Moog Music Forum

MC, how would you compare the "overall" sound/workings of the P'08 to the Andromeda? Perhaps the former has an easier "hands-on" approach, whereas the latter has too much functionality?

Punchy oscillators?
Fast envelopes?

And does it have the Prophet Sound? Is that what it is trying to do? (I seem to recall the original excelled at brasses.)

And it is available as a rack module, which is good for those with too many synths already.

Andy

dada wrote:

misterhemi wrote:

Kevin Lightner wrote:Arp did it, then went out business.

SCI did it before and went out of business. (DSI's P8 uses digital oscillators too.)

Are you sure????

Yup DCOs in the P08. See specs on website.

http://www.davesmithinstruments.com/pro ... /index.php

Thanks, Dada!

And thanks, Kevin, too for the clarification.

Kevin Lightner wrote: However there's much debate about DCOs and VCOs and Dave Smith's site doesn't make it much easier by calling them analog oscillators.

Yes, exactly, that is rather confusing (and potentially misleading to some). Here is how it is stated on the DSI web site:

2 digitally controlled analog oscillators (DCOs) per voice with selectable sawtooth, triangle, saw/triangle mix, and pulse waves (with pulse-width modulation), and hard sync.

latigid on wrote:MC, how would you compare the "overall" sound/workings of the P'08 to the Andromeda? Perhaps the former has an easier "hands-on" approach, whereas the latter has too much functionality?

The Andromeda is king for its depth of programming and modulation options, but I think the P'08 modulation options are fair for today's market. While the P'08 has endless rotaries and dual timbrality, the Andromeda has built in FX and multitimbrality.

The P'08 ain't terrible - it's a good polysynth for a novice who would be overwhelmed by the depth of the Andromeda. Being spoiled by my Andromeda, it doesn't meet my needs with the filter shortcomings.

Punchy oscillators?
Fast envelopes?

Definitely...

And does it have the Prophet Sound? Is that what it is trying to do? (I seem to recall the original excelled at brasses.)

I have flight time with rev 2 and rev 3 Prophet-5s, and the P'08 doesn't get the broad scope of sounds that those will.

Sound palette wise, I consider the P'08 closer to the Pro-One than the Prophet-5.

And it is available as a rack module, which is good for those with too many synths already.

My hope was that it could be a rackmount semi-replacement for my Andromeda - it didn't make the cut.

Regarding VCOs/DCOs on the P'08 - discussion with Dave Smith last year revealed that they are charged cap cores whose charging current is digitally controlled. The big advantage is it eliminates the tricky exponential voltage to current converter (the source of pitch drift) and you still get the pure ramp (no digital discrete artifacts) of the charged cap core. The disadvantage is you can't cross mod the oscillators like the original VCO-based Prophet-5.

VCO or DCO? It's a grey area. DSI is the first maker I have heard to make them like that.

MC wrote:The big advantage is it eliminates the tricky exponential voltage to current converter (the source of pitch drift)

But this is part of the analog quirk that some people prefer in VCOs!

Interesting on the DSI oscillator design.
Thanks for the info.

That's definitely a hybrid.
Not all digital, not all analog.
My mistake that it was wholly digital as this would make it a DCO that *is* asynchronous, but still can't do cross modulation effects.
Clever design though.

From the horse's mouth:
http://keyboardmag.tv/index.html?req=1& ... =davesmith
Click on "Prophet Prophecy," to hear Dave Smith talk about DCO/VCO, still a bit vague but there's some interesting clips there.

toryjames wrote:From the horse's mouth:
http://keyboardmag.tv/index.html?req=1& ... =davesmith
Click on "Prophet Prophecy," to hear Dave Smith talk about DCO/VCO, still a bit vague but there's some interesting clips there.

These are GREAT videos.

Now I know why there isn't analog delay. Watch "Prophet Genesis 1".

I love these.

For those of you who keep wishing for a new self-contained polyphonic Moog synth, it already exists, and it was endorsed by Bob Moog himself:
http://www.arturia.com/evolution/en/pro ... intro.html

haha. I'm with dada on this.

Back in January I was bitten by the Moog bug again and I purchased Arturia's Moog Modular software to satisfy my itch. It was close -- but no cigar. Software just doesn't do it for me the way hardware does.

Now, having purchased a Voyager RME and Little Phatty, I feel much better. True, they aren't polyphonic, but they are real.

What I really want them to release next is the Little Phatty OS update!

-bruce

Hey dada and boose44,

I am actually with you too! I am a big-time hardware gearhead, and I have enough analog gear stuff to prove it. I really haven't used the Arturia Minimoog all that much, but for what it is, it is awesome. And it IS polyphonic. The fact that there is a legitimate and authorized software version of the Minimoog sparks several funny thoughts in my head. And recently I have been struck by several strange little "ironies" as a result of all of the talk here on the Mooger Forum. The lines between hardware analog synths, digitally-controlled (software-laden) synths, and soft synths are becoming increasingly blurred.

kidgloves2 wrote:

toryjames wrote:From the horse's mouth:
http://keyboardmag.tv/index.html?req=1& ... =davesmith
Click on "Prophet Prophecy," to hear Dave Smith talk about DCO/VCO, still a bit vague but there's some interesting clips there.

These are GREAT videos.

Now I know why there isn't analog delay. Watch "Prophet Genesis 1".

I love these.

Is anyone else having problems viewing some of the videos?????

I saw some of them some time ago but went back to watch "Prophet Genesis 1" and it, as well as many other videos, don't come up at all and I get a message saying they can't be located right now.

There are a few (very few) that actually play.

I've been looking for a used Etherwave Pro for years. I am doing alright with the latest Etherwave... but really, really, really, really want a Pro. I saw that video with Pamelia Kurstin on advanced techniques with the Etherwave Pro and drooled the entire time.

Now wouldn't a new pro theremin (or a reissue) be a cool idea for Moog Music?

I believe that the EW Pro was discontinued due to the fact that Moog was having a component company custom make some of the essential components of the EW Pro and that company, for whatever reason, decided to STOP making the parts for Moog...

Why ISN'T mood producing a nice long Ribbon Controller? So cheap to make.. so simple. I'm sure just for kicks, virtually EVERYONE in here would buy one.

Christopher J. Boylan wrote:Why ISN'T mood producing a nice long Ribbon Controller? So cheap to make.. so simple. I'm sure just for kicks, virtually EVERYONE in here would buy one.

I'd like to see a larger ribbon like controller that's more like a fretless piano. Sort of like the Continuum http://www.hakenaudio.com/Continuum/

The continuum is too expensive, I bet if it was ribbon technology, it would be way cheaper. And only lack velocity. Still, would be amazing.