Elektron-Users

So the opportunity to get a mopho x4 at a great price came up and i took it. I have a tetra, and i figured what the hell, Id have 8 voices and a bunch of knobs to control my tetra. Well... it was a good price because the pitch bend knob was wonky..... The return is done, and now the option for a polyevolver came up. Can someone tell me how they feel about the evolver? I know the specs, ive listened to sounds, watched vids... Ive always wanted one... but I trust you guys, trust this forum, have read a lot of great posts, and gotten a lot of great feedback. So please ..... help me make a more informed decision.

does the no subosc. make a big difference? How are the wavetables? Hows the filter on it?

please just write some essays on why I need this thing in my life asap....
or why im going to want to throw myself out of my office window for even considering it.

thanks!

I only had the mono evolver desktop, but to me it was the best sounding DSI unit I've heard. You won't miss the subosc, the digital oscs have perfect VA waves which can be tuned an octave lower. Don't think anyone can spot the difference. The only problem I had with the mono was the interface, that's why it had to go. But I can imagine that is fixed in the poly evolver. But isn't the poly evolver about as expensive as the P12?

Yeah, I think you'd get one and regret just not going all in for a P12.


I saw the first demo vid of P12 before I'd even consider spending that kind of money on a piece of gear....

So what happened? I kept buying less expensive pieces of gear which added up to way more, and ended up trading a ton of it for a P12 and a SC Pro One.

You seem to have the gear bug pretty bad so here's the advice no one ever gave me: just save up for the best. No one ever regrets purchasing the new flagship DSI synth or a 909 or an 808 or a Virus TI2 or a Minimoog- but you will regret having racks and tables full of thousands of dollars of gear that you spend more time learning how to use than making music with.

When you own the best, you spend less time online scouring eBay and CL and user forums asking questions, more time using the gear.

The P12 is the best synth I've ever used as far as simplicity and power and potential beyond what anyone has seen yet. The presets alone without touching a thing will blow you away. Then you start modding and hooo booy this thing is deep but it has everything you need laid out right in front of you on knobs- you hardly need to touch the menus. I'm producing sounds with the P12 by itself and through external FX and Filters that I can honestly say no other synth can produce.

That's why you either buy the classics or the new best thing: The new thing will keep you busy learning it and it alone because there's the possibility you'll program a patch that sounds unlike anything you've ever heard before and the classics will give you exactly what you paid for- that particular sound.

The PolyEvolver is basically the first attempt at the P12 that's way more digital, less versatile (the P12 can do INSANE percussion- it's basically a Tempest+++++) with a built in sequencer- which you have no need for because I remember you posting about just getting an MnM. Well, the obvious next step with an MnM is to get the best synth you can get and sequence it. The 12 voices of the P12 will allow you to program a masterpiece on the MnM and still have voices left over the split the board into another part and go wild playing in bass arps or chords or whatever.

The answer here is simple: No. Because if you're anything like me you'll just keep watching youtube vids of people using the P12 (that will pop up with more and more frequency) and you'll just end up selling the Evolver and buying a P12.

There's your essay.

I think DSI stuff gets a bit of a bad rap on here (each to their own I guess), but I personally love the sound. I also love Elektron's sound. We've got a mono Evolver and recently got a Prophet 08 and they're both awesome. They've definitely got a pretty clean modern analog sound, but you you can do all kinds of sounds on them. Amazing modulation capabilities. Insanely fun to program. I would say get it...

Also they don't make Poly Evolvers any more so they will become a classic, and will hold good value (if that matters to ya)...

steevyhead wrote:

does the no subosc. make a big difference? How are the wavetables? Hows the filter on it?


The ability to FM and RM the wavetables and assign a wavetable shape to a sequence is what makes the Evolver so unique. WaveStation/ProphetVS on steroids.

I also love the tuned feedback + triple tap delay for wonderful karplus strong plucked string basic physical modeling sounds.

Combi mode patches are underused, underrated, and amazing.

Love/hate relationship with my PEK. Love the modulation/sequencer possibilities, the 70+ buttons/knobs to tweak things with; hate the trashiness you can get if you're not carefull with your levels and digital path parameters. This thing can come up with sounds to tear your head off if you're not carefull...

poonti wrote:
Love/hate relationship with my PEK. Love the modulation/sequencer possibilities, the 70+ buttons/knobs to tweak things with; hate the trashiness you can get if you're not carefull with your levels and digital path parameters. This thing can come up with sounds to tear your head off if you're not carefull...

Ahh I almost forgot that, yes I had the same with the desktop, it clipped way too easily.

Thanks guys! I really appreciate it. I do got the gear bug bad..... and yes Ive salivated over a p12 many a day now... but I got the option to get a PolYEV for sub 1500$ and its through a mutual friend... so I havent gone to play it yet, its kind of a hike.. so I just wanted to see what you guys thought...

and I certainly do appreciate all the feedback!! Ive widdled down my gear to my elektron boxes, my nord modular, tetra, and ultranova (which i cant part with due to sentimental reasons). I take an elektron box to work everyday and spend my lunch learning, and on the weekends I attempt to put other gear in the mix etc... but I always love new gear... Its something to look forward to, and i feel like a kid on xmas morning when I get something.

So yeah.. the P12 is double what I can get this thing for... and although you are TOTALLY right ryan about saving up and just getting the best... 3k is kinda just nuts for me right now.... (my girlfriend will also punch me in the face) those two reasons are why ive kept my modular desires at bay.

I listened to a ton of shit today, and man oh man the modulations I heard come out of that thing are just insane... I still havent heard any truly low end shit... but My tetra, and A4 can get low and crunchy... and The FM bass on the MnM is beautiful.

jesus I wasnt even thinking about a P12... now i am.
someone shoot me

I have the PEK and started way back with the Desktop Evo wehn it came out.

I think it sounds way more organic and unique than the P12. But it comes at a price: you got to dig early 80ies digital artefacts in hybrid-synths like the Waldorf Wave or the PPG and of course the Prophet VS. It lacks the morphing abilities of the VS. (you can only fade 2 waveforms via the modulation matrix by crossfading them) But still it has a very old-schoolish vibe to it.

It can do bread-and butter analog sounds too if you turn down the distortion and other digital components in the signal path, but then you have to be careful with gain staging. It's very hard to come by the PEK with e.g. headphones. It can do thick analog patches, but that means keeping the OSC Levels down and make up for the gain loss with an external mixer or preamp.

The Combo/Multi Mode on the PEK isn't perfect, as you can't store individual patches from it , only the setup and configuration of up to four patches. But it's definitely more powerful than the 2-layer workflow of the P08 and P12. The Mopho 4X again is simply Monotimbral, so not a winner either in that category.

So in sum I'd say the PEK is a powerful beast, that sometimes is hard to control and to come by, but it can shine brightly and you'll never exhaust its possibilities even after years.

Just recently someone made a very nice soundset for the evolver line and the sound samples are the best you can find when it comes to pure evolver bliss:
http://www.boxedear.com/tqsevolver.php