GAS --- Just bought 2 new pieces... POLYMORPH & SIDSTATION

[Afamily]

Had the Polymorph for awhile, and though it's definitely easier to navigate around than the Spectralis, its sound just lacks the beefy analogesque punch of the Speckie. I own the Spectralis 2 now and it is THE expansive (and expensive) complicated, astral, sonic spaceship of the decade. However, I did one little ditty with the Polymorph when I owned it that I think sounds decent: http://mp3unsigned.com/showmp3.asp?mp3id=52437

I miss the Polymorph sometimes, but when I turn on the Speckie, the sound just dominates everything else I have ever owned.

I don't doubt that one bit. I'm just excited to dig up something off the beaten path kind of. I am looking into the Spectralis 1 or 2. I'd like to try one out for sure.

[otto]

You’ve sparked my curiosity/interest. I’m sort of looking for all in one portable solutions at the moment anyway. How do you feel the VA sounds holds up against other VAs? That can be the biggest issue for me. I liked the intuitive nature of programming Elektron gear but I found the sound to be severely lacking.

To breitt:
So you prefer your Spectralis to your other current gear?

[Afamily]

I personally enjoy the fact that, the machine in and of itself, isn't easy to find, so that gives it a nice quality too. But on the sound side of things I feel it's one of the best VA's I've ever heard. It sits great in the mix, and it's built by Germans, so you know it's going to be good out of the box.

I enjoyed hunting the Polymorph down, and once I finally got my hands on the box I was just blown away. Indeed I'm blown away first because it really satisfies my pallet of tastes for the darker downtempo Underworld esque etc sounds that I expected out of the box. And Second because in and of itself the sequencer is very in depth, and the VA engines are very complex as well and go as far as you want to take them. Lots of modulating options here.

And you can use it as an all in one song production box I think with the abilitiy to synthesize drums, hat's and cymbals etc. Suited for a live use of course, due to its designer's intentions of being used in this manner.

[breitt]

You’ve sparked my curiosity/interest. I’m sort of looking for all in one portable solutions at the moment anyway. How do you feel the VA sounds holds up against other VAs? That can be the biggest issue for me. I liked the intuitive nature of programming Elektron gear but I found the sound to be severely lacking.

To breitt:
So you prefer your Spectralis to your other current gear?

I DO prefer the Spectralis to my other gear, though the Omega is a close second. The Omega, however requires a multi-timbral sequencer, and since I just sold my Nemo, I've only used the Omega sporadically with the Mobius monotimbral sequencer.
The Speckie is a true all-in-one box, and the drums are spectacular. It just has this spatial depth I mentioned that no other unit can touch. If there's a problem with the Spectralis, it's that I find myself mangling existing presets more than actually producing songs from scratch. That's partially due to laziness and lack of time, and partially due to the exisiting presets sounding so damn good on their own that they provide convenient "leaping-off" points to create modified versions.

As far as the Polymorph goes, while interesting, unique and rare, I personally found the sound to be a bit lacking compared to other VAs, though I'm sure others may vehemently disagree.