What I like about the ASM Hydrasynth Explorer (hardware review)

A couple of months ago I got my hands on a Hydrasynth Explorer from ASM, which is a really interesting, deep, and capable synthesizer with a huge amount of different possibilities for added expression (MPE, poly after touch, etc). It's the kind of thing that I would usually find a bit overwhelming, but it's surprisingly accessible and easy to use. Here is my review looking at the build, connections, and key features of the synth.
TL;DR the Explorer is an affordable way to get the sound engine and expressive capabilities of the Hydrasynth, which sounds great and isn't just for those into sound design.
0:00 Musical Intro
0:27 Intro
2:37 Hardware
6:29 Connectivity
7:59 Key Features
9:11 Polyphonic Aftertouch + MPE
13:13 Musical Interlude
13:37 Random button
15:32 In Practice
18:42 Musical Outro
--
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and a whole pile of other stuff...
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Get in touch for possible collabs/offers of large sums of money, etc: allmyfas at gmail

[@TheScreamingFrog916]

Just picked up a used HS Explorer, and am making the rounds of related videos. I am a professional kbd player and synth enthusiast. My first impressions about the build quality are good. Love the sound. I appreciate the detailed review you gave, and especially enjoyed hearing you speak about synth stuff, with your beautiful accent. From California USA, I wish for your continued success/fun, with music and life 🎶☘

[@krystledawne]

I bought the explorer as my first hardware synth 😍 it’s such a deep machine but I love that even as a beginner with synth I can fish around in the mod matrix and see what’s going on.

[@StephenMcLeod]

Hell yeah. It's surprisingly accessible for such a deep synth!

[@mattkomlofske8912]

@@StephenMcLeod I just got one yesterday to replace a busted Novation Ultranova. This thing is really nice. I mainly use it at band gigs when I wanna switch from drums to keyboard on certain songs, but I can see this synth being a centerpiece of my music production. It's just a really fun little synth with a hell of a good sound.

[@patrickfitzgerald2861]

I just bought one of these used for US $399, including an OEM gig bag. At that price point it is truly an impressive machine, and I love the fact that I can load it up with batteries and take it anywhere. ASM has done a great job with all the Hydrasynths, but this one has to be the best value of them all.

[@StephenMcLeod]

That's a great price!!

[@patrickfitzgerald2861]

@@StephenMcLeod Guitar Center has good deals on used gear sometimes!

[@Curious_Skeptic]

You stole it! Omg. Congrats. Ordered mine last night.

[@patrickfitzgerald2861]

@@Curious_Skeptic A nice way to start the new year! 👍👍👍

[@floncyb5436]

You have the best intro, I find myself saying it at random times. Great stuff!

[@StephenMcLeod]

I've always wanted an eat worm. Thanks got watching!

[@StephenMcLeod]

Also an ear worm

[@LabRatWarfare]

What an impressive synth!! Great review man, I freaking love that random feature, that is AWESOME!!! 🤘🐀

[@StephenMcLeod]

Thanks man! Yeah I am a big fan of the random feature. Perfect for lazy, easy preset tweaking.

[@FluxFreeman]

I like this synth and hearing your accent too. This may be the first digital instrument I purchase since the Alesis Micron

[@StephenMcLeod]

Oh man that brings me back. The Micron was one of my first synths!

[@jboulderct]

Sold! All the things I was looking for. Thanks for confirming my suspicions 👍🏻

[@StephenMcLeod]

Awesome! Hope you enjoy it!!

[@GongMaster]

A really nice one. Great find.

[@StephenMcLeod]

I like it a lot!

[@MrClarkio]

I think it's an amazing synth for the money. Like you I was initially put off by all the buttons, but once gig realise that it's just a flattened menu structure in button form it all makes sense. Nice review, thank you.

[@StephenMcLeod]

Thanks for watching! I agree. I like it more and more the more I use it

[@johnottodevilliers801]

Just got one of these. You have produced an excellent introduction. Once I've got more into it I will check out your further video. I adore this machine and am going to work seriously on my keyboard skills. Can envisage selling some bass guitar gear when I want to upgrade to one of their bigger models once I can justify it with any improvement in my skill level

[@StephenMcLeod]

I haven't let lack of ability stop me from acquiring things over the years!! Glad you're liking the video and the Hydrasynth.

[@wiidlbeetle3857]

I love it! Also, good video!

[@StephenMcLeod]

Thanks a lot!

[@thejoshuathomas]

As a person whose preference for interface layouts is knob per function style monosynths, I appreciate your demonstration of this hardware. Many synths can be intimidating in appearance, but your pacing when showcasing some of the features breaks it down quite well, without feeling overwhelming. I'd love to see how you get on with something like a Cobalt8 or Cobalt5S.

[@StephenMcLeod]

Thank you! I appreciate that. I have actually got a Cobalt 8 here that I borrowed from a friend, so I'll need to do a video on it at some point...

[@thejoshuathomas]

@@StephenMcLeod That would be great, no pressure of course.

[@Jobotubular]

Thanks to ASM for having the wisdom to loan this to Steven for review

[@StephenMcLeod]

I hope they are listening!!

[@cosmicdefect]

That randomizer feature is great. I wish my minilogue had a feature like that. I get a lot of joy out of sifting through random patches searching for "gold" amongst the possibilities.

[@StephenMcLeod]

That's exactly how I tend to use presets as well, so having the random feature is particularly great. :D

[@iamrocketray]

If ASM gave you the Explorer then I think you have earned it, I have one in my cart at Juno, cant afford it today but I will get it sometime in May. I'm not a muso, I just mess about with sound mainly on my Akai Force and I think the Explorer as a sound source and a midi keyboard will compliment the Akai Force. So thanks for the review, I actually understood most of what you were talking about as you didn't get too technical and I also love your accent, quite strong but every word was clear as a bell.

[@StephenMcLeod]

Thanks a lot Ray! Glad it was useful. It's pretty impressive what you get for the price with the Explorer. The Force is awesome too. Howdya like that?

[@iamrocketray]

@@StephenMcLeod I Love my Akai Force, a true does everything instrument in one box including the DAW.

[@geolectric_universe]

This has really made me rethink getting the Desktop Hydrasynth. I'm a worse piano player than you so I have little need for the keys, but the aftertouch pads on the desktop I can vibe with. Thanks for making this look so much more friendlier than what I thought it was. Actually, scratch that - STOP MAKING ME SPEND MORE MONEY!! lol

[@StephenMcLeod]

Sorry!!! I too am cursed with the GAS. The poly aftertouch is really pretty cool on this mind you...

[@els1f]

I have absolutely no desire to get this. But I'm still watching lol 😋✌️

[@StephenMcLeod]

Haha no complaints from me!

[@crybo]

Sold my desktop last month to fund a Super 6. There was just something about its sound that I didn’t quite like compared to my other synths. Loved everything else about it, such a deep synth engine, amazing mod matrix and the macro assign is genius. But it just wasn’t getting the same love and attention that my Peak, XD and Iridium were getting. I may pick up an Explorer again though at some time. Always good to hear a fellow Scottish voice on a synth channel.

[@StephenMcLeod]

How do you like the Super 6?? Also: Scots unite. Or... we could fight to the death?

[@crybo]

@@StephenMcLeod love it! It sounds absolutely huge and great interface!

[@DMac366]

@@StephenMcLeod Braveheart was Scottish. Therefore, so was Die Hard.

[@Curious_Skeptic]

The price point makes a lot more sense these days. New, 599 usd. I love sound design. So, I am hoping it will be all I hope. It's coming in Friday. Super excited. I like the plastic honestly. I want to take it with on travels. Heck, if I love it. I BUY a deluxe next :)

[@StephenMcLeod]

whoah a Deluxe as well?!

[@bobbycroker19]

I feel like the Hydra pays homage to the CS80 and the early ensoniq workstations. I love it.

[@StephenMcLeod]

It is a great thing to play!

[@anonymoushuman8344]

For those of us who like the mini keys, it would be great if ASM would make a Hydra identical to the original model but with five octaves of mini keys and battery power like the Explorer. That way you'd have the full eight macro knobs and full display, etc., the pitch and mod wheels, and five octaves of poly aftertouch at your fingertips -- in what would still be a very portable package. Or even just a five-octave midi controller with the poly aftertouch.

[@StephenMcLeod]

At first I wasn't convinced by this... but the more I think about it, the more I think you might be onto something...

[@anonymoushuman8344]

Thanks. It's good to know there are others who can see it working. I use a five octave Korg Microkey Air that I've gotten used to. I still have hopes that Arturia (or somebody) will risk making a Keystep with 61 keys one of these days. With poly aftertouch. Roli LUMI Studio Edition evidently does have it, with MPE.

[@enochroot9438]

I've been saving for a Deluxe but I'm very tempted to knock it on the head and pick up the explorer. I love the random patch generation function on my Arturia Polybrute

[@StephenMcLeod]

Yeah! Randomness by degree is even more awesome as it can help morph sounds you like just a wee bit.

[@dankeplace]

late to the party, I've had the desktop and never liked the brittle sound. This was 1st release so I let it go. People have improved patches and now sounds warmer, so I can fit 1 on the desk but was wondering how the keys feel. People complaining that the PAT isn't functional and black keys don't seem to work? I have read that you need to adjust PAT sensitivity, is it really that bad? Since I am looking at a UBXa module, I need a PAT keybed and this seems like the best obvious choice. I have a KSP and read the keys are better than that which is good news. Penny for your thoughts.

[@Jobotubular]

Good timing -- I just had opportunity to play on a friend's Hydrasynth (the big version), and I must say the Explorer is looking very attractive. I didn't try any programming, just went through the presets to see if the sounds could actually be used the way I'd be interested in using them. In other words, how musical could it be? Because if it didn't have that, it didn't really matter to me what it could do. The poly AT was the main selling point, but I did find the overall sound to be a pleasure in itself. FWIW, I have seen opinions on line that criticized the Explorer keybed as inferior, referencing the Reface as contrast -- so I'm glad to hear that you didn't find it so unacceptable.

[@StephenMcLeod]

I find the criticism of keybeds interesting. I think most are perfectly fine, and it's something that people just like to moan about. I haven't experienced any issues with it! Though I do want to try a Reface at some point...

[@Jobotubular]

@@StephenMcLeod -- I left out an important detail: the criticism I read about the Explorer keybed was only about the black keys; the criticizer specifically said the white keys were fine. So I'm definitely keen to hear if you find the black keys to be just as good as the white

[@Hardts]

I'm curious about that too, how are they? I just sent my Hydrasynth Deluxe back because of an issue with one of the keys (C2) - it was sticking, on a brand new unit. I found the Hydrasynth Deluxe fascinating, but a lot of the single mode (regular hydra, non-multi) presets were not useable to me. I may get the explorer instead.

[@Hardts]

I will say that the build quality in general was pretty good on the deluxe

[@breitbanddesign]

As a DAW-dude i usually think „if hardware then analogue“. while trying decide between XD and Nymphes as my analogze poly, there are only two digital devices left on my GAS list, that i dont manage to get rid of: the megaFM and the ASM explorer … ;) that poly after touch is sooo tempting … ;)

[@StephenMcLeod]

Similar here. I was surprised at how great the polytouch works and how easy it is to modulate different parameters. Really cool.

[@SonicVibe]

Hype is my favorite synth inside my mpc one

[@StephenMcLeod]

It's a goodun!

[@lewisbirkett4428]

Was initially considering a minilogue xd or roland jd xi but this one seems great. Only thing holding me back is no sequencer

[@StephenMcLeod]

It has an arp though!

[@69shakti]

Not even in same league in my opinion!! Hydras rule!!

[@RobinParmar]

This model is great value, but here's what you are giving up in comparison to the previous models: * no CV inputs, hence no audio in either * no ribbon (not on Desktop either) * no expression input * no MIDI thru * can only view/control 4 parameters at once, instead of 8

[@StephenMcLeod]

True that, the main keyboard version is great - though significantly pricier!

[@RealityShiftUK]

Hopefully the last synth I ever buy! Have enough analog synths and no more wasting money on mono synths haha

[@StephenMcLeod]

Everybody loves a bit of mono.

[@RealityShiftUK]

@@StephenMcLeod I agree mono is esential but I have. a moog grandmother behringer model d and neutron haha

[@robertsyrett1992]

The more I use the explorer, the more it's starting to feel like a polyphonic modular system.

[@StephenMcLeod]

It does have a huge amount of control!

[@ciatangallaghe2485]

Most of my patches sound like gammy organs that I found in the dump.

[@StephenMcLeod]

hahaha some people love a gammy organ

[@mybachhertzbaud3074]

Just musing, price and performance, three explorers to one deluxe??? Anyone?😁🎶🎹🎹🎹🎶

[@StephenMcLeod]

sounds like a decent deal!!

[@mybachhertzbaud3074]

Haha😁 perhaps I should be less obtuse when I type. 😜 I was really wondering if someone has tested the functionality of 3 explorers to one deluxe since price was about the same.🎶🎶🎹🎶🎶Play On