A Refreshing Change

Sacred Synthesis · « **on:** August 23, 2021, 12:05:47 PM »

I think the Take 5 was an excellent decision on Sequential's part. It harps back to DSI's earlier days, when the company provided a variety of instruments for differing budgets and musical needs. (Sweetwater lists it as $1,300.) Whereas, I've found the last few years around here to be a tad too luxurious, with the synthesizer becoming an instrument only for those with an abundance of disposable income. The Take 5 is a refreshing change.

I hope Sequential will produce a module version. The Take 5 would make a fine little building block.

jg666 · « **Reply #1 on:** August 23, 2021, 12:28:13 PM »

Agree 100%

It’s listed on Andertons at £1,099 which looks a great price to me for a Sequential synth.

narkosys · « **Reply #2 on:** August 23, 2021, 01:06:59 PM »

I agree. This looks like it would be a great first synth for a beginner. One thing I would do is custom make some wood end cheeks, but is just me.

narkosys · « **Reply #3 on:** August 23, 2021, 01:12:48 PM »

I am currently listening to a video by INHALTVIDEO of all the presets and there really hasn't been any that I don't like which is extremely rare as I tend to find the presets that come with a synth to suck something hard.

creativespiral · « **Reply #4 on:** August 23, 2021, 01:31:55 PM »

Agree. Though it's not the flagship I'm hoping to see soon, I can see how this will be a very popular synth. They made some good design choices, and from the demos I'm hearing, it sounds great. That SSI2140 filter is really fantastic, and I'm interested to experiment with the Filter Overdrive, Voice Overdrive, and the fairly deep mod matrix (16 slots).

Though I would have much preferred 61-keys, I'm gonna still pick this up, and see how it stacks up next to P6.

Sacred Synthesis · « **Reply #5 on:** August 23, 2021, 01:41:55 PM »

Quote from: narkosys on August 23, 2021, 01:06:59 PM

I agree. This looks like it would be a great first synth for a beginner. One thing I would do is custom make some wood end cheeks, but is just me.

Absolutely. Wood end cheeks would transform the Take 5's appearance. If Sequential doesn't do it, someone else will.

Sacred Synthesis · « **Reply #6 on:** August 23, 2021, 01:47:11 PM »

Quote from: creativespiral on August 23, 2021, 01:31:55 PM

Though it's not the flagship I'm hoping to see soon, I can see how this will be a very popular synth. They made some good design choices, and from the demos I'm hearing, it sounds great. That SSI2140 filter is really fantastic, and I'm interested to experiment with the Filter Overdrive, Voice Overdrive, and the fairly deep mod matrix (16 slots).

Though I would have much preferred 61-keys, I'm gonna still pick this up, and see how it stacks up next to P6.

One could easily imagine a Take 10 with ten voices and a five-octave keyboard for a reasonable $2,300 or so.

LPF83 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 23, 2021, 01:56:55 PM »

Quote from: creativespiral on August 23, 2021, 01:31:55 PM

Agree. Though it's not the flagship I'm hoping to see soon, I can see how this will be a very popular synth. They made some good design choices, and from the demos I'm hearing, it sounds great. That SSI2140 filter is really fantastic, and I'm interested to experiment with the Filter Overdrive, Voice Overdrive, and the fairly deep mod matrix (16 slots).

Though I would have much preferred 61-keys, I'm gonna still pick this up, and see how it stacks up next to P6.

I'd expect it to sound very different (and that's a good thing) up against a P6. The SSI2140 filter is great and I think that may be why, in combination with the new oscillators, the Take5 sounds a bit "Juno/DCO" to me, but
I think the CEM 3320 (The Rev 3 filter setting of the P5/10r4) reminds me much more of the P6 filter.

Reading the specs on the SSI2130 oscillators, I think the benefit will be very stable (DCO-like) tuning, and the trade off may be a more limited octave range (which is fine on a smaller keybed). Seems (from the audio I've heard and the spec sheets) the intent is a slightly cooler, more pristine, and modern sound and less of an emphasis on vintage warmth. Many great Roland and Yamaha synths found their market with this approach -- tuning problems are the last thing anyone wants on stage. I think the choices seem appropriate for the demographic this product seems to target. And, if the sound is unique enough, it may attract a lot of synth veterans as well.

creativespiral · « **Reply #8 on:** August 23, 2021, 02:00:41 PM »

How would that compete with the 88-key Take 10 for $2599?

narkosys · « **Reply #9 on:** August 23, 2021, 02:10:42 PM »

I noticed that it also has the Vintage Knob.

creativespiral · « **Reply #10 on:** August 23, 2021, 02:11:09 PM »

Quote from: LPF83 on August 23, 2021, 01:56:55 PM

Quote from: creativespiral on August 23, 2021, 01:31:55 PM
Agree. Though it's not the flagship I'm hoping to see soon, I can see how this will be a very popular synth. They made some good design choices, and from the demos I'm hearing, it sounds great. That SSI2140 filter is really fantastic, and I'm interested to experiment with the Filter Overdrive, Voice Overdrive, and the fairly deep mod matrix (16 slots).

Though I would have much preferred 61-keys, I'm gonna still pick this up, and see how it stacks up next to P6.

I'd expect it to sound very different (and that's a good thing) up against a P6. The SSI2140 filter is great and I think that may be why, in combination with the new oscillators, the Take5 sounds a bit "Juno/DCO" to me, but
I think the CEM 3320 (The Rev 3 filter setting of the P5/10r4) reminds me much more of the P6 filter.

Reading the specs on the SSI2130 oscillators, I think the benefit will be very stable (DCO-like) tuning, and the trade off may be a more limited octave range (which is fine on a smaller keybed). Seems (from the audio I've heard and the spec sheets) the intent is a slightly cooler, more pristine, and modern sound and less of an emphasis on vintage warmth. Many great Roland and Yamaha synths found their market with this approach -- tuning problems are the last thing anyone wants on stage. I think the choices seem appropriate for the demographic this product seems to target. And, if the sound is unique enough, it may attract a lot of synth veterans as well.

Yeah, T5 definitely has some differences in sound engine from P6. No Poly-HPF like P6, different 4P LPF sound. I really like the P6, but the overall lack of sound design depth / mod matrix often leaves me reaching for my other polys. I'm gonna keep both for a while, but I suspect I might sell my P6 down the line... since T5 seems to offer that classic P5 sound, with more versatility in sound design.

I hope the 2130 oscillators on Take 5 are as stable as possible... on my P6 they are pretty rock solid over a wide octave range as well... as long as you let the synth warm up and have taken enough calibration snapshots.

The vintage knob / voice variance implementation is really the "solution" for turning stable oscillators/voices into vintage sounding ones. I don't have any problem with DCO/Digital Osc, if there's a way to accomplish vintage voice variance.

codecae · « **Reply #11 on:** August 23, 2021, 08:08:32 PM »

Quote from: Sacred Synthesis on August 23, 2021, 01:41:55 PM

Quote from: narkosys on August 23, 2021, 01:06:59 PM
I agree. This looks like it would be a great first synth for a beginner. One thing I would do is custom make some wood end cheeks, but is just me.

Absolutely. Wood end cheeks would transform the Take 5's appearance. If Sequential doesn't do it, someone else will.

If I pick one up, I definitely will slap some mahogany cheeks on it, much like I did for the pro 3.

jg666 · « **Reply #12 on:** August 23, 2021, 11:53:00 PM »

I think I'll probably get one, even though I don't need one

Whilst not exactly cheap, it's at a price-point where it's worth a punt in my opinion. Synths like the Prophet X and Prophet 5 have been too expensive for me to buy in this fashion.

The sounds I've heard coming from it so far have appealed to me.

Gerry Havinga · « **Reply #13 on:** August 24, 2021, 01:17:01 AM »

Quote from: codecae on August 23, 2021, 08:08:32 PM

Quote from: Sacred Synthesis on August 23, 2021, 01:41:55 PM
Quote from: narkosys on August 23, 2021, 01:06:59 PM
I agree. This looks like it would be a great first synth for a beginner. One thing I would do is custom make some wood end cheeks, but is just me.

Absolutely. Wood end cheeks would transform the Take 5's appearance. If Sequential doesn't do it, someone else will.

If I pick one up, I definitely will slap some mahogany cheeks on it, much like I did for the pro 3.

Oh nice, where did you get those mahogany cheeks (for the Pro 3)?

jg666 · « **Reply #14 on:** September 09, 2021, 12:51:57 AM »

Does this synth display the envelopes graphically like it does on my Pro2? Since having this display on the Pro2, I miss it on synths which don’t do this.

jg666 · « **Reply #15 on:** September 09, 2021, 01:43:52 AM »

Hmmm. Having watched a bit of a demo video, it appears that the screen doesn’t display the value of the knob that’s being turned. This would definitely put me off buying it if this is the case.

creativespiral · « **Reply #16 on:** September 09, 2021, 08:00:30 AM »

Yeah, currently the OLED screen doesn't display much feedback while editing... fairly unutilized. This did surprise me, as other Seq instruments with a similar screen make good use to help with technical sound designs and edit existing patches. I'm hoping this gets added in a firmware update... at least basic stuff like knob values.

jg666 · « **Reply #17 on:** September 10, 2021, 02:20:49 AM »

I will wait and see what happens in future firmware releases because at the moment there's too many negatives for me to consider buying this synth. Yes it's a great price for a Sequential synth, but yes I'd expect more

jg666 · « **Reply #18 on:** September 15, 2021, 11:40:20 PM »

I always enjoy reviews by Daniel Fisher and he's now done one for the Take 5

https://youtu.be/Ulyt50igNdQ.

Encephalitislethargi · « **Reply #19 on:** October 15, 2021, 03:25:10 AM »

it would be a great synth for everyone, but it's not "for beginners". I wish it was my first synth, because then I wouldnt have had to go through ten+ different polysynths in maybe 3 years trying to find something this good.

I agree on the desktop version, I would love a desktop module that can fit in a Gator Bag, slightly less width if possible