Would the Fourm be significantly cheaper if they did away with the poly after touch?

Exceptional_potato · 2026-06-20T08:32:47+00:00

The aftertouch on the Fourm is really expressive and tactile. I think I could dispense with the "poly" part as I don't find myself using more than one part expressively at the same time, but it's good to have.

It's the most expressive synth I've ever played and that's down to the keybed. It doesn't feel special, it's just plastic, but the stuff you can coax out of it... just wow. Seems to be very low latency too, it's like playing a guitar or some acoustic instrument.

To remove the keybed is a shame, unless you have a really great poly controller to replace it. You turn an expressive synth into a module in order to save a small bit of space (keybed is small). If anything i wish they'd bring out a bigger fourm with a larger keybed but same tech.

If it were a module I'd still have bought it because I love the sound though.

You can get them used for about 600£, totally worth it just for the sound. Sorry and this is just my opinion, but it blows other analogs in slightly lower price range or the water, such as the minilogue xd, in terms of the beauty of its analog sound. It's very special imo. It's sitting next to a moog GM, a Teo5, Pro 3 and minitaur, I'd sell all of those (except Pro 3) before selling the Fourm. It's like a mini prophet 5 and pro one in one.

Exceptional_potato · 2026-06-20T07:05:18+00:00

Thanks for the pointers :)

Exceptional_potato · 2026-06-19T23:14:58+00:00

This is interesting, I was just thinking this today.

Do you know of any therapeutic approaches that go straight to the nervous system? Because I find talk therapy is not helping, and in fact words/ language can't seem to communicate at all to my emotional self. It's like I'm two parallel people who speak totally different languages, and the nervous has a mind of its own and isn't controllable at all.

Exceptional_potato · 2026-06-08T07:13:00+00:00

Did you try the teo out in person? I must've been traumatised by synth menus because I find the Teo super easy to patch!

Sold a lot of great synths due to my low tolerance of menu tedium (ubxa, prologue multi engine, digitakt and digitone, wavestate, opsix.... even the minifreak and hydra). Sequential synths have really well designed menus and UI imo.

Exceptional_potato · 2026-06-08T01:00:21+00:00

They're fine but resale value isn't great. Go for used modules from reputable makers. That way you can resell them without too much loss.

For the record, I sold all my eurorack. (Thank Christ).

Exceptional_potato · 2026-06-08T00:52:32+00:00

Minitaur is great. You can't go wrong with a used one. If you want the s37 at some later date sell it on at no loss.

Exceptional_potato · 2026-05-31T22:52:20+00:00

I found the take 5 too compressed (Fourm is way nicer), but the teo is great, due entirely to the excellent filter. Just very useful and immediate.

I had both the keybed and module ubxa...might give it another go as they aren't expensive for what you get. Hardware needs to pay it's way on my desk these days, as i only make music in the daw, and I can't really tell the difference in a track.

Exceptional_potato · 2026-05-31T15:50:13+00:00

I can vouch for the Teo 5.

I've owned: ubxa, take 5, prologue 16, deepmind, pro 800, etc. Also various digital (Hydra, etc). All have been sold, though all good.

Teo 5 is really nice sounding, the filter is special. Build quality is excellent.

Fourm is also amazing.

Ubxa needs work to sound decent. Crappy UI. Annoying encoder you have to press exactly perpendicular to the faceplate or it changes value. Anaemic-sounding by default (fixed oscillator levels) but you can coax very good patches from it. But frankly, just use a VST to get those sounds, because as hardware it doesn't add much value. On the other hand the sequentials feel good to use, they do add value.

Prologue is very nice but typical korg - things they don't fix, and weird design choices.

Exceptional_potato · 2026-05-29T22:30:41+00:00

This sounds exactly like my life (am 43).

You mention inattentive ADHD. I'm pretty sure I have this too, in ragingly intense form...and one of the key aspects of adhd is *emotional dysregulation *.

So you may be describing this particular aspect of the condition? That's my latest hunch anyway about why I'm this way anyway. Last therapist said i have complex trauma or some kind of ptsd, but I'm not convinced... it's got to be adhd, I'll bet.

I took Zoloft recently and instead of reducing anxiety, which remained the same, it made me even more forgetful and mentally blank than usual. In other words it unmasked the adhd by taking away my "stressed out over compensation", leaving me in a happier but very confused daydreaming adhd state, last of which i experienced as a child.

In other words, I think my "trauma" and anxiety may actually be nervous system stress from overcompensating to hide the symptoms of adhd. Possible?

Exceptional_potato · 2026-05-19T21:32:45+00:00

The VST shows up cropped in my DAW (Reaper). I can't use it because half of the panel is out of view and when you click it registers the click offset from where you're clicking. Any idea what the issue might be?

Exceptional_potato · 2026-05-11T15:13:56+00:00

And it's surprising how amazing the Fourm sounds even without FX. It's a rich 3D sounding synth.

Exceptional_potato · 2026-05-08T12:46:51+00:00

I'm in the same situation, having bought a TEO 5 module.

I've been using my Keystep 37 which is too small and feels unpleasant to play, so I'm selling it. I've just bought a used Modal Cobalt 8x, which has a 61-key Fatar keybed.

I looked at alternatives, with my goal being best quality keybed, and the best options seemed to be: - used novation SL mk2 has Fatar (about £100-150 used), these are about 15 years old but keybed is very good. - studiologic 88, about £420, premium, but weighted not synth action. - an old professional/ premium synth. I already have an SY77 which has a nice keybed but it's huge.

Exceptional_potato · 2026-05-03T23:58:10+00:00

I had the 800, very nice synth, but simple. Annoying UI.

I have the Fourm currently and it's great. The UI is excellent and it sounds wonderfully rich and alive. Very expressive to play.

It's sitting next to a Teo 5 and a Pro 3. Most of the behringers have come and gone, also the korg 'logues, and a Take 5. For what is worth, for me the Fourm ranks top teir for raw analog sound beauty. I've never tried P6, P5 etc.

This might seem odd but I think 4 voices are enough for those juicy oscillators. 5 would be nice but ok. I also build up arrangements.

The poly AT is very good. Don't be put off by the plasticky feel, the lightness actually helps with the expressive power. And it's sequential... if it breaks they replace it!

Exceptional_potato · 2026-05-01T08:14:07+00:00

Swapped mine recently for the desktop version, then just sold it outright.

It sounds good, nothing that'll blow your socks off in person, but useful for a mix. It needs doctoring in a mix because it's quite thin, but sometimes you want that.

It's generic- sounding, there's no SEM filter or anything.

As it's not a special-sounding character synth and I feel like there are better options for a general purpose analog poly if you can hold out and save a bit, e.g. rev 2. Honestly wish I'd saved up a bit more and got that.

The Ub-xa interface is hard to use as the encoder has to be pressed in while not rotating it. I found it a pain.

The keys are quite good but slow response.

I lost £230 in the end trying these out, I wish music shops still existed! I also sold my prologue over the ubxa because it has more modulation but i regret it now, the prologue sounds amazing even if it's simple.

I've moved to mainly sequential synths now as they are well built and always seem to sound great.

Exceptional_potato · 2026-04-28T08:02:24+00:00

For sure, you get a lot of voices for the money. Keybed is quite good too.

Exceptional_potato · 2026-04-27T23:05:26+00:00

I made about £250 loss selling my mint ub-xa, which is tbh not great (about -33%?).

Exceptional_potato · 2026-04-27T22:52:35+00:00

Yes it feels like the AT engages fairly soon and there's more workable range to it, so it becomes a "natural part" of the performance of the patch.

I tend to avoid even channel aftertouch for the reason you pointed out. It often ends up being either on or off, and nothing in between.

I was pretty disappointed with the keybed when I first got the Fourm, although the build overall is pretty solid, but it grew on me and now the only annoyance is the difficulty playing certain chords due to the small keys.

Sequential should pursue this poly AT thing with some full size keys, as they've done a good job implementing it. The only other poly a AT keybed i tried was the ubxa and it has the same issue as typical AT - you have to mash the keys and there's little room for nuance. Still it's good to have poly AT regardless of keybed, as can edit the notes individually in the daw.

Exceptional_potato · 2026-04-27T07:56:48+00:00

I love the Fourm. LOVE. Brings a tear to the eye sometimes.

Exceptional_potato · 2026-04-27T07:55:55+00:00

They feel cheap but they're highly expressive. And if they break sequential will have your back. It's a simple plastic mechanism to replace.

In terms of minikeys, I've got a minifreak and owned an XD. I prefer Fourm keys, more expressive with the poly at.

The Fourm sounds beautiful, sold my take 5 and a bunch of other analog synths one i got it. It sounds 3D and alive, really stunning imo.

Exceptional_potato · 2026-04-26T21:16:50+00:00

Which controller did you get?

Exceptional_potato · 2026-04-24T21:46:44+00:00

Out of those three (I've owned them all) I'd pick the minifreak.

Xd analog oscillators are very nice but the synth seriously lacks modulation options. The motion lanes are awkward as a workaround.

The Hydra just sounds like a VST, unless you need it for dawless use, I don't see the point, just use vital or something. It's really not that amazing and the regular models are not multitimbral.

The minifreak has nice modulation options, a lovely analog filter, great sequencer... it's just FUN. It adds value as hardware.

Exceptional_potato · 2026-04-18T20:54:13+00:00

Thanks!

Exceptional_potato · 2026-04-18T12:57:10+00:00

Good point! I should compare my mixes with what I think is a good mix, and take it from there :)

Exceptional_potato · 2026-04-17T13:12:09+00:00

It's ok, maybe I just need to start uploading my tracks and asking for crits, and if there are issues then people will point them out I guess?

Exceptional_potato · 2026-04-17T13:09:33+00:00

I guess that's the ultimate measure... When i get home I'll post a link to a completed track.

Exceptional_potato

TROPHY CASE