Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

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Críoch
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Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Críoch »

Anybody have one?

Picked one up yesterday. Seems nice, though havent really had a chance to play with it yet.

The sequencer seems lovely. Really impressed that it lets you input the notes in as C, A, G - whatever.. and not +1 or + 11 or whatever haha.
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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Mattias »

Dont own one but I know the killer noize it makes!
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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Wiu »

I'm jealous.
Thank you for the laughs, debate, new music found, production tips etc etc over the years. I wish Subsekt and everyone all the best for the future. Wiu.

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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Críoch »

Some of the demos sounds are amazing. I can't wait to get some time to fuck around with it.

Wanted to get a synth again for ages.. Glad I got it.
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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Mslwte »

im really looking forward to hearing the pudding mate!!
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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Críoch »

So am I haha
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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by ARiFF »

Cant wait to hear something from you aswell John :D :D I cba if the synths involved or not haha ;)

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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by blnn »

Get it!! if you can, because is maybe one of the best synths you can buy and won't be produced anymore.
I have the Evolver desktop and always wanted a "full knob interface" Evolver desktop, something as the MEK but without keyboard.
I hope you can get the "pot edition" PE because the only thing I don't like of this synths are just the enconders...

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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Críoch »

Been messing about over the last couple of days. Reading a lot of stuff & doing a bit of tweaking. The wavetables in it are mad.. kinda reminds me of Albino in some ways. The FM & Ring Mod in it is wicked - as is the distortion.

Still haven't really gone near the sequencer. Reading lots of stuff in the manual & thinking "wow" - must give that a try.

Felt good this evening to record some midi in as audio & loop a bit & mess about. Love having a synth again.
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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by blnn »

Well about the enconders, I think the worst is the fact that are dentated, that's why deteriorates with the usage, and the touch when I'm tweaking could be irritant for me. I prefer smooth touch like the Waldorf Blofeld or some controllers

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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Hades »

you should look into the "anu kirk evolver guide".
The evolver was on my list for a long time, but nowadays I'm not so sure if I'll ever get it eventually.
Lord knows I already have enough hardware synths...

If I remember this guide is like the wizoo guide is for the K5000 : a kind of user manual that goes way beyond the normal manual, and it's supposed to be full with all kinds of tips and tricks.
I'd love to have a look but my computers here at work block the site.
(had an illegal work-around for a few minutes to have a peeck, and it looks great, you should really check it out !)
you can find it in PDF right here :

www.carbon111.com/evolverguide.pdf
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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Hades »

carbon's a real nice guy too btw. (carbon's the owner of the site where you can find that PDF)
I used to start my whole forum-experience on VSE in 2000, and posted a lot back then,
so I got to know a few of these guys over the years.
Carbon knows what he's talking about when it comes to synths, and if you ever have a question about any synth he has (or had in the past), just ask him and he'll probably be more than glad to help you out.
Last time I checked he had a poly-evolver, but his set-up is always changing. he's a straight up gear junkie.
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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Críoch »

Morning Hades,

Thanks for that mate!! Yeah, I got that & have it printed. Its incredible. Absolutely incredible. If only every manual was written that way. I've been reading it every night since I got it. Its been extremely useful when tinkering with stuff. Carbon's site is nice. He's a real enthusiast or addicted, you can tell - totally :D

It was great to get that manual, as I had a good feast on it before I bought the MEK. I usually keep my eye on stuff that is for sale in the small ads & when something interesting, or when something that I havent seen before comes up, I usually read up all about it. I knew the Evolver existed before this, but didn't know what it could do or that there was a keyboard / more controls version. My jaw dropped when I read what Anu had written & is still dropping. I had to get it haha.

I'm actually getting it bound today when I go into college, with some of the extra FM waveform lists that Carbon has on his site.
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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Críoch »

Just purchased the Soundtower Editor software for the MEK. God.. its fucking class.

Real time tweaking is a waste of time.. gets glitchy.. but as a means of programming fast, its great.

http://www.soundtower.com/evolver/

Would definitely recommend it. I havent done too much with the MEK cos I've been waiting to get the pots / boards replaced. Everythings fixed up now & working perfectly. Really impressed with it. Looking forward to using it finally.
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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by mint clad »

I'm gonna buy an Evolver desktop by the end of this year for sure. The kbd model would be nice to have but I don't really need to have all the knobs. I just can't wait to have a nice beefy synth. All I have right now is a Microkorg and a Monotribe. They're both fine synths but the Monotribe is a pain in the ass to sequence and the Microkorg just isn't cutting it for me right now.

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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by b0n0b0 »

If you do, soundtower do a VSTi version of the editor software now which has turned mine from an expensive paperweight into a source of joy!

It works a treat in live 9, you can automate things using the envelopes in clips.

-- Edit

Not sure I'd describe the evolver as 'beefy' though, I originally got it years ago because it was analogue and I was expecting a cheap mega-phat beefy bass synth and the evolver doesn't really excel at that. Its not like some of the other mono-analogue synths out there which you can turn two knobs and get earth shaking bass. I think the mini-brute/bass station 2/minitaur do that much better.


It does excel at weird modulations, distortions, delays, mixing analogue and digital waveforms and so on. It takes a bit of effort to love it sometimes, but it does pay of.

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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Críoch »

Hey b0.. I have to say man, don't agree on the "not-a-mega-fat-beefy-bass-synth" bit. I'm constantly shaving off the lows with the HP filter, even going through some of the presets.

Even making a quick little stoopid patch.. or a preset, taking back the LP filter on it, its definitely phat IMO

Add a little bit of distortion - FUCKK :mrgreen:
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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Críoch »

Just wanted to tip back in here.. I got some PE boards into my MEK. It's a totally different beast now. Would definitely recommend doing it.

Took a while to save up, but was well worth it cos its really singing now.

I love this synth so much. It's fucking mental. It's kinda like Having a 4 lfo.. 4 step seq.. 3 delay.. distortion bitcrusher fm ringmod analog digital modular synth filterbank. Everything mods everything.. and to multiple locations.

Classic Drum sounds have been a bit meh from it.. but it is able to do synthethic, skuzzy rhythms well.

It's a real desert island synth.

The patch in this vid gives a great flavour of what the evolver is capable of. You could probably have something mad trippy & self twitching like this going in a few minutes.

youtu.be/lTNmqVrHOio
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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Críoch »

And in addition to drones..

youtu.be/ok_rgcSW7C4
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Re: Dave Smith Instruments _ Mono Evolver Keyboard

Post by Markus Wolf »

I own the Desktop Evolver and love it to bits. I wish I had the keyboard. They are fetching high prices ATM. I dont need to own both. I should have bought the keys when they were readily available. The thing I dont understand is this is possible one of the best mono synths ever built so why would they discontinue it? I dont understand why they stopped production? I bet if they started producing them again they would sell like hotcakes. As far as mono synths are concerned Dave Smith didn't come out with anything better. These are my opinions and they could be very wrong but I love this little guy...


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