micromac & sem pro vs oberheim SOFV

[cane creek]

I honestly thought the Micro Mac had been shipped for some weeks now, obviously must be mistaken.

[chrisso]

Originally Posted by zahush76

Of course. It isn't meant to be a "pad machine". It takes over the sonic territory. I know what it is, how it sounds like (the new sem sounds a wee bit different, but i get the picture), and i know for what parts i'm going to use it. If i'll want 8 note chords, or wavetable pads - of course i have other stuff for that.

So why post a topic asking for help making up your mind?
I have a Four Voice and use it literally every day.
I worry that the anticipation of a shiny new, expensive synth clouds the practical issues.
I assumed you had one or two practical worries, or you would be ordering your SOFV now and not bothering to canvas opinion.
I'll just say it one last time.
I love the SEM. I love the Oberheim sound.
In practice, the cost vs benefits of polyphonic SEM's in groups of four is a negative for me. I could do almost everything I do on my Four Voice, on a Two Voice. The same filters, the same basic SEM sound.
Do what you want, that's just my best advice.

[zahush76]

Originally Posted by chrisso

I love the SEM. I love the Oberheim sound.
In practice, the cost vs benefits of polyphonic SEM's in groups of four is a negative for me. I could do almost everything I do on my Four Voice, on a Two Voice. The same filters, the same basic SEM sound.

In this case, the price is rather close. The TVS is priced at 3495$.
The SOFV was priced at 3495$, and now Tom says it's going to be priced a bit more than originally. So if i go for a TVS - it's not as if i'm saving loads of money. The price difference is going to be, say, 500$?

[clusterchord]

i tend to agree with some sentiments here:

if variety and covering more ground with high class sound is the goal: go with Micromac and SEM

otoh if you intend to use analog polyphony a lot, even tho SOFV will cover more parameters in poly section than the original FVS.. id still advise going with regular proven poly design like OB/Xa, OB8, maybe even Matrix 12/Xpander or A6, if you want more flexibility.

obviously none of them has exact FVS sound (well neither does SOFV strictly speaking), but are much more usable in practice as every day polyphonics. and i somehow doubt you would be unhappy with the sound

my 0.02

[zahush76]

Originally Posted by clusterchord

i tend to agree with some sentiments here:

if variety and covering more ground with high class sound is the goal: go with Micromac and SEM

otoh if you intend to use analog polyphony a lot, even tho SOFV will cover more parameters in poly section than the original FVS.. id still advise going with regular proven poly design like OB/Xa, OB8, maybe even Matrix 12/Xpander or A6, if you want more flexibility.

Thanks for the advice. I think that getting something like the OB\xa or OB8 would be less practical. First - price. I think it will exceed a budget of aprox 4000$.
Second - i don't have a physical place for a keyboard that size in my room. And these are really huge keyboards by any scale.
Third, since i live in Israel, the only way i could get a vintage poly like that is via ebay - which means buying something used without being able to check, ley alone the fact that shipping expenses on something this heavy will increase the cost considerably.

But if we're "straying" from my first two options - than a whole world of "what to do with 4k" opens up anyway.
There are a couple of option i also thought about:

1) Buying one of these combos (micromac+sem \ SOFV) requires me to sell my Nord Stage 2, and that will probably get me 3000$. Maybe a bit more.
A compromise could be getting an SE Boomstar with a moog filter (799$).
Pros: I get to keep the Nord Stage 2.
Cons: 1. It will be more moog-ish than the GRP, but definetly not as close as the micromac or an actual moog.
2. While i get to cover more moogish territory - still no cover for the sem territory.


2) Second option is regarding the more "practical" polyphonic directions you mentioned. There's another polysynth that is yet to come out, that has a multimode filter and a bunch of other interesting features. I'm talking about the mfb dominion 5, which will be a 5 voice poly based on the dominion x architechture. The estimated price is 1799 euros.

[GeorgeHayduke]

I finally listened to the GRP synth, and I agree it doesn't sound like a Moog.

It certainly has heft and some strong sounds though! Does it not satisfy completely?

[zahush76]

Originally Posted by GeorgeHayduke

I finally listened to the GRP synth, and I agree it doesn't sound like a Moog.

It certainly has heft and some strong sounds though! Does it not satisfy completely?

Yes and no. It sounds amazing. I waited (lots of months ago :-) ) for the demos to make up my mind, and it was love at first sight. But i was also looking for the classic moog and sem sounds, and i bought the GRP knowing it doesn't sound like either. As a matter of fact, i don't think it's filter(s) sound like korg, roland, yamaha cs, ems, sequental or arp. It has a unique filter flavour of its own.
All of this doesn't mean i've given up wanting the moog and sem flavours as well.

[GeorgeHayduke]

Originally Posted by zahush76

..It has a unique filter flavour of its own.
All of this doesn't mean i've given up wanting the moog and sem flavours as well.

Hehe, this is Gearslutz, we understand