The Blofeld Site Is Up

[Joey]

This is another synth I'm definitely excited for.

So many great new synths are out... Prophet 08, the blofeld, the solaris is coming soon, etc...

This is an exciting time to be a synthesist.

[sequence]

I can't believe people complain about something like this, that is cheap, and isn't released by the big three... it doesn't make sense.

I'm with ya all the way on this one JSR. Many of these posters sound similar to pinhead football fans whose team didnt make the playoffs, what is wrong with the product, what can be done to improve the product, etc etc. b***h b***h f**k b***h, why can't folks accept Blofeld for what it is (a killer deal for a killer h/w portable wavetable synth, something that's needed in the market) and be done with it, if it doesn't fit for you, then f**k ADJUST or get something else that DOES fit with what the f**k U want to do.

So what's next?

"OMG I just cant STAND the fact that Blofeld comes with a wall wart power supply (or it's not small enough, or its screen is too small, or for not having the red knob like on early beta versions). MAN Waldorf really dropped the ball on that. Think I'll complain about it on VSF, ad infinitum, ad nauseum, until my balls bleed."

f**k hey, people! Enough already!

[JSRockit]

I can't believe people complain about something like this, that is cheap, and isn't released by the big three... it doesn't make sense.

I'm with ya all the way on this one JSR.... if it doesn't fit for you, then f**k ADJUST or get something else that DOES fit with what the f**k U want to do.

Yeah, that's the thing...if it doesn't fit your way of working then why would you care? I don't go bitching about how modular synths take up too much room in a thread about modular synths...I just stay out of the thread. That said, I guess people tend to expect something and when it isn't delivered, even if unrealistic, it is dissappointing. We've all been there as well. In reality, there are very few perfect synths / drum machines and very few truly bad synths / drum machines... it all comes down to how they fit your way of working. If they don't fit, don't buy, and move on.

[Stab Frenzy]

The Radias is only 4 part multitimbral, same with the Ion and Micron although they're not even really multitimbral as you have to use keyboard splits to access the other timbres and can't use the same note on two timbres, even if they're on seperate midi channels.

Not so. Put parts on separate MIDI channels and they work exactly as they should. Maybe you're getting confused by the control aspects of the included keyboards?

Maybe the Radias works like that but the Micron doesn't respond to midi messages in combi mode unless the midi note is within the keysplit you've set up for that midi channel in the setup mode. Also you have to use consecutive midi channels which is an annoying limitation. I've got one right in front of me doing it now.

The Ion works the same as the Micron in most respects, but I don't have one to try this out on right now so maybe it's different, who knows? Do you have either of them?

[felis]

...Stab did say 'for the price' and in the UK, the Blofeld is just under £300. The others are:

Radias Rack - £650
Ion/Micron - £390/£240
Evolver - £350+

You guys are getting a great price on it over there.

The Blofeld is $699 in the US.

Ion =$599
Evolver = $499
Micron = $399

and several people over at HC got the Radias rack at guitar center for $600.

The US dollar sucks.

[JSRockit]

I didn't pay $699 for my Blofeld...I paid significantly less.

[felis]

...
What else out there can you compare it to?

Well, JS - we were just trying to compare stuff in a similar price range. I suppose there's quite a few others at 600 or less, but I'm blanking out right now.

[killedaway]

The Radias is only 4 part multitimbral, same with the Ion and Micron although they're not even really multitimbral as you have to use keyboard splits to access the other timbres and can't use the same note on two timbres, even if they're on seperate midi channels.

Not so. Put parts on separate MIDI channels and they work exactly as they should. Maybe you're getting confused by the control aspects of the included keyboards?

Maybe the Radias works like that but the Micron doesn't respond to midi messages in combi mode unless the midi note is within the keysplit you've set up for that midi channel in the setup mode. Also you have to use consecutive midi channels which is an annoying limitation. I've got one right in front of me doing it now.

The Ion works the same as the Micron in most respects, but I don't have one to try this out on right now so maybe it's different, who knows? Do you have either of them?

sorry for veering a little OT here...

i've got an Ion (playing with it right now), and it works as softroom stated. "Setups" consist of four separate "Parts" (like voices/patches/timbres, if you will), which default to individual MIDI channels 1-4. each Part spans the entire keyboard, so no splitting is necessary to access each Part, and you can happily sound the same note on each Part simultaneously. further, MIDI channels need not be consecutive -- if they did, that would really screw up my studio's current MIDI configuration. and actually, i find the Ion's versatility in this department to very intuitive. enabling and disabling parts, for MIDI or Local control is as simple as highlighting each Part's "Enable" button. in all honesty, i've never really taken a close look at the face of the Micron, and just assumed it operated the same way. i'm shocked to find the Micron isn't fully multitimbral!

[JSRockit]

...
What else out there can you compare it to?

Well, JS - we were just trying to compare stuff in a similar price range. I suppose there's quite a few others at 600 or less, but I'm blanking out right now.

There is nothing brand new, for under $600, that offers what this synth does.

[Stab Frenzy]

sorry for veering a little OT here...

i've got an Ion (playing with it right now), and it works as softroom stated. "Setups" consist of four separate "Parts" (like voices/patches/timbres, if you will), which default to individual MIDI channels 1-4. each Part spans the entire keyboard, so no splitting is necessary to access each Part, and you can happily sound the same note on each Part simultaneously. further, MIDI channels need not be consecutive -- if they did, that would really screw up my studio's current MIDI configuration. and actually, i find the Ion's versatility in this department to very intuitive. enabling and disabling parts, for MIDI or Local control is as simple as highlighting each Part's "Enable" button. in all honesty, i've never really taken a close look at the face of the Micron, and just assumed it operated the same way. i'm shocked to find the Micron isn't fully multitimbral!

That is strange, I wonder why Alesis would put that limitation in the Micron? It was a giant pain in the arse when we used to use one for our live show, we had to put patches in and then transpose them up or down so we could get the right range of notes for the sequencer to trigger.

[kaffekick]

You guys are getting a great price on it over there.

The Blofeld is $699 in the US.

Ion =$599
Evolver = $499
Micron = $399

and several people over at HC got the Radias rack at guitar center for $600.

The US dollar sucks.

When I tried the Blofeld I was surprised that it wasn't more expensive. I think that it beats far more expensive VA:s with no problem.
I wouldn't mind paying a couple of bucks more for it and believe me - I'm not easy to convince when it comes to VA synths.
You can't compare this to the Micron. It's two different worlds IMO.
I think that the Evolver still beats the Blofeld soundwise - but the Evolver has got a real analog filter and a VA can't beat that.

Still, $699 is a shitty price compared to what we can buy it for in the EU.

[softroom]

Maybe the Radias works like that but the Micron doesn't respond to midi messages in combi mode unless the midi note is within the keysplit you've set up for that midi channel in the setup mode. Also you have to use consecutive midi channels which is an annoying limitation. I've got one right in front of me doing it now.

The Ion works the same as the Micron in most respects, but I don't have one to try this out on right now so maybe it's different, who knows? Do you have either of them?

I've had both here for review (and the Radias too, which I kept). The only thing I can recall about the Micron that might be relevant here concerns the weird and dynamic way it handles Setups (containing multiple programs/beats/patterns).
"Setups are organised in alphabetical order with each containing up to 26 parts! Yes, you read that correctly, and yes, this does mean you can quickly exhaust the Micron's eight-note polyphony — especially if you are a layering enthusiast. But plan things carefully, divide up your programs into zones over the full MIDI range and you gain tremendous flexibility — although you'll be in regular contact with those transpose keys unless you use an external keyboard."
"MIDI channels within a Setup are allocated according to the base channel defined in the Config menu. The channel number is increased automatically as new parts are created. This means if your base channel is 1 and you exceed 16 parts — as you well might — only the first 16 will be capable of sending or receiving MIDI data."

I guess you realise this stuff already. Afraid I don't have a Micron to see if there's anything else I can think of. Hope you get it sorted - maybe you found a bug?

[JSRockit]

I think that the Evolver still beats the Blofeld soundwise - but the Evolver has got a real analog filter and a VA can't beat that.

Still, $699 is a shitty price compared to what we can buy it for in the EU.

The Evolver and Blofeld are two equally impressive deals, but are also two totally different machines with different strenghs IMO. The Blofeld is not a mono synth...the evolver is. The blofeld is not analog, the evolver is. The evolver has a sequencer, the blofeld has an arp. The blofeld has a multimap mode and polyphony, the evolver doesn't. There are more differences than similarities between the two.

[kaffekick]

The Evolver and Blofeld are two equally impressive deals, but are also two totally different machines with different strenghs IMO. The Blofeld is not a mono synth...the evolver is. The blofeld is not analog, the evolver is. The evolver has a sequencer, the blofeld has an arp. The blofeld has a multimap mode and polyphony, the evolver doesn't. There are more differences than similarities between the two.

I agree but I was just comparing them soundwise (wich is pretty unfair actually).

[droolmaster0]

The Radias is only 4 part multitimbral, same with the Ion and Micron although they're not even really multitimbral as you have to use keyboard splits to access the other timbres and can't use the same note on two timbres, even if they're on seperate midi channels.

Not so. Put parts on separate MIDI channels and they work exactly as they should. Maybe you're getting confused by the control aspects of the included keyboards?

Maybe the Radias works like that but the Micron doesn't respond to midi messages in combi mode unless the midi note is within the keysplit you've set up for that midi channel in the setup mode. Also you have to use consecutive midi channels which is an annoying limitation. I've got one right in front of me doing it now.

The Ion works the same as the Micron in most respects, but I don't have one to try this out on right now so maybe it's different, who knows? Do you have either of them?

I've only used an Ion, but I just don't think that this is true in the sense that it's not 'really' multimbral'. I think that most multimbral instruments also allow you to set key ranges, but as long as you can access via different channels, I don't see the problem. The Ion allows this - afaik, the micron doesn't deviate from the Ion's midi capabilities.