Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008

Re: Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008
« Reply #20 on: February 14, 2018, 08:32:29 AM »
It's a million sonic miles from an 002 to a VS, but I certainly share the attraction, especially regarding the VS.

While not sounding identical to a VS, the 002 is probably the only current instrument that gets you close to the character of early hybrid synths.

Re: Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008
« Reply #21 on: February 28, 2018, 06:11:35 PM »
There's something that really puts me off of the Modal products. I'm not sure what it is exactly.
For me it would be the lack of modulation & Pitch wheel.
Sure I know it's got a joystick, but when stumping up more than £4000 for an 8 voice synth the joystick should be in addition to the tradition mod & pitch wheels, not as a replacement for them - grrrr!!


LoboLives

Re: Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008
« Reply #22 on: March 01, 2018, 07:55:57 AM »
There's something that really puts me off of the Modal products. I'm not sure what it is exactly.
For me it would be the lack of modulation & Pitch wheel.
Sure I know it's got a joystick, but when stumping up more than £4000 for an 8 voice synth the joystick should be in addition to the tradition mod & pitch wheels, not as a replacement for them - grrrr!!

The Solaris has a ribbon controller, joy stick and pitch and mod wheels.

Speaking of ribbon controller...I'd actually like to see a touch strip along the next DSI synth. Like how they had the touch strips on the side of the P12 and Pro2 but have one along the keyboard just above the keybed.

jg666

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Re: Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008
« Reply #23 on: July 22, 2018, 12:09:32 PM »
I’ve kept an eye on the Modal gear since I first saw them mentioned on Sonicstate. The 002 has been the one that I’ve thought about buying so I would be interested to know if people are still happy with their 002?

I really like the looks of their display, the operating system and the sequencer looks like everything I’ve always wanted from a sequencer. I’m not overly keen on the ‘glassy’ type of patches you hear a lot from this synth so am still scouring YouTube for examples of other sounds.

DSI Prophet Rev2, DSI Pro 2, Moog Sub37, Korg Minilogue, Yamaha MOXF6, Yamaha MODX6, Yamaha Montage6

Re: Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008
« Reply #24 on: July 23, 2018, 10:20:39 AM »
I’ve kept an eye on the Modal gear since I first saw them mentioned on Sonicstate. The 002 has been the one that I’ve thought about buying so I would be interested to know if people are still happy with their 002?

I really like the looks of their display, the operating system and the sequencer looks like everything I’ve always wanted from a sequencer. I’m not overly keen on the ‘glassy’ type of patches you hear a lot from this synth so am still scouring YouTube for examples of other sounds.

The 002 filter is quite good, and you can get a nice spread with the L and R outputs panned to roughly 10 and 2 o'clock. I believe that it will end up being a classic.
Sequential / DSI stuff: Prophet-6 Keyboard with Yorick Tech LFE, Prophet 12 Keyboard, Mono Evolver Keyboard, Split-Eight, Six-Trak, Prophet 2000

Re: Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008
« Reply #25 on: July 26, 2018, 09:42:33 AM »
I just got one (used, because I can't find any new for sale anywhere). I love it. The modulation matrix is frustratingly limited after the Prophet 12, though. Some of that I suspect will be helped by the Animator, but I haven't dived into that yet.

But the sound is gorgeous, and you can do interesting things to emulate wavetables just using the LFO.
Prophet 12, Modal 002, MFB Dominion 1, Behringer DeepMind 12D, Korg Polysix & EX-8000, Roland JX-8P, Ensoniq SQ-80, Kawai K3m and now an OB-6!

Shaw

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Re: Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008
« Reply #26 on: June 02, 2019, 07:30:43 AM »
I just got one (used, because I can't find any new for sale anywhere). I love it. The modulation matrix is frustratingly limited after the Prophet 12, though. Some of that I suspect will be helped by the Animator, but I haven't dived into that yet.

But the sound is gorgeous, and you can do interesting things to emulate wavetables just using the LFO.
SandyS1, after about a year, how are you and the Animator getting on?  Has it relieved your “feeling limited” sensation you described previously?
"Classical musicians go to the conservatories, rock´n roll musicians go to the garages." --- Frank Zappa
| Linnstrument | Suhr Custom Modern | Mayones Jaba Custom | Godin Multiac Nylon | Roland TD-50 | Synergy Guitar Amps | Eventide Effects Galore |

Re: Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008
« Reply #27 on: June 02, 2019, 02:27:18 PM »
I just got one (used, because I can't find any new for sale anywhere). I love it. The modulation matrix is frustratingly limited after the Prophet 12, though. Some of that I suspect will be helped by the Animator, but I haven't dived into that yet.

But the sound is gorgeous, and you can do interesting things to emulate wavetables just using the LFO.
SandyS1, after about a year, how are you and the Animator getting on?  Has it relieved your “feeling limited” sensation you described previously?

Not really. You can do some nice things with it, but it requires quite a bit of fiddling to make happen. The other thing with the animator is that it locks you into sequences instead of modulations. You can modify that somewhat using slew factors (on anything except the wave, unfortunately, meaning each "wavetable" is heavily rhythmically stepped). You can do some envelope-type things, but again, it requires a lot more fiddling than just being able to route an envelope easily.

That being said, I still have it because the sound is just great. In that sense it's like a modern DW-8000: a wonderful hybrid with a great filter, even if it doesn't have the most modern sound design capabilities. I've also gotten a Quantum and no longer am trying to make the 002 become something it's not. It's still got great sounding oscillators and a nicely fizzy filter, and can fill in for many a classic synth as well as pull in some Ensoniq or PPG-like sounds that don't depend on wavetable scanning.

I found myself surprised that the Quantum doesn't overlap with it that much. The oscillators and filters sound just enough different that they don't feel redundant. I suppose if you held a gun to my head, I'd go with the Quantum, but I'd miss the 002.
Prophet 12, Modal 002, MFB Dominion 1, Behringer DeepMind 12D, Korg Polysix & EX-8000, Roland JX-8P, Ensoniq SQ-80, Kawai K3m and now an OB-6!

Shaw

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Re: Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008
« Reply #28 on: June 02, 2019, 03:21:34 PM »

Not really. You can do some nice things with it, but it requires quite a bit of fiddling to make happen. The other thing with the animator is that it locks you into sequences instead of modulations. You can modify that somewhat using slew factors (on anything except the wave, unfortunately, meaning each "wavetable" is heavily rhythmically stepped). You can do some envelope-type things, but again, it requires a lot more fiddling than just being able to route an envelope easily.

That being said, I still have it because the sound is just great. In that sense it's like a modern DW-8000: a wonderful hybrid with a great filter, even if it doesn't have the most modern sound design capabilities. I've also gotten a Quantum and no longer am trying to make the 002 become something it's not. It's still got great sounding oscillators and a nicely fizzy filter, and can fill in for many a classic synth as well as pull in some Ensoniq or PPG-like sounds that don't depend on wavetable scanning.

I found myself surprised that the Quantum doesn't overlap with it that much. The oscillators and filters sound just enough different that they don't feel redundant. I suppose if you held a gun to my head, I'd go with the Quantum, but I'd miss the 002.
Thanks for the reply.  I think I would get on well with the Animator.  I see it as a cross between a sequencer and highly flexible envelope. 
At any rate, I’m still eyeing this — thinking it would be a nice compliment to my current line-up.


Thanks!
"Classical musicians go to the conservatories, rock´n roll musicians go to the garages." --- Frank Zappa
| Linnstrument | Suhr Custom Modern | Mayones Jaba Custom | Godin Multiac Nylon | Roland TD-50 | Synergy Guitar Amps | Eventide Effects Galore |

jg666

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Re: Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008
« Reply #29 on: July 24, 2019, 06:56:03 AM »
I’ve noticed that most of my favourite synth shops don’t seem to have stocks of the Modal synths any more although they can be ordered.

I started searching the internet and got a bit confused by people saying the first Paul Maddox left and then Paula Maddox left. It took me a while to realise that Paul has become Paula! Not sure how the company is these days now that he/she has left? I thought that Paul was one of the main designers of the sysnths?
DSI Prophet Rev2, DSI Pro 2, Moog Sub37, Korg Minilogue, Yamaha MOXF6, Yamaha MODX6, Yamaha Montage6

Re: Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008
« Reply #30 on: July 26, 2019, 12:12:55 PM »
I’ve noticed that most of my favourite synth shops don’t seem to have stocks of the Modal synths any more although they can be ordered.

I started searching the internet and got a bit confused by people saying the first Paul Maddox left and then Paula Maddox left. It took me a while to realise that Paul has become Paula! Not sure how the company is these days now that he/she has left? I thought that Paul was one of the main designers of the sysnths?

She was a big factor in the 002, though the 008 was mostly gotten from the guys who are now UDO. I'm not sure how many/how much of the following synths she was responsible for, but apparently her and their visions didn't match up. She has a different day job but still is producing kickstarter-funded rack modules under Dove Audio. I think the Skulpt was largely designed after she left, but I'm not sure about that. They seem to be selling well from what I can tell, and her projects have all been well funded, so I think everybody seems to have ended up in a good place.
Prophet 12, Modal 002, MFB Dominion 1, Behringer DeepMind 12D, Korg Polysix & EX-8000, Roland JX-8P, Ensoniq SQ-80, Kawai K3m and now an OB-6!

OceanMachine

Re: Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008
« Reply #31 on: July 28, 2019, 02:40:31 PM »
I've been looking into a digital front-end synth and for some reason the 002 pretty much always sounds top notch to my ears, whereas the Quantum and Summit sound sterile most of the time. However, with the state of Modal I would be worried about dropping any serious amount of coin on one. I also have no interest in the Super 6, so hopefully Sequential has something in the works that will fit the bill.
« Last Edit: July 28, 2019, 03:20:41 PM by Ocean Machine »

Shaw

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Re: Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008
« Reply #32 on: July 28, 2019, 02:51:54 PM »
I've been looking into a digital front-end synth and for some reason the 002 pretty much always sounds top notch to my ears, whereas the Quantum, Solaris (all digital), and Summit sound sterile most of the time. However, with the state of Modal I would be worried about dropping any serious amount of coin on one. I also have no interest in the Super 6, so hopefully Sequential has something in the works that will fit the bill.
I quite enjoy my 002.  In some ways it’s not as deep as the sequential modulation matrix, but in some ways it’s deeper — animator, filter slope, greater multi-timbrality.
I figure as long as they’re making new ones (and they are) there shouldn’t be too much to worry about.
"Classical musicians go to the conservatories, rock´n roll musicians go to the garages." --- Frank Zappa
| Linnstrument | Suhr Custom Modern | Mayones Jaba Custom | Godin Multiac Nylon | Roland TD-50 | Synergy Guitar Amps | Eventide Effects Galore |

Re: Modal Electronics Modulus 002 and 008
« Reply #33 on: December 29, 2019, 04:02:33 PM »
Yet another 002/008 thread where the 008 never gets a look in! Such a difficult synth to get a read on with such little in depth info on it. Do I love it because its a black sheep or because of its spec sheet? One day I will know...