Blofeld or Micron? (Not really a VS thread.....)

[frequency]

Hello guys,

As of yet I'm taking up the idea of getting me a budget synth which in most part will have to score good on 'pads' and some synth weirdness. I used an Ion and a Virus C, both for their own capabilities. As generally known the Virus' oscillators lack in power, and the Ion's far better in that respect. So I used the Ion mainly for pads, which I like to be big and spread out over the stereo field. So one day after some tweaking and effects applying (chorus, reverb) the Ion gave me the most haunting, dark, and utterly useable pad I had ever been able to make. I know an Andy will do even better, but that's out of my budget range. Since then Waldorf have resurfaced and produced the Blofeld, which featurewise outshines the Ion/Micron by far, but having not heard the Blofeld apart from some demoing and the usual You Tube stuff, I dread buying one, as I absolutely want this thing to be able to sound just as haunting as the Ion was able to...and it was able to because of its oscillators and its filters... So can the Blofeld sound as dark as you want it to? Or are those few user reviews of which some seem to state that the Blofeld sounds absolutely clean and digital, true? The Micron will soundwise do a great job, but I'll ignore it because of its user interface. So, are the Micron and Blofeld comparable in sound or not? Anyone had the chance of extensively comparing both synths?

Thanks for any response, F.

[Stab Frenzy]

Surprisingly enough, this actually is a vs. thread.

[frequency]

Fair enough, but only the Oscillators and filters are of interet to me, and if they can sound similar enough on a Blofeld when compared to a Ion/Micron.

[griffin avid]

I'm confused, if the ION made the greatest pad ever, why are you not making more pads with the ION?
Seems like you already have the perfect synth for what you want. Just use it more.

Dark, Light and all the other subjective adjectives are...well..subjective and really boil down to what you program and your individual taste- beyond the specs of course. If it were me, I'd be saving up for something I felt was better than the ION and not buy a bunch of satellite synths/modules. Save up and get the piece you've researched enough to truly know what it will add to your set up uppon arrival. Some hands on time is always best as opposed to rumor/reviews/rank/reputation etc...

On the flip side, you can always consider layering your Virus and ION to make some unique pads. It can be as simple as a MIDI connection away.

[solaristica]

Jexus just posted a new video on Youtube of the Blofeld making Pads and "weird noises"... But I agree with the other poster... If the ION works, why not keep it? Unless, of course, you have the cash, and are giving in to the temptation to get something else... Seems to be a very normal occurrence among synth lovers...

[frequency]

I used to own both the Virus and the Ion, but they are no more.
I was able to produce real good pads with the Virus aswell, but its oscillators lacked a good degree of 'belly', something the Ion had tons of for its price.

[memory cords]

I own both the Waldorf Blofeld and the Alesis Micron. I like them both. But if I was forced to choose only one I would choose the Micron.

The Blofeld looks better on paper, it appears to have more flexibilty and features. But in reality the Micron has more versatility because the differences between the filter types are much more pronounced. The Micron's 'analog drift' feature is extremely convincing, more so than any other synth I've tried. The Micron is easy to program once you get used to it.

The Micron, when carefully programmed, can cover an EXTREMELY wide range of timbres. The Blofeld always seems to have the same character regardless of which wavetables or filters you use. The Blofeld's filter saturation and overdrive don't sound 'full' to me and the effects are flat and lifeless.

If you specifically want to mimic PPG sounds then the Blofeld is better. But otherwise I would get the Micron. The Micron is cheaper too so you could use the leftover money to buy a nice effects processor or a preamp.

[frequency]

Thanks Memory Cords!!

[Cerebral Infect]

Why not go again for the Ion. Ok, it doesn't have the 2nd effect unit or the sequencer, but have a great user interface. You said you like to program pads on it. Well programing stuff on the Micron with a single knob is kind of a tedious process.

[Murderhausen]

I love my Ion so much, but between the Micron (which I once owned) and the Blofeld, I would side with the Waldorf.



That's a pretty convincing video, but hardly covers all territory the Blofeld is capable of. I am not a huge fan of the sterile and digital sound of wavetables, but animated wavetables used as FM sources can create some amazingly organic and 'haunting' sounds. I would also say that the filters and oscillators on the Blofeld sound extremely robust. As far as digital goes, I always liked the Ion oscillators and the Virus filters, but really feel that the Blofeld is the best combination of both in a digital package.

The micron really sucks to program, whereas the Blofeld is actually a joy even considering the limited amount of controls. One drawback to the Blofeld, however, is that the polyphony is reduced when using all three oscillators, certain filters (like the comb), and effects in conjunction. To me, though, the effects on the Blofeld aren't as good or as important as they are on a Virus.

The routing is also very extensive on both machines, and hard to compare. The number of mod slots is the same, but the Blofeld goes further by not only giving you 16 mod slots, but also having mod sources pre-mapped within certain sections. For instance: in the filter section, there is an FM (filter modulation, not the digital variety) destination that can be routed to any of the available sources (including oscillators, which can be wavetables being swept by, for example, an LFO). Same with the oscillators, and the filter also has an env amount etc... meaning you can set up pretty wild modulations before even assigning anything to the 16 open slots.

The micron has more filter types, which are unique and interesting, but the Blofeld covers all of your standard 2 and 4 pole bases with the addition of notch and comb filters, and a special PPG filter (which would be similar to a Moog 4 pole on other VAs).

The delays on the micron are way cooler, but what it comes down to for me is the depth of available synthesis and the programming interface, where the Blofeld wins on both counts. The Ion/micron is one of the best VA engines of all time, but I really have to side with the Blofeld on this one.

[boxed]

I love my Ion so much, but between the Micron (which I once owned) and the Blofeld, I would side with the Waldorf.



That's a pretty convincing video, but hardly covers all territory the Blofeld is capable of. I am not a huge fan of the sterile and digital sound of wavetables, but animated wavetables used as FM sources can create some amazingly organic and 'haunting' sounds. I would also say that the filters and oscillators on the Blofeld sound extremely robust. As far as digital goes, I always liked the Ion oscillators and the Virus filters, but really feel that the Blofeld is the best combination of both in a digital package.

The micron really sucks to program, whereas the Blofeld is actually a joy even considering the limited amount of controls. One drawback to the Blofeld, however, is that the polyphony is reduced when using all three oscillators, certain filters (like the comb), and effects in conjunction. To me, though, the effects on the Blofeld aren't as good or as important as they are on a Virus.

The routing is also very extensive on both machines, and hard to compare. The number of mod slots is the same, but the Blofeld goes further by not only giving you 16 mod slots, but also having mod sources pre-mapped within certain sections. For instance: in the filter section, there is an FM (filter modulation, not the digital variety) destination that can be routed to any of the available sources (including oscillators, which can be wavetables being swept by, for example, an LFO). Same with the oscillators, and the filter also has an env amount etc... meaning you can set up pretty wild modulations before even assigning anything to the 16 open slots.

The micron has more filter types, which are unique and interesting, but the Blofeld covers all of your standard 2 and 4 pole bases with the addition of notch and comb filters, and a special PPG filter (which would be similar to a Moog 4 pole on other VAs).

The delays on the micron are way cooler, but what it comes down to for me is the depth of available synthesis and the programming interface, where the Blofeld wins on both counts. The Ion/micron is one of the best VA engines of all time, but I really have to side with the Blofeld on this one.

nice one