New England Digital Synclavier

The main workhorse in my studio is an ivory 1990 Synclavier 6400 which is currently sporting release 5.1. This release, though certainly no giant leap forward, is a continuation of the long standing gremlin quashing crusade that DEMAS has steadfastly embarked upon for over a decade. I have found though, that for every half-dozen ghosts exorcised, a new one wafts into being. The added functionality of this release made me giggling like a schoolgirl until I encountered a decidedly unfriendly "L" page, which is the heart and soul of the sampling system. The refresh rate crawls along at an agonizing rate, sapping the joy out of even the most dedicated user. To maintain my sanity, I keep a Casio VL-Tone on top of the keyboard so that I can tap out some crazy tunes while the 'Clav CPU chews on my latest "Mark Start" command. Hold on..........I'm gonna play some Eminem now................

The 'Clav shipped with the older NED orchestral library which has a ton of viable patches. They blend well with the fabulous Reaktor-based libraries of late due to their less than pristine presence along with a few instruments that are not represented well in the latest and greatest. Mix 'em in and bring some unusual low and high midrange to the party.

There is a "manual" that comes with the Synclavier and I'm pretty sure that most of the virgin forests in the Northeast were decimated when it went into production. Total knowledge of this system is not a task for the faint of heart, as evident by the 30 pounds of documentation that shipped with the system. If you yearn for the days of programming in Fortran and C+, you are gonna have a field day with Scientific XPL. This system is way deeper then most users realize, and I'm sure that NED would have provided an XPL programmers guide if it were not for the hole in the ozone layer.

My system has the standard 32 voices of polyphony which can be stretched with creative use of the Polyphony Mode button. Rumor has it that DEMAS has developed a card to connect multiple Synclavier towers and therefore stretch the polyphony as far as your budget (and building floorplan) will allow. My keyboard is an older model from a PSMT system. I like the feel better then the newer ones, even though both are based on the Prophet T8 keyset.

The notion of "Built In Effects" depends on what is construed as an effect. Aside from the Chorus button, you can do some pretty wild stuff with the Vibrato and Portamento buttons, especially when combined with judicious use of the Partial Timbre Control section.

Expansion of the Synclavier system is not only possible, but usually necessary. If I won the lottery, I would definitely spring for the Power PC option and throw in a Time Compression and Expansion board to boot. I could also use another Tahiti 6 drive (or two!) for good measure. Memory upgrades are expensive but extremely gratifying. I have jacked up the internal memory of my system to 131 Megs through strategic use of an auction paddle as well as a few sordid back alley swaps with other users. When you beef up the memory, the Synclavier doubles as an excellent, RAM-based 100K bouncing goliath. Your DAW will thank you for it.

The Synclavier is only as good as what you put in it. You can be assured however, that whatever you do put in it will sound fantastic. I like switching between the 6400 and an older PSMT Synclavier system because they sound very different. My 6400 contains the newer mono sound cards that are extremely punchy and are excellent for anything techno or rock based. In addition, the 6400 (along with the 3200 and newer 9600 models) are the quintessential poster childen for superbly dynamic sound design work along the lines of Lucas arts and THX.

The PSMT systems contain the older stereo voice cards that have a more subdued and sweet sound. I find it preferable for orchestral and sound collage compositions that require something that needs to sound more in the analog vein. The stereo panning button is also in play and is an ideal companion for these voice card configurations.

The keyboard itself takes a bit of getting used to as it is weighted in an unnatural manner compared to most controllers out in the marketplace. If the key action produces a result that is less then desirable, velocities can be easily tweaked on the "G" page. In fact, you can drive yourself batty with expression to your hearts content due to the multiple velocity layering possible with these systems.

These systems are overly engineered to the point that systemic meltdowns are really rare. My Synclavier has been pushed down the sidewalk like a hotdog cart, hauled up a flight of stairs like the catch of the day, and baked like a bundt cake in the summer when the air conditioning is on the fritz. All the while, the system has performed with barely a whimper. Which is good, because tech support is pretty hard to come by, especially on a deadline. My advice is to purchase another unit and put it up on blocks in the front yard for use as a parts doner. It looks prettier then a 72 Nova anyway.

Believe it or not, customer support does exist through DEMAS and a few Synclavier journeymen who can get you back in action, especially in a major metropolitan area. Be prepared to be patient with the turnover time though, but be well assured.......... the 'Clav ain't dead.......long live the 'Clav!

If the Synclavier was lost or stolen, I would simply follow the drag marks to find the culprit who would most likely need some quality time with a chiropractor. These systems are extremely heavy and relatively rare. I doubt there is much of a fencing operation for these behemoths, but I would certainly replace it if it met some untoward fate. I have been using these systems (in various forms and states of complexity) for over 20 years and certainly have a love/hate relationship with them. For sonic purity, workflow (having dedicated buttons for virtually every function makes a mouse-based system feel painfully sluggish), and creative control, the Synclavier is a world beater, even to this day. For portability (van owners, take note), real world compatibility, expanded sequence function, and non-destructive editing (non-existent on a Synclavier), the curtains have closed on the Synclavier. It remains a stand alone system that is unfriendly with the rest of the computer-based world and these issues will only be more apparent over time.

That said, enjoy these systems because they can be more fulfilling then any other piece of gear that you own.

5.2 last version
Presets are amazing
Very intuitive and FAST
n/a

64 sampling voices
32 FM voices
16 disk tracks

The system flat out sounds beautiful, and musical. It does require outboard FX and a well spec'd mixer, but all in all it is one of the most musical sampling systems I've ever used.

The Synclavier is built like a tank. It is showing its age now, but is still very stable.

Was great/gone now. The after market is still alive. Its become a cult thing now. Why else would anyone maintain a winchester drive?

The Synclavier is a unique musical instrument from a time when the music industry was flush with cash. Although they are rare, they are not incredibly expensive, Like an old Jaguar!

Here we have it ! The beast ! The grandfather of all digital production
places,we know today.
To say,that the Synclavier is easy to use,would be a lie.For a "normal"
synth freak,this machine is to oversized,but for audio engineers,this
machine is really a versatile tool.An all in one production place.
It needs a lot of time,to master each detail from it.
In the early years,NED had special trained experts,who showed the
customer,how to use this device.
The customer support was excellent !!! But the Synclavier had also a
price at its time,so that such service was not a gimmick...

The NEDsystem is nowadays,if compared to the newest digital platforms
really easy to use.Most of its functions are now common knowledge in
the digital audio production.
It has not that shiny nice interfaces like modern systems.
On the other hand I always ask myself,who really needs this "Game"
design of actual devices.
I don't want to see nice pictures on the Monitor,I only want to see
the functions.That's what the Synclavier does.
But don't be afraid.You will not meet an ugly MS-DOS.The Synclavier
comes with the userfriendly MacOS.

In this part I don't give a rating ! The Synclavier is to special...
I find it easy to use...my own opinion.

The Synclavier is that machine,where a lot of musicans dreamt about.
At a time,when digital synths were still lame,it offered a soundquality
wich is unbelievable.Some productions were completely done on this
machine.
This machine is a sampler,a harddiskrecording system,an oversized FM
synth,a Fouriersynth.All interact always together.
There is nothing what you can't do with it.The only problem it has now
is that there won't be any software developed for it.
The system is a 16 BIt Audio system.It has a maximum of 100kHZ of
Sampling Rate !!! The DVD for example works with 96kHZ.
In times of MP3 it is a question,if the 24BIT systems are right.
MP3 comes witha lower quality.So what sense makes it,to record in
24BIT and 96kHz,when it will get later lowered to MP3 format ?
With DVD the BITrate of the Synclavier was topped,but the Sampling
frequency not.
At least it is the truth,that digital Audio has lost quality in the
last years.You can see it by the trade of some companies,not to follow
the guideline of the "RED BOOK".
And at least,the Synclavier won in 1987(or1986?) a Grammy.Frank Zappas
"Jazz from Hell" was completely realized on this mchine,with the
exception of one live track.
How does this machine sound ? It sounds not ! It offers you only that
what you feed in it.The FM section is more convincing as the one from
the Yamahas DX front of that time.
The Synclavier was an open platform.There is many software outside
for it.From effects to synth,to audioproduction.Things what we call
now "PlugIns".

One life is not long enough to explore its expression and sound
capabilities.The Synclavier will always sound like that,what you
input.And with 16BIT and 100kHZ this machine is still top !
Don't forget,you don't buy a synth with it,you buy a complete
Digital Studio !

Oh,here comes the neg.The Synclavier at all works still fine.
But it is hard nowadays to get this RAMS,or Software for the MACOS(of
that time).RAM is expensive for such old modules.Eventhough the CPU
still works fine,you should have a new in "stock".
The problem of the Synclavier is its age.Some hardware is not available
anymore.Some software is spread all over the world.
Fortunately there is a ring of Synclavier freaks,who will keep this
machine alive.
But after all,the Synclavier has still no diseases.This thoughts are
for the future.

When NED was still alive,the support was amazing !
When NED colapsed,its "brains" were took over by Fostex.FOr a short
time,Fostey did maintance for the Synclavier.
But not now anymore.
This circle of Synclavier users does help a lot when things go odd
with that machine.

As NED can not support the Synclavier anymore,because not existing
anymore,I don't want to rate here.

If lost,I would hang myself to the next tree.
If stolen,I would hang the thief to the next tree,but before hanging
give him big medival torture.......