#1

we get a lot of discussion about this synth in the polysynth thread, where it sort of but doesn’t entirely fit.

here’s a place to share sounds, patches, and curiosity.

Polysynths
Eurorack: discussion, advice, learning, questions
#2

I love that big knobby bastard:

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#3

Does anyone here have a Vermona Perfourmer?

I’ve watched all the demo’s I can (and sold a lot of kit recently to get the £ and make space for one)… just wanted to see if anyone here has one and digs it. There’s no chance of me getting to try one at present.

For someone who is not much of a keys player I like the idea of creative uses for it (tuning different voices to different octaves/voicings etc.).

From all the demo’s I’ve heard it sounds incredible.

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Polysynths
#4

pinging @mattlowery for some fourmer advice :grinning:

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#5

I have one and it does sound incredible. It’s not really a polysynth in the Prophet or Juno sense. I don’t use it for lush chords. It’s like 4, really good sounding, single-osc, analog monosynths that can interact in interesting ways. The midi PLAYMODES are excellent for exploration as well.

From what you mentioned, it sounds like this would fit your ideas and workflow.

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#6

If you want lush get a polysix.

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#7

You should definitely use the search function on this topic it’s been mentionned at length by many people already (including me), and I think you’ll get a lot of the informations you need.

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#8

It’s a great sounding synth. Its strength is that what you see is what you get. There’s a knob for everything. I highly recommend it, and the only synth I enjoy more is the Matriarch. Happy to answer specific questions.

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#9

Yeah, to me it’s the only modern design while having its own character that rivals tone of SH-2.

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#10

I also have one and love it, but as others have said, i mostly use it as 4 similar monosynths. Polyphony more like one might use it in a choir or string quartet with multiple voices that combine to the full picture rather than a normal polysynth. Of course you can just use it as a polysynth, but then the separate controls tend to become more cumbersome than inspiring, as you lose the control over when which voice will play what.

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#11

another perfourmer owner here (right now it’s the only hardware synth I own)

it’s an odd replacement for a traditional polysynth. it’s not super lush and densely voiced chords can feel saturated and crowded tonally. it’s growly and serious sounding (very vintage 70’s Roland tone).

that said, I mostly use it in polysynth mode. each voice having subtly different wave, filter, envelope, and pan settings is wonderful and gives a lot of variety that I miss whenever I’m using a normal polysynth.

here’s something that’s all perfourmer acting as a polysynth…

the matriarch is probably the closest comparison. you lose unique envelopes per voice, but you gain modularity. that said, while both have a very unstable, raw sound, there’s very clear differences in tone, so I’d go with the sound that speaks to you the most.

edit - is it finally time to start a perfourmer thread? I feel like we get perfourmer-curious questions once every couple months.

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#12

I like the idea of a thread. There’s just not a ton of discussion out there re: this synth.

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#13

it lives!

if a mod wants to move the last little string of comments into there, that might make sense.

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#14

I’ve been a perfourmer advocate for the better part of the last 8 years now, and I’m really happy to see it have a dedicated thread.

I find it incredible that, with all the analogue gear released in the meantime, this synth still feels unique and it remains my favorite tool after all this time. Hard for me to share patches or videos but it’s in most of everything I do, always in new and unexpected ways, either as a drum sound generator, some lush ambiant pads or quirky lead sounds or heavy bass.

It’s probably 50% of the synths sounds on this album.

But you can hear me jam with it at the end of this live video

Either way it’s really THE synth that’s in everything I do. I know it’s supposed to not be that versatile but I don’t know. I find that after years of having it I’m still not done exploring its very particular sound.

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#15

Finally a thread for the perfourmer :heart:

I’ve been considering one for close to two years now, it’s the only synth without presets I’d make an exception for (I like saving my settings so I can come back to them later), but it just sounds so extremely beautiful. And the play modes allow for a lot of experimentation, similar to the arp on a Mono/Poly.

I think this was the first example of it I ran into that got it nestled in the back of my mind

Love the pads it can do as well

(hope it’s OK to post some random videos, just loved these examples so much)

If anyone has some tips or discoveries to shared I’d be very interested :slight_smile:

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#16

This is pretty spot on for me I think.

I got a Perfourmer largely in part because of folks here singing its praises and the YT vids posted above. It truly does sound incredible. Unapologetically analog and rich. Usually I sequence it with Norns and set the voices to be slightly different timbres & octaves & panning, then run it through some effects. If I’m feeling especially productive and not lazy I’ll write out some parts in Ableton for each voice and actually “compose” something.

I love how snappy and percussive the envelopes can get and it’s also great for pads once you get past the initial adjustment for each voice. A lot of the time I do wonder if I’d be better off with something paraphonic and modular like the Matriarch, but every time I think about selling it I plug it in and its sound convinces me otherwise.

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#17

Hey thanks so much for all the comments and feedback.

Glad to see it get its own thread.

Looking at further videos and reviews it looks exactly what I’m looking for.

The voice mod source on Aalto is the most fun modulator for me, so having fully independent voice controls seems like a (huge) expansion on this giving potential for unique voicings and sequences.

From what I can hear in demos it sounds incredible as well (a real warmth and ‘vintage’ raw tone).

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#18

Love that PADS video. Was super bummed to find out some one locally sold off a Perfourmer on Reverb a couple weeks back. Would have grabbed it in a second.

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#19

didn’t see it mentioned, but just wanted to throw out that it’s also got a phenomenal build quality. all Vermona stuff does. I’d say it equals or exceeds any modern day synth build, and feels as “tank-like” as my 70’s Rolands. it’s also very simple to understand the different configuration options and change them, without the need for a physical display.

saw the mention of Mono/Poly above and obviously the four voice and different mode point is valid there, but I’d say the P4mer is better. the Mono/Poly you can’t sequence (without the Tubbutec mod) the best mode (round robin voices) or poly mode, but with the P4mer you can. and then much more besides. add to that you obviously get the dedicated LFO, filter and envelope per voice…

I’d say to me it’s kind of like the equivalent of how the SH-101 or Juno 106 were considered studio staples. except it’s as simple as them, but kind of blurs the line between them. if that makes sense…

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#20

I don’t have a Perfourmer but I have the Mono Lancet (which is like one voice of the Perfourmer) and it is the most effortlessly beautifully sounding synth I’ve played. I’m sure four voices would be incredible, but Lancet has quelled any desire for a vintage analog synth; it really has such a classic vibe.

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