VONGON Replay: A Minimalist Synth Too Far?
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Vongon Replay · Source: VONGON
Vongon Replay · Source: VONGON
Vongon Replay · Source: VONGON
Vongon Replay · Source: VONGON
Vongon Replay Schematic · Source: VONGON
Vongon Replay Rear · Source: VONGON
Vongon Replay Editor · Source: VONGON
Is the new VONGON Replay a poly synth for hipsters, a bold design statement or something rather useful? This correspondent is confused.
I have to say, when this press release landed on my desk, I did a double-take. Not because of the VONGON Replay’s unique design. No, I instantly had visions of Earth being destroyed to make way for an intergalactic highway. That, or I was about to be read the worst poetry in the universe.
Then I put my glasses on and noticed the extra ‘N’ in VONGON, breathed a sigh of relief and put away my towel. But enough of the Hitch Hiker’s Guide references. We have a synth to examine. And right from the off, this one has my heckles up.
Creamy Design
Looking like something constructed with Milky Bar chunks, the VONGON Replay is a polyphonic synth with a multi-mode arpeggiator that, the makers say, draws its inspiration from the Roland Juno and KORG Polysix. Not in the looks department, it doesn’t, I’ll have you know!
Replay features at its heart a six-voice virtual analog engine which… <reads notes>… “emulates the organic response of an analog circuit enabling you to create a diverse range of sounds from rich pads and vibrant leads to snappy arpeggios and deep sub-bass tones.” Hmmm…
VONGON Replay: Style Over Substance?
What we have here is a synth that is going to divide opinion. Style over substance. One for the hipsters. Unusable on stage. I can hear these taunts as I type. The chassis is aluminium and VONGON is particularly keen to point out that it uses Rogan knobs and Cherry MX keys. In fact, those keys are installed in hot-swappable sockets. Why? So you can replace them with keys that have alternative actions. As you do.
The sound engine features four oscillator waveforms per voice and a noise generator. The LFO has seven waveforms. It’s pretty basic stuff here. Audio processing is 32-bit and there are 22 dedicated sound controls on the top panel. Which is all very well except the legend is all in white. On a hospital beige background.
One Major Flaw
However, for those of us with prescription lenses, there is a browser-based web editor. Hook your Replay up via USB and use a mouse to edit your hardware synth whose labels you can’t read in daylight, let alone on a dimly lit stage.
Connectivity includes a balanced audio input and output. MIDI is via two 3.5mm TRS jacks or USB-C. Power is supplied via a 9v DC adapter. VONGON tell us that this makes it very useful to integrate into guitar pedalboards. VONGON is an FX pedal company after all.
In Conclusion
What does it sound like? Judging by the videos, nothing I haven’t heard before and for much less money. Put this up against an Arturia MiniFreak and the Replay just crumbles, in my very humble opinion. And no, this doesn’t give me Juno or Polysix vibes. And how much does it cost? $899.00 USD plus shipping. A lot of cash for not a lot of synth.
The VONGON Replay is available now direct from their website.
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8 responses to “VONGON Replay: A Minimalist Synth Too Far?”
Eye blinding, overpriced P.O.S.
overprized toy holy moly
With all due respect you do sound like a PC guy in an Apple store. 😄 Still have to try it and see how it sounds but I think it looks gorgeous!
This site is hilarious, honestly. Say something nice about Vongon, or Chase Bliss, or TE, etc etc and all the grandpas come out in force waggling their canes at you and downvoting your opinion.
Absurd design, asinine price.
This synth deserves to be ridiculed and booed.
I personally can’t see myself buying this… I can see its attraction for certain folk, but for me it’s just not there. (If you blew off the keyboard, for the price or even less you can get a Pittsburgh Modular Taiga desktop.)
In my opinion this is a beautiful boutique synth. Remember Vongon is a small company making beautiful unique pedals and this is a bold step into something new.
I’m guessing the price of this synth is because this is actually what it costs a small company to build a synth.
They probably don’t have the means to buy parts in bulk like their enormous competitors, so stop complaining if it’s too expensive. Don’t buy it.
I really hope many people will buy it and help vongon make the next one cheaper. Start supporting builders. Look at all the incredible stuff they make. We’re so lucky.
You are being a bit harsh on a boutique synth with some unique character. Yes, it is not competitive with some synths from mega-corporations coming out of Chinese factories by the boatload. People say they want to support shops that pay living wages. They don’t want their synth companies bought up by equity capital and production shipped overseas. But they want to whine about not having their cake too. Oh wait. This synth isn’t taking away their cake. Everyone can still have cake. I guess there’s no pleasing some people.
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