Sonicware LIVEN Mega Synthesis

Servizio Thomann impeccabile, merce arrivata in 3 giorni in Italia, mi hanno stupito per la celerità e l'attenzione all'imballaggio. Il Sonicware LIVEN mega synthesis è qualcosa di pauroso, ha tantissimi effetti e suoni, lo si può usare anche come sintetizzatore suonando la sua tastiera, ma da il meglio di sé con l'aggiunta di bassi e batterie alla traccia. Ci sono 6 tracce per comporre una canzone, ognuna ha la sua funzione, dal lead alla batteria. Ogni suono è tweakabile, onde quadre, sinusoidali, attacco, velocità, potete fare qualunque cosa con questa meraviglia! Arriva già con 7 canzoni pre registrate di 3 maestri delle colonne sonore del mega drive e potete sbizzarrirvi pure con queste se volete! La funzione che amo di più è la modalità portatile, bastano 6 pile AA e potete, grazie all'altoparlante integrato, portarvelo dove vi pare per comporre la nuova colonna sonora che avete in mente! Se siete amanti dei videogiochi, dei sintetizzatori o se volete avere uno strumento portatile con il quale divertirvi il mega synthesis fa per voi, ha anche midi in e out, quindi potrete sia collegarlo al PC tramite cavo apposito che entrare con il vostro strumento con uscita midi, io lo uso con la chitarra elettrica con midi in e out dell'ampli katana mk2 artist! Vale 273 euro? SI!

Simply put, this thing is built for fun! Its case is made entirely of plastic, so it can feel a little bit of a toy at first. But the sounds? Ohh boy, you are in for a ride! If you have been loonking for that retro game sound, look no further! Anything, but a toy. It really feels like a gaming console, when it comes to the audio it outputs.

There is a little bit of a learning curve, but thanks to the plethora of resources on how to handle this groovebox, you will be set in no time. The connectivity of this thing is what you expect as well. Easy to control with any external midi device. Heck, I have even experimented controlling this groovebox with my windsynth (AE-30), and have had a lot of fun! Naturally, it works like a charm with something more traditional (read: boring!) like a keyboard.

The best part is that because it comes with a built-in speaker, you can just sit on the sofa while dishing out mad grooves; requiring zero setup! Sure, the speaker is of low quality, but in this case, it just adds to the overall charm! But do not get me wrong, once you plug in headphones, you will be blown away by the sounds. And the price? I would syanit could be higher, and I would not question it. The bang for your buck is loud!

While the patches that come out of the box are just 🤌, the sound crafting capabilities of this groovebox are endless. There is a much greater learning curve to handle the synths, but even a rookie like me can come up with something passable with relatively low effort.

This is an all-comprehensive music-making contraption that is very much self-contained, but plays also nice with other friends. I recommend this groovebox to anyone who loves those old-school, Sega Genesis -era sounds. You will instantly fall in love with the sounds this thing makes!

Podobno ograniczone możliwości wyzwalają kreatywność i w zasadzie taki jest właśnie ten instrument.
1) Posiada 6 ścieżek, niestety w praktyce dwie grupy ścieżek [(1,2,3) ; (4,5)] współdzielą polifonię i po wykorzystaniu puli dźwięków przez grupy np.: 1 bądź 4 dźwięki z grup 2,3 lub 5 nie są już odtwarzane. To trochę podcina skrzydła wyobraźni kompozytora ;)

2) W moim egzemplarzu w tyybie HATCH pokrętło wyboru nie potrafi czasem wrócić do zapamiętanej pozycji (np. -10 dla attack) i wymaga wyłączenia trybu HATCH i ew. ponownego aktywowania.
Sporadycznie po odpuszczeniu klawisza dźwięk nadal jest generowany.

3) Od 2024 roku nie pojawił się żaden update, nic nie sostało poprawione ani dodane. Zastanawiam się, czy projekt został porzucony ? Jaka jest polityka SonicWare, fire&forget ?

Podsumowując : fajne urządzenie o ograniczonych możliwościach, przed zakupem wypada się zastanowić czy nie lepiej dozbierać do czegoś z większymi możliwościami, bo w syntezatory w tym przedziale cenowym to raczej mocny kompromis.