Thanks for bringing this one back around, David. I suppose that it was inevitable that a thread entitled "The Real B*tch List" was bound to attract a strong t-shirt coalition presence, (including myself). A P5 t-shirt is at the top of my real Real B*tch List.

I seemed to have glossed over the Dimension synth in my original post, but that's because I'm trying not to think about it too much. I want to go in with a child-like spirit of discovery, without any pre-conceived notions. I will admit that I'm fascinated with how all 3 of the component parts in this synth are going to interact, and to what extent I can influence one type of synthesis from the another.

I know that this thing is about to take over my existence for an extended period of time. I look forward to that, yet there's a feeling of anxiety, because nothing else will get done. I can only compare it to an impending arranged marriage to a beautiful, yet basically 'evil' temptress. You submit willingly, being infatuated with the astounding beauty, but part of you knows deep down that you're also surrendering your freedom [and later: your house; new car; bank account; credit rating ...]

I also neglected to mention the Roland synth, which I hope is useful, as well. I have this bad habit of avoiding the GM-type synths, because of a perceived notion of non-programmability. Sometimes I discover that they're not all that bad for certain situations, but I don't find that out until a year later. <g>

PSYN II? Well. I never was one to go much for integrated effects. Too much overuse obliterates the original sound with (usually) less control that with external effects. That's coming around for me, though, as long as I watch the CPU, and shoot for the subtle approach. Too many synths use the FX section in their presets and demos to disguise design and audio compromises and flaws. I found z3ta+s approach to be refreshing: Lots of FX on presets, but the ability to defeat the FX section with a single right-click that persists through program changes. That's saying, " Here it is. The sound for real. It's top-notch; got a problem with it?"

That said, I'm looking forward to revisiting an old friend in PSYN. And, remember, this is Rene. I'll be looking for some subtle enhancements to the original design, even if they're somewhat hidden. Any Easter Eggs, Rene?

hahaha

Last weekend I've been playing with both a lot. I would say they're the -perfect- complement to each other, and the two best synthesizers on earth. Fortunately I'm free to say that as you all know there's no reason why I'd be biased.

Ok. They might not be the best two, but they're the perfect complement to each other for sure.

-René

call them the best! On these you don't have to be modest. Most used by me, fer shur.

Clearly a daring violation of the NDA Agreement.
But I promise that I won't tell anyone ...

ORIGINAL: b rock

call them the best! On these you don't have to be modest. Z3ta+ used by me, fer shur.

Clearly a daring violation of the Homeland Security Act.
But I promise that I won't tell anyone ...

No fair quoting stuff before it gets edited! Simply a misstatement! A guy can dream, can't he? I've just been examining the screen shots too much.

I just got a good deal on M-Audio's new 88 Pr controller. It has over 55 nobs and sliders etc to incorporate into the new work flow. Have you ever worked with Midi zones, 4 zones total and each zone has a different midit address. It seems confusing now? I hope I can figure it out.

Bob, the Novations have a similar zone structure available for use with their newest drivers, except with the additional of a global zone, and per-patch zone assignments.

Think of it like 4 separate synth controllers: each with their own MIDI channel assignment, and specific range of notes. Like (for example) the Claw covering two octaves for a bass, and String Theory and a DS864 string program sharing the middle 4 octaves. The ST has the bottom 3 of 4; the DS the top two of four, with the second-highest of the octaves involved sharing both synths in a zone overlap. Perhaps the top-most zone can add percussive hits, or one-shot mapped samples. You can do similar tricks in Syn:Ops, but it's nice to have that at the ready in your controller templates.

Let us know how you find the Pro-88 to be: reliability; road-worthiness (or construction details); MIDI implementation; etc. It comes up quite often here.