Serge Modular

No software in this synth, just patchcord programming. Editing is a snap if you're a bit used to modular patching. The Rich Gold book that comes with it is an excellent introduction to modular synthesis in general and the ecentricities of the Serge in particular. Its an easy to use system if you are PATIENT ;)

The Serge is monophonic unless you have enough panels to build multiple voicings. The Serge system has only one "native" keyboard - the TKB which is a combination sequencer and capacitance touchplate controller. Maybe I'll add one in the future but, for now, I'm using the excellent Synthesizers.com QB15S, a 5 octave 1v/octave standard keyboard controller that includes a built-in MIDI/CV converter. There are quite a few modules in the Serge system that can create a myriad of familiar and unusual effects, one of my favorites is the resonant equaliser. The beauty of the Serge is that it is, by its nature, a very customizable synth. Patching on the Serge is done with bananna jacks obviating the need for multiples since banannas are stackable. The Serge is kind of hard to nail-down and quantify because, depending on how they're patched, some modules can be many different things. There is an excellent overview of the synth and its modules at: http://www.scampers.com/EGRES/index.htm

The sounds you can coax from this beauty are awesome! Modular synthesis provides the musician/programmer with an absolutely blank canvas and a huge rainbow palette of colors as opposed to the limited hues of a hardwired synth. Many people use the Serge for ambient and experimental music but, because of my controller, I have found the Serge equally up to the task of more "normal" or ,at least, keyboard-oriented types of music. This is one of the most dynamic synthesis systems out there. As I mentioned above, depending on how its patched, a single module can do many different things. As an example, the Dual Universal Slope generator can be any of the following things: Non-linear lowpass filter, Envelope follower, Sub-harmonic generator, Linear portamento, Exponential portamento, Linear AR envelope generator, Exponential AR envelope generator, Linear ASR envelope generator, Exponential ASR envelope generator, Voltage controlled LFO with either triangular or pulse waveforms, an Audio VCO...the list goes on. This kind of flexibility means more powerful sound design.

This thing's built like a tank and I'm certain Rex Probe and the other fine folks at STS's reputation for excellent service is well-deserved. Even so, this is more of a "studio" thing though I'm certain some brave souls are willing to take the show on the road...

Any questions are quickly answered by a quick phone call to Sound Transform Systems. Though it took a while to get my system, I've been very happy with the level of support and attention I have recieved from STS.

The Serge for me is the end-all and be-all of modular synthesizers. It is very musical and the timbres I get from it mix very well with my Waldorf and other gear. This is the most inspiring piece of musical equipment I own!

No presets. You'd better know what you are doing.

Patches are wires and knobs. This if for hard core analog synthesists only. If you don't know what 1v/oct is or don't know a control voltage from an analog signal, you're going to have a real hard time.

If you want a uniquely expressive, sonic instrument, are looking for something off the beaten path, this one is quite unusual.

Open-ended. Fully extensible, digitally interface-able.

Not just pristine, but unique. Great for complex rhythm patches, evolving analog timbres and subtle gestures.

Used on gigs --worked fine-- but not a machine you'd want to trek around a lot. More of a studio machine.

An instrument in a class that, though may not be its' own uniquely, certainly has few peers.

http://home.att.net/~djaux/SMMS.htm

You must understand the nature and routing of modular analog systems - if you do, this system is easy to use, easy to understand, and easy to get excellent results from

This system has modules/features that you will not find in other systems - really unique sounding - a sound designers' dream - My system has seven full panels and I use it every day - my configuration has 3 sequencers, one a seq/touch sense KB - Midi is through 3rd party midi/cv converters - Infinite expansion capabilities - just buy more of the modules you need from Rex Probe at STS - This system is all Built-in effects, that is what the system is - it is as polyphonic as you can dream it to be in your imagination

This system sounds like no other system I have played/heard - it is more unique and expressive than other systems in its' class, such as large Moog systems, ARP 2500, Roland 100M, Polyfusion, Doepfer, Emu,
(I have not had a chance to get my hands on a Buchla) - and the EMS and EML systems are not in the same class as the Serge - I have played both the original Serge systems and Own a new one of Seven panel size - My system was built by Rex Probe and his staff at Sound Transform Systems in Oakland, CA. - I knew for many years that I wanted this system above all others, and have finally acquired it. the system is a little over a year old, I work on it every day, and I feel as if I have barely scratched the surface of its' abilities - the depth of the instrument is such that it might take a long time (lifetimes?) to find its' real depth - the sounds it actually makes are impossible to describe - But you can get very Organic, Alien, or Ethereal products - it lends itself well to Ambient, Textural (Such as Soundtrack), Dance, Experimental/Electronic/Microtonal styles - I have used it for background textures in popular ballad style songs - it is excellent for treating music or sounds from other sources as well - several of the modules do not have comparable alternatives in other systems, such as the wave multipliers, the transient filters, and the waveform generators - in reality this is true of almost all of the modules in that the operating ranges of the modules themselves make them multipurpose in a way that other systems do not offer - The new systems have been completely gone over and older parts have been replaced with newer and more stable ones - the S/N ratios in the audio modules are excellent, and the entire system is more what you would expect from a scientific acoustic analysis machine than a musical instrument - in fact it seems like acoustical physics research would be a natural deployment of the Serge in its' present incarnation. One of the only problems is finding a monitoring system that will reproduce everything it puts out, and this is not a fault of the Serge.

This is not a traveling gig box - I have rented mine in temporary installations to several large studios, so it is eminently portable, but I take great care in m,oving it - the only problem I have ever had with my Serge was a intermittent in the original external power supply. Rex shipped me a brand new one overnight and I have not had trouble since. The actual modules and panels are dependable like a rock - for such a totally reconfigurable instrument, repeatability is very predictable - I have several documented patches and even after completely repatching the instrument, I can return to these sounds with minimal re-tweaking within the modules. You must understand a certain amount about the thing to do this. It seems very reliable - I have no trouble taking it to a studio, setting it up and not worrying about whether it will run or not.

Rex Probe And his staff are really nice people aside from having more knowledge than any group on the planet about what really the system can do - it helps that they all love the system and use it themselves - I only regret that these guys are so busy that no one of them has had the time to try to gather all their collective knowledge as a group into some form of output that could benefit some of the users like myself who could spend the rest of their lives and barely fathom what the Serges' real potential is - They are extremely helpful whenever I call and have dropped some really important morsels my way in the way of explaining in more depth what a module is actualy doing and how to get the most out of it - I have gotten some "helpful hint" patches over the phone which have proved invaluable to me - an internet forum of users might achieve the same or similar ends - I have no doubt that if my Serge ever failed (it never has) that Sound Transform Systems would more likely than not just ship me a new unit rather than do a repair - they are just that kind of outfit - kudos R.P. and STS

My system is well insured - I would probably replace it with the same system if I had it to do again - I talked to Rex Probe off and on for about ten years before I finally bought my system. I have not regretted it for a day - is it worth the price? - this is a hand-built, modern day audiosonic masterpiece of a system - there are very few people who get chance to play them, much less own one - I can't really put a price on that experience - was it expensive? - sure - Sometimes I think about the improvements I might have done on my home instead - but then I go upstairs to my studio, sit down in front of the Serge, and it takes about sixty seconds for me to remember why I did it. I have been playing music since I was fifteen yrs.old and I am now forty-six. I do not play in bands any more (at least not this year) and do a lot of Soundtrack work for film/animation now. My studio is geared toward this and sound design. Sort of my personal composing room. I have two PCs and one Mac. I run Protools, Logic Audio Platinum, Wavelab, Acid Pro, and Koan Pro - I have the Serge seven panel system, an EML 400/401 analog seq/synth, both of these have midi/cv converters for computer control - a Mackie DB8 Digital Console, Genelec 1031 Monitors, MOTU Digital Timepiece, two MOTU Midi TimPiece AVs, MOTU 2408, Apogee Rosetta AD converter, Korg Z1 KB/Controller, Waldorf Wave XT, Waldorf Dual X-Pole Analog Filter, Access Virus, Emu Proteus 2000, Kawai XD-5, Kawai K4-R, Lexicon PCM90, Yamaha Rev5, T.C.Elect. Finalizer Plus, Sony Tape Decks Dat+Dual Cassette, Fostex CD Recorder,lots of plug-ins for the software

Tricky to use even if used to other modular synths.

An extremely versitile instrument with many unique qualities. Incredible at percussion tracks. Very good for complex textural patches. Sounds you will hear no place else.

Amazing sounds. Not great for bass - like the classic Moog or Roland thing. Very good for hard hitting and unusual sounds. Extremely good at complex textures. Hard to play traditional music on it. It tempts you to stretch the patches into algorithmic and sound manipulation areas. Very complex logical operations are possible.

Works most of the time. In all fairness I have about ten panels - the most recent stuff is very reliable. The older stuff is a bit touchy.

The company is excellent. Rex Probe is very eager to help out. The only drag is that they are very expensive at fixing the old components. They are really in the business at selling new hardware. You can easily spend 1/2 to 3/4's of the new price fixing used stuff.

If I only had two synthesizers this would be one of them. It is expressive and unique. It will make your music sound different than the thousands of synth players picking off stuff from commercial sampling cd's. The closest relative is probably the Buchla stuff - which is equally cool but less flexible and more expensive. The Buchla company is absolutely abysmal at support. Buchla doesn't even answer emails or other queries about older products. Sound Transform is a WAY better company. The downside is the expense of the system and the learning curb. Learning it can be half the fun, however...

Very easy to use if you are familiar with analog modular synths. There are almost no limits as to what modules can be plugged into each other (just don't plug 2 outputs into the same jack). Incredibly extensive CV capabilities on every module. Much more so than on Moog or ARP. Knobs galore! Very compact design combined with no-detent pots can cause claustrophobia in patchcord- heavy, complex patches. Editing is about as intuitive as it can get. No scrolling through editing pages. Just look at the panel! See what's hooked into what.

No on-board effects. No midi capabilities, although there is a midi/cv module available. 16 step analog touch-plate keyboard/sequencer. 4 to 10 VCOs, depending on how it's patched; VCF variable Q, VCF variable slope filters; triple waveshaper; triple wavemultiplier; ring mod.; 2 to 6 EGs, as with VCOs; smooth and step function generators; divide-by-N comparator; x-fader; quantizer; various scaling, control, and active processors.

Sound quality is outstanding! It's quiet, has good dynamic range and incredible frequency response. Types of sounds/instruments are limited by the user's imagination, although if you're used to poking a button and getting a brass ensemble patch with oodles of polyphony, you might be disappointed. But then, how many one-button wonders do a really good Klingon duck fart? The touch-plate keyboard is very peculiar; it really makes you think about what you are doing when setting up a patch in that the relationship between any two pads can be any interval that you want, ascending or descending, microtonal or otherwise. The keyboard pads have a touch-sensitive, capacitative CV output which can be used for both velocity and aftertouch applications (among other things). I tend to play mostly Hearts-of-Space-type music with long drones and odd little events, so the Serge is ideal for my needs. I imagine that it would be best suited in a traditional multitrack studio environment, where the time needed to reset patches is not that much of an issue (as opposed to live performance) and experimentation is the main inspiration.

I've had the system for a little over 3 years with no bugs whatsoever. It has become the heart of my home studio which also includes a Minimoog, Micromoog, Korg DS-8, and a Yamaha DX7IIFD.

Without a doubt, Rex Probe and the folks at Sound Transform Systems are some of the nicest people that I have ever dealt with. They offered valuable advice when I was configuring my system without making me feel like a dunce. The estimated delivery date was right on the money (although FedEx screwed up in a huge way; it was delivered to someone else). I was sent occasional construction progress updates, and generally made to feel like I was their only customer. Truly a class act!

I don't deny that the price of admission is pretty steep, but when you order a Serge, you specify which modules you want and where within the panel that you want them. You are, in effect, buying an instrument custom-made to your specifications by human hands, not CNC robotic IC inserters. It is an extremely gratifying experience.