MusicMesse 2018: This video, via Synth Anatomy, offers a sneak preview and audio demo of the new Exodus Digital Valkyrie synthesizer.
The Valkyrie is designed to be a high-end virtual analog, with 128-voice performance, 8 independent parts, a nine-module effects unit and 10 oscillators/voice.
Pricing and Availability
Details are still to be announced.
Sounds pretty neat. I hope Uli will consider tmaking a clone of this beast. Design of case is quite ugly though. They replicated Virus by knobs and buttons and could just continue stealing Virus’s case shape…
I agree, why make it look like a Virus? Must be taking advantage of the fact that Access hasn’t released #!*T. What a waste.
That case is a deal breaker, the grey part is nice, though the white strips and orange sides are hideous…
The colors shouldn’t be an issue, but the space it takes up is an issue. Why all that extra, blank space above and below the actual interface?
Synth sounds good, though.
No disrespect, but I find it really hard to imagine reject a synth based what color it is. I guess my first priority is sound, my second priority is flexibility, my third priority is durability, my fourth priority is portability, my fifth priority is whether the company are decent people (a company that is terrible to its employees and the environment would be a deal breaker), color is not on the list.
But yea, different people have different priorities, so you can pass on what could be your dream instrument just because you don’t like the end cheeks.
I was idly thinking that the huge number of oscillators was overkill, but they seem to be used well, without any weird overtones or phase cancellations. I wonder what that part of the programming structure looks like? I seriously appreciate the non-EDM moments, too. There are some nice neo-pianos and and strings in it, so I look forward to seeing Nick Batt get to it. I’ll bet it isn’t cheap, but OTOH, it doesn’t come across as cut-cornered, either.
It seems that changing a patch abruptly cuts off any notes already playing. Surely with the number of voices available that’s not necessary?
I noticed that too. Seems odd for a synth with that many voices.
Perhaps it’s patented by Korg?
It’s not just about the voices, there’s also the effects. I know some synths can deal with that, not sure how, though.
Oh. You’re joking, I get it now.
At first I thought someone had put an Access Virus in a new chassis.
What an ugly looking synth. It’s a nice looking grey synth stuck inside an ugly white plastic looking case.
Agree with all the comments here. They should put this synth in a better case and preferably more one-knobs-per-functions… aesthetic is (at least for me) a big part of what gives me inspiration to use a synth. Call it stupid or ignorant or whatever, but it’s just a fact. If I dislike the looks of something, I wont feel compelled to use it. Also those buttons don’t look like they sit neatly in their sockets, some gaps are bigger than others.. doesn’t really show off quality.
Wow no offense but IMHO these sounds were shrill and mediocre to my ears, nothing I heard would make me buy this. Again, JMO but based on this demo, sounds pretty much sucked and yeah the thing is ugly looking as well.
Don’t judge a synth by a YT video. Did you set quality to 1080p ? 720 and lower suck. Can’t understand why audio gets the same compression treatment the video signal gets. Audio should always be full quality these days.
Where’s the bass?
There were a couple bass patches with adequate representation down there. But they sure weren’t giving us much in the way of examples, were they?
…It’s kinda funny how this thread has centered around the look of this thing… I think it sounds good. But if we’re gonna: what bothers me is the contrast between the 80’s space warrior logo and the sterile hospital-esque heart monitor control surface. Pick one. And while on he subject of ugly synths- The Behringer Neutron is the ugliest synth released since I’ve been paying attention (5yrs?) which is a shame because it’s cheap and sounds great. Also the Waldorf Wave is the ugliest synth I’ve ever seen. Maybe I just needed to say that out loud. It sounds petty, but if the physicality of a synth didn’t matter we’d all be playing VST’s and there’s be no synth market. So it actually does matter.
The keys sound good, but I’m not hearing anything extraordinary or any defining quality unique to this synth. I’d rather have any Waldorf or Access Virus over this. They have way more character.
why is there no multitimbral novation peak on the market? i read somewhere that peak is omnispehre in hardware. i want a 16-part multitimbral peak with 128-part polyphony, a big display and keys for 3 grands. i´d buy that one over the montage. novation has to deliver.
Is that a hand rest on a synth?
Nice to see a new take on digital synthesis, albeit VA. Perhaps a revisit of physical modelling would have been more exciting?
I agree that the Virus can do the same string and lead sounds. Where this seems to differ from the older B Virus is that it has wavetables rather than a collection of single cycle waveforms stuck together. You wouldn’t be able to create the acoustic piano sound he achieves on the Valkyrie with an old Virus. Nor would I want to, but I think this patch indicates that in some ways the Waldorf Blofeld might be a better comparison and personally I’d be happier with a Blofeld and a multi-fx unit. The Blofeld, for all its flaws is a great synth.
There is some harsh distortion creeping in on the demos, something also shared by the Virus 🙂
I agree Blofeld sounds better than this and these days is significantly cheaper too.
This synth seems to have a really nice smoothness to it.