Ensnoreyou,

We may as well drop this subject, since all we have to go on is opinions (especially in your case), and they are, at the best, very subjective.

Your Wersi can have all the synthesis capability available but since the only way to convince myself and others that it is as impressive as you say it is, would be to let us hear it, and since that will not be forthcoming, let's just leave it at that and move away from this unfair comparison. I know you'll be relieved.

It's like telling us you are an excellent singer, but never letting us hear you sing...it's not that we wouldn't believe you, but sharing a recording of your vocal capabilities would go a long way towards establishing your credibility.

As of now, we only have your opinion on the Wersi, and although you may believe what you are saying, very few of us have heard the instrument and have no idea how well it manages various synth sounds, or arranger duties, for that matter.

By the way, what model Wersi arranger do you have, and if we were to buy a similar instrument today, what would be the approximate list price, including the synth additions?


Ian

Hi Ian

Although the Abacus can be used as an arranger, it is actually part of the organ range.

The Synth sound pack however is also available for the Pegasus Wing Arranger and combined the cost is €2732 including 20% VAT (The tax is ridicules over this side of the pond)

The Synth Pack on its own is €120 including Tax

NOTE: All World of Sound Packs include sounds and pre-sets, however they DO NOT include styles, (The number of sounds in the Synth pack is 256) however the Famous Name Add-on Packs include everything.

Hope this helps

Bill

So its an opinion not a fact that the Tyros 4 doesn't have synthesis capability? Even Yamaha isn't foolish enough to claim that it does.

This isn't about my Wersi, I merely said the Wersi has synthesis capability, several types. Whether you think those synthesis engines are good or not is your opinion. Next to my vintage analogs the Wersi synth sounds very close. Not quite as dirty sounding as I'd like but very fat and warm. The advantage is of course being able to use various synth engines at one time and still having enough polyphony to play big chords

By the way.... I have an Abacus Duo Pro 25. The Abacus can be taken out by itself without the 76 note lower keyboard making it more portable. It weighs about as much as my Oasys did, maybe a few pounds more. If you're use to hauling around a plastic toy then the Abacus isn't for the faint or weak of heart.

As to cost... I have no idea what the current Abacus Pro version costs. I paid less for it than my Oasys, not much more than most people are paying for a Tyros 4.

Thank you kindly, Bill, for the information. Can you tell me what the Abacus would cost in today's dollars, with the available synth pack.

I can only assume that Ensnareyou has an Abacus from your post, so it is basically an organ and probably not easily portable.

I would really love to hear the Wersi's synth sounds regardless of it's place in the Wersi line-up, as I am a bit of a synth enthusiast myself, having had experience owning and/or playing Memorymoog, Polymoog, Mini-Moog, Oberheim Matrix-12 (which is in a friend's studio and owned by him) and still in the possession of a mint condition Jupiter 8 and a little monophonic Yamaha CS-01 (which actually has the same oscillator as the big CS-80!).

That's probably why I took to the Tyros4 so readily, as it has quite a few more synth/pad voices than the previous Tyros, the PC Editor is brilliant, and the sound is very much in the vein of the Motif, but for some reason, sounds (to my ears anyway)_more detailed and warm, although you can get edgy and cool if you wish.

Many are big evolving patches that I've only heard on digital/analog hybrids, and are pretty hard to get on a strictly analog synth like my JP-8, and, of course, listening to Telmo, there are a lot of cool patches available through Yamaha.

Much of my earlier work, back in the day (when dinosaurs ruled the earth ), was in radio, doing segues and ad "donuts" (music before and after a commercial or news show) and I sure wish I had the sounds (and the power) of an instrument like the Tyros4, or it's closest equivalent, a Korg PA3X. Having styles would have been a real boon for some types of recordings, so that's why I touched on the Wersi's arranger capabilities in my earlier post.

Again, thanks for the clarification. I searched YouTube for any Wersi arranger synth demos, but didn't fare so well.

Do you have any links that might be useful?

Ian

Really? The following earlier quote from you clearly indicates that it is about your Wersi.



But, as I said earlier, there's not much point in carrying this any further since you appear to be unwilling to back up your statement above...until then, it is just your opinion, and nothing more, and I'm afraid that doesn't quite cut it for me.

Ian

Ian,

The Wersi synth engines are Sonic Core plugs and utilize the SG12 card to run. If you go to Sonic Cores web site and check out the Minimax, Profit 5. Vectron, Modular 3, Prodyssey, and others, you'll hear what the Wersi synth sounds are like. John Bowen designed many of the plugs for Sonic Core and spent years refining them to be as close to the original as an emulation can be.

The next generation Wersi instruments supposedly no longer use the SG12 card so I'm not sure how they are running the various synth engines. I'm sure they must have a custom DSP to run the programs, I just don't know which one. Producing sounds of this nature takes a lot of horsepower which is why the SG12 card is in the Wersi. The SG12 is a multi DSP FPGA.

Hi Ian

The Abacus is no longer available on its own, only in its organ guise as seen here and with the Synth pack costs about €12800 including Tax.

It is used by a lot of players in Europe as it breaks down into sections however the main unit weighs about 100 lbs. (It’s made out of Wood, Fibre & Steel) so is normally carried around in a wheeled case.

Most European players use synth sounds in combination with normal sounds, which is how you get the European Sound.

Don’t know of any synth demos on their own (I don’t have the synth pack so can’t help) but there is some articles here which explains the pack and includes some demos, although as he says in the write up, he does not know the first thing about synths.

The main thing you will notice is the full richer sound of the Wersi voices demonstrated compared to the more flatter less involving T4 sounds, as to which is the best has little relevance, as some will like one whereas other will prefer the other.

Hope this helps

Bill

I suppose you're right, Bill...some will like one whereas others will prefer the other. Sounds are very personal and highly subjective.

To my ears the Tyros4 has a much more impressive and detailed sound, even without any extra packs and it's instrument emulations (especially SA/SA2) are second to none, in my opinion, of course....I'm aware the Wersi has more appeal to you, and it sounds pretty darn good, however it doesn't seem to be an instrument I'd like to live with, and listen to, every day. Basically, the overall sound is dated...good, but dated.

Of course, that's why I use a Tyros4, and you don't.

Perhaps, if we had a dealer within a reasonable distance, and I could actually spend some quality time with the instruments (I come from an organ background)I may grow to like the Wersi sound more than I do at present.

It's great to have choices and it's nice to see that we've both found what we wanted.

Ian

Whoops I am out of here!!! BOOOOOOOOOM In the name of love!!!

Hi Ian

I have been using computers for music for years and VST since they first came out, and I have yet to find any hardware that comes close (Although the Kurzweil is one hell of an instrument) however you are always isolated away as cables all over the place don’t go down well in the lounge, the Wersi however allows me to use everything in one unit (Yes in the lounge) hence the reason I have one.

If a hardware arranger came out that had what the pro studio and film produces use then that would be something, but until then I will stick with the Wersi.

A lot of the time I am out listening to live music anyway, and while you can see some impressive keyboard demos, in most cases they pale compared to the real deal.

Bill