Latest news .... The current owner came back to me with the ROM versions:
Main version | | 2 | | 1 | |
DSP | | 2 | | 0 | |
I would want to upgrade the ROM to version 3. Happily the owner managed to find 6 of the 8 rotary encoder tops. I could try to ask DSI if they have two spare / originals matching.
In light of that I did go ahead and made an offer. We agreed to settle at 320 Euro (30 Euro off the asking price). I will pickup the unit tomorrow evening and spent some time testing it together with the owner.
GASS has won once again, but I do believe this is a great opportunity to learn more about Dave's designs. I haven't played with FM synthesis since I sold my DX-21 many years ago. I am also very much looking forward to fiddling with the combined analog and digital nature of the Evolver. This will be my first mono synth ever (actually dual mono ). I believe combining / layering the Evolver with the Rev2 and the Blofeld will be awesome.
Yay! You will be very happy with your purchase I'm sure. I really wish I bought two when I got mine, I now need to pay more for a 2nd hand unit than I did for the first brand new!
The FM on the Evolver is very simple. Nothing like a DX synth of any type, but still a great function for adding texture to a patch. It is the first synth on which I actually understood what FM does. Other synths with osc FM left me wondering what it did to a patch and generally ignoring it. A lot of that was due to Anu Kirk's guide mind you, but also the ease with which the results of different FM combination were demonstrated using an Evolve is a great way to understand how it works.
If you don't mind using computer to program, the Sound Tower editor for the Evolver is pretty good, with a wonderful sequencer programming gui which takes a good amount of the pain involved in using it away.
Some new user tips: When checking out the presets, go into the Trigger Select parameters to change what triggers the instrument. By default it seems nearly all the presets are set to be triggered by both incoming notes and internal sequencer 1 gate which can make for unexpected behaviour when sending it notes from an external sequencer.
Also when previewing, some presets have their external input turned off in the Key Off/Xpose parameter setting. This dictates if the Evolver responds to note values via MIDI. Starting with off, Key Off/Xpose will transpose the MIDI notes it receives from -36 semitones to +36, as pointed out in the manual (or was it the guide) allowing for individual patches to have different tunings. This is another setting that can make a first time user go "what the hell is going on?"
I've mentioned "the guide" a bit, bloody amazing piece of work which you can find a link to in the stick thread on this board.
Well done on your new acquisition and have fun creating some truly unique sounds and synthetic instruments!