I like the XILS VSTs as they are a little different. PolyKBIII remains my favourite.
The XILS4 is a dual VCS3 configuration, which is loosely based on Tim Blake’s (Gong, Steve Hillage, Hawkwind) custom dual Synthi setup, in that it has some but not all of the modifications that Tim Blake made to the setup (see top right of phot below) and they are connected together the same way.
One of my Christmas projects is to try and replicate the psychedelic guitar/synth sounds you hear on Hillage/Gong albums.
When I saw Steve Hillage and Gong in November 2019 (the last live gig I went to!!) Miquette Giraudy was still using a genuine VCS3 - it was a bit hard to tell as it is laid flat in her rig, so you couldn’t see it properly, but it was the way that she was twisting a dial around that made me think - those are vernier dials so it must be a VCS3!
I had a Univox Multiman in ArkAngel. I don’t know why I would want to create those exact sounds—there is much better. Even back then they weren’t the sounds I wanted, just “close enough” for live.
I had a Multiman too, (in Italy sold as Crumar Multiman). Later I replaced it by a Logan String Melody II, because it had also a good (at the time) pipe organ sound.
No any doubt, the Multiman was much better than Performer.
“Our latest collaboration with Crumar, this time also includes collab with NUsofting.com and TantalumAudio.com
The first virtual instrument officially released under the Crumar brand is an emulation of the famous string machine from 1978, the Crumar Performer.”
Digging a bit, I understood something more. In 2015, Mr. Mario Maggi (creator of the Synthex), started the Synthex 2 project, involving more or less famous names of Italian musicians and investors, after the failure of the “Finnish adventure”. They put online a website only dedicated to Synthex 2, including preorders.
Unluckily, in 2017 Mr. Maggi had “serious health issues” (told from a reliable source). At the moment I have no updated info about all that, except there is (were?) another project, the rebuild the original Synthex, using the not-the-same-as-original-CEM chips used in the current Dave Smith’s Prophet Five. No clues about who is involved, it’s supposed people from Recanati zone, the historic land of musical instruments made in Italy (Farfisa, Elka, Crumar, Eko, Logan, Vox and so more).
I would say, this rebirth of the '80s Synthex is merely speculation, year by year, no one believe the project become true.
Weird, the Synthex 2 site is still online, even I guess it’s unmaintained. Do not preorder!
See http://www.synthex.it
