Vermona Perfourmer

I'll give this a 9 only because the lack of patch memory may be an inconvenience for some.

Otherwise ease of use is perfect: every control and connection is on the front, even the headphone jack and switches for power and setting up MIDI (yes, there is a God). In fact the only things you need to go to the rear panel for are the MIDI jacks and the global external audio input...good news for rack users. Real power supply (no wall wart...hooray).

Manual has some translation errors and assumes you understand subtractive synthesis (i.e. no patch exmaples, etc.). It does explain the "hidden" MIDI features very well.

The Perfourmer is an odd beast, four single VCO monosynths coupled through the MIDI interface. It's best thought of as a multitimbral analog synth...use it as a 4 voice polysynth, a 4 VCO monosynth, 4 individual synths, whatever.

The MIDI implementation is simple but does the job: note on/off, pitch bend (+/- 3 semitones), mod wheel maps to filter cutoff and either wheel can be disabled if desired. No velocity, aftertouch, or CCs. This will be no loss to fans of old analog monosynths but will seem spartan to those raised in the MIDI era. The MIDI interface only responds to MIDI notes between C1 and C6, the normal span of a 61-key MIDI keyboard.

There is simple expansion possible via audio patch points on each of the four synths, one at the filter input and one after the VCA but prior to the pan pot and volume knob. These can be used as effect loops or to cross patch the synths into each other.

A preset playback sequencer allows tuning the synth or programming when no MIDI controller is connected, an odd but very useful feature (especially when in polyphonic mode).

Some people will find the lack of PWM a serious drawback.

With only one VCO and no HPF or BPF the sounds you can create from any of the four synths are quite basic though very fat. Forget emulation of real instruments, electronic sounds only. Expression via the keyboard is pretty limited without velocity, twisting knobs while playing is the only way to go (and there are 18 knobs per synth). I think the high quality of the sounds overrides the limitations so I gave it an 8.

It's well constructed of metal and has an internal power supply so I would trust it for gigs (though of course, try not to bash the knobs into brick walls, etc.). There's no software to hang or crash.

Vermona is in Germany but easily reached by email. They have been quick to answer my questions. Repair support is a question mark: shipping to Germany would be a major hassle and I don't know if US dealers can handle repair work or not.

I like the Perfourmer a LOT. It's totally unique in the marketplace so if lost or stolen I would try to get another one. It's a great adjunct to my digital workstation, giving me real analog and real knobs to control it. I don't think it's a good choice as your first or only synthesizer, though.

I really think it helps me make music, in fact this is where the simplicity is a real plus...less things to tweak makes it easier to dial in useful sounds.

I see it as a much better choice than buying an old analog monosynth for a number of reasons:

1. MIDI interface built in (no retrofit or outboard boxes required)
2. No issues in maintaining a 25-30 year old synth
3. Polyphonic!!!
4. FOUR monosynths in one box is great for sequencing
5. Rackmountable

Playing synths for 20 years, I've owned a wide variety of synths from classic analog (Odyssey, SH-101) through many digitals and even a modular. My current setup is just the Perfourmer MIDIed to a Motif ES workstation.

What I wish it had: more MIDI features would be nice (esp. velocity), multimode filter would be cool, too.

Extremely easy to use, i think the right word would be Intuitive! Can be configured as a huge 4 oscillator monosynth, 4 Osc polysynth, mixture of both or a 2 note poly duo with 2 Osc per note. All this is simply selected using a combination of a midi channel selector for each oscillator and a mode selector. Editing patches...Have you seen those knobs, just begging to be played with!

Given that it can play a max of 4 sounds on seperate midi channels at one time it is capable of performing a very wide variety of synthersizer duties. It's possible to have a bass, a 2 note chord and a noise/fx running all at once on seperate channels. Try doing all that with 4 old (real analogue) synth keyboards and this fits into a rack!! Not to mention the added bonus of modern reliability and better tuning stability. Unfortunately no velocity response, this would have been the icing on the cake for getting those vca accented slamming basslines although the glide control gets it sliding lovely! No fx, but i can tell you now you haven't heard fx until you've heard this thing in FM mode on evry channel with external audio fed into each channel! Hit record on the dat and just twist!!

I'm telling you, get one of these. This is not something i would not ever ever sell! Instrument for life, and that's not something that can be said for all those virtual analogues that ive bought recently(and sold) and are regularly seen on ebay as a newer and supposedely much improved model comes out 18 months later. As soon as i plugged this in for the first time i realised that from now on i will only buy analogue! Analogue just has prescence, no mathematic programming can achieve this!

Not one problem yet!
Maybe difficult to use a gig due to the individual oscillator tunings.

Haven't spoke yet.

Love it dearly!!

There is no software version. There are no presets. Editing Patches is easy - one knob per function - what a refreshing concept. Manual is simple and useful, as is the instrument itself.

The Perfourmer can be formatted as a monophonic, duophonic, or four-voice synth. It can also be used as a filterbank thru the use of the audio inputs. A sort of FM synthesis is also allowed for, but I haven't used it in this manner yet and as such probably shouldn't comment on that aspect of the instrument. There are no effects onboard, save those available thru traditional analog and digital synth techniques. No onboard sequencer or patch memories. MIDI functions are few and straightforward. Thus far I have used it solely for the synth engine, playing it with a 49-note controller. There is no pressure-sensitivity or aftertouch that I know of. I'm not certain but I don't think there is much, if anything, in the way of expansion capabilities. When one speaks of features in a synthesizer nowadays, I usually assume it's a reference to how close the instrument in question matches some dream schematic of an "everything box"; there are machines that aspire to that designation but this certainly not one of them. There are no drum samples (no samples at all, in fact), no sequencing, no 'groovebox'-type features, no digital waveforms, etc. Hence I will rate it low on features, but I should qualify this by noting that I don't think the Perfourmer was intended to be feature-laden. Instead, it's a bit of a throwback, albeit one that is quite refreshing in an era that finds multi-functionality often being deemed an acceptable substitute for a good-sounding instrument. Low on features, then, but only because it was designed to be simple and straightforward.

Well, it's an analog synthesizer; Realism in instrument imitation will most likely evade all but the most dogged of users. It makes incredile analog synthesizer sounds, however, which is a big endorsement. I can see this instrument being widely used for IDM, trance, rock, jazz, and general weirdness. Anyone who dabbles in analog synthesis should check this out. It is not an ideal performance instrument, as there are no patch memories and MIDI functionality is at a bare minimum; however, it is would be an ideal instrument for the home recordist or synth-tweaker, as there seems to be hours of pleasure within the knobs of this instrument. I'll give the PerFourmer a 9 for Sound Quality, because the range of sounds it makes is not as wide as, say, an Evolver; however, the sounds it does make are wonderful and extremely useful musically. It's kind of like a really good acoustic guitar -- it doesn't make a huge variety of sounds, but the sounds it does make are uniformly great.

The Perfourmer is made of solid metal (steel?)--It's been almost a year and it hasn't crapped out on my yet. I hope to keep it for a long time. I wouldn't use it on a gig, for the reasons outlined above, but if I did gig with it I am sure it would be dependable. The build quality is excellent and it seems to be rock-solid.

Haven't dealt with Vermona yet. Hopefully I won't have to.

With all the clamor for analog synthesizers on the vintage market, I'm surprised the PerFourmer isn't more widely known. I'm an analog freak and love vintage gear, but I have to say that this thing is much better than a lot of older gear. I'm a bit of a vintage synth nerd, and I feel confident that this thing will one day be much sought-after, even though it doesn't seem to be now. The instruments I have at my disposal include the following: Moog Prodigy, Moog Source, Korg PolySix, Univox MiniKorg, Korg DW8000, Korg Delta, Yamaha SK20, Yamaha YC-45D, ARP Quartet, Oberheim Matrix-1000, Yamaha DX200 & AN200, and DSI Evolver. As much as I love the older stuff, the only one that I think really gives the PerFourmer a run for its money in terms of sound quality and vibe is the Evolver. The Evolver does way more than the PerFourmer, and is much more flexible sonically and more useful performance-wise, yet I find myself drawn to the PerFourmer when I sit down to play, perhaps because of its simplicity and how easy it is to get good results from this machine. All of my older synths could get some of the sounds the PerFourmer can get, but none of them are as versatile as the PerFourmer in terms of voice assignment and overall flexibility. It's four monosynths in a box, and while the same is essentially true of the Evolver and the Mono/Poly, the PerFourmer has its own wonderful style and vibe.

There really is very little, if anything, that I know of on the current synth market that competes with the PerFourmer; it seems like a weird throwback, in a way. But I think it's a great instrument for people like me who like analog synthesis and are looking for a flexible, powerful, and freely configurable instrument but aren't ready yet to delve into the world of modular synths. For those of you who are considering the purchase of a Korg Mono/Poly from eBay, i suggest that you might want to check out the PerFourmer first. It's solid as a rock, really flexible, and sounds really, really great. It doesn't do everything, but what it does do it does very, very well. This instrument is aggressive, haunted, and ready for Compay Segundo. I love this thing.

NA (all hardware based)

4-voice polyphonic/monophonic with floating voice assignment not unlike that of the old Korg mono/poly.
Fully analog built with discrete compononents !
Very flexible midi implementation, but almost exclusively on midi-note info.
Can be used as 1,2,3 or 4 synths with stacking of VCO's and cascading of filters. Inserts and external audio inputs give this synth a semi-modular character. Can be fitted with CV/Gate input for each voice when ordered. This makes integration in any analog setup very easy.
I use mine in conjunction with a Doepfer A-100 modular system. Works great !
only a few cons:
-no PCM on VCO's
-combined footage/waveform switch jumps from 32 to 8 setting; 16 needs to be set with manual finetuning
-lettering of VCF EG depth is from 0-10 while it should be from -5 - +5
All in all a highly recommended machine. When looking for analog sound and flexibility, choose this instead of all that over-priced, hyped vintage gear with stability problems, lacking spare parts.
Rack mounting (5 HE) makes it also a spacesaver over keyboard based antiques.

Sounds warm and lively.
single VCO/VCF voicings are thick enough for lush polyphonic pads
independent stero panning and LFO's for each voice contribute greatly to spacious sounds
Stacking can make monster monophonic sounds when mixing 4 VCO's

has not let me down in the month that I own it now,
built like a rock

People at HDB audio are very friendly when discussing and ordering options. Instant replies on queries and rapid shipping

Well worth the money
Please consider this before jumping into the over-priced, over-hyped "analog" market for vintage machines.
Here is an alternative for a very attractive price:
-"Old" sound with modern & flexible midi options built in
-great price/performance ratio
-looks and feels great (I use color-coded custom knobs to improve recognition of all functions)
-Easy to have serviced or customized, if ever needed