All user reviews for the Hartmann Neuron

Neuron is one of the deepest synthesizers ever made, so it's not surprising to see that it was a commercial flop for Hartmann Music. The same can be told for every extreme synthesizer. Most people love to just "plug and play".

Confusing terminology makes mastering the already advanced instrument even harder. (e.g. the good old cutoff filter is called "silver" uh! )

There are thirteen tiny separate displays on board and it is so easy to get lost until you are familiar with the work flow. Unfortunately the original documentation supplied with Neuron is so very shallow, regarding the immense capabilities of the instrument. So you are virtually on your own with the Hartmann Neuron.

Though it is actually an unfinished product, what we already have is still one decade ahead of what we have today in 2023.

One must learn to move slowly and patiently while programming the Neuron. The modulation possibilities are enormous. It is obviously good for moving deep and complex pads but it can be very snappy and funky too. I personally enjoy working on classic sounds and turn them into a "Neuron only" sound. Programming the timbre and the behavior of the sound is a joy! BTW, watch out for your ears and your sub woofers! It can get extremely punchy on the low end. The high end is generally tasteless, almost impossible to find sweet spots in the high frequency range.

Just like the Yamaha VL synths, the sound is relatively transparent and cold compared to standard romplers. But after all, we need every level of warmth on the mix. So, Hartmann has a special place in most of the arrangements. It has a character that nothing can replace. I like to use it for the prominent tracks in my works.

The CHARACTERISTICS synthtiseur are those of a digital with the touch of a cot analog.
Hartmann did not DCID reflchir of something complicated and hard to approach with menus galore. They targeted the most silent in a sensible and make IMMEDIATE synthtiseur of ACCS for the Fast Fashion is the thing of first order. Should use the Neuron to realize my opinion because it is not by reading that you can apprcier this carractristique.
I regret that the digital output does not receive the 48Khz (currently only 44.1 kHz).
CHARACTERISTICS The other is that the Neuron is a device about a redraw of the OS. It should give us a few surprises Reserved. The "core" by Stefan dvelopp Bernsee has not yet found all its quintessence, and that's what OS we rvlle little small. Soon probably the implmentation of the analog inputs for I do not know yet.
It also expects an update of the Model Maker software.

UTILIZATION

The convivial utillisation is more than a synth of this type.
Simple set up, use of effects and sounds trs comfortable, but not enough clear manual my taste. Why? Because this is home synthse subtleties that are difficult to INTERPRETATION words. But it is also a strength, because the user is free to CRER him even his own relationship with the synthse. That's why I said a few documents that I put here supplmentaires available through links url.

SOUNDS

The sounds are a breed apart in the current synthtiseur horizon. I think there is still a kind of lightweight delay between action and the resulting sound, which could put a little Neuron cart for fast music trs trs sacadas (bass etc).
That said, I believe that those who are today the acquisition of neuron gnralement are people who have the hardware that runs dj derrire, so that even latency n is not an absolute problem. In a recording then you can always advance or delay the audio tracks to recall if needed. on the other hand Welcome to the realm of bizarre sounds and thrs. The Neuron is truly a living machine!

In the DPIT lgre latency, we approach the neuron with a musical expression that I never encountered on other synths.

OVERALL OPINION

I use the Neuron dej since 3 months and I've been around a technical point of view but from a sound standpoint Fast Fashion, there's always sth of bluffing also each time that fate. It can quickly turn to other instruments, but then these other demeurrent constant in their sound and gnration drawn from the results. The neuron, I think this just dsobit RULES. Contrary to what I heard of his dtracteurs the Neuron has become my favorite instrument.

I put a translation available Franaise the neuron on my site:
https://www.sylvainkepler.com
Go to the "studio" and "Neuron v1.5" and bottom of the page you find the pdf doc that I produced.

Trs plastoc keyboard and noisy it looks like a toy
-Lots of controllers in all directions and twelve o'clock if he please, but against super fragile notament pitch bend is a small plastic stick handle not practical, it is far from Roland. on the other hand I have ever Russian the squence my cubase crashed totally - problem of buffer on the neuron seems, APRS information. Depending on paramtres can also hear the clicks of the bearings.
- 6 audio outputs for surround sound to listen (although this method is somewhat impractical, we will see why later)
- Hlas connection with the mac / pc is only done via ftp (with a USB / ethernet) to transfer the samples and we have to wait and wait because once you put your sounds in the 'buffer 'the hard drive must be imported in the' user 'of the same hard drive (!), all this is too long and tedious trs. The plug-in VS compared is infinitely faster since 'it must be that a drag & drop.
It is expected the software to manage the sounds, but eventually the dveloppement s' arretbr /> If the worst for me is the loading time of samples every time you change the sound, sometimes more than 3 minutes to move from a low one piano! In comparison I plug is almost instantaneous. I have the dye neuron when I was mistaken in the choice of certain sounds, do not want to wait several minutes.
The polyphony is extremely variable depending on the number of oscilloscope utiliss (1 or 2) and also the quality of analysis models (samples). But we do all 8 channels Exceeds see Figure 4 for the rich sounds. The more I am perplexed to have read in some pubs the era that the neuron could be between 16 and 48 voice polyphony. The hard Ralite this limitation leads multitimbral mode (setup) to oblivion. Now that is with him that we gre surround, but do the math: If you have three surround sound in a max of 8 notes polyphony in all, how many notes you play? nothing! just one or two that will be cut if you play a 3rd lol
One last point, the neuron makes noise all the time (big fan), forcing up the volume ...

UTILIZATION

Yes, the config is very simple because everything has its paramtre knob, similar to edit the sounds, the manual is quite simple but dpend of the person's bed. A beginners' s will lose no doubt.

The Drout synthse enough, there are lots of names paramtres sometimes incongruous and do not always sound good trs. We often feel with a resonator to hack core (of the oscilloscope also called the neuron resynator lol). The most interresting is the blender that allows to apply the CHARACTERISTICS of a sound one another. But the quality of the sound sometimes reminds me of a bad mp3. Fortunately the effects are!
The machine is made for foncirement based mono sound (impossible to analyze a sample Stereo), one trick is to analyze the cot and then left the cot right then gather them in the blender Stereo mode, but you hold the property, we can not filter out the sounds! exit the high pass or low pass. Ms. sampler base is 100 euros.

- To work its own sounds, you must turn hlas a mac or pc to analyze the samples and put the size of the neuron. A shame to get the synth to a cache that the components of a PC. I think hartmann prvu had to make since the keyboard intgre independent audio inputs, but they were never in the software implementations.

SOUNDS

The sounds are not really ralistes the multisamples are somewhat catastrophic, the following are trs done wrong, but that is such inhrent synthse. Any Manir this is not the purpose of this synth. Better from the Discoveries of new sounds.

Despite resynthse, the neuron is not done for playing a loop or a line mlodique without changing speed as the Roland VP9000, or the V-synth. Finally, if there is a mode (8) but the quality is pouvantable, the sound has the air of having been a hideous stretch + 16kbps mp3 encoding. It is thundering especially when you consider that the designer of the neuron was released by Prosoniq a stretch / pitch shifteur trs of good quality. But it can be a problem there was power in the neuron to do it in real time of low trs o RESOLUTION analysis of samples in order not to load too much processor (a celeron)

The multi-effect integration is trs good quality for a standalone synth, and participates in Manir trs active to make up for weaknesses in the sound engine of the neuron. If you ever have one on hand, have fun off the effects (the 5 switches on the top right) and you will understand the discomfort.
Those who love the sounds in the noys rverbe definitely love this synth.

OVERALL OPINION

I have had the Neuron keyboard for 1 year. A beautiful object that I rvais trs intuitive to own, but in the end I use version prfre plug in (which sounds less' shears and 20 voice polyphony on Intel dual core), the Roland V-Synth and Metasynth To create original sounds.

Neuron of the fan is too noisy for studio work, after 15h that is tiring

Too many to mention. There are tons of realtime controls (knobs, joysticks, and continuous wheel controls galore). There are also a great deal of LEDs and status lights to let you really know what's going on. In addition to the normal stuff, there are 3-D modulators, a studio-quality reverb and delay. It's a stunning pad/SFX machine. There is also a surround mode (in addition to the digital outs, there are six assignable outs). The only problem is that the so-called set up mode (for surround/multi-timbre) really feels Beta...

Price paid

$4200 USD

UTILIZATION

This is an incredibly complex synthesizer that is also one of the easiest to use (see all the real-time features). You can radically change the entire character of the timbre with a small twitch of a stick or two.

The machine is built like a tank (metal with a wood side panel). The only iffy bits are the plastic joysticks. Mine shipped with a cracked one, but AudioMidi sent me a whole handful of replacement ones immediately!

SOUNDS

The sound quality is superb! Strong points include digital out, but there is also a dodgy surround mode. The only trouble is that you have to really listen for distortions (watch those levels!)

OVERALL OPINION

This machine is the best digital I've played, bar none. The tones are totally unique - the blender/morph section blows my mind. There are so many modulation routings that you can create incredibly slowly moving timbres that are extremely coomplex; yet, the creation is very easy due to the wealth of real-time controls. I realize that no review can really tell you the SOUND of anything, but if you go to www.hartmann-music.com they'll try to explain it in pseudo-scientific jargon (AKA bullshit). Just believe the hype - the thing DOES sound as good as it gets

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: bunnyman ( 8-, 2005)

All the neccessary parameters are in there place, including EQ and Compression which are quite good for being built into a synth. Plus, Model Maker, the modeling software provides data linkage for your PC or MAC and allows users to create new (patches/oscillators) models from audio files/samples to download and use in your neuron. Whooah, imagine the possiblities....somebody stop me!!

Price paid: 3,800 USD

UTILIZATION

Well thought out, straight forward user interface with plenty of hands on tweaking controls and LED displays for reference. There is a slight learning curve with translating parameter names to what your used to. But thats isn't necessarly a bad thing as the synth itself is apart from the rest and the parameters do effect the sound in a slighty different way than your traditional synths. Thinking outside the box is a good thing in my book.

SOUNDS

Silky smooth and super clean from the ultra lowend to pearcing highs. Classic for sure. Sets nicely in the mix.

OVERALL OPINION

Rock solid, heavy duty, quite a beast, though the first one I ordered arrived D.O.A. due to jarring caused during shipping. The unit does have a hardrive inside and like any other, if its slammed around to hard the disks can slip causing malfunction. However AudioMIDI exchanged the unit no problem and the replacement arrived unscafed. I do advice an upgraded shipping method if you can help it!!

This machine can really open some doors of sound exploration. Straight out of the box your blown away but then after a while you began to recogonize the endless possibilties that lie before you. Being able to create your own models (patches/oscillators) lets this synth evolve into a truly personal sound machine. Cudos to Axle Hartmann and the design team!

Originally posted on FutureProducers.com
Posted by: rvbicon ( 8-, 2005)