Blackpole Station Polyphonic Synthesizer in the shop

[joeyluck]

Blackpole Station Polyphonic Synthesizer by turn2on



$19
https://shop.propellerheads.se/product/ ... nthesizer/

GUI looks great!

[decibel]

nice price, wonder what the presets will sound like ?

[jonheal]

... GUI looks great!

I don't like being critical of design because I know EXACTLY how difficult it is. But I am going to throw this out there as a general design comment for all developers. In this particular case, I think the design would have benefited from a larger panel.

Many RE developers try to cram far too many controls and labels into too little space.

[joeyluck]

... GUI looks great!

I don't like being critical of design because I know EXACTLY how difficult it is. But I am going to throw this out there as a general design comment for all developers. In this particular case, I think the design would have benefited from a larger panel.

Many RE developers try to cram far too many controls and labels into too little space.

True. I could see it being a little bigger. But I do appreciate a device that doesn't take up too much screen real estate.
At least the layout is easy to comprehend. Some issues here might be shadows and screen glare more than anything else for me.
This here is actually a jpeg, so perhaps the actual device in the rack is a bit sharper as well.

[pjeudy]

I'm away from my computer right now but if the developer turn2on is reading this thread.....let me say that you have nailed the GUI ! It looks very organized, clean and professional ...... just by the look of it I want to test it out.. *see how powerful a good design can be*

[esselfortium]

I think the GUI looks nice as-is! Compact but not cluttered, and definitely stylish.

One little nitpick is that "LFO's" on the back should simply read "LFOs". Apostrophes aren't used for plurals!

[Alkua]

Look good, the price is good, and also bring built in FXs.

[pjeudy]

Im sorry but this looks really cool ...!!!

[Grumbleweed]

As Rack Extensions are not transferable and are registered to a specific user, isn't the Kensington Lock a little superfluous? If it was stolen it wouldn't work anyway.
Also, can you use rechargeable batteries? I know some manufacturers insist on standard ones. Will it lose its presets if the backup battery expires?

Grum.

[jonheal]

Well, I withdraw my design critique. I don't want to be stick in the mud.

[selig]

... GUI looks great!

I don't like being critical of design because I know EXACTLY how difficult it is. But I am going to throw this out there as a general design comment for all developers. In this particular case, I think the design would have benefited from a larger panel.

Many RE developers try to cram far too many controls and labels into too little space.

They could take that approach, even just adding one more rack unit of space, which I agree would help it relax a bit (especially in the lower section) though as others have said it's not so bad (no one is trying to win design awards here, right?).

But almost everything can be improved when you start getting critical, so just for fun (putting on my "reviewer hat"): my only thoughts on the GUI would be concerning the different types of knobs used for no obvious reason (in the FX and Distortion sections), as well as the density of text and controls in the lower half of the device. Compared to the top half, which is clean and open, it stands out a bit to me. But indeed we are splitting hairs here as the overall first impression is quite "Roland" like IMO (when you ignore the issues I've mentioned), and makes me want to dig in an mess around with it right away. And for a synth, that is ALWAYS a good thing.

Can't wait to hear it!

[dvdrtldg]

Looks like a good bread & butter synth, CV ins/outs would be nice but for $19 it's hard to complain

[Exowildebeest]

CV ins/outs would be nice

IDT.

I'm not too impressed by generic IDT synths like these - I'd rather see a really cool multisampled acoustic instrument or something like the upcoming Ambi Nature.

[Majestik Monkey]

1/ Distortion sounds Muddy , Does not lend a Warm or Hot character with the "SAW'S" Which sound Phatt as F*CK
2/ There's No Pulse width ? ughhh
3/ Osc's . . . Why no LFO to Filter ?
4/ EQ Band 1 2 & 3 Freq & Width ,,, Not convincing as an EQ or EQ Curve !
5/ Ring Mod , No 1 & 2 Osc Sum ....
6/ This isn't a Blackpole put down just merely personal observations , So i am not Ducking for anyone I do like the Synth as it stands & can hear Huge Potential will be Hitting the Buy Button .... Just plain Talk something dearly missed these days ........

[Nirude]

just a visual thing, haven't heard it:
looks very nice - i would have loved to render it.

[Skrock]

Cool look, will try now!

[gak]

As Rack Extensions are not transferable and are registered to a specific user, isn't the Kensington Lock a little superfluous? If it was stolen it wouldn't work anyway.
Also, can you use rechargeable batteries? I know some manufacturers insist on standard ones. Will it lose its presets if the backup battery expires?

Grum.

You can't use rechargeable batteries. You must by special batteries only compatible with this synth.

@Synth: I hope it's not one of those really hoggy things like the mixfood. But looks terrific and has the right price. Which reminds me, I need to get that 9 buck bass synth as there are some very useful things and my demo is about to expire (and I've used it in projects)

[Massimo]

WOW!

[Alveek]

Looks nice, best price, but too small and not better Thor.
Look in Reason

[Dance FX 21]

Great sounds with the presets. Getting through the functions ATM.

Sent from my SM-A500FU using Tapatalk

[chimp_spanner]

Not in a position to try it out just yet - but I wanna join everyone in saying the dev has really up'd the quality of the GUI from Meteora. So well done!

[pedrocaetanos]

Although I agree that it's a bit of of an overcrowded GUI, overall it's a winner.
Really good looking, raises the bar.
And the price... what can I say?
Still haven't tested, so cannot comment the sound.
For a future update, I would vote for increasing the height just a bit, giving more room to all the controls to "breathe" a little.

[Juan Rosa]

Really great look, but the sound... ups! not!

[AJ_3000]

Worth demoing at this price.

The IDT format is presumably why no PWM is possible? Sorry if this is off topic, but may I ask are there any other features IDT makes difficult in general? I am thinking maybe osc sync is one? It doesn't seem reasonable to criticize a developer for inherent limitations in the format so I would like to understand the restrictions, to have realistic expectations when considering an IDT instrument. As there seem to be a few lower cost devices appearing are they less involved when it comes to development (i am not suggesting for a minute they are an easy option here!)?

Personally, I find some of the display difficult to read but with practice navigating any GUI becomes easy , so I would not be put off. I think I find light text /dark background tricky in any context. Probably my advanced years .

[selig]

Worth demoing at this price.

The IDT format is presumably why no PWM is possible? Sorry if this is off topic, but may I ask are there any other features IDT makes difficult in general? I am thinking maybe osc sync is one? It doesn't seem reasonable to criticize a developer for inherent limitations in the format so I would like to understand the restrictions, to have realistic expectations when considering an IDT instrument. As there seem to be a few lower cost devices appearing are they less involved when it comes to development (i am not suggesting for a minute they are an easy option here!)?

Personally, I find some of the display difficult to read but with practice navigating any GUI becomes easy , so I would not be put off. I think I find light text /dark background tricky in any context. Probably my advanced years .

I'm not sure it's safe to say pulse width modulation isn't possible with IDT - done as a wave table process it would be quite simple to pull off IMO. Osc Sync is also possible - can only say I've seen it addressed (not by me) but can't say more.