<div dir="ltr">The ProSoloist/DGX architecture is unique and none of ARP's other synths had that architecture. And the routing of filters and EGs changed between presets. So no, the Explorer is nothing like the PS. Several of the presets - not just the Fuzz Guitar - are inimitable on any other non-modular synth.<div><br></div><div>You were not alone sneering at "preset synths"... I was also arrogant owning synths with a panel full of knobs and switches. A friend offered to sell his PS to me for a good price, and I thought "gee this sounds pretty darn good". The aftertouch is stellar. When I assign AT to volume and pitch, I can get a natural sounding vibrato. None of my other gear with aftertouch could duplicate that effect. The new GRP module misses out on the aftertouch.</div><div><br></div><div>I wasn't keen on the early Genesis/Tony Banks' connection when I bought my PS, so my exploration of the PS was not biased by Genesis. While the Fuzz Guitar presets are good, many of the other presets sound organic. The flute preset is uncanny - I can hear a tone an octave above the fundamental, but there's nothing in the circuit that generates the octave tone!</div><div><br></div><div>A lot of inspiration came from the 2500 modular when laying out the architecture in the design phase - voltage controlled filters, fixed highpass/bandpass filters, PWM. I've never seen any schematic for the early Soloist to compare its architecture to the ProSoloist. I know that the Soloist had the 4027 (or 4017?) VCO module, probably the 4020 EG modules,<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span>the fixed filters were encapsulated in modules, and a resistor matrix to configure the presets. Due to premature degradation, the aftertouch element did not have a long life in the Soloist. When it was first shown at NAMM, Jeremy Hill was busy fixing Soloists that were breaking. I've seen one YT video of a restoration of a Soloist and they were NOT service friendly!</div><div><br></div><div>After the poor reliability became known in the field, the decision was made to design the ProSoloist.</div><div><br></div><div>Many owners dreamed about hacking a panel full of controls into a PS... not worth the effort as you would be limited to VERY discrete settings of EG, filter cutoff/resonance, etc. Other than VCF cutoff, those sections are not CV controlled - IE the ADSR elements were limited to 3-4 discrete values per stage set by resistors that were shorted to ground via the OC outputs of the ROMs. There's no way to get continuous control of those sections.</div><div><br></div><div>MC<br><div><br></div><div><br></div></div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Fri, Jul 10, 2026 at 3:23 PM Paul McLean <<a href="mailto:keysndrums@gmail.com">keysndrums@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><div dir="ltr">In my youth I would sneer at any preset synth (though I did enjoy fooling around with the ProSoloist in the music store). Not for anyone serious about synthesis and only for people who couldn't be bothered, or didn't have the wearwithal to learn. (Funny how arrogant we can be in our youth).<div><br></div><div>The thing is, you can't discount how GREAT the ProSoloist/ProDGX sounds! And you can't sneer at folks like Steve Walsh, Tony Banks, Denish DeYoung, Michael Bodicker, Suzanne Cianni and the tons of other artists that used the thing. Just can't replicate that "Fuzz Guitar 1" preset.</div><div><br></div><div>I found myself buying a ProDGX a few years ago and love it.</div><div><br></div><div>I've been amazed at just how much synthesis capability the ProSoloist/DGX has; VCO (w/PWM), voltage-controlled low-pass filter, 4 high-pass filters, 10 band-pass filters, AR and ADSR envelopes, plus all the aftertouch options. I asked SynthChaser about the possibility of patching one out, but that guy is way too busy!</div><div><br></div><div>Pity ARP didn't develop it further.</div><div><br></div><div>Btw, I always read about how the ARP Explorer was a more patchable sort-of ProSoloist. I played an Explorer for a while and I can assure they have little in common beyond the shape of the case. Just sayin'...</div><div><br></div><div>- Paul McLean</div><div>Denver, CO</div></div><br><div class="gmail_quote"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Mon, Jul 6, 2026 at 9:42 PM Donald Tillman <<a href="mailto:don@till.com" target="_blank">don@till.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">On Jul 6, 2026, at 5:25 PM, Michael E Caloroso via Synth-diy <<a href="mailto:synth-diy@synth-diy.org" target="_blank">synth-diy@synth-diy.org</a>> wrote:<br>
> <br>
> <br>
> <br>
> Other competitors - Moog, Roland, Yamaha, etc - had their preset synths but none lasted as long as the PS [...]<br>
<br>
Nobody else had the Tony Banks solo from Genesis' "Cinema Show".<br>
<br>
-- Don<br>
--<br>
Donald Tillman, Palo Alto, California<br>
<a href="https://till.com" rel="noreferrer" target="_blank">https://till.com</a><br>
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