Thoughts on the Waldorf Kyra

Here are my MANY MANY thoughts on the Waldorf Kyra! Please be warned, this video is almost an hour long and for a lot of that time I am talking. If you want to watch a video that just showcases the sounds of the Kyra then please look elsewhere.

[@justincaldwell2527]

Late to the game here with Kyra, but I just picked one up on the second hand market and I must say I love it. The biggest selling point for me was the fact that it is class compliant and it works with iOS. I plugged it into my iPad and there it was MIDI and all. The effects on the Kyra are standard quality but since I can have 8 parts ( 4 stereo ) I run it through AUM and use all the great iOS FX I need. I can use Cubasis to sequence my parts, add effects etc and I have a self contained unit and mobile rig. The sound quality is superb and the offline processing of synths in Kyra let my iPad or MacBook breathe better. Yes the head scratching omission of a data entry wheel is profound. The inclusion of the 4,096 waveforms is great, but, those two increment buttons are going to take a beating going through them. My work around so far is to save the banks I like as Init programs and so I can access them in less time and button pushes. The waveforms are AKWF sound sets and are freely downloadable so in theory you can use them in other applications and get a feel for what they are in a different more user friendly environment. All in all I am impressed so far and it's limitations have led me to think outside the box.

[@MarianoPerez]

How many presets come with it?

[@sK3LeTvM1]

Thank you Mr. Shoebridge. Your video made me buy the Kyra after 2 years. I was afraid to have a lot of overlap with my Virus TI or Summit, but at the end the Kyra sounds different. Biggest flaw is the missing data wheel, and the Reverb that does not match the Kyras' sound quality.

[@impurfekt]

Fantastic overview. An amazing synth with unique character and quirks. Some of the smoothest sounds I've heard from any synth. Top form as always Tim.

[@JanEkbom]

Your demo of Kyra made me order it today. Thank you for this excellent presentation. I will come back to this video when my synth arrived.

[@markslandingsandaviationvi3123]

Hi! How’s the Kyra? I’m looking to buy one in a few months:)

[@bobcatt2294]

The conclusion segment was critical for me, thank you for your being concise are articulating what is important like the stereo effects at the filter stage. Thumbs up and subscribed.

[@Paul_Y_T]

Really enjoyed that - exactly the type of overview that hits the spot for me. Thanks Tim.

[@MarshalArnold]

Excellent Tim! I've been loving my Kyra for months 😃

[@DmitryPuffin]

Kyra was developed by a man who introduced that at NAMM, then he got contract with Waldorf for releasing it. That's probably the reason why it's different from Quantum.

[@bjh3661]

The best audio product review I have watched in a long time. Bravo. New subscriber.

[@draztiqmeshaz6226]

That design is so clean it looks like a render

[@ricardlupus]

I agree, it's not until Tim actually starts turning knobs that it actually starts looking like something physical, and hardly even then.

[@spydestroyer]

When I first saw the thing on the internet , I thought Waldorf were releasing a plugin to compete with Nexus or something like that ; but then I realised that this machine is a hardware synth . It surely does look like a render I have to admit since the interface is so clean and neat . It seems to me that it is a high end tabletop synth with tons of features .It sure sounds fantastic .

[@MiklosVajdaMusic]

@@ricardlupus Thanks God, is not full with rainbow led's :)

[@thegreatsiberianitch]

Look like a reindeer

[@DJFresh]

Haha you make the best review videos! I love how thorough, organised and honest the videos are. Keep up the great work!

[@TrueToTheCraft]

Did you get one?

[@RobertDorschel]

Update: I ordered one today. Your vid here helped immensely, thank you.

[@loung71]

You really made a thorough analysis mate...thanks for such an accurate investigation....very much appreciated review...

[@andy-ford]

Love this video Tim - it's so much better than a clinical review which you normally get. I was sat on the fence about getting one now I know which way to jump :)

[@Tyrkir100]

Only got one used for a fair price ... and I am still in the exploring phase ... so ... thanks a lot for this documentary ... it helped me a lot to understand the concept of it ...

[@genx1144]

Great demonstration, Mr Shoebridge. It sounds glorious in your hands.

[@synkuk]

I really love the format of your videos .. very informative.. Thankyou

[@rhampton1914]

Thank you so much for sharing your opinion in your review. I was planning on considering this and it's still thinking about it but I'm exploring other options at the same time that's more simplistic but yet still powerful.

[@BecomingProductions]

Perfectly timed. I'm in the market for some new gear and had considered the Kyra. After some brief reading up I ruled it out due to the lack of wavetable scanning. I'll certainly give this a watch and see if it changes my mind. After all your videos were one of the things that persuaded me to go for a Quantum.

[@BecomingProductions]

Ok well I watched it. As always incredibly detailed and useful information. Alas your conclusion was as I had expected. Beautiful sounding machine but the drawbacks are too big to justify the spend right now. I'll definitely be keeping an eye on developments and if they address the UI and scanable wavetables then I'd be tempted. For now moment my purchase this month will have to go elsewhere.

[@bilonggrisimmeri]

Well worth the time watching what is a very honest and fair review. My feelings: complicated, much menu diving and and rather similar to my 20 year old 48 kHz Alesis Quadrasynth, that does have ADAT.

[@ProfessorSynth]

Thanks Tim, great presentation.

[@ksqmusic]

Thank you Tim for simultaneously talking me into buying a Kyra, while talking me out of buying a Kyra. Though if there were a keyboard version I’d already own it :)

[@rayderrich]

A fantastic overview of a synth I thought I wanted, but the few negatives are just too big for me. Thank you Tim.

[@vincenteoppolo9025]

Most intelligent review I’ve heard to date

[@Soundsauca]

Very useful run through of the Kyra features, thanks a lot.

[@calderadelescocia7325]

Very nice and extensive review. Thank you!

[@boomtherehewas]

Thanks Tim, so good! as a owner this is so useful, again thank you....waiting of the software editor which is being made by mystery Islands, but like everything with this beautiful synth is the waiting......such an informative video, again, thanks!

[@trevor4835]

even though i've long since lost interest in this synth, no wavetable scanning?!, i'm so glad to see a proper vid about it. thank you tim.

[@VacancyOfDisco]

been waiting for a critical review of this! thanks! also there are some really interesting stereo things happening in the filter section, seems to pan a little left and right on as is sweeps passed each step in the harmonic series.

[@tianxing7795]

Wow! This is great!!! Thanks for the awesome videos! If you can make a comparison video between this and Waldorf Quantum, that will be super helpful!

[@NateHorn]

4096 waveforms, 10osc per voice (or even 4), 132 voices and 8 parts - this is like 4 poly synths for the price of 1! Thanks for the deep dive Tim

[@conbriosynthesizers3428]

Excellent demo. I like the features and so many options. Tricky navigation. I prefer the sound of the Solaris, but this has better FX options.

[@johnrichardson3297]

Tim Shoebridge I believe I will buy the Waldorf Kyra +5 years from now, used. Love it, but i feel I can wait for this.

[@reddragonrespect]

around 9.44 Beautiful chord progressions with beautiful pad sound

[@wedream2]

Sound quality is top notch. I almost considered buying one, but rediscovered my Waldorf Q with 3 oscillators , 2 subs, 2 wave tables, 2 filters, 3 LFOs, 4 Envelopes, 32 voice, 16 part, arpeggiator, and a sequencer. Sound quality doesn't compaire,, a programmer's dream. Plenty of knobs to tweak. Most have dual function. Not as much menu-diving as Kyra. The on-board sequencer on the Q makes all the difference.

[@sK3LeTvM1]

I have both a 32voice Q and the Kyra. But they sound very very different...

[@rodnattrass7021]

those filters sound gorgeous

[@bobcatt2294]

Those excerpts you present are beautiful. My background is in the classics.

[@OOD2021]

I own a Kyra, but I do miss my wavetable scanning. Hope they introduce it in a new update.

[@BillyMcBride]

Hi, Tim. I am very glad you did this video. I have a Kyra. Currently I run it through four stereo channels with four parts, but now I believe that since some of these parts are mono, that I can turn it into eight channels with the eight outs it features. This is very exciting since stacking patches, and controlling the levels on the faders on my mixer can double the four parts to eight by doing it that way. Thank you.

[@BillyMcBride]

Yes, your comment about adding PCMs is a good one too for a future update.

[@BillyMcBride]

Also, I use this synthesizer much for this kind of music: kzbin.info/www/bejne/q5vLkpuoitqHnLc. So you don’t have to use it for just pads.

[@Hesohi]

Excellent video. Love the no nonsense. I already ordered the Matriarch, gonna go broke watching your channel.

[@browe]

Very helpful, cheers for the awesome content (per usual) 😀

[@davidRios622]

I'm using this synth to create lush big pads , connected to the input of the Iridium for granular processing , and that's the sound I've been looking for , the user interface it's not good , but right now we have two software options , sigabort and Edisyn , now that Waldorf is phasing out the synth , picked another one on 25% discount , as Electrical Engineer kind of understand the challenges of updating FPGA software , I'm good how it is , and glad discovered this synth .

[@breslin44]

I have to try this

[@pizzagogo6151]

Excellent overview thank you! Along with the summit the absolute state of the art as far as digital Synths available today....probably beyond both my budget and my ability (& I hatethe “ medical equipment 😏” design aesthetic ), but certainly could forgive it that due to amazing sound creation potential - maybe I’ll aspire to own one one day!(

[@cjk-28-JockeK]

Thanks for an excellent review, Tim :) I only missed sound demos of the FX section. Perhaps a good Roland styled stereo chorus effect can replace dual mode? My impression of the synth is, that the sound is more focused to the mid range frequencies. I feel that upper and lower infrequence spectrum is suppressed somehow. No rumble bass or any peaks at the top end, so to speak. Keep up the good work on KZbin, Tim ;-)

[@ricardlupus]

Looking at this I kept making comparisons to the Blofeld which I'm very familiar with. It seems it has a lot in common in terms of architecture, yet they seemed to have missed out on several key things, the lack of a data entry encoder (or two in the case of the Blofeld) being one, the missed opportunity of displaying envelopes in the display graphically another. Of course, you get far more voices, more oscillators, and soundwise the Kyra seems to have a smoother sound; I find the Blofeld rather harsh many times. But I'm missing the PPG (SSM 2044) filter mode and the comb filters, the sweepable wavetables, the switchable multi stage envelopes. Comparing it to the Virus, the filter architecture seems much simpler, which personally I feel is a good thing, as I could never get my head around the dual filter implementation in the Virus range, but it still seems that with all the other nods to the Virus, they missed that one. All in all an interesting synth, but it seems to be a step back from what I'd expect from Waldorf, given the price and the extensive front panel.

[@JayBmusic]

Thanks for your review. It's similar to what I thought of the Kyra after I got hold of it. The basic sound is really good, really clean and musical. You can get used to the user interface (I mean, I own and,ove thr Yamaha AN1x) but true, there's some room upwards. Though you indeed can adjust the ring/noise level with a knob by activating Shift Lock and twisting the Pulse knob for Osc 1. ;) The things I didn't like about the Krya: the smooth attacks. I like sounds with hard clicky attacks, the Kyra can't do these as the first two wave cycles are always faded in to avoid clicks. Also the Hypersaw cloaking up the entire wave section. I ended up using oscillators and sub oscillators in dual mode to create hypersaw-like sounds just so I can add noise or octave layers. And finally the distortion and reverb effects just don't sound good to me. Any synth from the 90s can do these better. Not sure yet if I do a video on the Kyra too.

[@gonzales2174]

So beautiful!

[@biochill]

Thanks for the video there. Since you have structured it into chapters it would be nice to see a toc with timestamps so we can jump there if we’re interested in certain aspects. Ps: I like the close cam on the synth

[@MrEMann]

very clear explanations and educated opinions. Subbed

[@citizenofearth]

Iridium or Kyra? Which is better and for what purpose?

[@jazzjeffjazzjeff]

Those filters are special!

[@dna598]

27:46 Oh yeah, just lovely (ouch!)

[@shapeshifta3431]

Thanks Tim! Be good to get your viewpoint on the U.D.O Super 6 if you have thought about purchasing that synth?

[@geneberlin1]

does kyra have functional encoders - would be nize for a waldorf

[@Tyrkir100]

Bought myself one used only three weeks ago ... and its all your fault ... ;-) Thanks to this video ... it shaped my opinion !!! Looks like the free time for the next months is gone .... Cheers and Thanks Tim

[@mamojula]

Thanx for this great review!!

[@rcmusic35]

Thanx for this excellent video

[@bernios3446]

I absolutely agree about the number of waveforms. They all have the Waldorf signature, but who needs them anyway. In the first (!) MicroWave I spent already days and days by skipping through the single waveforms of the Wavetables. It sounded good, but those were the analogue filters and VCAs. I prefer a few good sounding basic waveforms and shaping functions.

[@GuitarsAndSynths]

Excellent! I want a Waldorf synth at some point but not sure which one would get me in the territory of vintage electronica like Depeche Mode, Erasure and Tangerine Dream? Same with a Roland Jupiter or Fantom. Waldorf and Roland along with Moog are the classic trilogy of synths that classic electronica were made with some from Nord and Access Virus.

[@terrybreen6094]

I'm still getting used to the synth but not mad about how they have setup the filter. I hope they allow you to route one filter into the other in a firmware update and kinda wish they kept the patch editor that the Valkyrie had. Oh and when you enable the 2nd filter it only operates on osc 2, as in filters are split between osc 1 and 2. Oh and mystery island are developing a vst gui editor, so that's a bonus

[@SuperBandwidth]

love the fact that although you have all the latest music tech you are still using a mobile from the last millennium! my kinda prioritizing!

[@JustinUrban1]

There is one available at a store near me, used, for about $1500. Is it worth it for that price??

[@hankgrandson4205]

Hello Tim, great video., before starting making music we need to know the capabilities of our synth., so I find your video very helpful and interesting. Im considering this synth very seriously. Now in 2021, with a price of 1.555 euros (1803,52 dollars) and the current updates, do you think this is a fair price for what this synth can offer. The launch price in Spain was 2099 euros (2434,46) to me that makes a great difference. greetings from Spain.

[@Moshela12]

Dear Tim. Thank you for this film. I own a desktop Iridium (wich I love) and I am not shure, if I should buy the Keyboard Iridium or the new Quantum MK2. Which rythm-machine did you used on this video? Warm regards Andreas

[@DKH712]

Thanks for your review. I was considering it, but the UI is a deal-breaker for me

[@jmzorko]

I quite like mine, though tbh i've only begun to explore it. A lot of people lament the lack of a rotary encoder, and I understand that, but the Virus models (I have a TI2 and a Classic) don't have one, either. I like it for similar reasons, though - that being, the lush quality of it's sound. It does sound _very_ nice to me.

[@johnrichardson3297]

Tim Shoebridge can you do a demo of all the Hypersaws/Supersaws you can come up with? Disregard maybe, just viewed the first 6 demo

[@mynameistechno]

Wow, thats powerful and also a bit overkill to me. I just wish they would power up the Blofeld a little bit with their new technology.

[@NateHorn]

Extra pair of outs, slightly better processor and better pots on the Blofeld and they'd sell like hotcakes - well overdue a v2!

[@reidmich182]

I would kill for that. Love the blofeld

[@martattacks]

Bit late on that one, I know. :-) But still: would you be so kind and tell me which drum plugin you used for this demo, Tim? Thank you. Apart from my question: excellent demo, again. I just love your style of explaining things and stating your opinion about them in an honest but respectful way. Your video on the UDO Super 6 actually was sort of the reason for me to finally decide to get one. And the flaws you mentioned about it matched those that stuck out for me 100%. They still haven't fixed the polyphony / retriggering bug, actually. Don't know why I never stumbled upon neither the Kyra nor your video on it... maybe because it's all digital. But watching it now - I'm sort of interested. Thanks again.

[@Wagoo]

Thanks for your thoughts, Tim. I was following this synth since it was the Valkyrie.. but honestly got a bit turned off when the Kyra arrived in its final form with no way of rack mounting it as a giant "desktop only" module (even rear VESA mount from NAMM removed). Given Iridium looks like a similar form factor and lists 19" rack kits as an option, then I hope those will also work for Kyra.. and I can begin to look at it again. I don't think it's finished evolving yet.. I think there's a huge potential still for Kyra to add a ton of new features, if Waldorf have Manuel on board actively working on this. With Valkyrie he was even planning to have swappable face-plates as new types of synthesis came in, so hopefully there's enough to work with in the Kyra panel layout anyway

[@johnrichardson3297]

Wagoo agreed, the Iridium for me.

[@seek4truth]

Hi, kyra vs hydrasynth question: which is more versatile (putting effects aside)? Which sound more realistic? Which would you buy if you could have only one synth and nothing else? Thanks!

[@TimShoebridge]

Hi, I'd love to give an opinion but the hydrasynth is an instrument that I have not managed to get my hands on yet. hopefully someone else can comment.

[@lilakmonoke982]

you are totally right about too many options being confusing in the creative process. that synth is basically every possible synthesis in 2020 in one high quality box. king of like a glorified plugin cast in hardware. id rather have 4 different synths with 4 simpler engines and 4 different sounds. like you said stepping through gazillion parameters with buttons is absolutely unacceptible. still another amazing german audio engineering masterpiece. im german btw. :-) your review beats anything by loopop because he just reads down the manual and you are a musician.

[@thehandoflenin]

Thanks Tim for the thoughts on the Kyra and some of the sounds. I think the Quantum is a more desirable synth if you can muster up the extra cash. I’m not sure Waldorf have honestly set the price of the Kyra correctly, you can buy a new desktop Virus TI for £1522 and the cheapest I can see the Kyra is £1749 at a reduction. I assume some shops have discounted to try a shift their stock. Why buy a Kyra when you still can get a new TI for less? To make it more attractive to buyers I think its price needs to be set around £1499 or less.

[@thehandoflenin]

@@BurkhardusX Kyra has dropped in price to around £1590 which makes it a more attractive buy. The Kyra is certainly better in it’s output stage than the Virus.

[@666JGNotts]

Cheers Tim, another great video. Are you keeping the Quantum?

[@TimShoebridge]

666JGNotts Thanks a lot. Yes definitely. It fills a void for me, there’s very little overlap with any of the other synths I own 👍

[@awesomeduder]

Some will remember this showed up at the trade shows under a different name from an independent maker who sold it to Waldorf - perhaps they want to keep the deeper wavetable stuff for the Quantum and other stuff developed internally.

[@ANSWERTHECALLOFJESUSCHRIST]

Yup. Exodus Digital. I remember how excited I was for the Valkyrie back then. All the promising potential was gone with Waldord getting involved.

[@SerErris]

Hey Tim, do you think this fantastic pads from the Kyra can be created on the Iridium? Those string sounds getting my heart, but the Iridium touches my brain and would give me much more sound design capabilities. Also I do have a summit, which is also great at pads. I am not to sure if the Kyra would be a good fit - just for the pads.

[@TimShoebridge]

I think that by utilising samples you can get amazing pads on the Iridium but also so much more. Have you checked out this pad sample library I developed for both the Iridium and Quantum? It hopefully gives you some ideas about the possibilities... kzbin.info/www/bejne/n2OUapd7oLGfqa8

[@eastwoofer]

No way

[@cronenbergj]

When you try to do "something similar" does it sound kinda like the Quantum ? Hard to say from the demo...but seems to have also a kinda hi fi tone about it ?

[@TimShoebridge]

I think the Quantum gets that reputation due to the many factory presets that are wavetable based and are unfiltered so can be hard and brittle to the ear. At the end of the day for me personally both synths will output what is programmed, both can sound really warm if you want them to. I think the Quantum is really amazing, hugely flexible and I use one an awful lot but I do think the filters in the Kyra sound better to my ear, the resonance is more contained, more musical. Reminds me of an Dreadbox Erebus' 2-pole LPF in many ways.

[@cronenbergj]

@@TimShoebridge I have a Quantum...i really love it. when i say kinda "Hi fi" is not in a negative way. Not everything has to sound like a Moog of something. Just was mentioning that in terms of "Sound Charater" this (from the demos) seems more similar to it, than t Moog / something similar for example.

[@cymonalex]

Tim, another well detailed video and nice demo. My honest opinion about this musical instrument, is it’s ‘nothing new’ we haven’t heard before in a plethora of other synths? I agree it does have some impressive specifications, but even when Manuel had the prototype (Valkyrie) it failed to impress a lot of people because it just wasn’t anything we haven’t heard before. I appreciate Waldorf have re-market today and turned it into something more impressive, but for £2000 I think there’s a lot of choice out there before rushing out and buying this....

[@outlier5844]

Tim, would you recommend the new Waldorf Iridium, only because you said the Kyra wasn't worth it with the other options out there? I'm just thinking with Omnisphere 2 being a pluggin I have whether its worth it for 2k as there are other things I'm liking the look of like the Pulsar 23 which you can't find in VST! Thanks

[@TimShoebridge]

Jake Daniel I have not had the privilege of trying out an Iridium but on paper it looks brilliant and has many excellent improvements on the Quantum. I think the range of capabilities in both the Iridium and Quantum make them pretty unique in the market right now.

[@outlier5844]

​@@TimShoebridge You're doing great video's and i am subbed, thank you for your kind response

[@proxymerchant]

What are your headphones???

[@Handheldsounds]

So I take it there is no way to modulate or morph between waveforms i.e. do some wave table style modulation? That is kind of tragic...

[@vpjpuente]

It sounds beautiful.

[@gourkernow5694]

Surprised about the lack of wave interpolation between the many waveforms. With Waldorf calling them 'kits' it almost implies that you can construct them into interpolatable wavetables, pity that isnt the case. Its undoubtedly powerful, the 128 voice count, the 8 parts, the effects and the multimode dual stereo filters should lend well for immense layered patches of all kinds from pads to drones, thats what i would use this synth for. Agree about those page menu buttons, they wont last long with that amount of menu diving.

[@mynameistechno]

My guess is that they dont want to have a true in-house cempetitor to the Quantum. Its like the old powerhouse duo Microwave > Q.

[@gourkernow5694]

@@mynameistechno you may be right, I'm not sure... I think they may add wave interpolation to it eventually, we'll have to see what the users want and say. I have a Quantum and i would still buy the Quantum over the Kyra even if the Kyra had the Quantum wavetable engine because theres an additional 4 synth engines on the Quantum, and i think thats what potential Quantum buyers will be interested in, and would overlook the Kyra even if it had wavetable functionality. With Novation regularly giving out free updates, such as the new wavetable creator, it seems odd to even slightly handicap the Kyra by leaving similar functionality out on a synth in a similar price bracket to the Summit. The Kyra certainly has the horsepower to do it. As a Virus TI replacement though, i think perhaps its easily good enough as it is, and perhaps that is the business model and the thinking behind it?

[@KiR_3d]

@@mynameistechno What a stupid marketing move :)) Many many VST synths now have waveform morphing. It's not something very special now. Waldorf is ruining it's great name. It's pitty.

[@ZozillaThaGreat]

Superb video on the beast , that said i'm struglling to find a video that demonstrates its cappacity to be a VA , and do convincing analog synth classic sounds , all i hear is Virus / nord type of pads and , airy stuff , witch are beautyfull , illustrate the power of the engine , but can it moog ? jupiter ? Oberhiem quite a bit ?

[@Angelstarscotland]

What an excellent demo Tim. If it were £1299 I’d buy one in a flash. I personally thought it sounded Glorious. I have a question about it I am very tempted . The reverb is it one reverb algorithm that you can adjust the parameters of or are there multiple reverb algorithms like plate, hall shimmer etc? I like the sound of this a lot and never owned a virus so can’t compare but I really like what I’m hearing/seeing.

[@alanwomack9948]

Just one algorithm which is a shame because the thing is so powerful, you would think they would have thought about that before they released it. It’s such an excellent sounding synth, very hifi, but I have a couple gripes with it... even though I got it for $1500. Lack of different effects algorithms, lack of looping envelopes, unable to see a visual representation of the filters like on the blofeld, and the oscillator tuning knob isn’t continuously variable... it steps for each semitone... which wouldn’t be a problem normally, but when you hard sync the oscillators and want to sweep the tuning knob manually, you heard the stepping, and lack of data knob. It would have been a hell of a lot easier to program with a data knob.

[@NateHorn]

Checking in from the future - that's exactly what it's retailing for today!

[@Angelstarscotland]

@@NateHorn I actually saw that the other day….. still tempted but I think my sound design/music has moved in a different direction, still think it’s a great piece of kit.

[@rrocktoo]

That is a synth orchestra. Nice but complicated.

[@KiR_3d]

Take 8 instances of any good (some good are even free!) VST and you'll get sound _better_ than this! Believe me, I've tried a lot of VST and even made few plugins by myself.

[@metricaldimensions]

Hello does this synth have a randomize function? And if so how does it work? Thanks

[@TimShoebridge]

Hi, From memory I don't believe it does. Maybe check the user manual online? PDF's are searchable.

[@RobertDorschel]

I still want one. Waiting for the right $$$ in hand moment.

[@dodgeatmosphere]

Kyra is one of the best VA synth I have ever tested. Bold and strong voices compared to Virus TI2 and the 128poly and 8multi is super enought to make Kyra the core part of an inspiration flow. Maybe the UX is not the best, sometimes a little bit confusing compared to Digitakt flow but still ok.

[@tezzo55]

Unless you've got all week, 2 times the playback speed. Great review.

[@aloharay]

You would think a simple firmware revision could reassign a seldom used knob on that hardware to function as the plus minus buttons. That UI improvement alone would make this more attractive. Software editor is another option with the ability to assign a midi CC to navigate plus minus would be fine as well. Now cheap on Thommann so I wouldnt mind having compared to original price.

[@illustriouschin]

Waldorf didn't know what the hell to do with it. During trade shows the reps knew nothing, the patches were terrible/non-existent, the amount of advertising was pretty good but no good demo tracks at all. Then for the longest time no good demo tracks, many reports of bad software bugs, bad support. Oh and the price was too high, put into competition with higher end synths. It was DOA. Is it a good synth? I don't know but it sure is complicated and your demos and full rundown was very nice.

[@X-101]

Because it's not their synth, they just bought a concept synth off some guy

[@illustriouschin]

@@X-101 Their name is on it and they are selling it.

[@firstborncirillo]

Almost as if the same r&d people from Access jumped ship and went to Waldorf. I'm very disappointed that Access-Music stopped Mac OS software development for the Virus TI beyond Mac OS 10.14. I'm a Mac user and the Virus TI was the foundation of my production. Does the Waldorf Kyra have software gui similar to the Virus TI?

[@marcelmaes5275]

Surely a "big" synth, and the Waldorf sound is in my opinion pretty unique, but when I see you pressing the same few buttons over and over again, I wonder how long they will last mechanically. For purely digital synths, like this one is too, my software-synths are good enough and a mouse or a keyboard is much cheaper then having a hardware button replaced.

[@fickfehler3866]

Is the Kyra a rompler based synth like the Blofeld ? Seems like Waldorf is not using algo's to create unique sounds but rather it processes existing wavetable structured samples. The digital oscillators are not true oscillators, but rather subtractive algorithms.

[@dmomcilovic9185]

FICKFEHLER , really irrelevant if it sounds good

[@PlugInGuruVideo]

Calling this a rompler is an inaccurate use of the word. The term rompler is applied to "worktation" synths that companies like Korg, Yamaha and Roland make. They quickly call up a large # of samples to recreate "real" strings, brass, pianos and more. Short answer to your question is yes because there are a boatload of digital waveforms to call up and use but the entirety of what you hear from Kyra is synthesis based. There is no sampled strings, brass, pianos in Kyra to use. Only a kick ass synthesizer engine.

[@gerdpfeil]

Why there is no full wavetable stuff going on in the Kyra? Maybe because Waldorf has a small side business occasionally selling wavetable synthesizers alongside the Kyra? :D In a somewhat related matter: Please name an 8-part multitimbral VA synth with lots of voices and 8 individual outs that's cheaper than the Kyra?

[@kevinbirge2130]

You could perform in octophonic sound. I cannot afford such a sound system, but it’s beautifully Floydian.

[@falkourban]

sorry Tim, i watch this video maybe 3 years too late but im interested at this time on a second hand KYRA and want to collect information about this machine. really nice explatations you made from the gear. the wish you have to integrate samples into the synth engine is not possible. the undertandings of that is grounded by the FPGA infrastructure of audio devices. a FPGA doenst allow a realtime access to the audio processes of the machine. FPGA means a kind of ROM chip, they do the audio processes. there is no audio software inside for manipulating things like data import, play, cut, fade pcm waveforms or something like that. this is a kind of car engine, they build at once and the only thing you can do is, giving control from knobs, sliders, encoders and so on. there is no player software for user interaction with dynamic memory or things like that. this is the reason why FPGA systems are really fast, with very low latency and extreme stable during the work with that. the control user interface is separated from the audio processes and have a own control processor and an own operation system like Linux as example. the communication between the user interface and the FPGA are simple serial data only like MIDI or RS232 as example. there is no space for PCM sample data and no way to import during the FPGA is working. the FPGA programming himself is a small bundle of kB or MB of data and cant include a scaleable storage for sounds. please compare this with a racing car and you want to exchange the gear during a race with 300 km/h at the same time. it is simple not doable.

[@victorvargas49]

why don't they make Kyra as a keyboard? it's probably the best module on the market, but I'll probably prefer the Novation Summit because it's a compact instrument

[@MadelnMachines]

Just to clarify - can you have 8 separate synth parts stereo or only 4 parts? Is this stereo filtering and LFO the same binaural thing as what the UDO Super 6 is doing?

[@boomtherehewas]

8 seperate parts

[@LocaliLLocano]

1. Yes. 2. The LFO and Filter are done per side (L and R) you can link it or make it mono. I’m not too informed about the super 6 bro this is all I know as a Kyra user.

[@KiR_3d]

PC - 600-800$, MIDI keys - 400-600, a great VST synth 150-250$ (or some free even!) Sum = 1000 - 1450$ (depends on your buying and PC assemblying skills!). And you'll get 8-16 simultaneus realtime synths! With a better sound. The bugs depends on how you've setup all this. Not counting a DAW because it's a basic thing. P.S. People reports that Kyra has MIDI bugs...

[@TheAtomicTom]

Funfact: You can still buy Viruses new. At least here in Germany some music retailers still have them