Studio Electronics SE-1x

My software is version 0.75. The presets are very good but a little homogeneous... there are none of them that deviate too far from the standard "bass/lead" sound. The display is bright and the front panel is logically laid outand clearly labeled, so editing is hands-on and fun. Knobs feel big have a nice weight to them. The manual doesn't tell you anything that isn't already somewhat obvious, but it's still logical and fun to read.

The SE-1x is monophonic and has no built-in effects. MIDI implementation is basic but adequate, although the velocity is unnatural and I usually play with it turned off. It's pretty bare but everything feels and sounds high-quality. I can't really think of anything extra that this machine could use... my biggest complaint is the lack of effects but, honestly, that's what effects pedals are for.

It sounds absolutely beautiful... clean and warm, with a lot of bottom end. It's isn't a jack-of-all-trades but what it does, it does fantastically. It sits well in pretty much any kind of mix.

I haven't ever felt like I needed to be delicate with it the way I do with many of my other machines. I haven't used it outside of my studio but it feels solid and reliable. The oscillators are solid and the knobs feel nice and weighty.

Very helpful by email... I've never had to contact them any other way but their website is great and has many good resources on it.

It's a great piece of machinery that produces great sounds. I own a Waldorf Q and XTk, a Prophet VS, and an E-mu Emax, and I bought it because I wanted the sound of a Moog filter without having to pay for a Minimoog. While it certainly delivers great Moog-style basses and leads, it's worth it to go beyond the presets and play around with it to see what you can do. I did and I was richly rewarded. If you think you want one, you probably do! It doesn't do everything but I love what it does and now, I can't live without it.

I have Nova Edition. Software version - 0.85
Most patches are very very usable, manual would be a bit better. Coz I don't know which oscillators are ring modulating, I don't know what is osc bounce...
Sometimes it crashes when I'm saving a patch. Sometime when I press SAVE button it presses twice rewriting the patch which I don't want to.

Features are OK for this type of synth. Sine osc is very usable for fat basses. Fuzz is amazing for screaming leads!

This is the fattest bass synth I ever used. All it's patches are sitting in the mix perfectly! Even no compression is required. But I wish more snappier envelopes. There's one trick to make them faster. You should invert 1st env (for example). Set Sustain at maximum, Release to minimum. Now adjust Attack time and Cutoff to get snappy sound.

Asked SE about osc bounce 3 times. No reply. ((

My first analog synth which I like very much! I use it in every track.

Version 0.85
As simple to use as a classic Mini, have never opened the manual.

I personally dont like the brushed aluminum look for a synth. They would have to know that most rack modules are black, and made this silver to stand out on purpose ( a little arrogant). If not black, how about deep blue or dark grey? ( or a combination of the two?)

As this is true synth without alterier motives, it will work with just about any genre.
I only have 1 real gripe about the SE1X and that something funky occurs in the triggering of a new note after it has completely discharged. I noticed it in the mix and I noticed it on the meter, forcing me into compressing it which I dont like to do. The attack transients work well enough but its not like the Model D.

The original SE would crash from time to time- not enough to piss me off.The SE1X is rock solid so far. The team at SE builds a VERY nice box inside and out- their attention to detail is noteworthy.Id feel confident taking the SE1X on the road.

Called the staff about 10 years ago to get the filter mod for my older SE and they were very helpful.

Given what this is and WHY it is, I cant imagine anyone doing it better, even MoogMusic.Does this sound exactly like a Mini? No. Would you ever hear the difference in the track- most likely not. I bought two to run in stereo for the most part, but also to have the obvious advantages of having two mono synths. These will ALWAYS be in my rack along with my Voyager. My biggest wish would be for them to make a pro version that has CV jacks to talk to the Moog stuff or other modulars,my second wish would be for an external audio input that routes thru the entire synth as opposed to the MIDI triggered envelope which is pretty useless in my estimation.Still, This is absolutely the best modern monosynth on the market.

Software is 1.02
Awesome presets. Too many to choose from for various music.
Manual is okay. But hey this is a Moog Synth and if you need a manual to understand how this works and the sound architecture, then you have to definitely start with a basic synth and learn the fundamentals of sound Synthesis before you meet the best of the best.

Monophonic synth. Keyboard is okay. I use a Roland JD-800 as the master and its cool. 9 because it doesnt have cards!! but then thats not the what the technology is about but i love expansion cards too!! ;-).. JD990/XV5080/JV-880/JD-800 I own and love the expansion parts on the sample based modules. This Se1x baby is All analog so doesnt play based on sampleplayback!

This is ofcourse where you have to respect and take your hats off to this monster. Listen to Hip Hop records to Dance numbers. The phatness and ofcourse the Moog warmth that other European Synths like Waldorf don't have.. I used to own a Pulse and hey it's damn phat and awesome for dance, but didnt have the warmth I wanted.

Definitely can depend on this beast. Light weight compared to how it looks in the pics, but functions like a Rolls Royce( no i dont own one..)

Ive emailed the guys at studioelectronics and man they are very helpful with any information. Rock on!

Lost or stolen, i dont know what id do. Id try and get another one. Maybe on Ebay? Ive had lots of Synths and since this baby came, It has become my BAss module. Channel 4 on my midi chart straight into Se1x. Ive tried the JD990 vintage card(nice but sample based), Software Synths, Waldorf Pulse basses, Juno106(nice and different to Se1x), but this baby just sits like King! 9 because i had to pay import tax on this thing.. Not fair!!!! ha ha..

The SE-1 and SE-1X are perfectly suited for a beginner and sophisticated enough to challenge an experienced synthesist. I would have killed to have this synth as a beginner.

The older SE-1 factory presets are inexcusably lame; the world's largest collection of murky bass and lead sounds... a problem remedied with the SE-1X to some extent.

Alot of the patches just need a filter tweak to make them more usable.

MIDI implementation is comparitively bug-free, except... we have never been able to get the midi through features to work on ours.

The modules like to have their own dedicated Midi channel, which can be a bit of a pain if you have multiple Studio Electronics rack gear.

As with any Midi equipped analog synth, it sounds most convincing with pressure sensitivity set to OFF (or 127)

The SE-1 is not a mini-moog (as people will tell you ad nauseum).

The SE-1x is a GREAT analog synth in its own right... it blows the doors off most of the virtual analog gear and challenges the Voyager. (For 1/4 of the price). The moog / oberheim filter switch is very musical in practical applications.

We own two vintage Mini-moog D's, but the SE-1's will never be sold.

The SE-1x is super reliable... the SE-1 will do wonky things midi wise 1 out of 200 times. If you are buying one off Ebay make sure it is not a REALLY old one... the key-triggering and portamento do seem a little different.

Although the differences with the early models will only bother you if you are a mini-moog owner.

Studio Electronics go out of their way to communicate with and help their clients... this is reflected to some extent in their rather goofy web page. Don't be deterred - these are serious quality products.

The SE-1 bank will never be sold. If you are thinking of buying a Voyager (or similar Mini-moog copy*), I have to emphasize how amazing two SE-1x sound running together off a single channel.

We would and will buy additional SE gear...

(*That being said, the Macbeth does sound more like a real Mini than either the Voyager or the SE-1 in our jaded opinion. BUT - it isn't programmable).

I found this synth pretty easy to get around in. Like most rack synths(or any synth for that matter) there is some internal navigation to get used to. The internal navigation is pretty strait forward.

The factory presets sound INCREADIBLE! There is EVERY base & lead that you've every wanted. Most are very clean and perfect sounding.

Editing this synth is very easy! You can make it do whatever you can think of, and more. Again there is some internal editing, but it's a very hands on peaice of gear.

The manual is ok, not that great. Although, the synth is laid out perfectly, so the manual is really not needed.

Only 1 voice here, but that's enough. This killa sounds so phat and real that it's inspiring.

It has MIDI in, out, and thru.


VOICE ARCHITECTURE

Three voltage controlled discrete analog oscillators
Waveforms: triangle, sawtooth and variable width square. All waveforms output simultaneously. Syncing of Osc 2&3 to Osc 1.

Two voltage controlled discrete analog filters
24db (classic Moog), 12db (classic Oberheim). 12db filter incorporates low pass and band pass modes.

Three low frequency oscillators
Waveforms: triangle, sawtooth, reverse sawtooth, square, noise, random. One destination and amount for each LFO with key trigger, phase, and midi sync.

Four multiple stage envelope generators
Attack, decay, sustain and release with inverting and multiple triggering. Envelope 1 fixed to filter frequency. Envelope 2 fixed to amplifier level. Envelope 3&4 are assignable.

Additional Features
Noise generator. Glide and auto glide, linear or exponential. Ring modulation.

Modulation Destinations
LFOs 1,2&3: VCOs 1,2&3 frequency, VCOs 1,2&3 mix level, VCOs 1,2&3 pulse width, ring mod mix level, noise mix level, VCF resonance and frequency, and volume. Envelopes 3&4: VCOs 1,2&3 frequency, VCOs 1,2&3 mix level, VCOs 1,2&3 pulse width ring mod mix level, noise mix level, LFO 1, 2&3 rate and depth, and VCF resonance.

The sound is what you really pay for w/ this synth. NO ANALOG MODULING SYNTH CAN COMPETE WITH THE SOUND IT PUT OUT.
I have owned many analog moduling synths and this put them all to shame.

This sounds very close to the mini-moog, but it goes even futher too.

The sound is warm, clean, expressive, pure, and has that true analog taste. It can be clean and warm or mean, dirty and grimy. Most of the factory pacthes are very nice, clean and studio quality. wyhen you get in to editing this monster, it can sound just plain bad!

So far so good. No problems what so ever.

Studio Electronics wins out here as well! They ahve been SO nice to me before and after the sale of the SE-1X. They answer all my questions via phone or email, and are friendly while they do it. They have even gone so far to give me time to pay it off, gavin discounts to me, and let me swap out the face plate to a differant color ro maqtch my studio.

If this was stolen or lost NOTHING could replace it! I have been making music since 15 and I am 25 now.

I own a Studio Electronics Omega 8, Access Virus KC, Studio Electronics SE-1X, and Korg MS2000BR. I am selling my KC and just ordered a new Virus Ti.

I love the sound of this thing. it writes a song be itself! It has every bass and lead you've ever heard or wanted. When playing it, you just can't stop thinking of ideas. The bottom end is where it's at, it PHAT! loud and lower than ANYthing I ahve ever seen or heard!

The only other synth yopu can compare it to is a Mini Moog, but this synth is much more than that!!

I can't say enough about how rad this synth is! My friends think I spent to much $ on it, then they listen to it in action, and they are dead quiet.

Great interface. Preset sounds are good too. Manual is well written and no bolocks. Perfect design for a modern analog.

This is a monosynth that has lots of great features. It response to velocity and aftertouch, recieves and transmits MIDI (knobs transmit MIDI!) and has an external input to be processed by the great filter. The envelopes are digital (whoops SE) and you can invert them if you wish (trust me you will want to..). You get two different filter types (Minimoog and Oberheim SEM designs), modulation is very vast on this and to top it off you get 3 discete VCOs that you can sync!

One thing that people say about this SE-1 (mine is the SE-1X) is that it is a clone of the Minimoog. That is absolutly wrong. It has 3 discrete VCO's as the Minimoog does so the tone is very much the same BUT the SE-1 had very flexible digital envelope generators while the Minimoog has simple 3 stage analog envelopes. You would think the more flexible digital envelopes are more desirable but I think not. The oucome is the SE-1 doesn't sound no where near as punchy as the real Minimoog therefore making it a lesser bass machine (I like punchy bass). You can invert the envelopes to get a punchier sound but it still doesnt sound as snappy as the Minimoog.
This module is very popular in the rap/hip hop scene I guess because you get that phat discrete tone and they don't use snappy bass (slower- smoother envelopes) so it is a hit there. If you want a punchy sound (ala Front Line Assembly's "Tactical Neural Implant") forget it.

Studio Electronics is a reliable pact.

I wrote some emailz to Studio Electronics regarding tips on how to set the envelopes for more punch but got no reply back. Damn...

I love the discrete tone of this synt sooo much that I give it an 8. If the envelopes were like the Minimoog's I would give it an 18 if I could. It's a flexible synth and can do great leads and bass but its not as good as a Minimoog and is no substitute. Buy the Midimini or Midimoog instead (or wait for the Big Briar Minimoog Voyager). The SE-1 still blows away any garbage VA wanna-be synth being made today. If you like Dr. Dre go for it. If your an industrial freak like myself opt for the actual Moog.