dave Smith & Co. says the screw holes are for putting two Tetra's together with rack ears (poly chaining).

[Dogboy73]

I thought so when I saw that on your vid.

Does the Tetra have the 'slop' function of the Prophet 08? On the Prophet 08 this is used to introduce more analoge OSC like tendancies to the 08's oscillators. The result is a faux analogue string machine like sound that is pretty bloody nice from what I've heard.

[circuitbent]

WOOOOOOO NEW THOMAS WHITE VIDEO!!!

[MrDanyLoud]

Quote buzzsaw1003!