This is quite a nice one. One oscillator, more or less, and quite a nasty sound. I’m actually tempted to upgrade it to its big brother with patch points.
I was lusting for a PolyEvolver Keys for years, but it always felt like a bit of overkill. I think that I had come to realize just how much of a monosynth guy I really am. So when Dave Smith announced that he would be discontinuing the MEK, people started buying them from wherever they could find them. I found mine from Thomann, and just in the nick of time, as the next day they were sold out.
Sonically, it’s really impressive. It’s got both analog and digital oscillators (2 of both), a nifty sequencer and crunchy effects. I’m always on the hunt for the bass sound of Ultravox’ We Came to Dance, and this one (think PPG, or rather Prophet VS) comes quite close (Blofeld actually did that too).
I lost it to Judgment Day, but this is actually one I could buy again.
Another one of those ”small boxes” Korg put out during this time. I got a MIDI kit for this as well, and had it well-integrated into my setup, but didn’t really used it for anything else than mucking around. Again, nothing wrong with it, just not my cup of tea.
Sold it after Judgment Day.
This one is easy to waste hours at a time with. A really hands-on synth, and patchpoints always makes things more fun. Plays nicely with the modular.
I always thought combined D/R-stages in the envelopes are a bit weird. True for this one as well. On the other hand, that partly contributes to what it sounds like, I suppose.
Wow. I can’t say Wow enough. The original NM’s younger as well as bigger brother, having everything the original one lacked (MIDI modules, decent keyboard). This simply is an incredible piece of machinery. Functionally it builds on the original, only makes it better. I can’t understand why they abandoned this concept, nothing out there comes even close to the flexibility it provides. OK, I actually kind of do understand: Modular synths are not for everybody, but this is such a wonderful concept that even if it is inherently modular, as a user you don’t actually even need to know that. The brilliance of this piece is so out there in its own category I just can’t find the words, so I’ll just shut up now.
I kind of stalked this machine. I found it in a music store in Helsinki, high up on a shelf as close to the ceiling as possible, and I came to check it out every week or so when I was in town. Bit by bit it had been moved downwards, and once it had been on subshoulder level for a couple of weeks I just had to buy it, because of course I had to. Turned out it was pretty much the last one in Europe, if not the entire world. The shop guys had found it in a box in the basement, in a pile of empty boxes, and brought it up from the dead, so to speak. I was quite lucky there…
The more, the merrier. The Wiard modules seem to be quite expensive, but I got two FracRack-format cheapies, which turned out to have an enormous impact on the realtime tweakability of the modular’s parameters: a nice little joystick and a joystick axis generator. The joystick axis generator is a kind of Modulation Matrix Lite: it takes two input CV’s, and spits them out in various ratios through a number of outputs. Up, down, left, right, and in-between, plus middle and the complement of middle. Patch in a joystick or two LFO’s, connect all the outputs to appropriate inputs, and listen to the sound change drastically and becoming really alive. The JAG comes highly recommended!
My main Modular of choice. I sold my Doepfer (and a spitload of other gear) to finance this, and I am not one bit sorry that I did. The feel is very reliable, the sound is massive, and it simply looks like a modular should look. A shame I could not actually a/b the sound of this and Doepfer, but this sounds really wonderful. My plan is to build a flexible modular, which will include interesting modules from several modular manufacturers, and in which the dotcom will be the core. I have had loads of fun with this already, and this is again one of those investments that have a potential to be for life.
At first I wanted to get a custom walnut cabinet, but it turned out that my modular Muurame bookshelf is a perfect fit for rack gear. And I have a lot of Muurame modules…
Butt-ugly or not, the amount of available interesting modules is quite overwhelming, so I really saw no reason not to include Doepfer in my rig. As with Blacet, the idea is to complement the main modular. The first modules I got were two theremin modules, which should prove fun both to me and my daughter. Doepfer’s got a huge amount of filters and other sounds processing modules, so I think it will grow out of proportion and that I will feel quite good about it, all things considered.
The first “next” manufacturer to be added alongside the dotcom modules. Blacet modules come in kits or assembled, and without hesitation I went for the assembled ones. I don’t quite trust myself behind the soldering iron, I might end up with something not-so-safe. Blacet uses the FracRack form factor, and the same annoyingly small jacks as Doepfer, but I figured I shouldn’t be too picky about these things. Blacet have some fun modules, and there really is no reason not to get some, as they integrate quite nicely into what is now becoming a Frankensynth.
A Moog. Pronounced “Mogue”. This is a heavy piece of work, and it just oozes quality. It sounds exactly the way you would think a Moog should sound. Solid as a rock and absolutely no complaints about its sonic properties. There’s one interesting design flaw, though: when the electrical cord is attached to it and the panel is lowered to its lowest position, the entire weight of the panel ends up resting on the cord. How could that ever get a green light? Oh well, nobody’s perfect.
I actually put this one for sale after Judgment Day, but nobody wanted it. Go figure. So I still have it. I would probably like to go simpler, meaning I would not mind trading it for a re-issue of the Model D. Drop me a line if you’re interested.