Hydrasynth Discussion

[Derek Cook]

This carries on a discussion that starter over at http://www.korgforums.com/forum/phpBB2/ ... p?t=128206

Something off topic, but close to what Mr. decided Mr. Derek Cook said, and his decision to buy the ASM Hydrasynth. I don't know which version, but that doesn't matter in a way. It kind of confirmed my extreme excitement when I heard that instrument on youtube.
Your choice (I am referring to Mr. Derek Cook, whom I respect very much, as an exceptional musician) confirmed my good taste in instruments.
Hydrasynth appeared relatively late in my country, I happened to be the first customer. However, after only a few months, the Hydrasynth Deluxe appeared, which suited me better (because of the additional two octaves), but there was no correction possible, since there is no possibility of replacement, and such instruments are very difficult to sell here.
I'm a big synthesizer layman, a latecomer to that world.
I connected the Hydrasynth and Kronos X 73 with a midi cable (Hydasynth midi-out, Kronos X midi in). In my opinion, I didn't get a special niche with that, except that I can hear both instruments at the same time through the mixer.
Mr. Derek Cook would you be so kind as to give me some guidance in terms of connecting those two instruments, and something that would improve that connection.
Thank you for all your attention.
I wish to all good time.

Hi,

I went for the Hydrasynth Deluxe. I have been interested in the Hydrasynth for a while, but putting polyaftertouch it in a four octave format was a bit daft in my view. 5 octaves would have been giving me more GAS, but 6 octaves and a four octave ribbon, well .....

It also took me a long time to find hydra synth demos that made me go "wow" Most were hard and digital and not to my taste. But after trying harder I found some that did make me see the possibilities!

So I have a rig now I will be using for a solo live show in the year that consists of

• Montage 7
• Korg Kronos X 61
• NUC PC in my gig rack for star MIDI routing/processing using Cantabile Pro, which also runs backing tracks (and I now have a scheme for Ableton type looping in it), driving a DMX Light rig, and of course a VST host for any VST I wish to run live

That is may main rig I take out for Welsh Floyd and similar shows, but for this solo show I will also be taking out my "fun corner".

• ASM Hydrasynth Deluxe
• Novation Summit
• Sequential Prophet X
• Korg Wavestate (but that may now be replaced by the VST version)

All of these synths have been carefully chosen over the years. The Montage and Kronos give me the best of Korg and Yamaha high end synthesis options. The Novation Summit because it is a great all rounder and a real chameleon of a hybrid analog in synth in terms of what you can get out of it. The Prophet as it was a bargain price I could not pass up, and it gives me that gorgeous Prophet sound, and the Hydrasynth for the polytouch and ribbon and the Wave Morphing (not quite wave tables).

So I am at the stage of starting to think how I integrate that "fun corner", including the Hydrasynth into my main rig, which I will be doing over the next month. First step is to find out all the Bank changes required for the different synths, so when I select a song in Cantabile all the right patches on the synths are selected.

Beyond that I am not certain what you mean by your question:

"Mr. Derek Cook would you be so kind as to give me some guidance in terms of connecting those two instruments, and something that would improve that connection.

So perhaps you could elaborate?[/quote]

[Pedja]

Thank you very much,
On opening a new topic. It was really, in a way inappropriate, on my part, to mix topics.
You have given a nice description of your instruments, and a sketch of what you are planning.
What I meant by my question, is what is the best connection between the Hydrasynth and the Kronos, to get the most out of the two instruments.
Apart from the polyphonic aftertouch, I don't know how the Hydrasynth could be used as a program or combi controller?
How to do it practically, if possible?
I hope I was more specific now. Thank you very much for your patience and time to help me.
I wish you all best.

[Derek Cook]

Hi

I wouldn't say it's inappropriate to go off topic in a thread, natural conversation goes everywhere? In the forums I moderate, we allow topics to go all over the place, but do occasionally split topics up where we feel it is relevant.

The key thing for me in making my choice to take the hydra synth conversation here was the length of the reply I came up with!

Anyway, I understand you now re your query, thnaks for clarifying.

The question will be how flexible the Hydrasynth is in terms of modulation/controller outputs over MIDI and what the Kronos can accept.

I do not have the answer right now as I am only starting that journey of integration, and am now away from home for a week, so it will be a few weeks before I know!

I will reply back with what I discover when I have something to share.

[Scott]

What I meant by my question, is what is the best connection between the Hydrasynth and the Kronos, to get the most out of the two instruments.
Apart from the polyphonic aftertouch, I don't know how the Hydrasynth could be used as a program or combi controller?
How to do it practically, if possible?

The simplest way: 5-pin MIDI Out of the Hydrasynth to 5-pin MIDI In of the Kronos is all you need for the connection. You might also want something going the other way as well if you want your Kronos Combis to be able to change which patch is invoked on the Hydrasynth, but then you do also have to be cognizant of setting up your Combis so that they don't actually play Hydrasynth sounds from Kronos keys, except when you may specifically want that. (You can also connect them via USB, though I'd prefer sticking with 5pin.)

Here's a video showing some of the Hydrasynth functions controlling VST synths... the same concepts apply if you were to use it to control Kronos synth sounds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_TtBC7OIek

[Sharp]

Ah, a Hydrasynth thread.

I’ve also very recently bought a Hydrasynth Delux. For me it was a risky purchase initially because I didn’t like almost all of the factory sounds I could hear online. On the flip side, everything I heard where people were showing off their custom patches and commercial patches really blew me away. That alone was enough for me to be reassured I’d love this synth.

To this day, I still feel the same way about most of the factory sounds to be honest, although the Delux does have some pretty good multi patches that none of the other hydrasynths have. Needless to say the main focus for me is custom patches people share, sell, and the ones I made for myself as predicted. And I couldn't be happier. It sounds amazing and the build quality is outstanding. The keybed is even easily the highest quality keybed I’ve played. Fatar doesn’t have anything like it.

I had originally planned on pairing it with my KRONOS, but I find my setup is best kept in two parts in the studio. One part PCM, and the second part VA.

So my PCM based setup is as follows.
Connected to my KRONOS is the ModWave, Wavestate Integra7, one S5000, one S6000 AKAI sampler and two Roland boutique, the D50 and the JD800. I know the KRONOS has various engines, but I mainly only use it for sample based sounds.

My VA-ish setup,
Connected to my Hydrasynth Delux is Roland boutique JX-08 and a Behringer Deepmind 12.

Floating between setup 1 and 2 is a PC running Kontakt inside Reaper.

I don’t gig any more these days, not to mention that COVID has pretty much killed the entire industry here, but if I was gigging, I’d only ever need the KRONOS and the Hydrasynth. I’d go from the Midi Out on the Hydrasynth to Midi In on the KRONOS quite simply because the keybed on the Hydrasynt is outstanding and I would play the KRONOS though the Hydrasynth keybed always.

Kind regards
Sharp.

[Pedja]

Thank you all for your very quick and informative replies.
I fully understand Derek Cook's reasoning, which cannot give me a more precise answer at this time. I look forward to the moment when you will be able to give me a more precise answer.
Mr. Scott, many thanks to you too, for the very helpful instructions and video link.
Thank you Mr. Sharp, on the detailed description of the instruments you use and the concept.
I have never tried Fatar lightly weighted keyboard. I have Fatar keyboard on Kurzweil, but gh.
I used a Hydrasynth as a keyboard controller for a while, and it was amazing. The only thing that bothered me was the limitation of the keyboard to only 4. octaves. Unfortunately I can't exchange my Hydrasynth for the Deluxe model now. That is impossible here, where I live.
So as a keyboard controller for my Kronos X 73, I use a Kurzweil PC3LE8.

I wish you all the best.

[Derek Cook]

Ah, a Hydrasynth thread.

I’ve also very recently bought a Hydrasynth Delux. For me it was a risky purchase initially because I didn’t like almost all of the factory sounds I could hear online. On the flip side, everything I heard where people were showing off their custom patches and commercial patches really blew me away. That alone was enough for me to be reassured I’d love this synth.

Indeed, that was how I felt. Most "unboxing" demos whizzing through the presets were totally underwhelming to my ears - way too cold/harsh and digital. But it was a specific add on bank (Hydrasynth Single Bank - Roger Austli aka 'the sun god RA') and video demo from ASM themselves and then what other third party patch creators were doing that made me decided to take a punt on it.

Over the Christmas break I went through the 5 factory single patch banks, and whittle those down to one bank to free up space for 3rd party sounds and what I will do myself. I probably will not use all of those factory patches, but also kept them to dig into how they are programmed.

So, a great synth. I am really impressed now I have my hands on one. I really like the Polytouch and ribbon, and can see me having a lot of fun with that. My Prophet X was like that as well. So many terrible demos of it, but it is an awesome synth.

As you can see from my list above, I am quite blessed in having some of the best hardware on the market.

[Scott]

Most "unboxing" demos whizzing through the presets were totally underwhelming to my ears - way too cold/harsh and digital. But it was a specific add on bank (Hydrasynth Single Bank - Roger Austli aka 'the sun god RA') and video demo from ASM themselves and then what other third party patch creators were doing that made me decided to take a punt on it.

I know it's never going to sound like a Minimoog or other 70s classic, that's not what it's about, but I'm wondering, are there are particular 3rd-party packs that you feel particularly show how close to those kinds of vintage analog sound it can get?

To bring this back around to the subject of this forum, here's the funny thing... I'm kind of looking at the Hydrasynth Explorer as a MicroKorg replacement. For my needs, I've been happy with the MicroKorg as a super-portable board with sounds I like and a nice patch selection scheme (the 8 direct select buttons, with A and B sides, even before you get to the rotary banks, for lots of quick sound change access with a single button press or maybe two). So on one hand, the Hydrasynth lags in some ways... noticeably heavier and with a lesser amount of quick patch selection... but it's still very compact/portable and has a much better feeling action, and the aftertouch (poly to boot!), more capable front panel editing, more capable MIDI controller capability (e.g. for an iPad app), and even though it doesn't get you to as many sounds with one or two button presses, the fact that sounds are named right on the screen is a good offsetting benefit when it comes to patch selection. But I wonder, in terms of sounding analog-ish, how close it can get to, well, even the Micro-Korg!

[Sharp]

Hi Scott.

But I wonder, in terms of sounding analog-ish, how close it can get to, well, even the Micro-Korg!

I don’t see why not. I’ve my Hydrasynth paired with my Deepmind 12 permanently which is an analog, and I don’t in anyway feel there’s a digital vs analog gap between them tonally when I switch between my custom sounds and ones I’ve purchased. It even has a parameter called analog feel that thickens things up and injects drift.

Factory sounds on the Hydrasynth can sound harsh, cold and very digital, but that’s just unfortunately down to the people they used to create the factory libraries.

The same issues are with the deepmind 12. There’s one sound designer in particular involved in the Deepmind who shouldn't be let anywhere near a keyboard for the rest of his life. He’s utterly useless.

The Explorer is mighty machine for it’s size. Sounds the same as it’s big brothers, and as far as value for money goes, it’s a great deal.

Kind regards
Sharp.