A bit off the beaten path, but I think we’re always in a Moog mood here…
In case you’ve been living in a closet (without an internet connection,) Tom Oberheim is back in the synth biz with a re-issue/re-invented version of his SEM module. It’s currently being distributed exclusively through audiomidi.com.
There’s an excellect vid up on youtube here which features an interview with him and some good sound examples, if not enough of em.
Sadly they have next to no information available on voltage ratings, not even a picture of the back-end of any of the units. There’s very very little in the way of audio demos for it either, just a taste on youtube.
Anybody here get their hands on one (the patch version is obviously the only one shipping right now, but still)? How is it?
Also, if anybody knows where I can find a PDF manual for it, that’d be super awesome!
I have been eyeing this product for a while. Decided not to go for a Semblance until the real Oberheim is available. However, with an LP, a Mopho, a Voyager OS and a soon to come (hopefully) new old MiniMoog model D (I just found one locally, hoping to persuade the owner to part with it since he does not use it), I am pretty much stocked up in analog monosynths, so I guess there will be less synths bought on impulse, and will keep the money for the good stuff.
No luck either looking for a manual, although the Semblance manual is available. Not as many outs for a so-called SEM clone, if looking only at what I could glimpse from pictures of the original SEM. These do show a number of jacks on the back panel.
Will the new SEM be a success? Something odd about the way the product seems to be marketed. From the Oberheim site, Tom says the new SEM is available exclusively from ‘the good folks at audiomidi’, yet it appears audiomidi does not care to stock SEM’s (special order only). Maybe they are not available in quantities right now. I will probably rule out a product available from only one place in the whole wide world, that does not even carry stock. My money may very well go for a Semblance, which is available locally, if I want another monosynth, but my mind is set on analog polyphony. With the word MOOG on the name plate if at all possible (but i’m not holding my breath for that).
Technically it did, the Polymoog, while hell to service was indeed alive (although not to many of them are still “alive”) as was/is the Memory Moog.
Not quice as boisterous in the number of voices as one might really want though.
I do have a design that if Moog would build would be an inexpensive alternative to having 16 Voyager RME’s or Phatty’s. Amos did tell me that it is similar to this new module though.
I didn’t think that the numbers of filters actually affected the synths classification as being polyphonic, so thats an interesting point. However the MemoryMoog had seperate filters for each voice.
THe polymoog did have a resonator module which let it go into hi/bandpass modes, so it did technically have more than one filter but now it is I who am splitting hairs lol.
think of pressing one note, having the osc kick in and the filter env starting,
then add a new note… eeech!
the new sound from the second oscillator adds to the one inputting the filter filter without restarting the envelope - and that’s not the worst part of it
by adding more notes, the sound changes just by saturation of the filter input
gone is the way the filter subtly changes the wave form by subracting DIFFERENT harmonics for each note (different note), gone is the interaction of phase-cancellation between the oscillators and phase modifications by the filters (whcih changes with each note, since each note has a differente frequency then different interaction with the filter.
On a truly polyphonic synth, each note has a slightly different WAVEFORM due to the filter action.
That has NOTHING to do with “slight defects or malfunctions that make the analog human”: the filter is working perfectly, it’s just darn good!
And the Dr Moog who designed it knew his acoustics…
try clogging it with 4 notes: definitely different from playing 4 notes on 4 minimoogs (or 4 notes on a ob 4 voice, or on a prophet 5).
That’s not “polyphony”, since you have not many (“poly”) complete voices (“phonia”). You have many oscillators, stop.
In fact, you don’t really have as many oscillators (or couples of them) as declared polyphony attests. It’ just some, divided-down…
but that’s another story.
In short: taking a Voyager and adding poliphony through some rack-voyagers is expensive. Making a poliphonic minimoog would be expensive.
I already suggeted Moog to release a pot-less, control-less edition of the voyager, for strictly polyphony-expansion purposes.
But dunno if it’s worth the effort, considering that very few people can play more than one note at once, let alone find any correlation between two notes or more (at least, according to most of youtube synth demos - maybe they are not a cross-section of real moog user… I certainly hope so).
Anybody have a SEMblance or Telemark that can chime in here? I’m interested in either one of those or the SEM re-issue. Both definitely are attractive prospects, and the SEMblance has a view more tricks up it’s sleeve than the midi version of the SEM reissue, so it’s really at this point just about the sound, but i’m not sure which to get.
The Telemark looks really good, with a panel full of jacks (2.5 mm). I am overdue for a little synth shopping, need a MF-105m. Hopefully my Moog dealer has received them. I’ll try to go next week, at which time i’ll make sure to give a good listen to their Semblance on demo. Will post my report.
I have been thinking a lot about the possibility of a polyphonic Moog and I dispute the fact that it would be too expensive. I also came to the conclusion that an expansion module without controls would be the way to go. In other words, an expansion card with 4 or 8 sets of 3 Osc’s. It could be an external module if the Voyager could be adapted for that, or internal expansion cards if the Voyager (or another base) is redesigned.
Now about filters, I think one set is ok. I agree that the filter will not work equally well when multiple keys are pressed, especially when far apart. Still, you don’t play the same way if you play chords versus a mono solo lead part à la Emerson. I have a number of units to do the polyphony thing, yet, since I am into Moogs, I just can’t find full satisfaction anymore. My Nord rack 2x is ok, my Kurzweil has the best sound when you get into complex synthesis, yet for all it’s magnificence, there’s not a single piano with a good sound in this thing (you got to get expansion cards to make the unit a potable instrument). Sometimes I process a polyphonic audio signal in the Voyager so I can use it’s filter and modulation capabilities, but no Moog Osc or envelopes. Experimenting with things like that is a lot of fun, but is not the way the performance minded players would like to get into.
So back to square one : Moog + polyphony. Then I can live happy ever after
Sounds good! Just tripping around youtube I’ve found some really amazing demos of SEMblance, it’s way more aggro sounding than the SEM ever was, which can be good or bad, depending on what you’re going for. The CV options are just fine imo, only 2 inputs, but you can select EXT for a ton of parameters on board, so I’m not even really sure I’d want to use up all the extra space a Telemark would take up. It’s like, crazy affordable too as far as discrete analog synths go. 150 under the midified SEM reissue. hmmm…
They won’t ever be available in quantities. Tom is assembling them by hand in his garage, just for fun. All new SEMs will be preorder only.
I have been considering adding a SEM to my LP. Having a 3rd and 4th oscillator or setting it up as a sub oscillator is very appealing. With the LP CV mod now available the patch point version seems like the one to go with to me. The one thing that has me hesitating (you old schoolers are gonna laugh) is no preset memory. The midi version will integrate better in my set up, but I would really hate to loose the versatility of the patch points.
This is literally what might be attracting me more to the SEMblance, which has two CV inputs in addition to midi. Given it’s not actually a SEM, but it sounds great and is functionally very close. Not really sure what I’m doing yet though. The SEM seems pretty awesome.
