Ask and ye shall receive. This was my number one request to Cherry Audio. I've had the privilege of using three Synthexes including the Prototype the Keith Emerson had for a while. My favourite Poly synth. Will be buying and trying later today. Great review, now let's campaign to get them to make a Yamaha CS30, another unique sounding synth I wish I still had!
I love that you immediately gravitated to your OB-X8 patch:) I was working on Elka-X, OB-X8 and the 3rd Wave all at the time. It's fun to try to recreate a patch across several synths and hear what comes out. Great video as usual!
Another great review. You can't go wrong with Cherry Audio synths for the money. I have bought most of them due to your reviews. I still own an Elka Soloist 505 preset synth that I love
Ohhhhh! Synthex one of my holy grail synths- not a huge softsynth fan, but given the alternative ( which is errr....coming into some accidental bitcoin I found under the couch cushions, so I can afford areal one...) sounds excellent & even looks great 👍 thanks for the overview!
Like you, I'd love to own some of these synths... for me it's a matter of space and cash. Rather than buying hardware synths, I've invested in some funky controllers. The Electra One is super powerful and flexible, but for that old-school feel of dozens of knobs, I grabbed the FaderFox PC12. It us only 7bit midi, but it is just super fun to wire it to classic softsynths and jam. Twisty knob time! A Novation Launchpad Pro 3 is my sequencer of choice, and Lauchkey the keyboard.
unfortunately some presets are crazy high on cpu here and make oversampling option useless. I haven't managed to sync temp to daw temp...somehow doesn't work?!
Thanks for another great overview video. Keep ‘‘em coming! One thing - I watch about 90% of RUclips on my phone, and it’s super hard to see which knobs you’re tweaking as you talk through. Any chance you can do a zoom effect or something to make it easier to see?
Yea good point I realised that when editing I used to have a thing that showed the clicks but forgot to put it on my new studio Mac . Will definitely put it back on!
@Planets are you sure ? Arturia software use 100'000+ graphic files on your harddisk just to enable mutliple GUI size ... Even for a single FX plugin ... And a decade ago they always had the same feedback as Cherry Audio about their sounds : too generic ... We'll se in 10 years if Cherry Audio has improved ...
@Planets cheap doesn't mean bad, it's a small team, and Arturia releasing a new repackaged set for the $ of a decent hardware synth. Pick your poison, but don't try to rubbish a company for being good value.
@Planets You can't justify your statement by comparing cars, due to zero context. You haven't stated what model or what price of either. You make the mistake of making a wild claim with zero ability to back it up.
@Neo Giovanni There are sales.. But it's not just the price tho - the XILS sounds better to my ears. Sounds like a proper emulation! It seems deeper and more 3D sounding (without FX). Not being harsh on Cherry Audio tho - they have made a great name for themselves, modelling the signal path of cool synths and capturing the overall sound. Emulation tho is a different matter, it seems. And yeah you pay for that privilege. The Cherry Audio Dreamsynth is very cool tho! UI could be better, but it's more than a capable, good sounding synth! Like Behringer, wish Cherry would do more of their own creations... They have the chops!
Ha - I had to check I wasn't posting on the Cherry Audio channel there! 🙂 Directing to other products 😮 Starsky is a great reviewer. Long-time subscriber, you never fail to deliver a watchable event. 👍 👍 Thanks!
@@EannaButler I started with the XILS Roland 505 string machine. Really good. I have most of the Cherry Audio synths. May not get this one because I have the XILS version and an OB-X8 on the way to keep me occupied. The Cherry synths certainly are a good deal for the money.
Maybe it's just me being a newbie, but all Cherry synths sound the same to me :( Unlike U-he's or Synapse Audio's stuff for example, I think they all have their own charachter. What are your thoughts on this?
Having tested the earlier ones against my MS20 and Juno 106 and 2600 to test this theory out for myself (I was really interested in if they were just different GUIs on the same sound engine) I found they weren't. They each had a distinct flavour of the synths - maybe not 100% emulations, but close enough to hear they were going for different characters. Look at my MS20 comparison to see what I mean.
@@srpski_rus Yeah, I'm sticking with the demos of Diva and RePro for now. The only drawback is they generate a short white noise from time to time. I can live with that.
I’ve got their galactic reverb, stardust 201 (my favorite), model d clone, ob8 clone, and juno clone (least favorite). Overall pretty impressive. Juno one was the only one I thought was super flimsy. Their 8 voice - stardust 201 - Valhalla vintageverb has made for an incredibly lush experience in the box.
Wow a synthex clone! That’s awesome. Very rare synth. lol when I think of the synthex I think of a very beautiful string machine… but you make it sound mean half the time 😂
@@StarskyCarr I just bought it, the filters are exquisite, along with the LFO section this is a killer synth. 600 pre-sets too. Thanks for the heads up, never thought I'd ever gets my mitts on a Elka Synthex. Christmas came on August 19th this year.
I have listened to this very good video review indeed, and also to various other demos and whilst I appreciate that one can have a vst which is inspired by the Synthex for next to nothing to me it does not really come close to the original; there is a problem of incorrect rendering of low frequencies especially (common to anything ITB) and of circuitry instabilities typical of analog synths that are not really possible to emulate correctly. VSTs emulating analogs also tend to sound better with single notes; when using chords they tend to create a digital marmalade effect. I have used the original Synthex on tour in the past and when listening, it overwhelms you with a sound blanket full of body that is really something else; after all there is a reason why these originals command such high prices.
10000+ gbp for a bread-and-butter (DCO) polysynth, jfc. Yeah those aren't musician's synths anymore. Thankfully modern analog poly market is finally catching up in variety to replace these for much cheaper.
Yeah I can't see any other ay of justifying it than a financial investment tbh. I wish I'd invested in some a few years ago!! Haha.. that was some return on your money for a JP8 or CS80
Those used prices for the hardware version of this synth are just pure extortion from online criminals. Seriously...that sort of pricing should be illegal(especially considering that shortly before Elka's Synthex keyboards went out of production, they were selling for $500 each.)
This is exactly as saying all analogue gear sounds the same. No they don't! Those who use soft synth use it for a reason other than affordability and ease of use and that includes well established composers
The Cherry JP4 is so indistinguishable from the real one that I stopped caring about replacing mine. Never had a Synthex but I trust this is the same. The price to quality ratio of this company’s stuff is absolutely absurd.
Ask and ye shall receive. This was my number one request to Cherry Audio. I've had the privilege of using three Synthexes including the Prototype the Keith Emerson had for a while. My favourite Poly synth. Will be buying and trying later today. Great review, now let's campaign to get them to make a Yamaha CS30, another unique sounding synth I wish I still had!
Yamaha CS30 is one of my fav synths, I also dig Yamaha YC 30 combo organ, especially whenever Sly Stone played it.Yamaha indeed has some gems
Yes. I would love a CS-80 from these folks. And equip ot with 14bit midi for that lovely glide goodness!!!
@@joesweeney6262 Arturia has a great one!
I love that you immediately gravitated to your OB-X8 patch:) I was working on Elka-X, OB-X8 and the 3rd Wave all at the time. It's fun to try to recreate a patch across several synths and hear what comes out. Great video as usual!
Cherry Audio always makes great products
When I met Nick Rhodes in 2005, I asked him: "What is your favorite synth of all time?"
Nick: Elka Synthex
I didn't even know what it was at the time.
Oooh “when I met Nick Rhodes”… get you 😂😂😂
But does it Laser Harp?
Another great review. You can't go wrong with Cherry Audio synths for the money. I have bought most of them due to your reviews. I still own an Elka Soloist 505 preset synth that I love
Testing it now. Always wanted to use the Elka interface. Get confused which layer I'm on sometimes, lol!
Itb is really starting to come of age. This sounds pretty damn good
Excellent review, sounds great and very useable. Easy interface too.
Cherry is great, affordable and very usable.
I don't have ITB soft synths but have used Cherry before and have had no issues with them.
On the cherry stuff, I notice their filters roll off right at the bottom, when you want to get to the room shaking sub. That bothers me.
Ohhhhh! Synthex one of my holy grail synths- not a huge softsynth fan, but given the alternative ( which is errr....coming into some accidental bitcoin I found under the couch cushions, so I can afford areal one...) sounds excellent & even looks great 👍 thanks for the overview!
Like you, I'd love to own some of these synths... for me it's a matter of space and cash. Rather than buying hardware synths, I've invested in some funky controllers. The Electra One is super powerful and flexible, but for that old-school feel of dozens of knobs, I grabbed the FaderFox PC12. It us only 7bit midi, but it is just super fun to wire it to classic softsynths and jam. Twisty knob time!
A Novation Launchpad Pro 3 is my sequencer of choice, and Lauchkey the keyboard.
Not surprised you already have a video up ;)
Haha just made it today… but yeah I got a pre-release version to have a play.
unfortunately some presets are crazy high on cpu here and make oversampling option useless. I haven't managed to sync temp to daw temp...somehow doesn't work?!
it does work but is confusing what daw you use im on Reaper
Hrm, that near where I grew up. Had no idea they were in the “Central Valkey” of California.
Thanks for another great overview video. Keep ‘‘em coming! One thing - I watch about 90% of RUclips on my phone, and it’s super hard to see which knobs you’re tweaking as you talk through. Any chance you can do a zoom effect or something to make it easier to see?
Yea good point I realised that when editing I used to have a thing that showed the clicks but forgot to put it on my new studio Mac . Will definitely put it back on!
Unrelated to this great video, cherry audio is great. What do you think of the groove synthesis 3rd wave? I am on the fence.
Is Cherry Audio the new Arturia ? ;-)
@Planets are you sure ? Arturia software use 100'000+ graphic files on your harddisk just to enable mutliple GUI size ... Even for a single FX plugin ... And a decade ago they always had the same feedback as Cherry Audio about their sounds : too generic ... We'll se in 10 years if Cherry Audio has improved ...
@Planets cheap doesn't mean bad, it's a small team, and Arturia releasing a new repackaged set for the $ of a decent hardware synth.
Pick your poison, but don't try to rubbish a company for being good value.
@@russ254 That's probably because they haven't got the Casio CZ V emulation in their life. I think I've used it on every track for the last two years.
@Planets Outclassed by others would mean they're bad, because it's a vs quality issue.
You just don't get it do you?
@Planets You can't justify your statement by comparing cars, due to zero context.
You haven't stated what model or what price of either.
You make the mistake of making a wild claim with zero ability to back it up.
For people really into the Synthex there is also the Syn’X 2 by XILS-lab
A great synth, from a great company 👍
@Neo Giovanni There are sales.. But it's not just the price tho - the XILS sounds better to my ears. Sounds like a proper emulation! It seems deeper and more 3D sounding (without FX).
Not being harsh on Cherry Audio tho - they have made a great name for themselves, modelling the signal path of cool synths and capturing the overall sound. Emulation tho is a different matter, it seems. And yeah you pay for that privilege.
The Cherry Audio Dreamsynth is very cool tho! UI could be better, but it's more than a capable, good sounding synth! Like Behringer, wish Cherry would do more of their own creations... They have the chops!
Check the miniSyn'X. Loads all Syn'X patches (some gorgeous patches out there for it!). Again, sales do happen...
Ha - I had to check I wasn't posting on the Cherry Audio channel there! 🙂 Directing to other products 😮
Starsky is a great reviewer. Long-time subscriber, you never fail to deliver a watchable event. 👍 👍 Thanks!
@@EannaButler I started with the XILS Roland 505 string machine. Really good.
I have most of the Cherry Audio synths. May not get this one because I have the XILS version and an OB-X8 on the way to keep me occupied.
The Cherry synths certainly are a good deal for the money.
I own it and it rules.. That is all
Oh yeah and for anyone in that area, I miss my MenEds pepperoni with canned mushrooms!!! 😩
Maybe it's just me being a newbie, but all Cherry synths sound the same to me :( Unlike U-he's or Synapse Audio's stuff for example, I think they all have their own charachter. What are your thoughts on this?
Having tested the earlier ones against my MS20 and Juno 106 and 2600 to test this theory out for myself (I was really interested in if they were just different GUIs on the same sound engine) I found they weren't. They each had a distinct flavour of the synths - maybe not 100% emulations, but close enough to hear they were going for different characters. Look at my MS20 comparison to see what I mean.
@@StarskyCarr thanks man, appreciated. Will do.
@@srpski_rus Yeah, I'm sticking with the demos of Diva and RePro for now. The only drawback is they generate a short white noise from time to time. I can live with that.
@@lyuboserafimov Repro the best
I’ve got their galactic reverb, stardust 201 (my favorite), model d clone, ob8 clone, and juno clone (least favorite). Overall pretty impressive. Juno one was the only one I thought was super flimsy. Their 8 voice - stardust 201 - Valhalla vintageverb has made for an incredibly lush experience in the box.
Is this a synth or a computer app?
It's a "plug in" that runs in your music making software e.g. Cubase, Logic.
The 12k is a bargain, there’s a CS80 up on eBay for 4 and a half times that, for anyone who wants to remortgage their house.
Wow a synthex clone! That’s awesome. Very rare synth.
lol when I think of the synthex I think of a very beautiful string machine… but you make it sound mean half the time 😂
The filters are worth a Stuffed Crust.
Haha.. definitely at least a plate of nachos.
@@StarskyCarr I just bought it, the filters are exquisite, along with the LFO section this is a killer synth. 600 pre-sets too.
Thanks for the heads up, never thought I'd ever gets my mitts on a Elka Synthex. Christmas came on August 19th this year.
I SUPPOSE IT HAD TO HAPPEN 🙂
Yeah...since the reissue kickstarter project unfortunately failed to reach the necessary goal in 2015.
I have listened to this very good video review indeed, and also to various other demos and whilst I appreciate that one can have a vst which is inspired by the Synthex for next to nothing to me it does not really come close to the original; there is a problem of incorrect rendering of low frequencies especially (common to anything ITB) and of circuitry instabilities typical of analog synths that are not really possible to emulate correctly. VSTs emulating analogs also tend to sound better with single notes; when using chords they tend to create a digital marmalade effect. I have used the original Synthex on tour in the past and when listening, it overwhelms you with a sound blanket full of body that is really something else; after all there is a reason why these originals command such high prices.
This synth sounds bright to ears. Feels like too saturated...
10000+ gbp for a bread-and-butter (DCO) polysynth, jfc. Yeah those aren't musician's synths anymore. Thankfully modern analog poly market is finally catching up in variety to replace these for much cheaper.
Yeah I can't see any other ay of justifying it than a financial investment tbh. I wish I'd invested in some a few years ago!! Haha.. that was some return on your money for a JP8 or CS80
Those used prices for the hardware version of this synth are just pure extortion from online criminals. Seriously...that sort of pricing should be illegal(especially considering that shortly before Elka's Synthex keyboards went out of production, they were selling for $500 each.)
I'm not feeling it, sounds too generic to me.
It’s worth getting the demo to dig into it - you get 30 days. I’ve not demo’d the sounds here, as anyone can try it for free - just how to use it.
I agree, the waveforms sounds too clinical
Very few synths are unique. A lot fluff
All this vst do sound same.
Though the same thing. It's like they;re using the same engine and filters. No wonder they're so cheap.
@@lyuboserafimov Is like those Nintendo NES chinese copies with 10.000 games, all are the same 3 games with small alterations.
🤣precisely. But Idk Starsky said in another comment that he tested them all and there are indeed differences. Not to my ear though.
This is exactly as saying all analogue gear sounds the same. No they don't! Those who use soft synth use it for a reason other than affordability and ease of use and that includes well established composers
@@pianist007 they use soft synths for the same we do use 4 cilinder cars, we can´t afford V12 ones
£12000 😃
Just over the price of two new Oberheims.
never heard of em till now 🤔🤔also it sounds like a an arcade game😒😒
The Cherry JP4 is so indistinguishable from the real one that I stopped caring about replacing mine. Never had a Synthex but I trust this is the same. The price to quality ratio of this company’s stuff is absolutely absurd.