Not only are you the most enjoyable and concise reviewer on this whole great internet thing but you are also, a damn fine and powerfully emotive musician too. Always a pleasure.
My Dominion 1 arrived yesterday. I can't get over how huge the sound is. After watching this review about a million times, I had to purchase the Eventide H9 MAX as well. My wife probably won't see me for a good few days. LOL Thanks for the great review. I love this synth.
What country are you in? Which retailer did you buy from? Has it needed any service, and if so how easy was it to get it serviced? Any help would be appreciated.
Sounded like you are gonna put Vangelis out of business at the end of that demo. If i was a filmmaker i would be calling you for the soundtrack. Great demo as always.
Unfortunately, Vangelis is mostly retired. He would rather sip wine and perform private concerts for friends than give the rest of the world some new music made with all the great new analog gear coming out.
I jizzed my pants when he started playing with those sliders at the end with the sound that he programmed. I jizzed and I cried. Nick, you are da man. I'm sure that you are aware that everyone makes synth memes about you and your affinity for PWM. It's out of love brother. We all love you. Those last few minutes were truly beautiful and made me cry. You should do more synthing with Goldfrapp and yes Denis Villeneuve should consult you on Blade Runner 2049. Amazing. You made it sound like a Buchla/cs-80.
Last night I had to unwind and placed my MFB Dominion 1 up on 3rd tier and my Nord Lead 2x 2nd and made a place on the first tier where the Nord Stage 2 EX will be placed hopefully this week. But while playing my Dominion I thought back and tonight I wanted to say "Thank You Nick" for this video because though I was already looking and deciding I made that commitment to getting a MFB Dominion 1 after watching You "Nick" and I watched and listened more than a few times. Funny thing I just noticed is you posted this on my Birthday ..... well, I suppose it is rather silly but I get pretty emotional and serious about my synths and this one here took me over a year to secure and I was fortunate to find a gentleman flexible enough to hold his for a month till he drove my way on the West Coast. I also was raised on the ARP synths in the 70's and so it is no surprise I have a few originals and one in particular that was overhauled or brought to spec by RL music and I use a power converter to step up the power to work here correctly. So point here is that this MFB Dominion reached out and grabbed me and I could sense it was built in such a way that it will right away easily give me those beautiful sounds like my "ARP 2600" yet in many ways reminds me of my Solus because of the shape and if only I could build a top that made my MFB turn into a "suitcase" that would be pretty cool. So I am going to get back now and watch and listen as now that I can put what i hear to immediate use and implementation I am sure glad you are here to give some of us a different skew on use and so on. Cheers.
Nick, i knew you are a super "synth-nerd" testing all this good stuff... but the last 3 minutes showed me you are a very impressive musician as well. Thank you and best regards from Germany.
I managed to buy one today! I wasn't expecting to see one in the store considering they stopped making them and they are so hard to find. I spent 20 mins playing with it then opened my wallet. I haven't bought anything new for a long time but this thing blew me away.
Having just bought a Dominion 1, and somehow only just found and watched this demo, I’m blown away! Have to say, excellent tech review aside, what a stunning piece of music mate! Absolutely love what you come up with! Beautiful! 👍
I was with you, right there with you all the way up to the end... and then you went and broke my brain Nick! Dayum but that outtro piece is stunning!!! Match made in heaven! Wow!
I may get a synth some day. I've got soft synths, very good ones too, but it's not quite the same. Your reviews are very helpful in realising the potential of some of these awesome analogue machines, and I think this one just made top of my list, especially after hearing that patch at the end that sounded absolutely epic. Unlike many others, I hardly ever use that word, reserving it for very special occasions such as this.
N! Just sayin that, your patch at the end is beautiful. That alone, shows me what this can do as most reviewers only manage harsh, typical synth tones. Like and angel sh*t in my ear. Lovely.
Great review and gorgeous synth..i checked the price 5 minutes in...says it all. I was sold before you started to demonstrate the fm section and bowled over after. Take it easy and love the channel.
Thanks a lot for your review Nick! You're the reason that I got my Dominion 1 last week after sending back a Subsequent 37 to the seller because of some wobbly controllers. So glad I did it. The Dominion 1 is as cool as the Moog, just a different beast, they both can do stuff the other can't, which IMHO makes it unnecessary to pick a winner, just get both if you can ;) The build quality on the MFB is phenomenal and i much prefer it to the Moog, feels like military tech and I really enjoy the MFB's paraphonia (if that's the right term...). The ribbon controllers are strange at first, but as said before, they can do things a wheel can't. Thanks again and keep up the good work! Greetings from Germany
@sonicstate Nick you’ve had me sold on this synth for 3 years and at long last, with this current production run, I’m getting my hands on one! Couldn’t be more excited. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched this review. Thanks for all you do...and for the word “Foibles” which is now part of my regular vocabulary.
Im back again! I have enjoyed this review and wonderful demonstration time and time again! Its a stunning piece of engineering. Its a shame that they are so hard to find. 9 years on, and I still dont have one!! Must put that right in 25!
Hopefully this will be the case - when we behaved as a good boy our whole life. The "not so good boy-Section" will be occupied by Behringer or (even worse) by Roland Boutique ;)
This seems to have a lot of potential. Very powerful and lot's of features. You explained it very well. I would love to incorporate this sound in some of my electronic music i currently have on the Tube...Thanks again for sharing....
The last patch is the best thing I've heard from Sonic State. Ever. This thing slays every other keyboard at its price range, imo always. They went all out with features and sound. Big up MFB and Nick for the killer review!
I love my Dominion 1. However it was quite frustrating getting any proper review of it before purchasing it. I really went in half doubting my decision until it arrived. Then all was fine. This vid should help others nicely. Good job as ever.
i purchased one recently...it is not an easy synth to get super excellent sounds with from scratch, its super challenging to get a good patch. Takes a lot to learn compared to my other gear which is more easy.
Definetely right. I own one for 6 years and don't use it a lot, even if the sound blows me away every time. I think i will sell it, but it's difficult, as I thought i would keep it for a life time !!
I really love this synth. Had mine about 5 years now. It was quite alot to lay out for a mono synth but it's as if mfb made a synth that I'd kind of always dreamed of. Wonderful sounding and heaps of character and control. A classic synth and thanks to this video review too, it sealed the deal for me and I just had to have one, took a bit of saving but I got it! If you get the chance to grab one then don't hesitate!
Nice to see more competition coming into the analog synth world. This shows what we can really get for our money, Without paying for a dam name. Hopefully the big names will up there game on quality and drop there prices to be able to compete.
At 17 mins you mention no glide on the arpeggio. You can set it in various ways using the multi purpose button, there's "glide" as one of the options, select that, then press enter and wiggle the selector button and set it to legato or standard mode. :)
I stopped tinkering with synths a few years ago, but kept checking out reviews of new analog synths every now and then. This MFB Dominion 1 makes me want to dive right back in... I should probably sell some of my old gear and send my money to Berlin!
Sounds amazing! And with all the modulation routing, it's almost like a Triple Complex Osc (FM Bus, FM Index, Ring Mod etc). So sweet. PWM sounded awesome. Beautiful patch at the end. Also love the chords, honestly as much as I want a Prophet 6 and there is no substitute for full analog poly, the D1 paraphony sounded pretty damn tasty. Filter seems extremely flexible. Sequencer seems a little limited. I'd love to hear it hooked up to a René or Metropolis. Speaking of, I don't know if it's possible but I'd love to see a follow up video showing it patched up with some euro!
Sounds really cool, and unlike any of the other popular monos. I regret not checking this one out more. The other MFB stuff had really turned me off to them, but if the build is solid like you said, this is a good one to look at. Those slider caps look pretty wonky, though.
Yeah I thought that too Pete. Wonky is the word. I was looking at this last year but I went with the DSI PRO 2 n I've never thought about getting rid. It's amazing. Even better than the Sub 37 which I've had 2 of but decided it's not for me. There is the HYPERSYNTH XENOPHONE which I know Pete knows about, but it's a bit sloppy in the class compliance area. So all in all monosynths are covered. Now let's see the next gen polys come through. Seen the price advertised on the prophet 6 in the UK? £2249???!?
Gareth Binks Yeah, the USB implementation on the Xenophone was just lazy. It's something that adds enough irritation that I end up not using it there. DSI Pro 2 is a great synth. This synth sounds really nice too, though. I wouldn't avoid it just because of the slider caps, but to me, that shows they still don't *quite* get the importance of fit & finish. It's one of those things designed by engineers instead of industrial/product designers. :) But that sound...
Pete Brown BTW, don't forget about the Vermona. That blue and white synth is just lovely. I *did* get to play with that at NAMM and found it to be pretty nice. Modulation is really limited compared to this MFB, though.
The way the pro 2 sounds is unbelievable plus there's a brilliant step sequencer where you can send the steps to practically any parameter. Not once but many times - can't remember how many "sequencer tracks" but it's plenty! I bought a prophet 12 n sold it but the pro 2 has 4 cv out too.... If Nick got that reviewed he'd have to buy new pants me thinks..... Plus it's 4 voice paraphonic!
Joe I would imagine so. I've just bought a studio electronics Boomstar se80. I then thought why didn't I wait a bit and buy one of these instead? Maybe I'll just send it back
The only thing I don't like is the apparent slewing of all the standard LFO shapes. I like to have slew as an option, but the LFO waves on this sound very rounded. I guess that's just a characteristic of the synth, but it seems at odds with its more aggressive sound.
Not only are you the most enjoyable and concise reviewer on this whole great internet thing but you are also, a damn fine and powerfully emotive musician too. Always a pleasure.
this is factual information
That last 3 minutes was one of the most beautiful things i've ever heard :)
Watch his live performance at Cymru here on RUclips. He presents a lovely variation on this same theme there.
6 years later and I still reference this demo when I think of this synth. Great as always Nick!
My Dominion 1 arrived yesterday. I can't get over how huge the sound is. After watching this review about a million times, I had to purchase the Eventide H9 MAX as well.
My wife probably won't see me for a good few days. LOL
Thanks for the great review. I love this synth.
What country are you in? Which retailer did you buy from? Has it needed any service, and if so how easy was it to get it serviced? Any help would be appreciated.
AAAHH!! F*** why did I click on the video wondering what the Dominion 1 was !? Now I MUST have this thing. What a MONSTER! What a MACHIIIIIINE!
When Nick started literally stroking the synth thirty seconds into the video, I knew this one was gonna be good.
+DB Pooper :30 the caress.
+Wavestrike Electronics AT 0:30 and again at 19:30 !
+TheOmanJam hahaha, damn that makes me smile!
DB Pooper ive noticed this...check out the ob6 vid he cant stop petting that one...lol..
Sounded like you are gonna put Vangelis out of business at the end of that demo. If i was a filmmaker i would be calling you for the soundtrack. Great demo as always.
Well if you ever do make that film, give me a call.
Unfortunately, Vangelis is mostly retired. He would rather sip wine and perform private concerts for friends than give the rest of the world some new music made with all the great new analog gear coming out.
Amazing review! That final melody is a dream! Thank you
I jizzed my pants when he started playing with those sliders at the end with the sound that he programmed. I jizzed and I cried. Nick, you are da man. I'm sure that you are aware that everyone makes synth memes about you and your affinity for PWM. It's out of love brother. We all love you. Those last few minutes were truly beautiful and made me cry. You should do more synthing with Goldfrapp and yes Denis Villeneuve should consult you on Blade Runner 2049. Amazing. You made it sound like a Buchla/cs-80.
Last night I had to unwind and placed my MFB Dominion 1 up on 3rd tier and my Nord Lead 2x 2nd and made a place on the first tier where the Nord Stage 2 EX will be placed hopefully this week. But while playing my Dominion I thought back and tonight I wanted to say "Thank You Nick" for this video because though I was already looking and deciding I made that commitment to getting a MFB Dominion 1 after watching You "Nick" and I watched and listened more than a few times. Funny thing I just noticed is you posted this on my Birthday ..... well, I suppose it is rather silly but I get pretty emotional and serious about my synths and this one here took me over a year to secure and I was fortunate to find a gentleman flexible enough to hold his for a month till he drove my way on the West Coast. I also was raised on the ARP synths in the 70's and so it is no surprise I have a few originals and one in particular that was overhauled or brought to spec by RL music and I use a power converter to step up the power to work here correctly. So point here is that this MFB Dominion reached out and grabbed me and I could sense it was built in such a way that it will right away easily give me those beautiful sounds like my "ARP 2600" yet in many ways reminds me of my Solus because of the shape and if only I could build a top that made my MFB turn into a "suitcase" that would be pretty cool. So I am going to get back now and watch and listen as now that I can put what i hear to immediate use and implementation I am sure glad you are here to give some of us a different skew on use and so on. Cheers.
I still come back to hear this demo 3 years later.
5 years later.
8 years later.
10 years later.
Nick, i knew you are a super "synth-nerd" testing all this good stuff... but the last 3 minutes showed me you are a very impressive musician as well.
Thank you and best regards from Germany.
The last bit you played sold me! Thanks for the review.
That ending though.... Chills all over.
The demo jam at the end is one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard! Thank you!
I managed to buy one today! I wasn't expecting to see one in the store considering they stopped making them and they are so hard to find. I spent 20 mins playing with it then opened my wallet. I haven't bought anything new for a long time but this thing blew me away.
Having just bought a Dominion 1, and somehow only just found and watched this demo, I’m blown away! Have to say, excellent tech review aside, what a stunning piece of music mate! Absolutely love what you come up with! Beautiful! 👍
Bravo MFB, I was almost in tears in the end. That Eventide though... sending shivers down my spine with that evolving bass.
I was with you, right there with you all the way up to the end... and then you went and broke my brain Nick! Dayum but that outtro piece is stunning!!! Match made in heaven! Wow!
Wow the end was amazing.
Just bought one of these based on this review/Demo. Excited for delivery day!
I may get a synth some day. I've got soft synths, very good ones too, but it's not quite the same. Your reviews are very helpful in realising the potential of some of these awesome analogue machines, and I think this one just made top of my list, especially after hearing that patch at the end that sounded absolutely epic. Unlike many others, I hardly ever use that word, reserving it for very special occasions such as this.
Faaak! That'd closing patch is gorgeous, Nick!
Fantastic looking and sounding synth and as usual a fab demo. What a great time to be around to enjoy.
After watching this I switched on my Juno 106 and cried.
I did laugh when i read this comment an thought the same thing about my sorry alpha juno .
hahahaha fucking same
GalenAus you're missing the point. The Juno is fine. But the Dominion One is sonic nirvana
Earmonkey Music Indeed what a majestic beast of a machine !!
But the Alpha is a one oscillator synth with DCO and some chip filter I guess? So probably an unfair comparison :) I like that Alpha Juno
fantastic demo. Other commenters are right; your closing performance is stellar. Thank you for your passion and skill.
N! Just sayin that, your patch at the end is beautiful. That alone, shows me what this can do as most reviewers only manage harsh, typical synth tones. Like and angel sh*t in my ear. Lovely.
Great review and gorgeous synth..i checked the price 5 minutes in...says it all. I was sold before you started to demonstrate the fm section and bowled over after. Take it easy and love the channel.
Thanks a lot for your review Nick! You're the reason that I got my Dominion 1 last week after sending back a Subsequent 37 to the seller because of some wobbly controllers. So glad I did it. The Dominion 1 is as cool as the Moog, just a different beast, they both can do stuff the other can't, which IMHO makes it unnecessary to pick a winner, just get both if you can ;) The build quality on the MFB is phenomenal and i much prefer it to the Moog, feels like military tech and I really enjoy the MFB's paraphonia (if that's the right term...). The ribbon controllers are strange at first, but as said before, they can do things a wheel can't. Thanks again and keep up the good work! Greetings from Germany
whooooaaaa !!! the patch at the end of video fuckin awesome !!!!
Got my - one of the best buys ever :)
Fantastic sounding and absolutely great features!
Thanks for this review!
Sounds absolutely fantastic.
You Sir just sold me a new synthesizer! Amazing things happening at the end of the video. Thanks Nick!
jesus wept, that play out was beauitiful
Ive watched this video about 15 diffrent times i keep coming back thinks its the closest ill get to one , fantastic clear review.
Wow, it sounds fantastic with the H9 21:46
This is more than just another monosynth. Pisses over Moog in regards to value for money. Thanks Nick. I've been waiting
a while for this one:)
The end seriously reminded me off Alessandro Cortini. no shit. Well done Nick!
Worth purchasing just to be able to play that last patch at the end of the vid ..chills every time!
Wow great sounding machine! You nailed that outro, Nick!
great presentation of very complex beast. great demo at the end of the clip!
Even through my tiny laptop speakers the quality of the sound was clearly apparent. Thanks for the great demo.
@sonicstate Nick you’ve had me sold on this synth for 3 years and at long last, with this current production run, I’m getting my hands on one! Couldn’t be more excited. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve watched this review. Thanks for all you do...and for the word “Foibles” which is now part of my regular vocabulary.
Im back again!
I have enjoyed this review and wonderful demonstration time and time again!
Its a stunning piece of engineering.
Its a shame that they are so hard to find.
9 years on, and I still dont have one!!
Must put that right in 25!
23:21 that sound fantastic Nick; adding the mod with the pitch bend - great synth
This sounds wild - the tones in that final performance are completely epic.
Your patch at 21:46 will sell a dozen of these by itself.
Scott Wozniak This is the same patch
With a very low repeating sound
Incredible piece of equipment
ruclips.net/video/iw1gjWWwTzk/видео.html
wow that patch made me smile. i could listen to that one all day.
Love yours reviews Nick!
Thanks for this review Nick, great stuff. Absolutely brilliant piece of gear. Def on my must have list.
Absolutely awesome !
God.. that end track.. Beautifull
Man I want one. That patch at the end of the video is ridiculous, nice one Nick :D
Once again I'm back to listen to the song at the end... still beautiful.
That patch at the end my goodness... is that what entering heaven sounds like?
Hopefully this will be the case - when we behaved as a good boy our whole life. The "not so good boy-Section" will be occupied by Behringer or (even worse) by Roland Boutique ;)
That patch at the end had me melting 😍
Awesome playout Nick!
This seems to have a lot of potential. Very powerful and lot's of features. You explained it very well. I would love to incorporate this sound in some of my electronic music i currently have on the Tube...Thanks again for sharing....
The last patch is the best thing I've heard from Sonic State. Ever.
This thing slays every other keyboard at its price range, imo always. They went all out with features and sound.
Big up MFB and Nick for the killer review!
Nick, please do a pro 2 demo!
Cheers
Wow!!! that patch at the end was awesome!! best reviewer ever :)
This will be a future classic.
I love my Dominion 1. However it was quite frustrating getting any proper review of it before purchasing it. I really went in half doubting my decision until it arrived. Then all was fine. This vid should help others nicely. Good job as ever.
i purchased one recently...it is not an easy synth to get super excellent sounds with from scratch, its super challenging to get a good patch. Takes a lot to learn compared to my other gear which is more easy.
Definetely right. I own one for 6 years and don't use it a lot, even if the sound blows me away every time. I think i will sell it, but it's difficult, as I thought i would keep it for a life time !!
beatiful demo at the end
Made me want an MFB1 AND an H9 Max. Excellent vid as always.
Just here again to hear him play out.... amazing.
I really love this synth. Had mine about 5 years now. It was quite alot to lay out for a mono synth but it's as if mfb made a synth that I'd kind of always dreamed of. Wonderful sounding and heaps of character and control. A classic synth and thanks to this video review too, it sealed the deal for me and I just had to have one, took a bit of saving but I got it!
If you get the chance to grab one then don't hesitate!
How’s build quality? Still have it?
This thing sounds massive!
WOW, amazing soundscape!
Cray-z closing, I was floating! Great review.
Iconic review.
great sounds
Nice to see more competition coming into the analog synth world. This shows what we can really get for our money, Without paying for a dam name. Hopefully the big names will up there game on quality and drop there prices to be able to compete.
At 17 mins you mention no glide on the arpeggio. You can set it in various ways using the multi purpose button, there's "glide" as one of the options, select that, then press enter and wiggle the selector button and set it to legato or standard mode. :)
Thanks :)
Excellent work. You should continue the habit of making the review jams available on Bandcamp, too. :)
that outro patch is nuts
I stopped tinkering with synths a few years ago, but kept checking out reviews of new analog synths every now and then.
This MFB Dominion 1 makes me want to dive right back in... I should probably sell some of my old gear and send my money to Berlin!
The eventide is crazy, the MFB is really nice
brilliant patch nick!
Sounds amazing! And with all the modulation routing, it's almost like a Triple Complex Osc (FM Bus, FM Index, Ring Mod etc). So sweet. PWM sounded awesome. Beautiful patch at the end. Also love the chords, honestly as much as I want a Prophet 6 and there is no substitute for full analog poly, the D1 paraphony sounded pretty damn tasty. Filter seems extremely flexible. Sequencer seems a little limited. I'd love to hear it hooked up to a René or Metropolis. Speaking of, I don't know if it's possible but I'd love to see a follow up video showing it patched up with some euro!
wow it sounds incredible!
The outtro itself was enough to win me over
Definitely my fave synth to get. Great review.
I can hear the beginnings of that piece you played at Cymru here.
this vid is like a manual for synth numskulls like me who own this machine but don't have the noggin knowledge...thnks #sonicstate its invaluable.
Loved the play-out!
The filter is a beast on this.
must be the 3rd time in 2021 i have come back for the end of this video
sweet looking synth
That H9 is insane, but this synth also looks pretty awesome. Fantastic show of both at the end, I must say.
When Nick happy, WE ALL HAPPY!
I could listen to that last part for hours.
sounds absolutely stupendous!...i have a mfb nanozwerg...THIS however is mind-meldingly trip-o-tastic... or sonic sushi
my favourite ever.
your patch at the end... wow..🔊🔊🔊
Would love to see a video of just patches you've made Nick!
Such a great review. Thank you!
Sounds really cool, and unlike any of the other popular monos. I regret not checking this one out more. The other MFB stuff had really turned me off to them, but if the build is solid like you said, this is a good one to look at.
Those slider caps look pretty wonky, though.
Yeah I thought that too Pete. Wonky is the word. I was looking at this last year but I went with the DSI PRO 2 n I've never thought about getting rid. It's amazing. Even better than the Sub 37 which I've had 2 of but decided it's not for me. There is the HYPERSYNTH XENOPHONE which I know Pete knows about, but it's a bit sloppy in the class compliance area.
So all in all monosynths are covered. Now let's see the next gen polys come through. Seen the price advertised on the prophet 6 in the UK? £2249???!?
Gareth Binks Yeah, the USB implementation on the Xenophone was just lazy. It's something that adds enough irritation that I end up not using it there.
DSI Pro 2 is a great synth. This synth sounds really nice too, though. I wouldn't avoid it just because of the slider caps, but to me, that shows they still don't *quite* get the importance of fit & finish. It's one of those things designed by engineers instead of industrial/product designers. :)
But that sound...
Pete Brown BTW, don't forget about the Vermona. That blue and white synth is just lovely. I *did* get to play with that at NAMM and found it to be pretty nice. Modulation is really limited compared to this MFB, though.
The way the pro 2 sounds is unbelievable plus there's a brilliant step sequencer where you can send the steps to practically any parameter. Not once but many times - can't remember how many "sequencer tracks" but it's plenty!
I bought a prophet 12 n sold it but the pro 2 has 4 cv out too....
If Nick got that reviewed he'd have to buy new pants me thinks.....
Plus it's 4 voice paraphonic!
Joe I would imagine so. I've just bought a studio electronics Boomstar se80. I then thought why didn't I wait a bit and buy one of these instead? Maybe I'll just send it back
11:03 It should be illegal to assign envelope parameters to pots. They should all be faders like on this synth.
The only thing I don't like is the apparent slewing of all the standard LFO shapes. I like to have slew as an option, but the LFO waves on this sound very rounded. I guess that's just a characteristic of the synth, but it seems at odds with its more aggressive sound.
Damn you Nick. Now I gotta get one of these!
awesome patch at the end!!!!