Minimal Wave Records

Opinions on the Dave Smith Evolver? I was thinking of getting one. Do you think it can produce authentic sounds for minimal synth/wave music? I know it is new, but it was made by the synth pioneer and master Dave Smith.

A friend was trying to sell me one of these a few months ago.  Supposedly its all analog circuitry, so in theory you could get the vintage sounds out of it.  However, its always doubtful as to how accurately a new piece of gear will emulate an old piece of gear.  I would say that if you can get one cheap enough you would probably get use out of it, but a Moog is a Moog and a Korg is a Korg.  A Dave Smith is not a Sequential Circuits, but it would probably come close.

i know someone with a mono-evolver, and it sounds fantastic. can easily produce “authentic” minimal synth. but really, like any synth, you should definitely try one out on your own to make sure you enjoy the sound and esp. the interface.
oh and all the evolver synths are half analog, half digital, only the prophet stuff is all analog.

i disagree on the “authentic” sound.  the circuitry in the evolvers are a little over-engineered to really get there - like the sound is too precise due to the specs of the surface mount components inside. 

amazing modulation routing and sequencing built-in, but i think its probably better to try new things with than to spend all day tweaking it to try and get a sound you would have right out of an SH09 for the same price or cheaper.  a new genre will probably arrive from the evolver like acid came from 303 abuse?  lets hope at least.

i suppose only hearing it through a 60s tube guitar amp colored my impressions a bit.

Thanks

Excellent advice, thank you all. I will definitely aim to have a go on it first. It sounds like the right balance, being ‘close enough’ to the old sound but capable of something different. Bring on the new genre!

I bought one

Ok so I went to the music shop and tried one - fell in love and bought it on the spot. It is great. It has both digital and analogue oscillators, but you can choose to run only analogue ones, and it sounds as analogue as you could hope for (I think, coming from Dave Smith, it had to sound good).

Currently making stuff with it every day, my wife is jealous and calls it my ‘mistress’

Hello
My friend own 2 Dave Smith evolver one evo keyboard and one evo module .
For my par i really like it. This is a very good synth, warm and very powerful with his 4 track sequencer. This will do the job to emulate any vintage synth sound. I will buy one as soon as i can. I also have a Moog Little Phatty and this one have a very deep analogue sound. Recommended. 
:o

le docteur est la!

What I know is that Dave Smith’s latest Prophet is AMAZING!

Recently I went to try a Mini Moog Voyager that is a true beauty but Dave Smith’s Prophet had all I wanted plus amazing fat sound. A brilliant synth and much cheaper than the moog. It was 2000 euro,the moog was over 3000 here in Athens,Greece.