A message for Dave Smith : Tempest II

[LoboLives]

I would be all for it but I won't early adopt. I REALLY hope they continue on with the dev plan they originally had which was to do a sampling box to kinda be brother to the Tempest. BUT.... I would want it done right. Part of the awesome sauce marketing of the tempest was having both Dave Smith and Roger Linn's names right on the machine ... this was implying that they were applying all those years of experience into the tempest so you could trust that when it came out it would be fully fleshed out and would be well thought out with forethought to the future. the reality (in my opinion) was not that...  they underspec'd the digital side of things leaving barely enough memory to save anything. they used a chip that struggled to import sample data. They didnt haven enough cpu left over to even handle complex midi for fear of clock stability. (all this stuff admitted on their part over the years).
So with that being said... I still want what I know they COULD produce given modern chipsets and if... only IF they don't nickel and dime the damn thing to be unable to be updated and improved as time goes on.

I own both tempest and Rytm mk2 (sold my rytm mk1) fact is I prefer the sound and the sampling aspect of the Rytm but MUCH prefer the Tempest open layout and open ended synthesis of the tempest. the tempest is simply more fun to create on. It does SO much right.... yet got things wrong that the names on the box had me thinking would have been thought about before hand.
that all being said... I wasn't involved in development. I don't know what struggles happened behind the scenes. maybe one day I could have them both on my show and they could dish out the on the design decisions and why it went the way that it did.  I wouldn't expect them to be open to that till well after the Tempest is OOP.

so yeah I would LOVE a Tempest 2 ... so long as they learn from the past. hell maybe team up with Dave Rossum on it, harkening back to the prophet 5 days....

I guess my thoughts are the market now is currently flooded with things like the Rytm, Digitakt, MPC so jumping into that area would be the same as if Sequential came out with a new Mono synth. It's too oversaturated at the moment and regardless of who's name is attached to it, there's really not much Dave, Dave and Roger can do that would offer anything different than what's currently on the market as it stands.

I still think we are more likely to see Roger Linn collaborating with Toontrack or Steve Slate or any VST company for that matter than we are to see Roger and Dave do another drum machine. An MPE based synth? Sure. Drum Machine? I would be doubtful.

[Yorgos Arabatzis]

Drum machines are the elite and there’s always room for taking things to the next level...I’m saying it once again they all need to raise the bar with a hybrid analog/digital DAW like machine that can finish complete compositions..AKAI with their new MPC series have gone half way..It’s digital,they’re still working to improve the DAW like workflow but it’s missing the analog synth engine..

[joosep]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDotr1lmNwI

Roger is back on his project it seems...

[dslsynth]

Roger is back on his project it seems...

Thanks for sharing. This is how a visionary designer speaks. So amazing!

Only downside is the sky high expectations such an ambitious project goal generates.

[dslsynth]

[...] but it’s missing the analog synth engine..

An alternative to build analog synthesizer engines into drum machines are multi-timbral synthesizer modules capable of playing percussive sounds. This is exactly why it would be wonderful if Sequential did such products in the future. Features such as the option for fast envelopes modes would do the trick. In fact it would just be one of many use cases for an expressive synthesizer voice.

[Flux302]

Roger has a good head on his shoulders about it... I think he is right, focus on where things Should be in the future, not on a current simple progression. trying to make an mpc, or even rytm to compete on that same level will be very costly and in the end only result in  a split market share of a niche product. do something new and different and you win a full share (so long as the idea works at the implementation stage.)... best of luck to him.

[Yorgos Arabatzis]

Ye Roger bring that MPE to the beats game
Wonderful ideas to fresh things up but please make it a complete composition tool...Let’s all ditch DAW’s!

[LoboLives]

WHOA!!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo9fe6iF84A

[dslsynth]

WHOA!!!!

Very nice drum playing indeed. Just wondering how much of LinnStrument's MPE capabilities are used in this playing session. Makes me wonder if this could just as well be played on a completely standard row of doorbells or on a pad controller without 2D/3D capabilities.

[cmscss]

...It doesn’t need user sampling or any of the laundry list of features people want... What it needs is to have everything that was intended to work on it be in working order. It needs more memory for the programmer to complete the project...

Word brother. I often think about a crowd-funded project to solder more memory into it and have the memory-related issues tidied up. I don't trust it for live work which is a crying shame but it's my main writing tool because everything that comes out of it sounds frickin' awesome.

It's a magic device, the mod paths are insane - feedback as a destination? Genius.

[T-Punk]

I think I need an additional instrument for live performance which will cover areas Tempest can't do - effects, sampling, mixer with 1 - 2 stereo inputs, of course, more memory and normal MIDI CC control of parameters. Basically "more synth/sampler than drums" oriented groove box. There are Elektrons, but for some reason, I don't like their interface and sound too much.

I friend of mine just bought Prophet X, and I really like X's sound, all the options etc. It's quite a fresh concept, and all the modulation options now give a truly modular experience. There's only need in good analog style sequencer with resets, assignable modulation lines... So a new tabletop machine based on X engine could be amazing.

Plus yes - another killer possibility is to invite Dave Rossum and implement at least some features of his new Assimil8or Phase Modulation sampler and Morpheus Filter. They sound completely out of this world (I mean the quality at the first place ). I don't have Eurorack (use old Frac modular rack and don't want to start with Euro ) so if such a machine exists I would order it in a second, even with the price tag close to X.

[Paul Dither]

I had a chat with Roger recently and we also briefly talked about the LinnDrum 2:

https://youtu.be/sVEems2eudw

[cmscss]

I had a chat with Roger recently and we also briefly talked about the LinnDrum 2:

Very cool, checkout from 1:07:00

Thanks for posting.

[T-Punk]

After another deep night I spent with Tempest preparing upcoming live set, I really want to say this again:

LET'S START A CAMPAIGN FOR TEMPEST 2 or even better - HARDWARE UPGRADE for the original

Nothing too cosmic, just:

1) MORE MEMORY FOR EVERYTHING
2) SAMPLE IMPORT
3) DIGITAL EFFECTS
4) REAL TIME AND STEP RECORDING OF PARAMETER LOCKS
5) DIFFERENT PATTERN LENGTH / TIME SIGNATURES FOR EACH SOUND.

period.
machine to keep and to use forever.
elektron killer.
modern days analog groovebox.
all those features already implemented in X (sample import ), P6 / OB6 / REV (digital effects ).

I don't understand, why this couldn't happen?! The only question is HOW MUCH do we need to accumulate via crowdfunding?

[LoboLives]

After another deep night I spent with Tempest preparing upcoming live set, I really want to say this again:

LET'S START A CAMPAIGN FOR TEMPEST 2 or even better - HARDWARE UPGRADE for the original

Nothing too cosmic, just:

1) MORE MEMORY FOR EVERYTHING
2) SAMPLE IMPORT
3) DIGITAL EFFECTS
4) REAL TIME AND STEP RECORDING OF PARAMETER LOCKS
5) DIFFERENT PATTERN LENGTH / TIME SIGNATURES FOR EACH SOUND.

period.
machine to keep and to use forever.
elektron killer.
modern days analog groovebox.
all those features already implemented in X (sample import ), P6 / OB6 / REV (digital effects ).

I don't understand, why this couldn't happen?! The only question is HOW MUCH do we need to accumulate via crowdfunding?

It would be easier to get an MPC X or MPC Live.

[Yorgos Arabatzis]

It would be easier to get an MPC X or MPC Live.

That’s my combo ^ (Tempest + MPC Live)
I’m gonna take these babies out for a spin on 28th of Dec got an upcoming gig!

[Trevor Refix]

I think I need an additional instrument for live performance which will cover areas Tempest can't do - effects, sampling, mixer with 1 - 2 stereo inputs, of course, more memory and normal MIDI CC control of parameters. Basically "more synth/sampler than drums" oriented groove box. There are Elektrons, but for some reason, I don't like their interface and sound too much.

I know you said you don't like Elektrons, but this post perfectly describes an Octatack. It exactly describes one actually. You can get a used mk1 for pretty cheap these days, maybe worth a try? I've been using an OT / Tempest combo in my live rig since 2014, it's pretty sweet!

[muleskinner]

I'm using a Deluge paired with my Tempest. It's awesome, and it gets exponentially better with each FW update!

[RobH]

I'm using a Deluge paired with my Tempest. It's awesome, and it gets exponentially better with each FW update!

Whats a FW update "giggity" xD

[T-Punk]

Let's hope Dave will come out soon with a drum machine based on "X" technology. He just mentioned in last NAMM interview that "it would be fun to make one".

Other than that - I think a laptop with Live + Push 2 + RME card is a much comfier and better sounding solution than dealing with Elektron OT interface or Akai MPC or Force limitations. No desire to compare them here, but at least that's what I use as a sampler/workstation/live mixer at the moment.

I like an idea of "1 instrument operation" live techno performance. For me, it could be Tempest but lack of effects and sample upload... Well... The Tempest is dead. Long live the Tempest II!