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The ikM UNO Synth in comparison with IOS synthesizer
I'm just curious...
What can the new and hyped ik multimedia UNO Synth do that our IOS synthesizers can't?
My main concern with this question is the sound characteristics in comparison.
Sure, the UNO Synth has buttons that invite you to tweaked. It can be used mobile with battery on the road. It has a 16 step sequencer and an arpeggiator.
But I can also have all this with an iPad, coupled with a Nanokey Studio, I have even more buttons to screw, a chaos pad and a 2 octave keyboard to play in.
Only the sound comparison remains.
Comparing the UNO Synth with our Model D, Zeeon and other synthesizers, what do you think? I could imagine that the IOS synthesizers sound even better than the UNO.
Maybe we already have the best mobile „synthesizer“ / musicworkstation on the market?
In the end, the question remains whether a UNO Synth is worth buying for well-equipped IOS musicians?
What do you think?
Comments
When it comes to pure synthesis capabilities I feel the UNO is a bit 'lacking' compared to for example Zeeon (No Osc Sync, No Crossmod/FM or RIng Modulation and many of the modulation parameters require Midi CC to be edited). I guess the limitations are there to keep the price down...
On iOS we're pretty spoiled with cool cheap synth apps and can create almost any 'sound type' already.
Sure the 'filter' on the UNO may have it's own 'character' but is it that special? I really do doubt that...
Easy answer. It is an analog synth. 100% analog sound, there is no analog modeling that would recreate its sound. It is like comparing a human to a robot - the robot may build a car faster, but the human will sing and create and do many things better, always. The difference is definitely in the sound. True analog sound with a portable footprint and features like the powerful sequencer and arpeggiator at your fingertips.
iOS synthesizers will not sound more analog than an analog synth.
50 user videos are available at this playlist to hear how it sounds, and see how it is easy and inspirational to use, and how it plays well with other hardware (and iPad apps) as well as on its own:
But the circuit is an digital synth, not analog. I personally think Zeon / model d / mood sound better than circuit. Each to their own.
iPad synths sound pretty amazing to my ears. Getting hard to tell the difference. It is fantastic to have the real thing tho if you have the space & a fat bank balance , & someone to carry it about for you
(unless it's one of the new portable analogue synths like the UNO of course )
Only had a little while on an Uno, but it is poor compared to a few of synths on IOS and in my eyes was a complete waste of money, I didn't even think about buying it, the person who did buy it had buyers remorse immediately.
Ummmm... I owned a Circuit, the only reason I bought it was to have a battery powered synth for camping and street parties and stuff... Then I bought a newish iPad and sold that Circuit immediately after. There is no question to me that many iOS synths sound as good or better than most outboard gear, at least at a reasonable price point... Any doubters should stack Zeeon up against just about any basic subtractive analog synth and do a blind test.
The only real advantage to hardware is knobs / sliders / buttons (which can be midi mapped on iOS) and the fact that it won't crash due to software (and some even do that).
Nonetheless, hardware synths are super cool and often have a (noisy) character that is difficult to perfectly emulate in software. So, I'm not knocking HW, just don't give me this analog warmth or whatever argument - you like the
feel of the gear and intuit that there is electricity running through actual analog circuits, and you have space and money to spend on your habit... Cheers.
At least IK Multimedia aren’t considering a subscription model for the Uno (are they?).
A lot is made of the “it is real analogue” argument, but today’s best emulations on ios are really very good, and there have been previous threads with blind tests and it is really difficult to tell which is which - with some even preferring the digital emulations. I agree that there is something very tactile about using real hardware, but for versatility you can’t beat an iPad. I think that coupled with a good midi controller is maybe the best solution.
P.S. I’m not knocking the Uno at all, I’ve never tried it personally but I am sure it is good at what it does.
Extra oscillator in year three!
I haven't tried or heard the uno, but I just got a behringer model d the other day and last night was using it side by side with the moog model d app. They both sounded great, and I also saw that matching the knob positions from a preset on the app and the physical synth did not give exactly the same sound, but both sounds were good. I don't regret the hardware purchase one bit and it was also a wake up to how good the app sounds.
I love synths like iOS Moog, zeeon etc they are so good and I can use them when traveling but when I use my modular or say the Juno 6 it’s a different ball game. Playing lower or higher frequencies and pushing the filter sounds different.
I am a "person who did buy it" [the UNO Synth] and I do not feel it was a "waste of money". Does it have some flaws or limitations? Absolutely, and I've been happy to point those out in the original thread on this that ran back in July:
https://forum.audiob.us/discussion/comment/520716#Comment_520716
I am also a fan of iOS Synths and have (easily) spent hundred's of dollars on various apps and IAP's, not to mention the actual iPad and the hardware peripherals that support my ability to use the iPad synths and capture the sounds that come out of them. The UNO Synth is actually extremely well priced at $199 and should be compared to other hardware options like the Korg Volca (cheaper) or Arturia MicroBrute ($100 more expensive). Comparing an entry level analog monosynth to an entire ecosystem of virtual synths, in my opinion, is not a fair or instructive criticism.
Now, all that being said, if you are coming from iOS synths (like I was, originally), and want to buy just one hardware unit that gives you the experience of a vintage analog synthesizer...UNO probably wouldn't be the one I recommend. It's a touch capacitive interface with just a few encoders and, as a monosynth, it's going to be limited as to the types of things you can do with it musically. I would look more in the direction of the Korg Monologue or Arturia MicroBrute if that is your aim.
But I find the sounds from the UNO Synth to be quite good, and I've enjoyed it for what it is. I've heard people using it just to feed samples into a MPC on-the-go, or coming up with a quick lead or bass line with some performance effects added in. I just think it's unfair when people say Zeeon or Model 15 is a better value than a budget hardware synth. If you had nothing right now, the entry price for that "$20 app" is probably in excess of $1,000, once you factor in the iPad itself and all of the apps and peripherals you would want or need to actually use it.
The analog/digital debates ended years ago. There is no better or worse. They all are part of a diverse sound palette from which we can make our art. Each can make sounds the other can't. Each is useful. Arguing about which is better is like arguing about which color is better. I prefer the full spectrum.
Exactly! The “A sounds better than B” debate drives me nuts!
The UNO looks fun and attractively compact, but the interface puts me off. I feel like having a large bunch of knobs and broadly a one-knob-per-function UI is part of the pleasure of hardware synthesis. I recently got a Behringer Neutron, and have been enjoying it immensely, partly because it sounds pretty noisy and dirty in a way that I find pretty hard to match in software and partly for all the knobs and the physical patching. Costlier than the UNO and not portable so not really a comparison. But to be honest, if I wanted a portable analog device, I might go for something a bit more quirky. Like this for example: https://www.bastl-instruments.com/instruments/softpop/ though like the Neutron it’s costlier than the UNO and in this case about as different as it’s possible to be in function...
+1
I would love to see anyone make something similar to the OP-1 at a reasonable price with proper support.
Today my curiosity drew me into a music shop to see and finger the UNO live. I had the opportunity to try out the Synth for half an hour.
It's smaller than I thought, almost as wide as my 10.5 iPad Pro. The menu navigation is simple and quite accessible. The keyboard responds quite well. The knobs react quite quickly.
The Sound
My tour led me through all 100 presets. Yes, some sounds were very impressive. With the Preset no. 96 I really had fun playing around and turning the knobs of the filters. 👍
But I left the store without the UNO. I'm not sure if it would be a really useful addition to my iPad or just another gimmick that might lose its appeal after a short time.
Another aspect also made me think. The UNO is in direct competition with the KORG Monologue. The price is almost the same. The KORG can also be powered by battery. However, the Monologue offers much better controls, a small but fine display with oscilloscope and a real keyboard. Compared to the Uno, I like the Korg more when it comes to haptics. At least that was my first impression.
At the end of the day I think I will save the money and going to spend more time with zeeon, mood, model D and my other IOS Synthesizer. Of course mapped with a nice midi controller for a good haptic and tweaking. I’m quite sure I can create with them a similar sound experience as today with the UNO Synth or even better... 🎶😎.
I really love all my IOS Synthesizer, most of them sounding sooo good!
Good enough to make me happy! 😊
P.S.
If I was a pure desktop musician and didn't own an iPad, I probably bought the UNO. So small and mobile I would have a lot of fun with the UNO on the road.
But I own and use an iPad with amazing apps. What could be better? 😎
Korg Monologue street price is $100 more (so 1.5x the price) than UNO Synth
Uno Synth cost 229.-€ here in Germany.
The KORG monologue cost just 15.-€ more... 😎
https://www.thomann.de/de/search_dir.html?sw=Monologue&smcs=b0149b_13274
https://www.justmusic.de/de-de/keys/synthesizer/analoge-synthesizer/9166472/monologue-sv.html
I had a Monologue. From what I’ve heard and seen on YouTube, I’d rather have the Uno. FWIW
I think it’s great that we have so many options and I understand that Uno fits on a lot of setups, but, for me, it’s in “no-place” option
Monologue is only 20€ more expensive here in Europe. The best part for hardware setup is access to every single option knob, especially in this analog monovoice synths.
I'm talking MSRP. Sorry that excessive taxes in your location make things more expensive.
I confirm that Uno is only 15 € cheaper than Monologue here in Paris (sorry to speak about prices including taxes, but this is the real amount that is going out of my wallet). Taxes are the same for Korg and for IK. Based on this price difference, Monologue is a no brainer if I had to choose between the 2