ASM Hydrasynth Digital Wave Morphing Synthesizer Audio Demo

Gear4music shared this hands-on demo of some of the sonic possibilities of the new ASM Hydrasynth.

The Hydrasynth is a new hardware synth that features deep and flexible sound engine combined with rarely seen performance controls, including polyphonic aftertouch and a four-octave ribbon controller.

The 23-minute talk-free video demo features a wide range of sounds, including traditional keyboard sounds, synth pads that show off the Hydrasynth’s polyphonic aftertouch, percussive sounds, leads and more.

18 thoughts on “ASM Hydrasynth Digital Wave Morphing Synthesizer Audio Demo

  1. I understand what you mean about the 4 octaves. It was hard for me to leave 88 piano keys for 61 plastic ones (or less) on synths, but I got over it, heh. They’re two different worlds and this synth is a third. With poly AT and a ribbon, its not just a synth, its a performance instrument. That’s a new-ish market thing at this level of expressiveness. IMO, 4 octaves is plenty for wavetable use. The nature of the method sounds best within that range. There are exceptions, because its the synth world, but it seems to work out that way a lot.

      1. I know what you mean .. I have an old Roland RD-700gx laying around for when Iā€™m feeling heavy footed (darn thing has a heavier action than my actual Steinway M lol)

  2. Wow. I’m surprised. I actually don’t like it. Thought I would love it. Amazing on paper, but my ears say “meh”. There are a few gee-whiz sounds in there, but delicious stuff that would help me with a track? Only a couple. That’s the trouble with most synth demos. They’re nowhere near how I would actually use it and I guess I’m becoming immune to being dazzled by impressive presets that I would never actually use. I bet these will be $350 used in 18-36 months. Might be a harsh take. There are a couple of good sounds. Some nice controls. Doesn’t sound better than a bunch of plugins I could name, though.

    1. Not everyone is looking for synth sounds that ā€œhelp them with a trackā€. There are plenty of synths for that.

    2. Itā€™s all about the looks man .. does it have cool looking knobs .. lights .. does it look cool with all the other gear, etc. These days if I need to work I grab an iPad and sit in the studio looking at all the hardware synths for visual inspiration and memories šŸ˜‰

  3. The last wavetable synth I had was an ancient, much-loved Korg DW8000 (a whopping 16 rather similar waves) and I don’t really need a new keyboard, so I bought Arturia’s Pigments. I’m surprised at how easy it is to take the edges off and get some huge sounds going. It has a VA engine, but the wavetables alone are impressive. Don’t write the method off too casually. Its partly turning into the new sampling arena.

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