It’s just a shame that the filter mode and osc. waveform are so difficult to control from the XStation though. I mean, it IS possible to access all the options, just not in a way that makes much sense.
I don’t mind the filter control so much (the waveform is annoying) - actually I was sold on this model due to the functional versus “here’s a bunch of knobs and sliders, you figure it out” interface design, but it’s a shame there were not a few “user-defined” encoders put in (my Virus C has two, and they’re fully usable as input sources to the mod matrix, a feature I really like about it).
Incidentally, the XStation synth can make some pretty cool sounds too. I’ve yet to use it in a track, but it sounds good to me. I have a Nova too (the desktop one), which I’m also a big fan of.
I wouldn’t have a use for more than a dozen or so of the factory patches but the KS synth engine inside it is pretty powerful so I’m looking forward to some knob tweaking; the inboard effects are quite nice and I like having a compressor right inside for a little bass/percussion postproduction done onboard :-) I would ask your opinion of the Nova but this is probably too far off-topic for getting too far into specifics, the polyphony of that or a KS4 or 5 might be a nice option to have.
It’s just I’m comfortable using Reaktor. I also have the NI Kore controller, so I could potentially use that also to control the SID via Reaktor. Kore has high-resolution encoders, and I could also use it as a librarian of sorts for SID patches. I imagine using Reaktor purely to send out MIDI controller data shouldn’t be too processor-crippling, though obviously just running the plugin involves some CPU hit.
Reaktor might not be so bad for this actually. With Reaktor core you could probably do something fairly minimal, though it’s still going to be a performance hit etc. Do keep me/us posted on this! Starting with JSynthLib and its MB-SID interface as a base may be an option too. But strangely though, I thought the original take on this was that the MIDIbox would stay away from NRPNs altogether so I’m a bit confused here – quoting from the FAQ:
“Oh, now you possibly come with the suggestion that NRPN should be used instead of CC — no chance! One of my focus was always the capability to control all parameters via external sequencers/MIDI controllers (most of them cannot handle correctly with NRPN), and via Velocity/Aftertouch/Modulation Wheel/Wavetable. The assigned parameter numbers are stored in 7-bit registers, this limits the maximum number of parameters to 128”… so maybe this is really a non-problem from the developer’s standpoint?? 
Incidentally, there’s no obvious mention of Mac support on the Brainspawn site, so I’m assuming their stuff is Windows-only. Think it’s probably a bit OTT for my simple needs too 
Overkill, yes. It’s use would be more along the lines of creating a “universal” layer with which to control several synths, yet without the inconvenience/clumsiness of having to manually switch X-Station templates etc. Probably some clever manipulation in the sequencer (sending the SysEx commands to switch templates at appropriate times) can accomplish this and more, so I’m not really excited about it for the price, any more than I was about “Hybrid Mode” on the XioSynth was a selling factor (oh, Hybrid Mode, looks like ‘Local Control=off’ does 90% of the same thing).
Have you seen this thread?
I have now :-) Yes, the resemblance is definitely there but Evolver has a more compact design with more parameters and does it in a smaller space… I don’t own an Evolver so I can’t speak in terms of usability for programming the beast however. That said, I really like some of the ideas in this design, thanks for letting me know it’s out there.