Bad Gear - Akai Timbre Wolf - Weakest Poly Synth??? 

Don't forget to check out the Rhythm Wolf episode ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TZ2bL-LDwuc.html

Literally walked into Guitar Center prepared to buy this, and the associate talked me out of it. I went home and bought a Minilogue lol

And it also has, of course, real simulated wood grain sides... been waiting for this :D another great video, cheers

This dude can make anything sound good...there's something to be learned there.

This series just shows that the person using the tools is more important than the tools themselves. You make all of these supposedly terrible pieces of gear sound great.

So glad RU-vid recommended me this channel about a week ago. Been binge watching since! I always used to think the Timbre Wolf seemed too tonally limited, but then an owner said something that stuck with me: "If you look at it as a traditional poly synth, it's very limited. If you look at it as if someone made a more mellow tb-303, and gave it 4-parts/4-voices, it's actually pretty fun." Having listened more to it, I totally agree, and it's on my synth wishlist now. Might have to pick one up.

Funny that it's called "Timbre" wolf, but that its tonal possibilities are severally limited. 😂 You can see what they were trying to do and the sequencing and individual outs are actually pretty cool as you nicely show, but it's quite an odd release. Would be funny if it becomes the go to source for a new genre of music like the 303 did, which was also quite an odd invention for its intended purpose.

Great show as always! Never dont stop

Thanks for taking the time to make this video! I’ve been waiting for it since the day I recommended it! You’re awesome 😎

Having a Bad Gear Christmas day binge - the jam at 3:06 made my face scrunch up and my hand do a rude boy in da uk garage club style flick. good job. Merry Christmas!!

I'm a member of the Wolf pack, it blends with other synths really well and the bass is huge in the lowest octave, kind of like an old organ bass if set correctly with no resonance and limited cutoff

Your new video is the best thing that might happen at Friday evening 😻

It sounds like a 1980s analog-digital hybrid casio toy keyboard.

Glad to see your starting to get the subs you deserve

Love this episode !!

And because of this video, I subscribed! Now. To catch up watching all the others.

I actually really dig the Timbre. I think alot of people are simply comparing it to their favorite poly synth as opposed to it's own thing. The character of the sound definetly has its uses in my arsenal. Demoing it in person was fun because the interface is set up great. And again, I really think the sound is great.

This was informative and hilarious. Tarkovsky's Stalker is earnestly one of my favorite films ever.

WOW, you make it sound beautifully

I managed to buy it (a bit under 200€) a few months after this episode. It's not very versatile, but it has a very particular tone to it that kind of reminds me of early analog "pianos". It can hold its own as an acid bass machine too. One thing you have missed in this review is that it has quite well tuned velocity sensitivity, which makes it even better at serving as an analog piano.

Awesome video mate. I'm a proud owner of this so called piece of junk and absolutely love it.

The Rhythm and Timbre are really sheep dressed up as wolves!!!! 😆

I used to think this thing was trash until I played with one. The fact that you can tweak the different notes is awesome. It’s a very unique synth. Its best used with chords. Not leads. It’s not made to sound like every other synth. It has character, which a lot of synths lack these days.

I'm pretty impressed by the results you came out with at the end of the video, I would still never consider getting the "timber wolf" but at least I know what it's capable of(even tho its really limited) and what sweet caracter it has, thanks for that AudioPilz :)

I love how you take all this hated gear and make it sound good. That's the kind of contrarian bloody mindedness I can respect. Saluted!

Another great vid

Jeeze...if YOU couldn't get it jammin', it must really, REALLY be a dog! Great binge channel...please keep them coming!

Underrated channel

You did a great job demoing the Timbre Wolf, you certainly did a better job than Akai themselves! lol Seriously though, very cool track!

No fanboy shit here, but i have to admit - hainbach - look mum no computer and you are really blessing the synth part of my being :) it is somehow miraculous what you manage to get out of these no-go gadgets. And it looks so selbstverständlich ;) thanks for your enthusiasm and authenticity...

Moog Poly wins that award. Never stayed in tune for more tha 5 seconds.

It's probably perfect for churning out royalty free RU-vid 'music'. 😁🧡

I think it sounds beautiful.

Because of this episode I went out and found one back in August and I must say I haven't used it yet but I do like it..the possibilities of what I'm going to do with it might be a little limited but that will open up my imagination

I do use the Rhythm Wolf and like it. It has serious limitations, but it's great for what it is. It's funny, when trying to figure out how to use it, I came to similar conclusion as you about low frequency and effects :D

Thumps up for the idea with Raimund and the modding session! Just do it! By the way, still waiting for your grindcore album...

Fantastic!

I am new to your channel and I love it. Your sense of humor is fantastic. I watched 8 to10 video's untill now. This is the only tool I would also call awfull myself. The comparison with a Mono/Poly is VERY DANGEROUS (add echo). I've filled whole albums with the Mono/Poly as my main synth. This things is however s(beep)! About all the other video's I'd however say that people are just too spoiled nowadays. When I started almost every instrument sounded shit on it's own (noisy, no polyphony, mono out, no inbuilt effects processors, etc.). If equipment would have been as cheap then as it is now I could be driving a vintage BMW today that I would have been able to afford at the time by not spending so much money on music gear. (Plese, read this last sentence a few times and you'll get it in the end!) :-) or better :-(

... this one talked me into buying the product. pretty funny that it's the TW, of all things.

Facebook brought me here. Love your vids!

Great channel.. would love if it you could review a korg wave drum though that might be too neiche, i own one though trust me its 'bad gear.. hey what was your video where the best part of the song/jam you made was when you 'hit a black key' ive been binge watchign you and i cant remeber what episode it was.

If grabbed at a cheap price, it's a gem. Like a scaled down Tetra without a keyboard. I used to hate the Wolf collection, but now I'm waking up...

the first demo tune was the kinda stuff dreams are made of

Modding this one would be a fun video.

Nice to see you tamed the wolf there.

I picked one up cheap as chips a few months back. I really like it, glad I didn't listen to the naysayers. Wouldn't have paid original RRP though. Sounds great with the 4 outs going into my DP4.

God I would have so much fun with this.

The Timbre Wolf sounds warmer and more analog than other analog synths I've had and its sweet spots are simply superior than the sweet spots on my Minibrute 2. That synth's failure had to do with Akai's weird marketing of it and because people focused on what it lacked rather than what it offered. Like you said the sequencer is very good. Also, you can have a lot of fun with the poly mode taking advantage of the round robin. Just like the Korg Volca Keys it's a really good and inexpensive option for a poly analog. Even though it was always an unpopular synth, there are a few good videos out there that demonstrate just how good it sounds.

The Wolf is used mostly as an Oscillator within my Modular System, and this synth makes a good figure there!

Nailed the synth hipsters with that Stalker reference!

savage beat!

I'm actually buying one of these to add to my collection lol

I really like how that sounds

great mate

The Akai Timbre Wolf is a very interesting synth, has the same concept of a Korg Mono-Poly but with very limited options but one of the best functions is the sequencer, very easy to use and have 4 tracks with 16 steps plus another 16 steps as a variation per track, not bad, also you can calibrate the oscillators if it's get out of tune, good in any analog synth. The voices have individual outputs so you can record or process thru effects separately. For bass sound similar to a TB-303 is good, but the limitations on sound making are frustrating sometimes due a lack of parameters, it has USB and regular MIDI connections and a CV out useful for modular stuff. I can't complain I get mine for $120 new in box and is part of my gear, if you can get one cheap go for it but no more than $200.

I bought mine New in Walldorf Session for only 220€. That Was a good deal! There are really many ways to make it use. E. G. As oscillators for a modular System or a 303 Bass etc

All say one thing about the timberwolf its great for hiphop baselines and g funk leads its no mini moog but i finially decided to to put it to use last night for a beat i was working on and i was impressed. Its definitely gonna be my go to for basslines It also makes a nice 808 type bass too .

Well, you made me want to buy it

Lol at the Dances With Wolves scene!!!

Geile Demos und Videos! ...hätte nicht mal gleich gehört, dass du Deutscher bist ;-P

That piece of music you made with it tapped into my spinal cord…so there is that… …but in a good way…

I love mine. Have you found out, how to legato notes? THX BTW: Another great video.

Cool video. How about the Roland DJ70 sampler? It sounded amazing but was horrible to use and look at.

Nice one, another great video, you actually had it sounding half decent! Here's a suggestion that not everyone will agree with but I found the Arturia Microbrute got pretty boring fairly quickly...

Stalker reference? Subbed.

Limited, middle of the road, as exciting as a bingo session for grannies, true Bad Gear!

I want to see you review the MC 307 and the Yamaha RM1X

i wonder what the possibilities for circuit bending this thing. is there anything under the hood that is worth worth having?

The TW showed promise when I bought it, but was too tough with micro SMD to run 4 external CVs to the filter pots for external CV control via CV OCD. I regret trading my TW away though. OI have seen some very cool DIY mods to this. The filter is unique as it seems to sweep from low pass to a weird type of bandpass. Would not rebuy, but I still am howling in the wilderness for the loss of this dog!

I like the idea of synths with their own sequencers, like you say it does seem tonally limited though. Wonder how cheap you can pick one up.

I have that Murakami book. Nice.

I was gifted one by my brother, and was like WHOA!! until I turned it on. I figured out why he gave it away. But I use it as a bass synth in my setup and it works great for that.

how did I miss this vid?? it's killer like usual. I agree about the "1984 Russia synth" .I would like to see the one with mods, and even a few Cv ports available. And hey, I just got a PULSAR 23 and I already am not sure about it. if feels super limited, but then is insane at the same time. it's like a drum/timbre wolf 4 voice that was built as a pre-circuit bent machine . I hope you can get one to make a vid out, as your opinion is PRICELESS (as in , I can't afford it hahaha)

Ob es nun ein Aprilscherz ist (oder Vapoware) Behringer will das Teil nun als "Timbre Wolf" raus bringen und die Seite Synth Anatomy zeigt extra auf DICH Grund für mich das Video zu suchen und zu sehen . Danke dir !

The more I think about it the more I believe it looks to be an analog SuperSaw trance machine I mean four voices that only do saw and square, small tuning range, perfect for manual detuning? It just makes so much sense to me.

I just hope Dan from Akai never sees this...2020 was already a rough year.

Um ehrlich zu sein ist es eines der Coolsten Synths der Modernen und eines das noch DEUTLICH mehr Potenzial hat. hatte hier auf YT ein Video gesehn, das gut zeigt was aus dem Teil geht. Was gefällt mir so besonders an den teil....? Es ist eine Total Hirnlose zusammen geschossenes ding, das so nicht wirklich ein richtiges Konzept hat. Einfach nach dem Motto, was haben wir da, hauen wir zusammen und überlegen uns zumindest wie es als Einheit Funktionieren kann. So etwas macht dann Spaß wenn man damit herumfidelt. zbs als Monologer leadsynth mit 4 leicht verstellten Stimmen. Da würden mir bei dem Teil 2-3 Sachen einfallen was man damit machen kann. Es ist einfach die Hirnlose Art des Instruments, dass es zu so einer Charackterstarken Instrument macht. :) Und ja.... man findet die Dinger kaum und das nicht ohne Grund.

That jam at 2:10 was so good..

You can really get some wild results out of it with mods.

I saw another one of your videos and you used a rhythm wolf and it reminded me that at one point I owned the timbre wolf! It looked like such a promising synth but it was terrible!! I returned it a bought a monologue xd instead.

"Dance Music With Wolves"

I have the timbre wolf, I had the curiosity to buy it, to say a positive comment it’s something from another planet. Pretty much is for those that want to make Acid Techno, it has good sequencing, and it makes good baselines. It’s a modular synthesizer, pretty much it’s used like a guitar, connect guitar pedals and it makes different sounds, it’s not an FM synth. Those that are talking smack about the Timbre Wolf, don’t know about synthesizers. I like the Timbre Wolf because it’s fun to make baselines and play around with the tweaks.

hey if it isn't my first hardware synth lmao! i remember falling in love with a display unit at guitar center and purchasing one before growing tired of the limited sound palette and giving it to a friend a couple months later lol. one thing i'm surprised you didn't mention was the "howl" knob, a "distortion" that makes no sonic difference from zero to like 12 o'clock but actually gives some half-decent grit at higher levels. appreciate this trip down memory lane!

I was so disappointed, I returned it.

That stalker reference 🤣

I bought one new for $199. It's a good piece for that price... especially MIDI'd up with other synths.

Sounds alright actually, super limited but those mellow sounds are pretty good imo

Well I missed all the negative comments in the past I have had mine as part of my set up for several years and it has its place for sure in the bottom end on Midi channel 3 the left side keyboard split. I like it and you did a great job on the vid.

commenting for the algorithm keep it up

I don't care, I love it: it's very easy to build a pattern, and the A/B function is great. The sound variety is limited but the tone has some modesty that it fits any music

I have the rhythm wolf and the tomcat but I never did bother with the Timbe wolf.. I might have to rethink that 👍🏽

Do the knobs transmit MIDI CC? Because if they do I can see getting this as a MIDI controller/sequencer and not using the synth sounds at all.

I had the joy of playing this at guitar center and being so confused. HA

Can that serious modding session be a thing? I'd like to see that.

I like the indipendenc of the 4 modules (the only way to make a very analog out of tune sound) similar to the OB 4...but Akai, please make a version with ADSR... AR😃please 😃

Timbre wolf is just the wackest TB303 clone x 4. I love mine.

You made that thing sing

can it be modded internally (like into a Korg Opsix) ?????

Had some custom real wood sides made for mine. 😎🐺

Secret is we were only giving it terrible reviews to keep the price down but now you’ve ruined all that