Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?

Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« on: September 15, 2017, 02:09:21 AM »
I am just curious about this, did the majority of you got the 16 or the 8?
I just ordered my 8 because, well at the moment I do not need 16 voices and I can always expand in the future!

Propheteer

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #1 on: September 15, 2017, 02:15:30 AM »
I went for 8. There are times currently when I think 'would be great to have 16', when I'm using layered patches (I rarely use or would use split mode so 'meh'), but for layered patches there's some great sounds and obviously 4 voice poly can limit that, but in reality it's not that big a deal. I can easily get by with 4 voice for recording those parts, and most of the time I seem to prefer to just use a non stacked sound in general for my own sounds, more pure... more why I like analog anyway.

In that respect I'm glad I went for the 8 voice and have no regrets, the 8 voice price is great, while the 16 voice price is, for me, a bit too high a cost unless large polyphony is very high on your agenda (for me I'm happy with 6 voice poly on my old analogs so..), so unless you're layering then 8 voice for me is more than good. And the price makes it a very good synth for the money, if I was getting up towards the 16 voice price I may not be quite as happy paying that much and it would lose some of its value over the  prophet 08 because it cost so much more.

And at least we have the add-on card option should we ever feel the need but I honestly don't think I will nor warrant that extra £500 for another 8 voices when the main point, the main guts/beauty of this synth is already there within the 8 voice, again, so long as layering isn't big on your agenda (and it may be because it can pull off some awesome layered sounds). If I was desperate for that, as they don't really interact much between layers (other than morphing style modulation if programmed that way) I could quite happily just record 2 separate patches twice into my DAW for layering.

If you play live and want that, then 16 voices is probably a much better idea.
« Last Edit: September 15, 2017, 02:17:37 AM by Propheteer »

Gerry Havinga

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Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #2 on: September 15, 2017, 03:48:31 AM »
I also bought the 8 voice version. I am using the Rev2 as two separate synths, running in multi-mode directly of my DAW. Each layer addressed individually. As long as I restrict myself to three or four note chords and manage the amp release, all is well. Studio use only at the moment.

I am not ready to play live yet (if ever). I am planning to be ready for live playing in two years approximately (when I am 60 .....). I do realize that when I have to think on my feet, I don't want any unnecessary complexity. Each synth doing it's own thing, restricted to maximum two voices/layers, otherwise I lose the overview and control  :) The Rev2 fits this model beautifully.

If I ever hit the limit, there is the additional voice card, cash flow permitting.
DAW-less and going down the Eurorack rabbit hole.

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #3 on: September 15, 2017, 07:13:44 AM »
Actually I will play it only LIVE (together with a Korg Kronos 2) ... and I have seriously thought about the 16 voices option (and those 600 euros going out from my pocket).
I will mainy use the REV2 for leads, solo parts and some intros (our style is close to prog and symphonic rock/metal) so I do not think I will really need the 16 voices IF NOT for the Stack mode... which as I can understand will limit me to a 4 note polyphony (this hurts me but I can cope with that, I guess)

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #4 on: September 15, 2017, 11:23:13 AM »
I got the 16 voice version, mainly because I already own a Prophet 12 and know how easy it is for me to use the voices up - even with 4 Oscillators!!!
I thought that I'd use a lot of stacked voices on the REV2 so therefore 8 voices just wouldn't have given me enough polyphony.
I also managed to get a great deal on a 16 voice model from SX Pro Audio in the UK, so all those things combined to make the 16 voice the obvious choice for me.
Must say I'm loving it so far it's a cracking synth (though the Prophet 12 is still my favourite)! :)

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #5 on: September 15, 2017, 01:49:55 PM »
Topic update, I found a great price for the 16 so changed my order 😀😏 Will have to wait but that was a good deal.

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #6 on: September 15, 2017, 02:01:55 PM »
The beauty of the 8 voice REV2 is it can be expanded at a let date anyway.
I think that's a supercool move by Dave Smith and allows a cheaper route into their gear without being 'knobbled' forever.
Fantastic! :)

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #7 on: September 15, 2017, 08:25:55 PM »
I got the 16 voice partly because I got a good price on it.  The other reason (although not too much of a big deal) is that going with an 8 voice then buying the extra 8 voice upgrade card if I remember right about $100 or so more than if going with the 16 voice.  Again it's not a huge difference but maybe a factor for some.

With one knowing that ahead of time though going with an 8 voice and initially saving some $ at first might be a great way to go.  Then if you feel like you need/want the extra 16 voices then you can splurge a little more and get the upgrade.  Just my 2 cents.

Propheteer

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #8 on: September 16, 2017, 01:37:32 AM »
well for me it wasn't worth the risk spending so much on the 16 voice without knowing if I really loved the synth or not, or would even 'need' 16 voices, the extra 400-500 pounds over the 8 voice is quite a lot and moves the synth as a whole from almost a bargain into an area of cost where it competes with other synths (though not if you got it at those cheaper prices I saw but still higher than 8 voice). Knowing now how much I like it though, I'd probably have been happy either way but I don't miss the other 8 voices it's really not an issue, and the 4-5 hundred saving will be very handy for new computer stuff I'm upgrading this year too. I wanted a new synth but didn't want to go crazy and the 8 voice is still very much a great synth and has higher poly already than most new synths out there. :)

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #9 on: September 18, 2017, 10:01:12 AM »
I got the 8 voice version. I actually was offered a really great deal for the 16, but I just didn't have the extra $300 needed to make it happen. I bought the 8 voice knowing that I could always expand it in the future, if need be. Which, by the way, is very very cool of DSI. Well done guys  :D
So far though, about two weeks in, I don't really see myself needing the upgrade. While I understand the benefits of bi-timbral patches, it's not somewhere I see myself going very often. I've been really happy with the amount of versatility, atmosphere, and texture I can get out of a single patch, or even just a single oscillator! Going back and forth between editing two different patches just doesn't fit with my current workflow very well.
Beyond that, after working with the 4 voice poly of the Minilogue for a year or so, 8 voices feel pretty wonderful to me! Of course, this is all just me and my preference. I'm sure there are plenty of others that feel differently.

LoboLives

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #10 on: September 20, 2017, 01:43:01 PM »
I'm going to go for the eight. 16 Voices would only be needed in my view if the synth was multitimbral.

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #11 on: September 20, 2017, 08:31:27 PM »
I'm going to go for the eight. 16 Voices would only be needed in my view if the synth was multitimbral.
Well it is Bi-timbral. :)
With the 16 voice model, the other advantage is you can effectively use it as an 8 note polyphonic 4 oscillator analogue synth (6 counting sub oscillators) when you stack the voices.
The brilliant thing though is it's expandable, so if you do find 8 voices aren't enough for you at some point you can add another 8 later.
It's a great sounding synth and I hope you enjoy it! :)

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #12 on: September 21, 2017, 08:04:29 AM »
Retailer suggested to go for the 16 instead of the 8 because of the sequencer sounds so much better with 8. True/False ?  Perhaps owners have some experience with that. I am not sure if the REV2 will complement the P12 well, but thinking about an 8 voice desktop to try things it out and because of the lowest cost possible for a REV2  (even though I like the key-bed very much, but have no space for it). I do see my P12 sometimes running out of voices with certain patches.
« Last Edit: September 21, 2017, 08:07:15 AM by musicmaker »

LoboLives

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #13 on: September 21, 2017, 08:25:21 AM »
I'm going to go for the eight. 16 Voices would only be needed in my view if the synth was multitimbral.
Well it is Bi-timbral. :)
With the 16 voice model, the other advantage is you can effectively use it as an 8 note polyphonic 4 oscillator analogue synth (6 counting sub oscillators) when you stack the voices.
The brilliant thing though is it's expandable, so if you do find 8 voices aren't enough for you at some point you can add another 8 later.
It's a great sounding synth and I hope you enjoy it! :)

Yeah bi-timbral 16 voice doesn't cut it for me. I appreciate it for what it is but honestly it's 2017, there should be more than one split point.

kris

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Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #14 on: September 26, 2017, 03:42:09 PM »
I got the 16-voice, mainly because the 8-voice wasn't available when I tried to get it, and, well, it was my birthday present, so to speak.

I think the 8 voice pricing is much more attractive, but I just bit the bullet. I was disappointed at first regarding the unison voice usage, but that's on all feature request threads now, so let's hope DSI makes it more flexible.

One point to consider, if you have the money: 16-voice Unison sounds so much better than just 8-voice Unison (on a 16 voice, you can try it out by dialing back unison voices via the Misc params menu), and that is used on near all bass and many lead sounds...
Check out the free Sysex Librarian for Sequential and more https://github.com/christofmuc/KnobKraft-orm

Sleep of Reason

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #15 on: September 26, 2017, 04:43:39 PM »
On and on about multimbrality... It's a synth, not a workstation. Things can get mighty hectic as it is with just one layer and four LFOs alone. Sure 16 voices seems like a lot for a synth, but I certainly run into walls from time to time. As for more split points, again, it's not a workstation.
« Last Edit: September 26, 2017, 05:03:46 PM by Sleep of Reason »

dsetto

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Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #16 on: September 26, 2017, 08:20:20 PM »
Bitimbral is a fundamental aspect of the workflow of various DSI synthesizers. For me, the live, spontaneous, knob tweaking spirit is in jeopardy with 4 stacks of a knob-laden synth that isn't screen centric.

LoboLives

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #17 on: September 27, 2017, 03:21:57 AM »
On and on about multimbrality... It's a synth, not a workstation. Things can get mighty hectic as it is with just one layer and four LFOs alone. Sure 16 voices seems like a lot for a synth, but I certainly run into walls from time to time. As for more split points, again, it's not a workstation.

Tell that to the Alesis Andromeda. 16 voices, 16 patches with 16 different sequences at once. That was a synth not a workstation. Nor is the Schmidt and that I believe is multitimbral.
« Last Edit: September 27, 2017, 03:26:41 AM by LoboLives »

LoboLives

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #18 on: September 27, 2017, 03:22:59 AM »
Bitimbral is a fundamental aspect of the workflow of various DSI synthesizers. For me, the live, spontaneous, knob tweaking spirit is in jeopardy with 4 stacks of a knob-laden synth that isn't screen centric.

That depends on how you set it up.

Re: Ordered my REV2-8 today, what was your choice btw 8 and 16?
« Reply #19 on: September 27, 2017, 07:36:40 AM »
I have the 16 voice.  It was the 16 that caught my eye on this one.  I think it depends on what your style or use of this is.  For me live keyboard style playing and layered pads with an overhead of poly was what I wanted.  Most of the really FAT sounds I'm getting on this are in stacked mode.  Personally I don't think I'd really be happy with the 8 voice.
Prophet Rev2, SonicCore Xite-1,CP300,CS5,SK20