John Bowen Solaris Synthesizer, heard of it?

[synthmax]

Have you heard/seen John Bowen Solaris synth? Is it any good?

http://www.johnbowen.com/solaris.html

I listened to all the samples, and that sound is great!

[carbon111]

Heard it?
I worked the John Bowen booth at NAMM last January and demoed it for people.

They're in production finally. People who pre-ordered should be getting them probably the first part of the year...

I've put down some impressions here:
http://synthwire.blogspot.com/2008/07/w ... sitor.html

[cornutt]

I pre-ordered, and I think mine's going to shipped in February, if I interpreted John's last message about it correctly.

[sensorium]

I haven't hear anything come out of this yet that you couldn't do on a MUCH less expensive Waldorf Blofeld......but I'm anxious for someone to prove me wrng

[carbon111]

Wait 'till you hear the SSM filter emulation paired with the CEM oscillators.

Once people have these in their hands and start making music people will freak...the quality of sound and timbral variety is nothing short of amazing.

[synthmax]

Is this badboy all digital or are there analog components in there as well?

... and Blofeld, that sound is just downright kinky! Ok, now let me just meet the product manager who came up with the name Blofed. Heh.

[carbon111]

Is this badboy all digital or are there analog components in there as well?

All digital. Sounds fantastic though. That's always been John's bottom line: the sound.
Yes, the User Interface rocks, but without great sound there's no point.

FWIW, the Solaris dosen't sound "glassy" or "brittle" like most digital synths do to my ears...

[Syn303]

Isn't the Solaris just a repackaged Oberheim Matrix 12. However sounds kinda PPG'ish to me!

[shaft9000]

Isn't the Solaris just a repackaged Oberheim Matrix 12. However sounds kinda PPG'ish to me!

:tard:
wha?
as far as i know the Solaris is related to the Creamware family of add-on card DSP synths/processors. IIRC Bowen developed the SCOPE system and perhaps more.
I have no idea if Bowen was ever affiliated w/ Oberheim.

[urgetoplay]

Nothing to do with the Matrix 12. Extremely high quality digital synth.
Check out Carbon's link for more information. I've been onboard for a while,
I'm excited that it'll be in myhands soon.

[carbon111]

Hang tight, John is working like an absolute dog to get this out ASAP.

Everything is on track but, having played the proto quite a bit, I'm still ripping my hair out with the excitement of expectation!

[Joey]

Looks like it will be the ultimate digital synth

I have no use for it in my setup... I've got all its bases covered... but it is definitely something awesome

[gd]

I feel for John on this one as it will likely be a very tough sell given the economic circumstances.

[Max Websta]

Paid for mine a year ago. I got the light gray color with white lit up wheels. It will be worth every second of waiting and it will be a classic upon it's release!

[urgetoplay]

Same here; although I've chosen the darker color scheme.
Have to say that the best part of this was JB's professional honesty.
When there were changes,delays or discussion concerning options he kept us in
the loop. Never made excuses or hid. Came right out and told us what was happening.
Wish everyone did business this way.....