Super 6 - UDO Audio Polysynth review

[@anthonyk5496]

3:48 "Plenty of low end coming in from the south, showers of white noise expected tuesday, increasing resonance into the afternoon"

[@johnnymartin4688]

Best review of this unit by far and I've watched about 50 of them today. Well done!

[@CO5MA]

Great presentation! I do love my Super 6 ❤️

[@Psychlist1972]

FPGA is a way of creating a custom digital circuit by using software tools. When on the device, it's no longer code, but is instead a bunch of on-chip digital hardware (various types of gates, etc. and sometimes specialized cores). It's not magical, but it does let you run at hardware speeds, which can be good for this type of use. It's field-programmable (the FP in FPGA) so there can be, in theory, updates to the circuit after it has been delivered.

[@nickjones5641]

I was skeptical at first, but man it sounds so good. Can’t wait to see what UDO make next

[@kisho2679]

Why is FPGA better than traditional DSP?

[@kisho2679]

maybe a modern looking hardware design style ;-)

[@kisho2679]

@Donal Finn yes, that i konw; but wat's so better with FPGA rather than DSP?

[@Psychlist1972]

@Donal Finn You can have digital without code. Digital just means discrete logic values rather than continuous voltages. For example: the original Yamaha FM chips, are definitely digital, but aren't executing anything we'd call "code". The difference is, regular code is a set of instructions that are stored in memory and evaluated by a processor at runtime. In a simplified sense, FPGA is more a set of logic gates (and/or/not/etc.) that signals are sent between at runtime. It's configured, rather than programmed. It can also do much more in parallel as you dedicate different blocks to perform parallel tasks (like reading input). One is not necessarily better than the other (and neither of them have a "sound"). But the FPGA is more of a hardware solution once the initial work is done vs DSP chip which is a normal code-running processor with specialized functions for signal processing. I think this quote from Sparkfun (posting the link will get the comment moderated, so look up "sparkfun how does an FPGA work" for more info) is helpful: "However, FPGAs can be far more efficient in terms of processing time as well as offering very tight timing. To illustrate this, let’s look at a trivial example of turning an LED on when you press a button. If you wrote code to do this with something like an Arduino, the processor would run a small loop of code that would read the state of a pin then update the state of another pin based on that value. If you optimized the code you could probably get this to update in the millions of times per second. That may sound great but let’s look at what it would look like with an FPGA. In the case of simply connecting a button to an LED with an FPGA, you simply connect the button and the LED. The value from the button passes through some input buffer, is fed through the routing matrix, then output through an output buffer. This process happens continuously all the time. The only delay comes from the switching delays of the transistors in the chip, which are incredibly small."

[@HiLoMusic]

As an UDO owner I’ve been actively looking at your page every day for this, because I love mine more than I’ve ever loved a synth

[@LocaliLLocano]

Andrew M I’d you get the blue or the black one ? How long was the wait to get yours ?

[@Claidheambmor]

I'm super jealous

[@HiLoMusic]

@@LocaliLLocano I initially got the black because damn it looked sleek, but I cancelled the preorder halfway through 2020 because I was anxious about it never coming to the states (which it hasn't) over that time I felt like I regretted not getting the more fun color, blue, so when I ordered via a small overseas music store, I got it in blue :) It arrived a week later, I've owned it for about two months now!

[@LocaliLLocano]

Andrew M hey Andrew did you get it at gear4music? Are you from the states ? How long was the ship time? I like the blue too. It reminds me of a Jupiter 6 and a sporty g shock watch.

[@HiLoMusic]

@@LocaliLLocano I acquired mine at funkyjunk from the UK - spent 200 on shipping but got it much much earlier.

[@JorbLovesGear]

I try my best to resist gawking over newly released gear, but *wow* This is the sort of thing I hoped would come from this new era of synth design, keep the style and sounds of the vintage gear that inspires, and the features and flexibility available with modern tech. I'll be scheming about this one for awhile.

[@HiLoMusic]

Gassing for things is a real issue, but I promise you, this is entirely different. This is just a good-ass product.

[@ansgarseelen9391]

Resistance is useless... test it and keep it. You will🙂 i had no chance to test it before buy, so I bought it blind, only bAsed on youtube reviews. I was not disappointed one second - but am still overwhelmed. Greatful that i picked one.

[@rodrigolaporte274]

Whooooa I've been waiting for this review!!!! what an amazing instrument

[@mongoosecollector]

Great review as always Nick. Been following the evolution of this beast for some years now and loved my first hands-on with it at Synthfest last year. Mine is now finally on her way and will be with me this Friday.... can't wait ;-)

[@caseybeach3935]

How do you like it?

[@quadrod]

Talking Heads BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE

[@guysmiley7289]

yeah, I think he is missing chorus or something

[@grizcuz]

That was bugging me, thanks.

[@guysmiley7289]

Burning down the house! My house, is out of the ordinary. That's right, don't want to hurt nobody..

[@inthefade]

THREE-HUN-DRED-SIX-TY-FIVE-DEGREES!

[@guysmiley7289]

@BC J BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE!

[@devinbelangermusic]

My Novation Summit is giving me dirty looks for watching this...

[@abhayasky]

i was thinking the same thing XD

[@SuchaDoofus]

@@abhayasky What are the chances?

[@rg2027x]

My ob-xa just waltzed over, hugged me and said "hello"

[@NatLifeSounds]

I didn't blieve in warm power of Digital Oscillators until i'm not found it in Peak, but now the new reality of warm sounds comes even more from this, impressive

[@pietruh13pl]

I would love to see this in module tbh

[@mpmi7588]

i agree.

[@massimosantantonio4594]

@@mpmi7588 +1

[@grizcuz]

This is one of the few times where if I didn't know, I'd have thought this was a fully analogue poly synth. It has all the character and warmth of analogue, but with the top end glassiness and shimmer of digital. The best of both worlds in my opinion.

[@auralplex]

Yes

[@ansgarseelen9391]

Owning it for a couple of weeks, i can inly agree to Nicks opinion - it will never ever leave my setup. Best buy in decades for me. Definitely an instrument of character- intuitive like Juno, so beefy as Moog, versatile: decent warm if you want - or aggressive. A wonderful sounding modern classic. With great haptics too, solid in every way. Soundwise and buildwise 🙂 thanks for the review. It nailed my experience.

[@Handheldsounds]

Totally I agree. It was love at first sight and it's the Poly I've always wanted.

[@alancurrall]

Lot of competition out there right now, but this is the best sounding poly I've heard demoed. Thanks Nick.

[@johnhurd3257]

Me too!

[@econogate]

Your reviews are so comprehensive, thank you very much for all you do over the years, I really appreciate it. 7:55 Burning Down the House!!!! This synth does look like it burns down the house indeed!!!

[@mattypaxton]

Hi Nick, nice review. Looking forward to seeing it in person :) Would love to see some use of the External in/Envelope follower and the Hi-Pass filter. Lovely sounds!

[@travisbacon3651]

You should use this beauty on one of your Friday Fun Synth Jams. Thanks for this and all you do!

[@seppoinnanen5577]

This is the best synth channel. Thanks!

[@CaidicusProductions]

Good God, what an amazing sounding synth. thanks for the review!

[@CaidicusProductions]

I love the button choice they went with on this synth. Those are my favourite kind of buttons.

[@ednasdiscomachine6049]

Sounds HUGE. Best demo of it I've heard.

[@sssyntax]

Great video and I love how this synth not only looks and sounds great but it doesn't have a screen. For me, that makes it feel like something from back in the fay only it's brand new. Well done UDO!

[@CobyComputer]

12:00 geez so good turn this into a hit please!!

[@artisan002]

Good god. I seriously love the sound this thing makes. I truly hope they keep making great stuff like this.

[@josephfelice601]

WOW what a beautiful intro Nick!!! 19:19 is slapping.

[@squoblat]

Sonicstate, keeping me skint since 2018

[@SRDhain]

The patch at 8:09 was from Burning Down the House (one of Talking Heads' finest moments), which is what you'll be doing with this beauty if you get one. I can live with the lack of heavy duty patch storage (probably be updated in a firmware update) & the JX3P style sequencer (it's less rudimentary than that, and hopefully may be beefed up with a firmware update), as it sounds so superb. It's like a cross between a Jupiter 6, 8 and even a DW8000 (ppg stuff sounded very noisy, which is due to the age of the ones I tried or the implementation of less than 16 bit technology), but with far more flexibility that is *easily accesible* due to minimal menu diving. I'm smitten with the layout and instant 'hero value' tweakability. The price is a bit steep (no bitimbral function as of yet or ever?), but i hope it shifts units cause it deserves to be played and played. Thanks for a great review 👍

[@dazzjazz]

Beautiful sounding harmonics...and Nick is playing with larger chords and syncopation! Fabulous!

[@gatosoul]

Thank you for sharing, Amazing and unique Synth !!

[@dudeseriously79]

Bristol should make a statue of George with his synth. I mean that in a good way of course.

[@SuchaDoofus]

Dangerous business being a statue these days.

[@MrAliensix]

Oh dear, I need to spend a lot of money! Stunning synth. Great review, as always :)

[@ilmarcello]

as usual, here to hear you say "beef" or "beefy"... :-)

[@10010011001100110101]

T A S T Y

[@pigtoad3025]

26:08

[@keith303]

@@pigtoad3025 8:40

[@up7500]

A supersaw beast!! Love it

[@gabsauvage]

This thing will be my first synth. I've always wondered when to go the hardware way, because softwares nowadays brings you almost everything that hardware has to offer. This is new. This synth will make history!

[@gabsauvage]

@BC J the only other one that will buy will be the Essence FM from Kodamo (300 polyphony, 1800 oscillators), but that's it

[@moonscore]

EssenceFM is great 👍

[@station2station544]

8:07 Prophet 5 sync. Could be Burning down the house" by Berie Worrell, Japan "Ghosts," or Pink Floyd "one of my turns". Famous sync sound.

[@forevershampoo]

Hardware wont ever die

[@infamouscircuits]

Touching keys and knobs is simply unbeatable 😊👍🏼...

[@grizcuz]

Not when it sounds as good as this does. There's no plugin on the planet that'll sound as impressive. Even stuff like Omnisphere sounds feeble and cheap compared to this thing.

[@ollimoore]

@bookmarkthis it's a hybrid.

[@SPAZZOID100]

@bookmarkthis no. It’s not.

[@ollimoore]

@bookmarkthis....the video in which the line "let's listen to the filter, because this is the analog part of the instrument" is said......

[@barrnycharlton8951]

obligatory “Nick make an ambient album” comment (no seriously though though please)

[@aptudo]

man, the heft and breadth of those oscillators. I'm sure they won't get lost in a mix!

[@eddievanheinous666]

Phenomenal sounding synth, and that binaural mode is awesome. Shame the cost jumped an extra grand from the original planned price, but I get it's hard for a smaller company to do this.

[@JamesCorbettMusic5000]

Yeah price point too high, although do want one!

[@sub-jec-tiv]

For what you get it’s fair, those are amazing Rossum-designed Prophet filters, 12 of them. Not cheap.

[@sub-jec-tiv]

Also it’s built like it costs. Internally, only top quality components that’ll last decades and decades supposedly. Behringer who makes affordable stuff doesn’t use these kind of high-quality capacitors etc. and you can definitely hear the difference. It costs like it sounds. Professional-level instrument here.

[@Kaptain0blivious117]

I'm going to 2nd another comment posted earlier saying how out of many of the recent poly synths demo'd this year, this one has an excellent engine behind it. The brass sounds at 25:10 remind me of classic Tangerine Dream from their mid-80's time period. Good stuff!

[@mmhcreates]

@Sonicstate Wicked review. Thank you.

[@diewahrheituberfakten4800]

Amazing Synthesizer, well done England!

[@rnedp760]

I love the lack of screen and Jupiter-esque build - it's got something special going on.

[@blackbke]

Thanks for the thorough review. I'm reluctant reading manuals so I learned a thing or two about my Super 6 watching it :-D

[@Claidheambmor]

What a stunner. The only synth that I'm drooling for.

[@WARDISWARD]

Why are there jagged portions in both the saw and square ? 03:50

[@sonicstate]

Its interesting, not all waves need to be perfect to sound like the shape they are said to represent, I couldnt tell you why they are different, or exactly what those differences do to the sound.

[@6581punk]

Looking at waveforms means nothing at all really. Do you look at waveforms when testing an FX unit? Do you listen to an oil painting or sculture or do you use your eyes?

[@WARDISWARD]

​@@6581punk Seriously ? Get off your high horse dude I didn't say I have a problem with the supersix waveforms , but a saw and square with edges is not a aperfect saw ,square , not that it has to be it was just an observation . ever heard of the gibbs phenomenon ( sure this is not the case with super 6 , but this just an example why oscciloscopes can be usefull ) ? And Yes , I sometimes look at waveforms , especially when I hear there is something off , a microscopic look might reveal a lot You might have noticed that sonic state has huge ass oscilloscope + spectrum analyzer in the back :) , why would that be ?

[@cecilkeebler4254]

I may be way off, but implementing perfect square and saw may be difficult. Also, it may also be a way of dealing more effectively with the signals higher harmonics folding back into the lower audible frequencies across the note ranges of interest even with the FPGA using stupid high sample rates. I seem to remember George saying in a passing comment when he was in SonicState studio with Nick that there is very little bandlimiting going on. He didn't say none, but very little. Again, a DSP person may shoot my theory down easy enough :)

[@maconins123]

Beautiful sounding and looking synth

[@atomicasounds]

10:24 "We can Cross-Mod here., we can Cross-mod there, here a Cross, there a Cross everywhere a Cross Cross!" lol

[@dash3dot]

I deeply enjoy those outro minitracks of yours Nick!

[@marslightsnoise]

it’s a tiny thing but OMG the deeeeep clicks on those rotary switches!

[@liverawkstar]

Nick, Compared to the Polybrute? What’s your opinion?

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

hmmm probably not quite comparable. They both seem to go different approaches and sound quite different. Especially the Polybrute since Arturia uses some really weird filters.

[@MrDschiesus]

i find the poly so much more inspiring. i dont know... i cant follow up on the hype of the udo it def is a solid piece of equip and it does sound good. but thats about it. the lil tweaks like the stereospray through binaural circuitry is nice but nothing that really makes me astonished. And with the pricetag of 2,5K it def should do that. That being said its def overpriced. i understand its a lil boutique fabricator therefor prices need to be a lil higher but from my assumption its 1k too high. Its the Hippstersynth for me! Cool, retrolooks in layout, high quality but overpriced and nothing really new in the end.

[@jasonmcgary]

Absolutely beautiful

[@johnshima01]

I got to play on one at Synth Fest UK and was blown away, sounded amazing

[@WARDISWARD]

18:33 Of course , gearge said he might call it Batt mode

[@Handheldsounds]

It's in the manual :)

[@koreanfriedchildren]

Great comments on here I learnt a lot

[@inter-linked]

Beautiful, clean design.

[@grigioviola8523]

You re the best Nick

[@quantumeseboy]

Sounds great.

[@MusicianParadise]

That first funky riff with some jazzy voicings is so unusual to Nick!

[@DanielPerryMusic]

Some lush patches there, Nick. The more that I hear of this synth, the more that I long for one

[@niandra_falls]

been waiting for this.. awesome!

[@tedraven9214]

First impression: This synth looks massive for being a 49 keys. And the step in the UI reminds me of the small Behringer mixing consoles.

[@lab-by-the-sea]

USB over Midi sounds very interesting, any idea how it will work? :-)

[@bluntobjct]

it’s for the propriety UDO pianoroll printer :’)

[@jmcbeady8210]

Great review!

[@markquavertune2003]

A software editor would be the icing on the cake .

[@mpmi7588]

I really wanted this thing at one point. Still kinda do. But with the PolyBrute coming out and at a cheaper price with way more effects, routing etc.. I feel that is the better buy at the moment. Especially after what they've done with the MatrixBrute. I think I'll wait about six months to a year and let them do all the firmware updates and stuff. That'll give me time to see how this thing w really sounds and works. Also gives me time to get rid of stuff so i can focus on a smaller set up. Thanks SonicLab

[@SPAZZOID100]

Polybrute does not sound like this.

[@rg2027x]

good car horn @ 18:57 👍

[@TheOrionZane]

Love your channel, keep it up,

[@BarnabusBronson]

This sounds awesome!

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

colour me interested as well. I love the whole sound of it and the interface with that sweet 80s polysynth vibe. Sliders are always more appreciated than rotating knobs. Using an FPGA is a clever idea and i was wondering why this hasn't really been done yet on a bigger scale? As someone who's into exact retro console & home computer emulation, i've known the benefits if FPGAs for a while now and it's great to see them becoming a thing in Synthesizers as well :)

[@leemortimer80]

Sounds brilliant.

[@SamLowryDZ-015]

IS there going to be a module as I am not buying a poly synth with only 4 octaves

[@Wagoo]

There was a Q&A with George on gearslutz 11 months ago where I asked George about this.. this was his response: Hi, I can't make promises about our new developments at this stage just in case we change! However, many people have shared your desires and I understand the motivations for such a unit. The challenge for us would be in miniaturising the UI without losing the magic. It may mean smaller faders and pots, which would be a compromise, or a rethink using encoders. The desktop unit might actually be a completely unique entity in its own right and would not necessarily have to be a Super 6 in a rack, there is lots of options at this stage.

[@johanvancauteren6203]

Nice one Nick!

[@adamcarter6013]

When cycling through the arp modes, it seems the mode did not change. Could it be that a changed mode is only applied to subsequent key presses when hold is engaged?

[@matsfrommusic]

This has to be the best synth I've ever heard, sharp yet smooth top end, fat low end and just glorious sounding overall, it's perfect soundwise IMO.

[@danselmix]

great review! I enjoyed the time you dedicated to the filter section, that I think sounds gorgeous. Do you know if the "chord" setting (in the unison size) can be assigned as in the chord memory function of old synths? thanks!

[@blpfrk]

As of now it's automatically set to a major chord

[@maxprokopenko4692]

That would be dope, you can use the sequencer to do that as a bit of a workaround though

[@kisho2679]

ok, will be waiting for it to have a wave-table oscillator to mount own wave-forms on

[@tupac1151]

It sounds sooo beautiful.. I do not see LFO 1 there on the 8 modulation sources??? Cant i map other destinations to LFO 1 or can LFO only modulate VCA and VCF ??? that would be so sad, it would only leave LFO 2 which is only Sinewave :(

[@smashcarriage]

I need this in my life!

[@jonnyhead]

Reminds me of the SH201 BEAUTIFUL SYNTHS BOTH

[@gourkernow5694]

I'm surprised by the sonic versatility of this synth, didn't think it would be this good.

[@verysynthesizer5972]

(8:08) Robot Rock Lead (DaftPunk)?

[@SPAZZOID100]

Future CLASSIC!!!

[@Kyle-wb7wx]

Beautiful!

[@Kirk-Monteux-Production]

UUHHHH absolutely here

[@zipnone1996]

great review - have been watching this synth with great interest. as a sweaty techno lord I would appreciate more depth in the sequencer, so for now I'm just watching and waiting to see what comes next! thanks sonicstate :)

[@allencowley2112]

How many factory presets are there? And are they good / usable?

[@BrunoWiebelt]

beside the price its fantastic

[@bateimidrashnetwork]

Great review!! Loved the demos. But what about the voltage controlled high-pass filter inside there...?

[@rebours]

It covers the fluffy and mellow registers so well 😍 And it seems the alternate waves exhibit a ppg like quality that I have yet to hear in the current wavetable offerings...

[@kisho2679]

Interesting. What's the difference between a FPGA oscillator and a DSP oscillator?

[@s_9878]

At last! Is this gonna replace my ob6? I think it might..

[@danielcraighead6901]

OB6 completley different color in the palette. Merge em :)

[@DasHemdchen]

Depends on your other gear. But if I was a lucky OB-6 owner, I would never ever give it away. I don‘t know of a synth which can match this unique OSC-VCF sound. The Super-6 sounds really good for a digital OSC, though. But I‘m into Arturia‘s Polybrute. Same price, more analog sound, more modulations.

[@RayyMusik]

Ditto. I fell in love with the PolyBrute instantly with the first demo, I didn‘t with the Super 6 after a year and dozens of demos.

[@dmomcilovic9185]

Let me know if you want to sell ob6

[@s_9878]

@@danielcraighead6901 Totally! Wish I could afford both..

[@greyanaroth]

I love love love your reviews, nick. But perhaps you could use headphones or IEMs, so the room reflections due to the use of speakers doesn't interfere when you're deep diving?

[@SilverDashie]

This is a really nice sounding synth damn.

[@Phil-1]

Your Patreon link is misspelt, Nick.

[@nickjones5641]

I asked for an update to include karplus synthesis on the delay

[@matthewthematt]

Does anyone know how the keybed's like for this? I tried out the Novation Summit and those keys were so stiff, it sort of makes me worried about the other synths in this price range :(

[@southhour5241]

Some nice kit, that binaural feature is rad!

[@mcshafty1]

That riff -Burning Down The House?

[@Jason75913]

sounds pretty damn badass, yet a little like the Ultranova and Mininova 19:21 very nice So the maker has been involved with Modal? Sure looks like it by the interface. Yeah, it sure does sounds bold and big like you say. How's the aftertouch? Do you have to press as hard as with the Ultranova/Argon8? No parameters for the chorus? Juno-106-wannabe chorus or whatever? Ugh. When notes scroll out like "This has been fixed in a new firmware," the text could use a little bit of a black background or black border to make it stand out better a bit.

[@zdave6083]

Yes ...it seems all these new analog modeling synths start to remind me of nova's sonner or later.