Here are what I'd like:
- MPE, of course, or at least the ability to be able to use one of the workarounds for it (multiple channels each with the same patch)
- A synth, not a sampler
- 16 voices of polyphony. Many options out there have 8 or fewer, and when playing with a lot of sustain pedal or long releases, you can easily hit that limit. 12 might be OK, but come on, it's 2024, why is it so hard to find synths with 16 voices of polyphony?
- At least bi-timbral, I'd like to be able to do splits with two patches, or experiment with blending between two patches on the y-axis.
- Decent workflow for building patches
- Decent sound; don't need the richest warmest analog filters and oscillators, but something that can fairly easily build sounds that aren't terrible
- Single box, don't want to have to drag out a whole studio every time I want to play
- Desktop form factor, don't want to have an extra keyboard taking up space if I'm planning on playing this with a LinnStrument
- Under $1000 preferably. I'd already be spending a decent amount on the LinnStrument, I'd rather not be spending four to five thousand at once
- Actually available to purchase now, not a Kickstarter or only available at certain phases of the moon
OK, we'll start off with the Waldorf Iridium. Looks like it meets all of the criteria, except for price; I suppose if I just want to compromise on price, it's an option. Iridium Core goes down to 12 voices of polyphony, reduces the number of hardware controls, and is still over budget. These also seem like more synth than I'm looking for in general; I don't need a half dozen LFOs, a half dozen envelopes, tons of wavetables, etc, just a basic bread and butter synth with decent MPE support and enough polyphony.
There are lots of other options that max out at 8 voices polyphony (Hydrasynth, ARGON8M, COBALT8M, etc), but I'd have to use two with polychaining, and go over budget, to get the polyphony/bi-timbrality that I'd like (and once you add two, now I also need a mixer, etc). The Hydrasynth Deluxe supports 16 voices of polyphony and is bi-timbral, but blows the budget and comes with a keyboard. A Hydrasynth Deluxe Desktop might be closer to what I'm looking for, but it's not available.
Vector looks like it meets most of the hard requirements, but it has a somewhat different workflow, that seems more like it's more oriented around sound design exploration, not basic bread and butter synth instruments. Also only available direct from the manufacturer and have to wait for assembly.
Mod Dwarf and Zynthian would each give me Surge in a box. Both seem like they have somewhat cumbersome workflows, I'd probably want to do most of my patching on a computer and transfer over to them, and I'm not sure how many voices of polyphony I'd actually be able to get out of them.
Synthstrom Deluge seems to meet most of the hard requirements. It's a little bit over budget, but not too much. It seems to be more deigned as a groovebox/DAW in a box than a synth, but it does have a synth engine, that seems to support all of my requirements. Workflow may be a bit awkward, but sounds like it's gotten a little better now that they've added the OLED display.
Essence FM MkII also seems like its supports all the required features, while being a bit over budget, but possibly doable. The UI/workflow looks like it might be a bit odd, but probably workable.
There are also synths that seem to meet the requirements but without supporting MPE (Korg Opsix/Modwave/Wavestate, Roland SH-4d). It seems like we really need some better MPE advocacy with some of the bigger brands.
Are there any others that I've missing, that meet all of the requirements? Or of the ones that I've mentioned, does anyone have any thoughts on a favorite, which ones are worth loosening one or two of my requirements?
It seems weird that it's so hard to find synths these days with 16 voices of polyphony. Heck, the Hπ FLASH is a tiny little $200 synth that fits in a MIDI jack and draws power from MIDI, and it supports 16 voices of polyphony, and almost supports MPE. It seems weird that I can't find a desktop synth for 5x the price that supports MPE and 16 voices of polyphony.
