John Bowen Solaris - A Quick Sample of Factory Presets

I received my Solaris synthesizer last week and put together this small sampling of some of the factory presets which barely scratch the surface of what this amazing synth is capable of. My apologies for the clipping in the first selection - audio was recorded from the headphone output into the stereo mic jack of my Canon T3i and you've got to have all the setting set real low. Hope you all enjoy and I'll follow up later with more Solaris vids showing all the different oscillator and filter types. So that means "SUBSCRIBE!"

[TXFRecords]

Every preset is an inspiration to warm and lush!!

[PureAmbientDrone]

Very close to classic Waldorf on many patches. This thing makes my Micro Q Phoenix blush.

[sdfletcher]

Every planetarium in the country is gonna want one!!

[danwentz]

Ah the one that got away! I had a chance but let it slip by mainly because the Voyage XL stole my heart back in 2010. No looking back but some interesting textures and ribbon usage, actually reminds me a little of the TI2. Nice work

[JackOasys]

beautiful demo, very well made. compliments! thankyou

[mikecorrao]

Sounds like a Roland JD-800 on some serious steroids. Awesome!

[Digiphex]

Those are beautiful sounds for ambient. Nice.

[neotropeusa]

Nice demo! And great job on getting better audio in there than on my vids which I was stuck doing with brand new never used Nikon DSLR and a very limited amount of time. One awesome sounding synth. Different from Nord or Kurzweil (I have both), and where it shines is in the Oberheim, Moog and Prophet models in sounding "really" analog with amazing sound clarity you don't hear in any of the video demos. Run the thing through a Lexicon (or UAD modeled version) and it's like heaven.

[modularben]

sounds amazing- wish it was not so bloody expensive and massive in size!

[nsjx]

OK, thanks for the response. Yes, I hold utmost interest for those future videos on the filter (of course) and OSC (and Wavetable) shapes BUT I'd love a demonstration of the routing potential AND what extent one can bend those onboard multi-stage envelopes. I'm sure you're in for many...many caffeine-filled late late nights. ;)

[zibbybone]

The Solaris is not about polyphony, effect or multi-timbral, but its sonic capabilities. Like most synths, there's a lot of cross-over as to their capabilities, but the Solaris has features, like rotors, that I have yet to see on any other synth. All of its real-time controls make it a very expressive synth to play. As I find time, I'll make vids demonstrating its different oscillators and filters.

I do think it was a bad move for JB to raise the price to $4500. I got mine @ original price.

[neotropeusa]

I have both the PC3K8, K2661 and Nord Lead 3 (among others). Selling most to buy house (ongoing). Sold the Solaris and will miss that one. I would buy another down the road. Sounds more organic than the Ti2, and higher bitrate than PC3K (you can hear it in the 'phones). Easier to program than the Kurzweils (yes, there is software for the K that works). But, nothing like knob twisting. For those who like to explore sound it's a true marvel.

[zibbybone]

Not trying to belittle or anything, but the Roland Junos (are good synths, but) are about as basic of a polysynth as they get. The Solaris gives you everything from the SCI Prophet 5, Prophet VS and PPG Wave, but much more. Until I make my next couple of videos of this synth, I recommend going to John Bowen's website to check out all the Solaris' specifications. Thanks for watching and be sure to subscribe to be notified of new videos - I bet I've got other toys you'd like better.

[twzstudio]

There is a bit of clipping on some of the examples, which I can't tell if that is internal to the synth, which is a bit of a problem with the prophet 08 & 12, or if it is the recording of the sounds that are clipping. It is hard to gauge the sound of the filter(s) from this demo, but it does seem to be quite versatile and very well built.

[javiceres]

This synth is supposed to model each of the components of the analog signal path down to levels that no other hardware synth does, like the harmonic distortion in each of the stages that forms the filter and the way they interact. The way the constraints of old analog circuits affect to the behaviour of the current flowing through them, specially when pushed. For such tasks, fine programming and intensive DSP use is required, thus the NEED for 96khz...etc, VS pcm playback and standard VA modeling

[seppoinnanen]

2.53. I had to run to my 2box el drumkit and do some drumming on this Arp :) Great sounds in this synth, who cares if the source is analog or digital

[nutelina]

What is the resolution of the pots? Just standard 128 (MIDI) steps? I always found that too low... too crude

[Mocuischalom]

i heard and learn about this synth, but how put an external power supply on a synth at 3500 euros

[jimghivizzani]

Nice demo! I'm thinking about getting one. Your demo is making my decision an easy one.

[Cluless]

Is this thing carbon based?? Stellar sound quality and classy design.