Dave Smith Instruments Evolver Monophonic Tabletop Synthesizer

The concept of Evolver is to generate new sounds that, well, evolve. Sounds that change, subtly or dramatically. So, Evolver has the analog components, and also some digital components. Generating new sounds via the interaction of analog and digital electronics. Best of both worlds.

Analog + Digital = Wild Sounds

There is extensive use of tunable feedback in Evolver, interconnecting the digital feedback loops with the analog electronics. When Evolver goes ape, the analog circuitry actually keeps the signal in line just enough that the result is wild sounds, not pain. Plus, the feedback constantly moves, and differently in each channel (each channel has their own independant feedback path), giving some very cool stereo ambience to the sounds.

Lots of Sound in a Mini-sized Monosynth

Why a monophonic synth? Why a low-cost, small, desktop instrument? Well, simpler products can be designed faster, easier, and cheaper. Plus, monosynths can be a lot of fun -- there are benefits when you eliminate all the polyphonic baggage. You'd also be surprised how much sound you can get out of one voice, especially with four oscillators. It also allows using the synth as an effects processor with stereo inputs and outputs. Overall, the Evolver delivers bang-for-the-buck.

How small is Evolver?

Evolver is 10.75" wide, 6" deep, and 1.5" high (27 x 15 x 4 cm). It is 2.25" (5.7 cm) high including feet and knob height.

How about the weight?

A bit over 3 pounds (1.4 Kg); Evolver is… read more made of steel (literally!)

What are the AC power requirements?

Evolver's universal power supply runs virtually anywhere; 100 - 240 V AC, 50-60 Hz. It also includes a number of adapter plugs to make it easy.

Is Evolver analog or digital?

Both; analog oscillator waveshapes, analog filters and VCAs. Digital oscillators and effects. Check the Signal Flow diagram.

What is the resolution of the digital side?

The internal converters are 24 bits, and run at 48 kHz.

How long is the delay?

One second, uncompressed at 48 kHz. Pure and simple.

Is there a headphone jack?

Nope, but with a simple cable adapter Evolver will drive most headphones just fine.

Can the operating system be updated via MIDI?

Yes! There are two processors; a high-speed PIC microcontroller, and a big 'ol DSP. They can individually be updated with large sysex files, which will be posted on the website as they are released.

Does the Sequencer send out MIDI?

Yes; in version 2.0 there are a few new sequencer mod destinations, including the ability to send MIDI notes and controller data.

Does the filter oscillate?

Yes, when configured in 4 Pole mode. And yes, both the left and right filters track and are tuned to semitones.

Features:

- Monophonic (one voice) synthesizer
- Four oscillators in total: two analog, two digital
- Analog Oscillator waveshape are Sawtooth, Triangle, Saw-Triangle, and Pulse (with voltage-controlled analog Pulse-Width modulation)
- Digital Oscillators select from 96 wavetables from the Prophet-VS (128 x 12 bits), and 32 user-loadable (via MIDI) Wavetables (128 x 16 bits). The Digital Oscillators get trashy as the frequency gets higher, as with the original VS.
- Hard Sync on the analog oscillators
- FM and Ring Mod on the digital oscillators
- Separate Glide per oscillator, with two glide modes
- Real voltage-controlled analog lowpass filters - not digital recreations. - 4-pole/2-pole switchable, fully resonant (in 4-pole mode). There are two separate filters, one for the left channel and one for the right.
- Analog Voltage Controlled Amplifiers (VCA), again one for each channel.
- Dual digital 4-pole Highpass filters (one per channel); place before or after analog electronics.
- Stereo audio inputs; Noise generator
- Envelope Follower and Peak Detect from External Input to use as modulation sources
- External Input can be used to gate envelopes and/or step the Sequencer
- Three snappy ADSR envelopes
- Four LFOs (sync with sequencer and MIDI)
- Dual (left and right channel) tunable feedback loops; modulate frequency and amount
- Delay with 3 taps; each with separate time and amount modulation. Syncs to sequencer/MIDI. Normal feedback and additional feedback path through analog filters
- Distortion! Digital, one for each channel, can be placed before or after analog electronics
- 3 Banks of 128 Programs for 384 total Programs - dump to/from MIDI
- 16 x 4 Analog-style sequencer - syncs with MIDI
- Extensive Modulation capabilities, including audio-range modulation. Bipolar (+/-) modulation.
- Easy to program matrix-style front panel with 8 endless-turn rotary encoders
- The internal computer and DSP chips can be reprogrammed via MIDI, for easy feature additions read less