IK MUltimedia UNO Synth

[sqigls]

what's with the knobs!!?
how is a person meant to really get in and tweak it?
they're so fat but close together. fingertip tweaking ?

[Chris-S]

So, it has the Repro-1 foil keyboard.....

[MrWildBunnycat]

Another thing I noticed in the soundcloud demos is some sort of audio artifact always present in each demo - kind of like a low sample rate artifact, especially noticeable in the short decay demos. Don't know if it's just a bad recording or an actual artifact of the synth, it doesn't sound pleasant.

I also hear something, not sure we mean the same thing. What I mean is a high-pitched spring kind of sound, when a key is released. On audio example 42 it is easy to hear.
But maybe it is an effect. That synth sounds so dirty, it is hard to say what is intended and what not

Yes, that's exactly the sound I meant. If you listen carefully - you can hear it in almost every soundcloud demo. I hope it's a recording artifact.

What are people basing "it sounds good" on?

50+ audio demos and already many who have stopped by and used UNO Synth in Berlin.

Don't get me wrong, the synth sounds good - when I heard the promo video I thought "woah, that's PHAT".
BUT...
I listened to all the 50+ soundcloud demos on the page and really didn't hear much variety. I get it's a mono synth which should excel in the bass department, but the tonal signature is all the same. I'm not judging by the demos alone and understand that the capability is in the hands of the user.

You guys should make a series of video demos - show each of the staples: Filters, LFO, modulation, etc. Show us the sequencer. Get a good synthesist to do a demo. Right now what you have is interesting, but I want to see more and what can be done outside the box.

Make more demo songs, right now you have only 2 on your soundcloud, the rest is just dry standalone demos. I want to hear how it blends!

[Mushy Mushy]

What, spend money on an informative marketing campaign? Nah.

They don’t need to know what it does, they just need it. Hey you, buy this now.

[topaz]

This is true analog, for anyone doubting it is true analog they can rest assured that this is just about as true analog as true analog could possible be.

So if you are after a true analog synth, and you don't already have a true analog synth this true analog synth is the true analog synth for you.

[Mushy Mushy]

This is true analog, for anyone doubting it is true analog they can rest assured that this is just about as true analog as true analog could possible be.

So if you are after a true analog synth, and you don't already have a true analog synth this true analog synth is the true analog synth for you.

The campaign certainly does resemble somebody’s anal log.

[Michael L]

^^^ Unfortunately all of the above is true:

1. Stir up controversy to get attention.
2. Exaggerate to build expectations.
3. Collaborate with celebrities to promise excellence.
4. Deliver an a-v-e-r-a-g-e product at a below-average price
5. Promote it as an awesome deal !!!!!!!!!!!!!
6. Have a few drinks after Superbooth

UNO is a gateway drug to harder hardware, which is good
(synths are far better than bombing small countries!)
But the campaign could have been better
Sadly, marketing folk see themselves as products, too
(speaking as a former marketing person myself....)

[Bombadil]

Golgafrinchans.

[MrWildBunnycat]

Just watched Sonicstate's video. Here's some points:

- Sequencer: does parameter locks. HOLY CRAP! SHOW US! This is big! The way it was just glossed over "Yeah, 20 parameters" is a bit baffling. This needs more detail!

- OSC Crossmodulation: None. This is a miss. No sync and no FM - missing out on a lot of sonic opportunities here.

- Envelopes: Filter Env has Attack and Decay controls, Amp Env has Attack and Release controls, the rest via MIDI CC. I'm sorry, what? This is a HUGE screwup IMO. You could've just assigned both envelopes to the same button to toggle between. Without AMP Decay control on the device you can't make plucks or stabs. This is a gamebreaker and a severe kick to the knees. Even the MicroKorg XL with it's 3 knobs has Decay control.

- No sine... On a mono bass synth... What was the thinking process here? I get it, they mentioned you can filter a saw to get a sine, but with a 2 pole filter? You're not gonna get a clean sine here. I guess you could drive the filter's resonance up, but can you turn off the oscillators? Did I miss it or was there no mention of filter tracking? I have a Deepmind 12 and it has no sine. It's also analogue, so guess what happens if I try to get a sine out of it via filter resonance? That's right, Calibration City, hope you've got your thermal equilibrium with you.

I'm sorry, but this just seems like a flawed product. An interesting one, but flawed from what I see.

[Scotty]

Yes ... thousands of Volca's have been sold and they use AA batteries for portable use.

For some reason at first I thought it would be something like a circuit, that would be quite nice.

Do really anyone still use AAs (or AAAs) batteries????

[OneOfManyPauls]

Just watched Sonicstate's video. Here's some points:

- Sequencer: does parameter locks. HOLY CRAP! SHOW US! This is big! The way it was just glossed over "Yeah, 20 parameters" is a bit baffling. This needs more detail!

- OSC Crossmodulation: None. This is a miss. No sync and no FM - missing out on a lot of sonic opportunities here.

- Envelopes: Filter Env has Attack and Decay controls, Amp Env has Attack and Release controls, the rest via MIDI CC. I'm sorry, what? This is a HUGE screwup IMO. You could've just assigned both envelopes to the same button to toggle between. Without AMP Decay control on the device you can't make plucks or stabs. This is a gamebreaker and a severe kick to the knees. Even the MicroKorg XL with it's 3 knobs has Decay control.

- No sine... On a mono bass synth... What was the thinking process here? I get it, they mentioned you can filter a saw to get a sine, but with a 2 pole filter? You're not gonna get a clean sine here. I guess you could drive the filter's resonance up, but can you turn off the oscillators? Did I miss it or was there no mention of filter tracking? I have a Deepmind 12 and it has no sine. It's also analogue, so guess what happens if I try to get a sine out of it via filter resonance? That's right, Calibration City, hope you've got your thermal equilibrium with you.

I'm sorry, but this just seems like a flawed product. An interesting one, but flawed from what I see.

It costs $199 - this isn't a pinnacle synth.

Pointing out what it doesn't have is ass-backwards - it's all about what you do get for the money compared to what else is out there.

So please, fill me on all the other $199 synths that come close to 2 x variable shape VCOs + multimode filter with drive + 2 full envelopes (yes, yes - via editor/midi cc - but they're still there) +7 shape LFO (inc waveshape mod/pwm) + arp + sequencer + delay.

[Elektronisch]

Seing Synthmaster in the background of sonic state video makes me very curious what is the company up to show us

[MrWildBunnycat]

That's silly. Listing other products that have EXACTLY the same features for EXACTLY the same price does not make this product somehow better or worse. I can list several products in a similar price range with similar features, but that really doesn't mean anything regarding this specific synth.

Here's a few:
The ModalElectronic Craftsynth is 100$ and is similar in capabilities.
The Waldorf Rocket is about 200GBP and has a mutli-mode filter with overdrive.
The Monologue is roughly 300$ but is far more comfortable to usable and has similar features.
The Microbrute is in a similar price range and also better in terms of usability
The Bass Station 2 is more expensive but again, same applies (and has a sine)
The Micromonsta is 300 EUR but is an absolute beast of a box.
You can get a Behringer Model D for 300$!
I got a used Mininova for less than 200$.

Sure, the more expensive options also have a proper keyboard and are larger, but you're getting a bigger bang for your buck for not so large an increase in price.

Just because it's 200$ doesn't mean it justifies any flaws it has. It's like me selling you a Reliant Robin and telling you "yeah, it's got three wheels, but it's so cheap and just name other 3-wheel cars in the same price range!". It's ridiculous.

The issues I listed are all problems that could have easily been fixed - the envelopes are a usability problem, not a feature problem, they are there, but "hold on, I wanna make a bass pluck, let me just connect it to my MIDI controller to adjust the Amp decay"; the crossmod would be nice to have (and wouldn't be too hard to implement if they're VCOs), but otherwise it's not mandatory; the lack of a sine wave is... Again, it's OK to not have it, but surprising nonetheless considering it wouldn't have been that hard to put it in and would've made a better and deeper bass synth.

If you're marketing your product as a bass monosynth but is a pain to use and not very versatile - there's a problem somewhere and it's going to drive customers to look elsewhere. If changing the Amp Decay means I have to connect it to another piece of gear that throws the whole portability aspect out of the window. The whole "it's all analogue" thing really is pointless. If you value analogue over digital - fine, but I doubt anyone is gonna go "Oh, that bassline is so ANALOGUE, it sounds so gooooooood". If it sounds good - it sounds good regardless if it's digital or analogue. If they made it digital but had oscillator crossmod and more FX, I doubt anyone would complain it's not analogue for the same price. Analogue also brings more problems to the table - tuning, drifting, calibration, temperature-related drift.

It's a cool synth, but it just doesn't seem very versatile (apart from the sequencer, this part's really interesting). They crammed some cool stuff into a neat little package, but missed out on some basic features and didn't spent much time telling us about the really cool ones.

It's just my opinion. If what you get for 200$ is enough for you, that's great, more power to you! It's not an objectively bad synth, but to me subjectively it's flawed.

[OneOfManyPauls]

I can list several products in a similar price range with similar features, but that really doesn't mean anything regarding this specific synth.

Here's a few:
The ModalElectronic Craftsynth is 100$ and is similar in capabilities.
The Waldorf Rocket is about 200GBP and has a mutli-mode filter with overdrive.
The Monologue is roughly 300$ but is far more comfortable to usable and has similar features.
The Microbrute is in a similar price range and also better in terms of usability
The Bass Station 2 is more expensive but again, same applies (and has a sine)
The Micromonsta is 300 EUR but is an absolute beast of a box.
You can get a Behringer Model D for 300$!
I got a used Mininova for less than 200$.

is this a joke? synths that are 50-100% more expensive, synths that aren't even analog - used synths? Seems we have very different definitions of "similar".

If you're marketing your product as a bass monosynth...

Are they? where?

It's a cool synth, but it just doesn't seem very versatile (apart from the sequencer, this part's really interesting). They crammed some cool stuff into a neat little package, but missed out on some basic features and didn't spent much time telling us about the really cool ones.

"basic features" that aren't on most of the other synths in this price bracket either.

[MrWildBunnycat]

is this a joke? synths that are 50-100% more expensive, synths that aren't even analog - used synths? Seems we have very different definitions of "similar".

That list was off the top of my head, I don't know everything that's out there. I told you it's pointless to try and come up with exact comparisons. I feel like you're driving the discussion away from talking about this particular synth to some sort of red herring argument about other synths. "Is there anything else out there? No? Well this is good enough then and you should be happy!". If we were comparing the synth to other products, we'd be having a different discussion, but as it stands right now I'm talking about the Uno Synth. Not any Volca, not any other synth, but the Uno Synth and its features and flaws.

I never said the synth is bad, but SUBJECTIVELY (as in, in my personal opinion) I found it flawed and said why. I'm sure some might agree or disagree. If you have a problem with my opinion, well, I'm very sorry. I find the product interesting and curious, but I just wish it was better for me and for the way I would use it.

As for the bass synth argument, straight from their product page:
"This highly flexible synthesis engine not only excels in producing the rich, warm, punchy, deep bass sounds that are the core of a high-quality monophonic synth, it’s also perfectly designed to bring a wide sonic palette of leads, drones, arps, sequences, sweeps and effects."

They mention a wide sonic palette, but you can apply that to ANY mono synth. The Bass Station 2 can be used to also make leads, drones and effects. I don't classify arps and sequences as a sound. Also in the sonicstate video I think I heard them mention it's a bass synth. The demos are also bass heavy and both demo songs open up with the synth playing the bass line. It's a friggin' bass synth! You don't look at a bicycle and claim "Nobody said this ain't a skateboard".

I'd classify having an ADSR envelope as a pretty freaking basic feature.

Edit: spelling