[sdiy] GRP Genesi

Sat Jul 11 05:39:43 CEST 2026

I've tried plenty of software synths and plugins.  As an owner of several
vintage hardware synths, my assessment is that they do a better job looking
like the real thing than they sound.

That goes for most (not all) audio processor plugins too.

Guitar amp plugins and modelers are getting damn good though.  And I own
several vintage amps.

MC

On Fri, Jul 10, 2026 at 8:46 PM Tim Parkhurst <tim.parkhurst at gmail.com>
wrote:

> Cherry Audio has a Pro Soloist plug in with many of the extra ("under the
> hood") control capabilities you speak of, in addition to a mod matrix,
> split and layer functions, and several other niceties. I'm sure it requires
> a good keyboard with aftertouch to really get the most out of it.
> https://cherryaudio.com/products/pro-soloist
>
>
> Tim (Amateur Soloist) Servo
> ---
> "Imagination is more important than knowledge." - Albert Einstein
>
>
>
>
>
> On Fri, Jul 10, 2026 at 3:36 PM Michael E Caloroso via Synth-diy <
> synth-diy at synth-diy.org> wrote:
>
>> 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.
>>
>> 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.
>>
>> 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!
>>
>> 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, 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!
>>
>> After the poor reliability became known in the field, the decision was
>> made to design the ProSoloist.
>>
>> 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.
>>
>> MC
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jul 10, 2026 at 3:23 PM Paul McLean <keysndrums at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>> 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).
>>>
>>> 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.
>>>
>>> I found myself buying a ProDGX a few years ago and love it.
>>>
>>> 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!
>>>
>>> Pity ARP didn't develop it further.
>>>
>>> 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'...
>>>
>>> - Paul McLean
>>> Denver, CO
>>>
>>> On Mon, Jul 6, 2026 at 9:42 PM Donald Tillman <don at till.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On Jul 6, 2026, at 5:25 PM, Michael E Caloroso via Synth-diy <
>>>> synth-diy at synth-diy.org> wrote:
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>> >
>>>> > Other competitors - Moog, Roland, Yamaha, etc - had their preset
>>>> synths but none lasted as long as the PS [...]
>>>>
>>>> Nobody else had the Tony Banks solo from Genesis' "Cinema Show".
>>>>
>>>>   -- Don
>>>> --
>>>> Donald Tillman, Palo Alto, California
>>>> https://till.com
>>>>
>>>>
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