Can a Poly Evolver do normal ?

[3dsmatt]

Hi. First Post. Guessed this would be the place to ask.

I'm planning on buying a Poly Evolver rack and was just wondering if the PE can do normal , cute sounds if it needs to !?

Everything I have heard is drowned in reverb or distortion and is either a little wishy washy or bombastic. I'm not sure that I have heard any that is well recorded and is dry....no FX. Does the PE need effects to make it shine ?

I do like the videos/soundclouds by Hitoshi Koizumi so I'm happy that I'll be able to get the types of metallic + glassy sounds that (as I understand) wave table synthesis excels at. However, with it's analogue side I thought it might be possible to get a more standard "unspectacular" or even lo-fi-ish brass sound. I really like the Matrix 6 too and was wondering if the PE can emulate that darker, softer side of analogue synthesis.

If not , I'll eventually pick up a matrix 1000 (on top of the PE) . Would be nice if I could do it all with the PE though.

Any input whatsoever would be greatly appreciated.

MATT

[Soundquest]

Welcome 3dsmatt!

Yes, you came to the right place    The short answer is yes!  There is no reason you cannot get wonderful traditional sounds out of the PEK without a barrage of effects.   I think it excels at delicate analogue sounds as well. You will not be disappointed with the raw sound.

For an alternate to what you may have already seen or heard,  I'll recommend listening to some of the music posted on this forums PEK music thread.  You will hear the traditional sounds like plucked strings, short keys, flutes, horns,  strings, choirs pipe organs...and the list goes on.  There's a lot of forum users here that'll be able to point you to other good examples.  I'm going to nominate Sacred Synthesis pipe organ patches for huge sound with minimal effects.

[Sacred Synthesis]

The Poly Evolver can do it all.  Don't overlook the fact that the first several digital wave shapes are analog in character.  That means you can have four oscillators of sawtooth or square, or mix in some pulse width modulation.  With such potential, the sky is the limit, meaning massive stereo richness for pads or delicate tones for melodies. 

The vast majority of PEK demonstration videos use the instrument in a very limited sensational way and emphasize its digital harshness.  But it has another sweet and delicate side full of musical potential.

Take a listen to this Soundcloud channel, which has some wonderful PEK music and sounds:

https://soundcloud.com/wavescape-1

Perhaps Soundquest can suggest a few pieces.

 

[3dsmatt]

Ooooh. What a lovely welcome and a couple of level-headed replies. That's a novelty !

The content of your replies is also very informative. It's good to know that there is scope to this machine beyond the FM (or is it wavetable?) sounds it produces. (I don't really know the difference , just that both remind me of the Beverly Hills cop soundtrack).

I ended up buying a Matrix 1000 rack, because it was cheap (400gbp) and I like it. But the PE still seems like it could be an interesting addition. I'd actually be purchasing a rack which I can get for a 1000 pounds, which also seems like a reasonable (or maybe standard) price.

Anyhow, I feel like the darkness of the Matrix 1000 and the brightness of the PE could complement one another quite well.

The Wavescape stuff is very nice. At a loss to tell which parts are produced by the PEK is the only thing. I imagine there will be some on the prominent staccato parts. It sounds great anyway.

[3dsmatt]

.....really like the tune "Incident at the opera". I really like your stuff as well Sacred Synthesis, which I had previously come across. It is a bit more Rothko-esque compared to my attention seeking sensibilities.

This is the type of music I make....if it's of any help.

https://open.spotify.com/artist/7zWpHSss4qyRRfXjbHEbhH

Some of the mixes are a little garish ...but whatever.

[Soundquest]

Thanks 3dsmatt,

You might try "music box carousel" on my soundcloud page (about a year back).  It use a lot of digital character from the PEK using those homemade Tea Pot waves mentioned elsewhere in this PEK forum section.  But there's some bass and voicy stuff too.   Its all PEK.

I don't have Spotify yet, but when I do I'll check out your example. 

I haven't' much other synth forum experience for comparison,  but my instinct is that  you'll find the folks here to be a cordial group and generally open minded and knowledgeable to all synth related instrument posts, whether it be Sequential (DSI) or not.     

[Sacred Synthesis]

Don't overlook this thread:

https://forum.sequential.com/index.php/topic,61.0.html