I have been searching for years now for a specific type of synthesizer. I've wasted countless hours late at night reading many hundreds of forum posts, and as many opinions have only led me away from common sense. In other words, reading so many varied opinions tends to obscure my own certainties, and the short-lived desire to grab the latest new synthesizer - the one getting all the glitzy marketing and forum attention - has the absurd effect of making me desire what I know I neither want nor need.
My musical needs are wonderfully met, regarding polyphonic synthesis, by the Poly Evolver Keyboard and the Prophet '08. Whatever musical objectives I have in mind at any time are happily fulfilled by these two instruments. However, I'd like to have one dedicated instrument that is at all times reserved and programmed for melodic uses. The upper P'08 in my set up usually serves this purpose well, but I'd like to improve on it, if I can. I know exactly what I'm searching for, my needs are simple but specific, and here are my requirements:
1) Keyboard - This is my favorite part of any synthesizer. I need a bare minimum of 44 keys, a high-quality keybed, and preferably aftertouch as well.
2) Tone - It must be warm and rich. Classic old school but refined analog timbre is what I'm after. And by the way, I've no interest in the usual analog vs. digital debates. My stubborn Irish mind is made up, so let's move on.
3) Oscillator - There must be two or three complete and very stable oscillators (not subs), with triangle, sawtooth, and pulse waveforms, plus white noise. Keyboard tracking must allow the oscillator beating rate to be the same at both ends of the keyboard.
4) LFO - There must be no fewer than two LFOs for simultaneous vibrato and pulse width modulation set to different amounts and rates. A dedicated vibrato LFO would work.
5) LFO Delay - Aftertouch is no substitute for a fine and evenly controlled LFO depth. I need the ability to control vibrato amount with a four-stage envelope.
6) Envelopes - There must be two or three four-stage envelopes. Delay is not necessary.
7) Module - This is not absolutely necessary, but it will eventually become an issue. I must have the ability, somehow, to achieve a stereo depth with the instrument. It's essential to the sound I'm after. This means either a keyboard version MIDI-ed to a module version of the same instrument, two identical modules, or else, combining the instrument with an entirely different module.
Additionally, I'd like to have a high pass filter and onboard delay, but these are not absolutely necessary.
Everything on this short list of requirements is common and ordinary. As I said, my needs as a synthesist are simple but specific. Amazingly, it has been impossible to find all of these basic capabilities in one instrument. Actually, the Prophet '08 comes the closest, but I would like to improve on its monophonic tone just a tad, if possible. The DSI Pro 2 easily meets most of my requirements, but I'm not convinced it has a sufficiently warm tone. My mind might have been changed if DSI had made a module version, because the stereo depth can greatly improve an overall character. The Moog Voyager was nearly the right instrument, but I disliked its sawtooth tone, which sounded very nasal to me; plus, a second LFO required the addition of a CP-251 Module. The MFB Dominion 1 and Oberheim Two-Voice Pro are also close candidates, but the keyboard lengths fall short; plus, the Dominion 1 is nearly impossible to get in the US. I suppose the Matrix Brute is a possibility, but I don't personally like at all its lop-sided control panel, and being a totally new instrument for Arturia, I do expect it to be loaded with bugs and other problems. I don't want to have an ongoing relationship with a company. I just want to buy a synthesizer and end it.
One possibility that remains is the forthcoming Vermona 14, although it has only two oscillators, plus two subs. This would still work for me if paired with a module version, but I doubt Vermona will produce one.
At this point, my first preference would be to combine a Pro 2 with a good analog module, perhaps the forthcoming Oberheim SEM, a Boomstar 4075, or even a Vermona Perfourmer Mk. II. This combination offers flexibility of tone, a manageable cost, and opportunites for expansion. I'd like to "grow" this monophonic instrument over time by adding hardwired modules.
My second preference would actually be to use either a Prophet-6 or an OB-6 as the base for this instrument. Their keyboards are an ideal length, and the polyphony would be a handy option when needed. I would then have to combine the instrument with two panned modules. This could result in a superb synthesizer, but it would also be quite expensive.
If I can't find the instrument I'm searching for, then the last possibility would be to create it through hardwired modules. But the obvious shortcoming in this is that I would have to sacrifice one of my other instruments as a keyboard controller. I would prefer the keyboard-module combination so as to have an independent monophonic instrument.
This is a rather complicated concept of an instrument. Any serious suggestions?
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