Customer Video Review Length:: 1:19 Mins

December 19, 2012 UPDATE

Added a video.
In the video, the lead sound, and the pad sound near the end, are both Tetra.
Everything else in the song is something else.
For the lead sound there are no knob tweaks or automation and the filter is wide open for a phat punchy sound.

I’ve now seen Venom, Minibrute, and Mopho X4 released since I bought Tetra.
..and I’m still happy with Tetra and would not buy one of the others if I could go back in time.
Taste is subjective and musicians often bond with their instruments, as for me, Tetra was a great choice.

The good side:
Tetra has a really phat analog sound and some unique character. Even while many VAs are quite good, there is a notable sonic warmth and signature to real analog you will appreciate. It has been reliable and works well every time I use it. The small size is also nice for easy placement in your studio. Since Tetra is a poly it can play more complex sequences with chords or even a little note overlap with ease, and in this way it has a defined advantage over monosynths. Tetra being a poly with phat sound is what I like most. I also have the pro stand alone editor, and the plugin editor which I use in Cubase 5. Both work reasonably well. I have had my Tetra just over two years and I would not part with it. Also DSI tech support is very helpful and fast in responding, they have even responded to me nights and weekends. I have been able to create everything from phat basses to pads to leads and sounds I consider unique and creative.

The bad side:
Lack of knobs, but this is a known when buying. The editors are a little buggy. Mostly they work well, However, sometimes loading a patch will not take effect without recycling power on Tetra. Sometimes the editor knobs don’t stay in sync with Tetra knobs and occasionally the editor loses complete connection with Tetra and has to be restarted. I have also found combo and multi-mode (the modes that allow Tetra to act as four separate monosynths) is actually quite underdeveloped in the editor and it seems like basic functionality was very limited. You can read about a lot of the bugs at prophet08 . o r g in the Tetra section. But let’s be fair, most analog synths all have their little issues and you won’t see users flooding forums just to leave compliments. I found almost all of the presets worthless. Also Tetra has a punchy brassy character. If you are going for that smooth, phat, sweet spot acid sound, you can get it / find it from Tetra, with a little flattery and patience. Tweak envelope amount and cutoff to find the spot you’re seeking, this has helped me recently.

Summary:
For me, the attitude Tetra and its editor gives me (which is not too much) is worth the very phat awesome poly analog sounds I can create with it. However, if you intend to use its advanced features, are intolerant of any bugs or challenges, or this is your first analog synth, perhaps consider something with more knobs.

Pros
This is a good 4-voice analog synth. Great fat sound, with broad range of analog sounds. Digitally controlled oscillators and the ability to store presets and combinations is a great feature. Has 4 knobs to assign different functions from step sequencer, arpeggiator to envelope control. Computer editor is a plus for a broad view of the small factor interface which makes it ideal for a ‘Minimal’ configuration.

Cons
-The major one for me, the volume control. The volume level is set independent (digitally) from program to program and the output is not a direct analog control through a knob but rather a digital setting through the microprocessor which is frustrating. This can literally hurt your ears if you are planning to use it with headphones and/or without a mixer to control the volume in monitors straight from the unit. I called DSI about this and they said it was normal which I find this really disappointing. Hopefully they will fix this “feature” in a future firmware release, otherwise you have to keep turning down the volume knob every time you change from program to a combination (back and forth). For a 0+ piece of gear I would assume the volume knob works like the majority of the electronic components out there.
-No BPM/Tempo LED, this is almost unforgivable.
-No power ON/OFF switch.
-Construction quality is not the greatest, feels like a cheap product made in china vs. a product made in San Francisco. One of the knob caps fell out on day one just from normal use.

In conclusion, this analog synth packs great sound that looks good in paper due to its features however there are considerable drawbacks that makes this gear not perfect and could be a setback among other analog synths in this price range.

It appears I’m going to be the first person to give this thing a 5-star endorsement, and I fully admit it’s mostly for the sound-to-cost ratio.

Quick background where I’m coming from:
Have no problems with soft-synths and do frequently use them (I’m a big Propellerhead Reason fan), but that being said, in MOST cases I would still prefer hardware and analog (have a few hardware virtual analog synths and they get get used plenty as well). Without diving into the analog-vs-digital debate, let’s just say it’s a personal preference related to the sound. And that preference does impact my assessment of this product.

And this is the first Dave Smith product I’ve owned (no Prophet 5 experience though I do kick myself for not buying one I found in a pawn shop back in 90’s).

Positives:
– Without going used, where else can you get a synth with 4 analog voices and this programmability for the 0-900 price range?
– The sound…I think the brass (saw wave) patches on here are as smooth as butter (yeah, that’s subjective, but I also have owned/own a boatload of analog and VA synths to compare it to)
– Minimum impact on real estate. I ended up selling several synths in the last decade just because what they brought to my musical creativity was less than the space they took up in my music room
– Since a PC is the centerpiece of my home studio anyway, using the free software to program this thing is fairly easy, and unlike the other reviewer, I’ve had no bugs or glitches using it
– The sound…yes this is a repeat, but it BEARS repeating. Whether the saw waves, square, pulse width, etc, this thing sounds great and lets you easily program LOTS of phenomenal stuff (albeit with the assistance of software)
– Creative routing options on the outputs give you the equivalent of 4 separate monosynths. Though 4 voices is the total polyphony, it’s also 4 voice multitimbral and can have a differently programmed monosynth for each multitimbral voice
– You can daisy-chain 2 (or more) of these things together to use like one synth and increase the polyphony
– Dual-voltage power supply (not a big thing for most, but I’ve split equal time as an adult between Europe and the states and am very grateful for it)

Negatives:
– No easy knob-tweaking satisfaction here. I have a Yamaha CS-5 (old one-oscillator monosynth) and an Arturia Minibrute, and I love tweaking and programming these things in real time, having no problems that there’s no storage for patches/sounds. Hands on tweaking is the fun, and in comparison what this product offers is MUCH more limited without diving into menus
– Minus the computer and software, programming this thing is a HUGE pain in the butt (though still doable) and I would think, a big detractor for the voltage-controlled, analog-loving crowd
– No keyboard. Yeah I know a keyboard would kill the whole small footprint advantage, but I still find myself wishing for one occasionally
– No onboard effects (reverb, delay, chorus, etc)
– If you’re not picky about the whole analog/digital debate, you can pick up MUCH more polyphony and similar sound-producing capability and effects for MUCH less money (Roland GAIA SH-01, Novation MiniNova, Casio XW-P1, etc)
– Almost forgot…the unit has no power switch. Plug in to turn on, unplug to turn off

And that’s about it. Wish it had more voices and knobs, but that’s just being greedy because again, 4 analog voices for this price is quite nice. Great sound and easy programmability (for my setup anyway) make this a no-brainer, 5-star purchase…for me anyway.