Oberheim SEM released by Arturia

[Dave Polich]

Originally Posted by semtek

There is of course no gold standard to measure synths by, it's a subjective judgement. I personally prefer the more open sound of the original unit. What does this Arturia recreation have over a decent sample-set whilst costing significantly more? Not much, in my opinion, other than a pretty interface.

If even the "crappy" sound quality of the youtube clip reveals how different this sounds then surely a better sound recording could only be EVEN MORE disappointing in its results.

.

Just wanted to point out - sample-playback is a poor system for replicating
analog synths. Sample-playback is incapable of producing what analog synthesis, whether virtual or actual, is capable of. One of the examples -
hard sync. Not possible at all with sample-playback. Another example -
a given envelope cannot be set as modulation sources for other envelopes in a sample-playback systems. Another -
"sampled" oscillators do not exhibit the typical "drift" which is characteristic of analog synthesis.

What does the Arturia system have over a decent sample set? I could write
a 3000-word essay on what it has over a decent sample set. If you don't understand the
difference between sample playback and true analog or virtual analog, then it is easy to
assume there would be no advantages with a VA system as opposed to sample-playback.

[semtek]

Originally Posted by Dave Polich

Just wanted to point out - sample-playback is a poor system for replicating
analog synths. Sample-playback is incapable of producing what analog synthesis, whether virtual or actual, is capable of. One of the examples -
hard sync. Not possible at all with sample-playback. Another example -
a given envelope cannot be set as modulation sources for other envelopes in a sample-playback systems. Another -
"sampled" oscillators do not exhibit the typical "drift" which is characteristic of analog synthesis.

What does the Arturia system have over a decent sample set? I could write
a 3000-word essay on what it has over a decent sample set. If you don't understand the
difference between sample playback and true analog or virtual analog, then it is easy to
assume there would be no advantages with a VA system as opposed to sample-playback.

If the SEM had a much more complex architecture then yes, you would lose a lot without a decent analog or VA. However, it sports a relatively simple architecture. That is why, were I reviewing it for example, I would question whether what Arturia are offering really goes very far towards being a useful investment. I think I've made my point now, if you disagree that's absolutely fine, if you want to start questioning whether I'm qualified to make this point however please PM me and I'll send you a list of why you're wrong, rather than having to do this in public which is dull for everyone.

[wxyz]

Had a 4 voice for years...this plug rocks

[cpie]

Originally Posted by Dave Polich

Just wanted to point out - sample-playback is a poor system for replicating
analog synths. Sample-playback is incapable of producing what analog synthesis, whether virtual or actual, is capable of. One of the examples -
hard sync. Not possible at all with sample-playback. Another example -
a given envelope cannot be set as modulation sources for other envelopes in a sample-playback systems. Another -
"sampled" oscillators do not exhibit the typical "drift" which is characteristic of analog synthesis.

What does the Arturia system have over a decent sample set? I could write
a 3000-word essay on what it has over a decent sample set. If you don't understand the
difference between sample playback and true analog or virtual analog, then it is easy to
assume there would be no advantages with a VA system as opposed to sample-playback.

Hi. I think some things youve mentioned are in fact possible with sample playback. Camel Alchemy for example allows you to modulate everything to everything...adsr's to other adsr's and back again...very very versatile sample playback.
Analogue drift can be replicated with very slow sin wave lfos...you can also create very subtle random pitch changes from note to note.

[DSK]

Anyway I'm extremely impressed with today's VAs and I think this will push creators in new directions. With the democratization of analog type of sounds we will see two things:

- everyone will be able to afford great organic subtractive type of sounds thus inspiration and hopefully greater music

- with everyone having access to these great sound people will get more creative to be able to express themselves more uniquely

So this will generate a larger market for new types of synthesis (i.e. Chromaphone, Granite, Alchemy) and also will be a great gateway drug to real hardware synths.

Until demoing the Arturia SEM I had literary no GAS for the real deal.

Now I want them BOTH!!!! one to have on the move and one to close myself in a room with just it and a sequencer.

[HomeProducer]

tried the demo, was totally unimpressed. Listen to Minimonsta, and Minimonsta is much older.

[jonmoore]

I posted this to SC a couple of days ago where it' been very well received (over a 1000 plays, lots of kind comments ect).

Leftside Wobble - Dusty Circuits by Leftside Wobble on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

The instrumentation is a mix of Diva, SEM V and Imposcar2 and the percussion is provided by Tremor (the new Fxpansion drum synth).

Many people have commented that it reminds them of vintage 80's electronica so the reckon todays VA designers are getting something right.



JM
------------
Leftside Wobble's sounds on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

[narapo]

Originally Posted by HomeProducer

tried the demo, was totally unimpressed. Listen to Minimonsta, and Minimonsta is much older.

Just found the opposite ; Iv'e tried Minimonsta, but doesn't find it very analog like ; very impressed with the SEM so I bought it. I'd love to have a 4 voice HW to complement my present HW setup (Little Phatty, Prophet, Nord Stage 2, Virus TI, MicroKorg).

[jonmoore]

Originally Posted by narapo

Just found the opposite ; Iv'e tried Minimonsta, but doesn't find it very analog like ; very impressed with the SEM so I bought it. I'd love to have a 4 voice HW to complement my present HW setup (Little Phatty, Prophet, Nord Stage 2, Virus TI, MicroKorg).

You and me both lusting after a vintage 4 voice! I recently ordered one of Toms remakes of the SEM so that might be the route I'll end up taking. He releasing something he calls the Son Of 4 Voice Polyphonic Synthesizer "SO4V" and this will retail at $3495 so will probably be a far more affordable way of getting hold of one.

Tom Oberheim.com

JM
------------
Leftside Wobble's sounds on SoundCloud - Create, record and share your sounds for free

[narapo]

Jon,

can't go for the Four-Voice at this time, but I've just ordered a SEM-Pro for Tom Oberheim. I've seen some videos with the SEM and the Little Phatty in parallel, the LP controling the SEM via MIDI, something to try for sure (a bit of a two voice, but not quite).

[masterhiggins]

Originally Posted by Solidtrax

DIVA sounds awesome and, unlike almost anything from Arturia, it's also rock solid, we did not experience a single issue and we have been using it almost non stop for the last few weeks! (this includes beta versions)

Diva didn't crash for me, but the sound cut out permanently a few times, requiring me to remove and reinstantiate the plugin to get it to work again

Originally Posted by Solidtrax

u-he = DSP God. Yeah.. we believe so!

When you can't run two instances of Diva in high quality mode on an i7 Dual Core Macbook Pro with 4 gigs of RAM (with no other plugs running in Logic), something's not quite right. I'm not begrudging the U-HE team's DSP skillz. I'm just saying...we get that you like DIVA. You don't have to remind us in every single Arturia thread. I swear that a few people have keyboard macros set up to automatically paste, "If you like ________, you should really try DIVA. Unlike _______, DIVA is awesome and it's creator is my forum buddy. Also, ______ supports iLok and animal testing."

But I realize it's a cardinal sin to dislike Urs plugs on Gearslutz, but whatever.

[Sensorychaos]

Fantastic synth. Incredible!
I'm so laughing @ the haters here.

[ionian]

Originally Posted by Sensorychaos

Fantastic synth. Incredible!
I'm so laughing @ the haters here.

It's Ok - I'm sure the haters are laughing at you for not having used a real one to compare!

By the way, out of curiosity, does it really take less time to hold shift and hit "2" to write the "@" symbol than it does to simply type the word "at"?

Regards,
Frank

[Sensorychaos]

Originally Posted by ionian

It's Ok - I'm sure the haters are laughing at you for not having used a real one to compare!

By the way, out of curiosity, does it really take less time to hold shift and hit "2" to write the "@" symbol than it does to simply type the word "at"?

Regards,
Frank

I have never used a true SEM. All I know is that I'm loving this unit. It sounds fantastic...and when you go deep into it and its "special" functions...it's simply awesome. I have used A LOT of soft synth and this one really sounds fantastic. It really suits my needs.

and for the @..really a question of typo habits lol......so to answer totally to this crucial question: in my case yes.

Kind regards

[ionian]

Originally Posted by Sensorychaos

I have never used a true SEM. All I know is that I'm loving this unit. It sounds fantastic...and when you go deep into it and its "special" functions...it's simply awesome. I have used A LOT of soft synth and this one really sounds fantastic. It really suits my needs.

and for the @..really a question of typo habits lol......so to answer totally to this crucial question: in my case yes.

Kind regards

I'm in the middle of the demo period myself and I do agree that it does sound great. There's always a trade-off. A real SEM sounds a bit clearer higher up to me, but the Arturia also has a lot of extra features that a real SEM doesn't have such as noise, a sub oscillator, two different LFOs with chooseable patterns.

I also have been having a lot of fun with the 8 voice programmer - have you seen it? I only mentioned because it's kind of hidden away and I found it by accident! But it's great for adjusting tuning and filter cutoff by small amounts and having it randomly cycle through the voices. It really goes a long way to giving it life.

I haven't really used too many soft synths, but I will admit that this one is pretty impressive and I've been able to whip up a bunch of interesting stuff really quickly.

I'm still on the fence, but I haven't lost interest! hahaa

Regards,
Frank

[Sensorychaos]

I would have loved to see in the 8 voices tweaker something which permits to make curve rather than steps...more time line orientated (rather than notes) or a combination of both.
I would have loved to detune those wonderful oscillators for one note pushed with crazy curves....

[an.unna.kid]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_n2c...eature=related

Video is in Japanese.

I think it sounds really close, you'll be the judge!

[ionian]

Originally Posted by an.unna.kid

?DEMO?arturia SEM V - YouTube

Video is in Japanese.

I think it sounds really close, you'll be the judge!

See post #37. Already been posted.

You can clearly hear in the high notes that the Arturia sounds choked and dull compared to the real SEM when he plays the lines up the keyboard. But in the low notes it doesn't sound too bad and sounds somewhat similar to the real SEM.

Is clear and bright highs worth the extra $800? Well, you'll be the judge.

Regards,
Frank

Regards,
Frank

[Aziak]

New version 1.1 is out. Arturia - Musical Instruments | Resources

"New features are available such as "Reassign" and "Forward Retrig" modes for the 8-Voice Programmer. Performances have been enhanced when the Oberheim SEM V is used in DAWs, notably Logic and Pro Tools"

Cheers!

[Sensorychaos]

Great new!!!
Hop directly to Arturia website :D

[San01]

I installed v1.1 and it a mess

This version is supposed to improve performance with Logic, but since i installed it, it crashes Logic, or it doesn't play any sound, or it gives weird error messages

WTF !!!

Anybody else has these problems ?

[cane creek]

OSX 10.7.3 Logic 9.1.6

Issues here to

Sem 1.1 opens ok in logic and plays ok however once i save a project close it then Re-open it again Sem won't make a sound.

I have to delete the instance of SEM then open a new instance for it to make any sound.

another afternoon of bugs rather than making music