Mopho x4 Synthesizer Keyboard Introduction
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- Опубліковано 27 сер 2024
- It's a polyphonic Mopho keyboard!
Mopho x4 is the newest addition to DSI's revered line of analog subtractive synthesizers. Building upon the same award winning voice architecture of the Mopho and Mopho Keyboard, the Mopho x4 boasts huge sound and 4 voice polyphony in an ideally sized, portable, and elegantly designed package. Use it to create huge unison basses, creamy leads, maniacal sequences, and ethereal pads.
4 times the voice 4 your pleasure
Each of Mopho x4's four voices is composed of two analog oscillators, two sub octave generators, selectable 2- or 4-pole famed Curtis low-pass filter, three 5-stage envelope generators, four LFOs, a re-latchable arpeggiator, and a 16 x 4 step sequencer. Its voice also comes packed with 20 modulation sources and almost 50 destinations!
FM the filter to create metallic bell-like sounds and use the feedback path to add subtle or destructive harmonic content to your sound. Mopho x4's 100% analog signal path is powerful, monstrous, and sonically dynamic!
Work less, play more
Mopho x4 is intuitive and inviting. Every parameter is fully programmable and editable from the front panel. The controls are logically laid out, lending themselves to quick access so you can tweak knobs without missing a beat.
The x4's full sized 44-note semi-weighted keyboard has aftertouch and velocity sensitivity. The sturdy full sized pitch and mod wheels are freely assignable and sport smooth reliable action.
It grows with you
Expand Mopho x4's polyphony using it's Poly Chain port. Mopho, Tetra, and Prophet '08 can all be connected to the x4 to increase its voice count. You can Poly Chain up to three Tetras with Mopho x4 to create a 16 voice analog super synth!
The Mopho x4!
Dave Smith Instruments is the only company pioneering and producing fully programmable polyphonic analog synthesizers. In fact Dave's been at it for 35 years!
Designed and manufactured in San Francisco, Mopho x4 has the high quality sound and build for which DSI is renowned. From its feature packed analog voices and unmatched sonic versatility to its refined design and engaging interface, you won't find a polyphonic analog synthesizer like this anywhere else.
RIP Dave Smith, you were great.
The father of MIDI!
Miss that guy. I was living in London when the Mopho x4 dropped. I bought mine from Juno Records in Camden. It was my second analogue I ever bought. I hope Sequential will be okay. All the best to you guys and lots of love :)
Absolutely. The Mopho x4 can control every parameter on the Mopho desktop except for the analog feedback gain. Since the desktop's feedback uses an analog potentiometer (feedback knob on the top center) the gain must be adjusted manually. Everything else, including the feedback volume, can be directly controlled with the x4.
There is indeed a Unison parameter with 1-voice or all-voice and detune modes, as with all our poly synths. You can download the manual from our website for more detailed information.
..nothing better than watching the man who made the synth explaining it.. thanks professor
Thank you for inventing MIDI Mr Smith , the hole world thanks you! :)
"A modern day Analog, like a Pro 5, today's Synthesizers' great, great price!" - Dave Sawyer.
----- God, I hope someone gets that....
Adam Borseti your comment is gold :)
I own the Monophonic Mopho Keyboard, one heck of a synth. I also own s Sequential and two Roland analogs from the 80's. The new stuff from DSI is quite aggressive when compared to the vintage stuff but that's a good thing! Modern sound for the modern age. If I hadn't got my mopho less than a month ago I'd have gotten one of these.
Noir Et Blanc Vie hey it’s you! Old comment but cool to see you here :)
Polychaining works great for its intended purpose, which is to extend the maximum number of simultaneous notes that can be played. It is very smooth operation when used this way.
A fantastic demo overall. Dave you get such amazing tones just in this video!!
First and Foremost I want to thank you Dave for getting me out of the Digital Plugin Realm that could only dream of duplicating an actual physical synthesizer and into the Analog Heaven I always wanted to be a part of but could not afford. You have made my life more fun and exciting and I commend your company on keeping everyone informed with your comments videos and great personality. You make our lives incredibly exciting and fun.
Sincerely,
Tim Hawkins.
You'll need 4 inputs on your audio interface, one stereo pair for each instrument. You could set the x4 and Tetra's outputs to Mono in the Global menu which would reduce the number of inputs to 2, but you sacrifice the stereo field and any panning effects that way.
Yes, you can use this as a polyphonic MIDI controller. It will send all notes at once if you can press them, consult your VSTi to see if there's a limit on that end.
The MophoX4 is an absolute beast of a synth. The sub bass rattles my windows, and the high pads are glassy and pretty. Nice low squelchy lfo filter modulation. Once you add a sustain pedal it has everything that you could want from a keyboard synth.....the flat spot for the tetra is perfect for an effects unit. I keep either a DD-20 or a Strymon Night Sky there. Makes tweaking my effects as easy as a filter sweep.
Glad you're enjoying the X4! Yes, the sweep is made using low pass filter frequency and resonance.
I can tell he enjoys his inventions very much.
$1299, street! That is a sweet deal. This sucker sounds incredible! Dave Smith just keeps churning out the best synths, ever!
Hi dave, huge fan of your synth work, just purchased my very first dave smith synthesizer (mopho x4) from a second hand ad site, it’s beautiful and i love it
It would be an x4 with 1 Evolver voice. Poly chaining is for extending polyphony, or the max number of simultaneous keys that can be played, with synths of similar voice architecture. You can poly chain the x4 with Mophos, Tetra, and Prophet. Evolvers can only be poly chained with other Evolvers. However, you can control the MEK to an extent with the x4 (any CC parameter), and you can process audio through it as you've mentioned. The x4 does have a ton of modulators as well.
God bless you Dave Smith! The Prophet X is truly astounding. I hope a 16 stereo voice version is in the cards in the near future.
DAVE SMITH FOR PRESIDENT!
OK, but only if he does a proper OS update for Tempest!
I was randomly watching synth videos on matrixsynth one day. One of them started and I jumped up because I thought the back of my chair was leaning on my controller. It turned out to be a prophet 5 video playing. Very Impressed with my tetra now. :)
considering the Mopho is one of my favorite instruments (I have a modular, a sixtrak, old rolands, etc) I'm for sure picking this up asap. Now just to flip a bit of gear...I'm glad, btw that old mopho logo went away. It was a graphic design assault on humanity.
DSI you guys make some of the best synths of all time keep up the good work, what a cool aforable analog poly synth with keybroad, glad to see a poly mopho with all the features bells and knobs. Only thing it would be cool to see the Mopho x4 in some crazy color like my fav yellow synth .
There are a number of new presets, the rest are made up of presets from the Mopho desktop, Mopho Keyboard, and Tetra. All programs are interchangeable between those instruments and you can load Prophet presets as well. There are 4 factory sound banks and 4 additional banks for custom user sounds.
Yes, it is possible to have lighted wheels in any keyboard if you design it that way. The wheels on the Poly Evolver are physically a different size than the wheels on the x4 and the design of the wheelbox assembly itself is vastly different, so they are mechanically incompatible with each other. It would still be possible for someone to make custom wheels for the x4, but it's not something we'll be offering.
Very impressive!!! There is no competition in that price range in keyboard models(?).
Love it! Petit and really powerful combo with the tetra...
I love all my Dave Smith gear, this looks and sounds sensational!
Yes. You need to dump them from the Mopho and Tetra in Prophet specific format, which is an option in the Global menu.
I heard it as well. I love DSI stuff due to its modulation options. Unparalleled at this level.
Its almost like having a modular system with out the cords, bulk and cost.
I have an MEK and just as often us it to modulate the crap out of any incoming signal in addition to any aspect of the sound architecture. I wish other synth manufacturers would take modulation as seriously as DSI!!
Excellent. So great you all love modulation. To me it is one of the things that separates the big boy synth from the rest of the bollocks.
The MEK is described by me and others as similar modular system without the cables or bulk...
I love my mopho x4 and tetra ❤ they are now rare and the price is up in the near $1000 will take care of it as its value will only increased
The x4 is available and shipping now! Please inquire with your local dealer regarding delivery times.
I can predict the next DSI product. A Mopho X4 module.
I for one would like to see Dave make an 8 voice tetra keyboard with built in analog delay. And a large touch screen to edit/create sounds (with real knobs too for fast real time control live). All in one self contained keyboard. No third party software editors. No computer needed either.
Or cooler yet. A 5 voice keyboard where all control is done with automated sliders. When you change sounds, all the sliders move. What you see, u hear
r.i.p legend Dave Smith x
Both the Tetra and the x4 were mixed in stereo, and they have identical programs loaded on two machines with identical voice architectures and under normal conditions the two synths would behave the same with regard to panning. Might have had something to do with where Dave hit the sustain pedal or the UA-cam encoding, sorry there isn't a more definitive answer for this video example.
Things I would like to see in a new analog synth: 1. Ring modulator. 2. CV & Gate output & inputs. 3. Band pass & High pass filters. 4. Built in chorus effects like Rolands old units. Please.
thank you, dave smith. it's a shame that no one else is making affordable analog poly synths these days. loving the sound of this one, too.. reminiscent of my prophet 600, and surely less prone to CPU freakouts/crashing.
Look at our other videos, we have posted 2 Mopho x4 videos containing factory presets. We don't go through all of them, as there are 512 factory presets.
This made my day.
GAS!!!!
Gonna add it to my rig, which has the Mono Evolver Keyboard and Prophet 08!
Great price great sound!
I want this for x-mas this year :)
This will be my first DSI. I was going to get a Korg Mono/Poly.. but this is modern.
Use the Mopho4's modulations as a delay and/or add a quality non tone killing reverb to it. Pads will be very nice on this unit for sure. Remember, this unit has 2 osc/voice so pads can be thickened by detuning them to make up for the lack of octave range and voices. Generally with a 4 octave board, you want to use the filter and modulation for movement. Pads are much easier and more conventional with 5+ octave range and more voices. DSI is the king of the workaround. Be creative.
There's no issue controlling feedback on the Tetra from the Mopho or x4 Keyboard that we're aware of, if you have more specific details please email support at dave smith instruments (dot com) and we'll help get it sorted out.
I work for DSI :)
The x4 does not have Multi or Combo modes which are exclusive to the Tetra, and it does not have stack or split. You can make a "mono" or Unison patch with one voice, or all 4 voices stacked. All voices will have the same program. If you require each voice to have a different program then the Tetra is a better option for you.
I agree. DSI is great at delivering affordable, unique analog synths. Those synths are already created and aren't going to disappear. Job well done. I bet there is a market for a megabeast too. :)
I imagine a programable analog synth without menus. Maybe like a Roland sh-201, but with curtis chips. Or a korg sv-1. Banks and patches could be saved on the front panel. Automated sliders would rule. Then you can see all settings. Think ARP Odyssey with automation and curtis polyphony. BANG!
simply awesome!
Looks great! Thanks Dave :)
The x4 is not a Tetra keyboard. The x4 is mono-timbral and does not have combo mode, multi-mode, keyboard splits, and stacks.
real smart looking keyboard. and i like how the tetra looks sitting across the top :D . just need the funds!
I had some trouble getting that info too, but it's in the user guide. [1 Voice] Classic, two oscillator, monophonic mode, [All Voices] All four voices in unison, and [AllDetune1-3] All four voices in unison with increasing levels of detuning among the voices.
They are potentiometers.
wow i would love to get one of these to play around with haha be great for the times the random anxiety attacks hit lol.
I would love to add a DSI to my studio one day, until then I will pumping out vids featuring Roland and Moog lol :)
Seems interesting... Let' see.
It "loosens" the digital tuning and it is still being tuned digitally, Slop does not use LFOs.
Sorry, they're not hardware compatible. We are not aware of any backlit wheels that fit the x4. You could look into making some custom wheels for the x4. Send us some pics of the finished product if you do!
The 4-voice module version came out first, it's called the Tetra.
It does have all the normal mono and unison modes you'd expect to see, but it's just not multitimbral like P'08, nor like Tetra's multitimbrality and awesome combo mode features. Still pretty cool though, and definitely able to "chorus" a mono patch.
Remove X4 and put a cupholder there.
Reminds me of my first keyboard, the SCI Six-Track.
i still think the feedback shouldn't be hard-routed to the left channel only, at least left - right - left - right following the 4 voices would give the sound a lot more stereo deepness and one could go crazy with the feedback without having to decide for left/right panning OR feedback OR do weird experimental sounds, always lagging feedback on the right channel.. :/
my next buy :D
we trippy mane! - dave smith
Still use this bad ass synth. Would be killer if there were more updates sigh.
Dave is a West Coast guy? What do you want a Crazy Eddie commercial? Or a used car dealer promo in case you did't get the former reference. What matters is that you are excited when you play it!!!
Ohhhh.. neat.
i like the mopho x4 keyboard (tetra kb). the new dsi synths are great modern machines for sound twiddling. I only have one major problem with the new DSI synths. they all (out of the evolver and poly evolver) sound in the opened heights rusty and buzzy, like a storm of bees. when you close the filter, it hides the buzzing but keeps some soft distorted vibe underneath. whereas the prophet 5 always puts out a strong, transparent sound... to me the equivalent of luxury.
It’s weird Dave said, “they it the software on their website” as if it’s not “his” company ! Interesting insight there…
Very cool. I think I might sell my Alesis Ion for this. There's no mention of a "mono" mode or unison. This would be a feature I would like.
I use to have the SE; I saw a x4 for only $500 the other day but I did not have the extra funds to jump on it, shame. It sold in a few hours.
Edit: I found serial number 69 Mopho x4....had to buy it.
There are a number of things you can do to isolate ground loops. Please contact support at dave smith instruments dotcom for detailed solutions.
Nice!!!!!
Pretty cool little synth. However, I wish it had the option to install an *internal* (Tetra) voice expansion PCB so that I don’t to have to mess about with MIDI cables and extra audio outs (which means I now need a mixer). No big deal in my home studio, but for live use it is a pain. Additionally, an external voice expansion costs more because included in the price are power supply, knobs and enclosure - stuff you don't need with internal voice expansion PCB.
in 1984 i bought a sequential circuit 6 tracks and it was a lot of fun to make loops with the on board sequencer.this new keyboard sound great ,i am thinking to get one of this to use it with my moog subphatty and after that i will need a sem from oberheim.what else?... oh no cv gate
Is there a difference between the mopho keyboard and x4 when it comes to controlling the OD feedback loop when polychained to a tetra? I heard that parameter did not synch with the mopho keyboard.
so multitambral like the tetra or a 4 voice mopho?....i'm guessing a 4 voice mopho so one sound where you can hold down 4 notes right?
Who gives a damn about how it looks? It could have a Jackson Pollack finish to it!
Can't wait to plug it in with my MEK!
I live in Tallinn 🇪🇪 Estonia. And we love Dave Smith.
We appreciate his hard work and respect him for his stunning creations. I'll be honest, I'm not a very big professional musician, but rather an enthusiastic amateur and I really wanted to buy his Pro 2 synthesizer. Please tell me if I could master it, how difficult is it to make patches? Does it have any disadvantages (honestly😏) I will be very grateful to you. Alexei
Thank you for your interest in our instruments! Anyone can learn subtractive synthesis with a bit of practice. Please contact our dedicated support channel for a more detailed reply: support (at) sequential.com
Look at the Moog's new products: Voyager Black Ash Jade, Voyager Whitewash Ash Lunar, Voyager Maple Solar. Haha.
Hi, can you help me before I loose my mind?
Small screw from my guitar effects box fall into my DSi Mopho x4 throught the pitch bend wheel. Thanks to ths video I was able to disassemble my unit, but after removing wood end cheeks and back screws, I could lift the front panel. But I have't find the screw underneath it or even below the bottom PCB.
Does anybody have expirence where it can fall inside the unit? There is no moving parts when I do the gentle shake, no sound at all of scattering around metal bits.
I have not powered my unit since then, I'm afraid I could damage it.
Try shaking harder, and shake the top panel too, it could be in the panel boards or the wheels. It's likely in one of those locations, under the main PCB, or under the keybed. If that doesn't help you locate it, contact our dedicated support channel and they'll reply to you on Monday: support (at) sequential.com
I love DSI especially the evolver series but as many others here claim this isn't there finest product, I would go for the mono poly better filter en more hands on modulation.
Looks great, and the price is right as well. Too bad it has lost the Mopho's audio input, though.
How does "slop" work. Is it an LFO on each "voice" or does it just "loosen" the digital tuning. If it's all the way up is it still being tuned digitally or is it basically a VCO at that point? I can't wait to get my x4!
I don't like using my computer to create sounds. I have the old yellow desktop Mopho. Would I be able to program my desktop mopho using this keyboard?
Hi !!! I think many people would like to listen in general to some sound clips , a demo or something like that from DSI but different than these that there are in Dave Smith site. They are almost all a little bit aggressive. We would like to hear more pads and some samples more smooth, i mean the style.... Many people don't know what a poly evolver o prophet could do....
So this is actually a tetra keyboard. It's lacking the audio input of the mopho so it's even more of a tetra than a mopho. Not sure why you guys named it the mopho x4, unless you feel being able to say "x4" is cooler from a marketing standpoint.
Can you use this as a polyphonic MIDI controller for VSTi's? Is there a limit to the MIDI polyphony?
Why is this called a Mopho x4 and not a Tetra keyboard? Is it just because Mopho sounds cooler or is there some deeper connection?
That demo was pretty blah, he didn't even seem too excited. It did remind me how badly I want a Tempest.
Thanks! What stand are you using for all your equipment?
It's a variety of Ultimate, On Stage Stands, and QuikLok.
Dave Smith Instruments Thanks :)
Well, the Tetra's extra modes are only of limited usability anyway. Now I love my Tetra, don't get me wrong, just haven't used those features even one time.
Any other videos I would like to hear some pads and more conventional synth sounds.
TIA
Are there going to be any prophet style knobs available for an upgrade? I'm loving the new pots and knobs I bought for my MEK and would like to do the same for my Mopho x4
This sounds awesome BUT, Mr. Smith, in an interview, you yourself said that "5 is the magic number" so why do you keep making four voice synths? i.e. Polyevolver, Tetra, and this? Again, I think your stuff sounds amazing, but to form real chords, you need 5 voices.
The filter cutoff and resonance knobs are encoders as Mopho or potentiometers as Tetra¿ Tks¡
Why it ain't yellow...?