Added: 5 years ago
From: mano123456
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  • Vaya trasto ...

  • Very good demo

  • This video completely destroys the sound of the evolver. I'm thinking of making a tutorial for the evolver, do you think anybody would be interested, or would I just waste my time?

  • @astroboomboy I think that would be cool! I updated the description. I did not realize that 150K people would watch and camera was just rolling. Next time it'll be better :) ... BTW the original video had better sound, but it was compressed heavily when I uploaded to Youtube. I will try to dig for the MiniDV tape

  • @astroboomboy No waste of time in my opinion... have you downloaded the pdf called "A Difinitive Guide To The Evolver"? It's by Anu Kirk....very practical and it may help those learning this muddy beast of a synth...holler

  • @astroboomboy so what is the sound of the poly? you seem to know

  • is that a micromoog or a multi behind this one? I'd like to speak to someone who could advise whether the evolver would be a decent choice for replacing a micromoog for live purposes. although the micro only has one oscillator and is obviously a monosynth, the very unique relationship between the filter release and contour shape makes for some really specific sounds that i've so far never been able to replicate on anything else without using samples.

  • Thanks for the demo Mano - cool synth. Hey why don't you guys with the negative vibes lighten up, Mano is a good guy ! ~ Lovin Life ~

  • damm this sounds badass!!! iwant one!!

  • deepsohin is right.

    Would you drive a submarine in a piscine ? No !

    That's the same here. Camcorder mics are really bad things.

  • @TheLimiter They are. I am sorry it's not top notch recording. Read the updated description :)

  • is that a micromoog above the PEK or a multimoog?do the moog and PEK play nice together?

  • @colorform2113 Micromoog :)

  • Oh wow, it's sounds better than a Prophet 5 rev 2. NOT.

  • I want this one!!!! :D

  • wow this makes me happy!!

  • they need to make mod wheel pedals

  • Dude I'm from chatham too.. IT's called an expression pedal..

  • if the synth comes with a editor program you can usually edit the patch to either use a sustain function, modulation, and sometimes alot more.

  • @skatechatham there is a foot pedal by dave smith

  • @djryzzle the funny thing is, i was just checking out some stuff on dsi today and saw the expression pedal, remembered commenting one time on youtube and bam! i watch this video again and there is your reply.

  • how many of you all have used this? im really tempted to get one but guitar center by me stopped carrying it, so i can no longer try it. is there someone who'd be willing to send me some wave files off the most analogish low bass sounds? i need to know just how tight and punchy the bass can be, or how much it isn't.

    thanks for posting this demo... but i can't really tell if it has any guts in the 20-200hz range.

    how would it stack up again a waldorf pulse which has insane low end.

  • I personally feel that they are still necessary.. at least to me.. I think the best combination is 1 good monophonic, and 1 good polyphonic.. just depends what styles you wanna bang out.

  • Monosynths are at their best when used in conjunction with a sequencer of some kind or for solos.

  • cut copy plays it and it sounds gr8. probably u just have to spend much time to manage great sounds from it.

  • yeah I didn't like this synth on first pass..but I played it all of 1 minute at a namm show. I know that it takes more than that to discover some synths capabilities.. cut copy is one of my favorite bands.. I about dropped when I saw they played it. Definitely made me reassess.

  • why does it sound so harsh and cold compared to old junos or jupiters or probably compared to any analogue synth made in 80's?can anyone explain this curiosity to me?

    it basically sounds ugly to me.

  • Because hes playing it hard. Good sounds are usually just simple or take alotttttt of experimenting / practice

    Plus old school stuff will always be better

  • shit,we always come down to classic analogue synths.I just wonder how can the old stuff sound better then the new stuff.of course,new moogs are great and there are a few more good synths out there but the great majority is not as warm and powerful as synths made in 80's

  • my because the sound is recorded by the camera...so a great part of the bass is cut off...maybe that's why it's sounding so harsh

  • I think you hear the digital OSC as well, which might explain your impression. the Analog side can sound warm though :)

  • @ivikas123456789 I just captured this quickly with a camcorder. I didn't know 100s of thousands of people would watch it and expect pristine production! My mistake :) It sounds much better and there probably are better sounding videos on Youtube. I still had a lot of fun improvising that day. I had just opened the box. unplanned. TAKE CARE!

  • After testing it by my own I have decided to order one today. Thank you for your video.

  • how much does it cost?

    can you tell me the price?

  • I have received it today. It is 2000 euros.

  • hey mano123456, you got a micro or multi there in the video?

  • sounds cold and nasty...actually quite unpleasant to the ear although i guess that may appeal to some.

  • @jockincognito Crap camera sound - my mistake, didn't plan to have 150K people watch it, and camera was just rolling after I opened the box oops! I've updated the video description to clarify what's up. TAKE CARE

  • Can I ask something: When the manual says "Frequency: C -2C 8 Selects base frequency over a 10 octave range, from 8 Hz

    to 8KHz, stepping in semitones. C3 is middle C, the first octave is 2 (C-2, C#-2, and

    so on), the second octave is 1 (C-1, C#-1, and so on), the third is zero (C 0, C# 0),

    and so on.", does that mean that the keys/synth can't go above 8 KHz in sound? :O*

  • It means that the fundamental of a pitch isn't above 8 KHz. In practice, you'd never go that high anyway, because anything above the 2nd harmonic would be beyond people's hearing anyway.

  • Im getting a PEK on monday, been watching this vid ever since i ordered. Put some more up if you would.

    Peace Nikky

  • Comment removed

  • I spent some time with one of these, and was left uninspired.

    The overall sound wasn't warm to my ears, and I do not like the feel of the knobs or the interface.

    Reeno

  • No you really need to spend time with it, if you want warm turn the digital osc off etc, i have memorymoog, OBXa, Rhodes Chroma etc etc and evrytime i turn mine on, i have 3 in fact thats how much i like them im blown away. You just need to learn it. This synth sounds like nothing else!

  • sounds a little thin to me

  • He has very beautiful hands

  • I want to eat them O_0 and feed the insects in my head XD

  • Holy fuck, its a Dave SMith. FUck, they make good synths!

  • I do not like the depth of the keys that much. In my opinion from playing a friends it is harder for me to play faster pieces.

  • Again - people, please don't rely on a camcorder microphone to record audio - make an effort and patch your audio into the video before editing and uploading.  This bad camcorder mic audio makes this expensive synth sound like a malfunctioning Juno-106 - total crap!

  • I just want to hear some serious home-made patches. People need to stop with this preset shit.

  • Hey I am new at this but do homemade patches come from tweaking the knobs through the settings or...... Thanx-__-

  • Some presets made history!

  • like what

  • Comment removed

  • which sound is it?!

  • @bazrin I had JUST opened the box and ran a quick test. That's should be permitted!

  • @bazrin i'm interested in the sounds that come out a Poly Evolver.. So i'm very grateful to Mano...

  • @deeposhin What's wrong with a Juno-106? Not good enough for you?

  • @deeposhin Updated description :)

  • he as the look of an oberheim obx and surpass him, warm and smooth pad, very straight attack on the bass sound, and can do amazing lead like a minimoog.

  • Even the mono, keyless tabletop version of the Evolver can produce sounds that seemingly defy its monophonic capacity. The Evolver is just an AWESOME synth in any form, and true to its name, it's very capable of evolving into many different forms.

    Listen to these sounds!  And that's just a tiny fraction of what it is capable of.

  • Is this just the same as the mono evolver only polyphonic?

  • I need one!!

  • I am in love.

  • tight!

  • I'd say the Prophet 08. The oscillators have something magicky about them.

  • wich one is better prophet 08 or the

    poly evolver and why?

  • i own both and id say everytime i go back to the Poly im blown away. Nothing else sounds like it!

  • just issued one.awesome bit of kit.

  • actually i believe this is the synth trent uses in ruiner

  • Naw it couldn't be. Ruiner was made long before the poly evolver was released. :-)

  • 3:41 great great great sound.

  • I Love When The Sound Gets All Nasty And Aggressive At 3:30 I Want This Synth And A Prophet '08!

  • is this the thing [or maybe a different type of synthesizer] the thing that trent reznor of nine inch nails uses to make his sounds?

  • he used many synthesizers, from vintage to custom, the one on the wall in the closer video used to belong to one of the Beatles. not to mention he does more to the sound during editing and mixing so its hard to recreate

  • Look around online. You can see pictures of Trent's setup it's huge!(Heck mine would be huge too if I could deduct it as a business expense :-))

  • muahah, awesome.

    is that a multimoog above?

  • sheer power!

  • The stuff at 2:30 makes me want to go to space. I adore this synth

  • very nice synthesizer! it had to be expensive.

  • Believe it or not, they're not that bad. A lot cheaper than comparable synths from other companies (ie: Moog, Nord, Access).

  • The raw sound of the prophet 08 minus the digital oscillators is more colored, 'cos the chips were tweaked . different tones, both great synths.

  • A far cry from my Korg X5!

    The sounds are monstrous! however I notice a lot of the time you're not taking advantage of the poly, are they mostly mono sounds being played on it?

  • I went to a Guitar Center and they had a Poly Evolver on display. When I sat down to play it, I realized that someone had broken its keys! It was a sad day.

  • I went to a friends house and he had one of these.

    I have experience with stuff like the Roland Phantoms and stuff like that and I've gotta say that they don't compare at all with this. The sound it produces is so thick and musical.

  • you can't compare two totally different instruments.

  • Bear in mind also ;, great playing from mano123 here, but this synth can do * a lot * of other different of kinds of timbres too.

  • 100% opposite view from me . Andromeda, Prophet 08, and the Poly Evolver are all fantastic instruments . I've had the poly-ev for two years and its out of this world. All these instruments add a lot more to your textures than VAs IMHO .

  • I have the Poly Evolver and I'm looking at the prophet 08 too. Do you think it's overkill to have both or it the Prophet a different beast? My list is , Prophet 08, Moog Voyager, Virus Ti2, and continue building a modular for the french connection. This is a start but I am in school and have only so much to spend....Fellin love with the prophet...What would you do? Thanx in advance...Peace to you...

  • it is annoying how there's virtually no poly evolver videos on here - lot of people mention that. Come on people !

  • this is very strange. it seems, in the begining, that he's teaking the knobs, but nothing drastic happens - if at all. i've heard hours of polyevolver demos, and i've seen video demos of the evolver desktop and the mono evolver.

    still not even one decent video demo of the poly evolver. so many people show off their virus ti videos etc. it just can't be that so many people have the polyevolver, and there's isn't even one "normal" video of someone going thru presets, basses, leads, pads, etc.

  • good playing mate!

    great demo but for a bit of harsh audio. it would sound thoroughly awesome recorded direct instead of thru the camera mic. can't omplain, tho.

    my ms2000 is like the poop-version of this, in several ways.

    thanks for sharing :D

  • Awsome dude..

  • Ahhh I'm in the 1980's... being attacked by aliens.

  • This is the real deal. Christ 2:30 into this it went gold. Very nice psych sounds

  • we really need more poly evo demos, please, owners.

  • Incredible! I love the sequencer! How much was it?

  • £1500!!! argh!! i want one!

  • reminds me of the PPG 2.2 Wave :D they where beasts

  • I bought 1

    There is just something special about owning a real piece of hardware that can do things like this.

    I also love the vibe this thing gives off. That a huge reason why I bought her. She (pek) was designed and built by one of the first synth makers. Unlike some synth that a "committee" of people desided then built in China by $1 a day labor.

    Im not trying to sound mean but to me, a lot of other boards lack the vibe and soul.

    there are not many types of synths like this out there.

  • PolyEvolver forever !!!

  • Thats great! You acn here the 'real' synth sound.. not that horrible computer chip crap!

  • Are you aiming to Native Instruments? Because they have the best emulators of synth. The sound is so real, it sound like it's coming out of a real synth

  • I disagree. there is a huge difference.

  • no. great artists turned to the NI series when they started releasing the synths. I have music experience and know what i'm talking about. They wouldn't release it if it wasn't true to the real thing.

  • They release it when it's good enaugh for music production. You can't get the warmth of analog hardware on a digital synth.

  • of course it isnt as good as actually having the real thing. But it is a great alternative to an analog synth. I'd love to have my hands on a Prophet 5 or 08.

  • agreed

  • Same here, but I can barely afford the VST imitations.

    I'm not a fan of all this "fake" analog crap. Give me a real analog axe like this one, with real VCO's, and I'll be happy.

  • I just think it's funny that Dave /invented/ soft synths, and now he completely disowns them, and wishes he never had invented them XD

  • Sounds amazing, very nice video =)

  • i see that you have other Dave Smith instruments as well? which one?

  • thanks for this one - we need more poly evo demos..

  • nice gear!

  • That's not an old synth.

  • Very old Synth but very good I like it :D

  • The PolyEvolver keyboard was only released in 2005.

  • это аналоговый чтоли?

  • isnt that hebrew? what the fuck are you doing speaking hebrew?

  • now that shits comedy

  • its russian pcynn

  • lol or yiddish?

  • beer4me88, it's not only hebrew. His name is digital. :o

  • nice video!

  • is this essentially what you get with an evolver module?

  • Yep

    but here you have HANDS ON control over everything, and a great keyboard feel... We are talking ~80 endless rotary knobs (!), etc.

  • Good demo, sounds nice.

  • dude how much money is that?

  • somewhere inbetween 1000 and 2000

  • It's more like $2,500

  • do i work for you now or something?

  • you make me a completly software based system that sounds as good as a OMEGA 8 from studio electronic then i'll listen

  • homegrown techno music

  • NIce Demo.

    I got PlyEvolver too at LastWeek.

    Iam playing PoleEvolver everyNight!

  • synth magnifico!!!!

  • makes me wonder how crystal method got started off

  • how much do this synth cost?

  • if you have to ask...

  • dave smith is a genius, i still have my 6-tracs and i love to bits, but this thing is awesome

  • Fantastic stuff! No music in the world cam compete with the nostalgic sounds of synthesized music! :)

  • This synth is fantastic... but how would you compare it to say the Alesis A6 Andromeda? Ive got a virus KC but that Evolver is quality.. But pricey. If it was £1200 I'd buy one. Is it possible to make full complex tracks with? I mean whats the polyphony? and is it multi timbral? An Evolver, Elektron Monomachine, Machine drum is what i'd like.

  • Is only the DS Poly Evolver was a little bit smaller (keyboard wise) I would buy it! Now I'll just have to buy a Little Phatty Stage Edition or an Evolver (w/ keyboard) :/

  • You could get the Mono Evolver keyboard... They're a similar price to the Little Phatty.

  • I bought the Moog LP Stage Edition. What a GREAT piece of equipment! You gotta try it... it's amazing for a mono synth! :O Looks so simple, but it has so much possibilities, and everything with RAC and... that organic analog sound! :)

  • Nice - I've got a Model D, so I know what you're on about. Amazing sound! An Evolver of some sort is still worth having though - they offer something quite different to the Moogs. Congrats on the LP though, they look great!

  • Yes! As a former bassist I'm pretty convinced with the LP Stage! I can't stop playing it!

    In a few months I guess my next purchase will be a Dave Smith Poly-Evolver! :)

  • I agree with the guy who said that the mono evolver is in some ways more preferable, this thing just drowns out all the sounds when you're playing in a band for example. I just tried the MonoEvolver and the polyEvolver at my local music shop and I do'n think I care much for the 3 extra voices.

    This thing still rocks though, fat fat fat fat sounds :-)

  • You should record it directly to the sound card this mic recorded stuff sucks. Anyway aweesome i will buy also one.

  • Agreed! The camcorder does not have audio inputs for some reason... I'd have to record an audio track separately and lay it on top of the video later

  • Agreed :)

  • Virus TI seems a bit better thou...

  • Not the same thing.

    This one is ANALOG. It has both Digital and Analog components but you can choose what you want to use for each patch.

    These analog filters and oscillators RUMBLE and feel so much better than any digital "emulations" I've had or tested.

  • The "analogue" oscillators inside the synth are not exactly analogue in a sense. They're digitally controlled (locked by digital circuitry to keep them exactly in tune), similar to DCOs. These are not far off from your typical DSP-made oscillator.

  • wrong, compare similar waveforms and you can visually see a difference

  • All synths, even digital synths, have slightly different waveform shapes. It's all to do on how they're fed through waveshaper circuitry, A/D converters etc.

    And I'm not saying the oscillators are digital either. Even though the oscillators are made by analogue circuitry, they are controlled digitally and fed through an A/D converter. Hence "Digitally Controlled Oscillator" or DCO. Many synths (like the Juno 60) had DCOs back in the day.

  • incorrect sir

  • Email Dave Smith.

  • seriously!

    he'll write back.

  • Just because they are DCOs, doesn't make them digital. The signal generator is analog. DCOs have been used in many analog synths. Drifting oscillators are not usually welcome, and you don't want to open up your board to tune your oscillators.

  • that sounds great!

  • god the sound is so rich

  • i owned on eof these last year for a month. i still on the mono evolver, and that is much more easier to use in a mix, but the poly is just too much...the sound just swamps everything else, which is a pain. furthermore, there was a bug which meant that if you played one of the inbuilt sequences and stopped it in an odd place, then one of the voice cards would go out of tune until you pressed the sequence reset button.

  • This is a good example of what the Poly Evolver is capable of, but I think refering to it as an analog synth is misleading because it's an analog/digital hybrid. So my question is, was this filmed using only the analog side?

  • muhaha ! very analog ! damn it rockz !

  • Looking great! I have been wondering but it really sounds fat from what I can hear.

  • it's not boring

    it just needs some beat

  • I have been more into the whole 70's flava ambient / electronica lately... staying away from beats per-se. It's just me though. I've done my share of beats :)

  • you play really cheesey chromatic stuff though. It's boring.

  • That's your point of view :)

    What I play on camera here is an *improvisation*. Not all of the phrases are simple arpeggios/scales however!

  • yes, i've used one too - it is good as the effects are all there for you to use, the ones you want - you know?

    Good design....wouldn't buy one though.

  • bought this machine a couple of months ago and it's great..

  • it's nice modern version of prophet 5

  • I really like the little indicator led's on the right that are showing which notes are active. Can you set the order they go in? I noticed that when you played a single note repeatedly that it cycled through them - 1-2-3-4.

    Is that a Micro or a Multi sitting on top?

    Fantastic!