Thoughts on the Vermona Perfourmer MkII 

I just bought your Perfourmer from a guy in Hastings 😂 I had one before and have had too much regret about selling so re-bought. I personally think it’s the nicest sounding synth I’ve ever owned and I’ve had a few!

I adressed a critic to your last video, and explained why. This time I want to congratulate the very good work here: immersive and interesting walkthrough of the P4, with very good accurency and relevance. In my opinion, you mentioned the most important thing with the Perfourmer : while being a marvel of sounds at some points, it may not match the expectations of some users. Not for a sound consideration, but for a workflow conception. Taking the most profit of this synth involves a very different sense of read, and definitely a live/jam approach in most cases, what you explained very well. As an owner of the P4, I will say that in a world where the machines of this range take on the appearance of yachts that compete in technology, comfort, design, power, Vermona has decided to take a certain form of the opposite by offering a magnificent old-fashioned sailboat through the Perfourmer. A 4 masts built in the purest of the maritime traditions of sailing ships: a crazy charm, a sublime finish in the service of an obvious know-how, and beyond, another way of approaching the sea, a unique experience apart whole. On a side technical note, I would just add some points that I’m not sure they were mentioned (I could be wrong), and that could bring some useful informations to some functions for those who are interested in the P4 details: - All the LFO can be synched to the midi clock, or to internal clock - You can change the shape of each LFO waves independently / square, saw, sin or Sample&hold - You can setup and modulate the width of the square wave of the LFOs - You can activate Pitch bend and modulation wheel for each voice independently (which creates pretty cool modulation opportunities) - You wan modulate the width of the shape for square waves in the VCO with the modulation wheel when activated - There is an auto-glide activable function - There is a version of the P4 inclunding all the CV interface for modular synth usages - You can use the Vermona as a filter bank as each voice is able to treat external audio signal with the VCF. By the way, you can switch off individualy each VCO. - Each dedicated voice jack plug has 2 different functions of IN and 2 fdifferent functions of OUT. No button to switch, the only way is to use different audio cable (which could be surprising). With a TR cable, the IN allow you to make enter an external audio signal, and the Out let just extract the sound of the voice. With a TRS audio cable, you can plug as IN an insert directly in each strip, and as a Out, you can extract the sound of the raw VCO without passing through the VCF which is useful if you want to use another external filter for treatment … as a Sherman or a moog ladder performant filter in example ;) Note that there is a global main out plus 1 individual out per voice and when you extract 1 voice individualy, it automatically diactivated it in the global main. Great & very enjoyable video

One thing often overlooked. Vermona will repair your synth fast and good even 10 years after you bought it and it's quite cheap! I bought a drm1mk3 10 years ago in used condition and had it repaired two years ago... it's like new again. If they build it they will fix it.

I really love the mood of your videos. Thank you Tim

Definitive review and showing all aspects of the synth at it's best and a really lovely ending piece. Definitely one that gets under your skin. Thanks!

Nice shoutout to Oora. Thanks for your continued support of the community and excellent videos!

Amazing review Tim, thank you. Your sound examples were lovely (that especially creepy one was quite something), and helping to demystify the workflow/configuration was a really comprehensive section. Loved the montage at the end, a good reminder of all the work which goes into these.

I absolutely love the PerFourmer. I can play it for hours, making different sequences, and then switching modes finding something amazing. I have no ambitions of playing live, but I find this synth very inspiring and beautiful.

Another outstanding and thorough review Mr. Shoebridge. Thank you for adding another YT channel to check out, I was not familiar with Oora before, but I am glad I am now. You continue to provide insights into not only the equipment, but how to properly and effectively use it. I appreciate you taking the time to figure out exactly how best to approach discussing this synth. The peak behind the scenes of how you set up these wonderful videos was simply brilliant, such a great idea for signing off. I swear I learn more tips and tricks from one of your videos than any synth or recording magazine I have ever read!

Great musicality. Tastefully arranged. This one gem right for and from the Vermona guys. A 50 min. product presentation covering advanced subjects. Many thanks for this thorough examination. Very well executed and I'd hope that more channels take note of your approach.

Beautiful ending! Nice emotional track. The Perfourmer has its challenges, but it seems it’s a real real instrument you can fall in love with… and complicated love stories are always the most intense ones… ;)

Ahhhhh the piece at the end…wow!! I love it! Wonderful video. Oora is so good! His last ambient album is super magical. Cheers Tim!! ♥️

I honestly think that your "little video" at the end is one of your finest yet Absolutely loved it. Thank you for yet another fine review.

Got one of these a month ago or so and will definitely be saving this video!!!!! Nice work!!

Brilliant walkthrough, thank you.

Very well done demo! Great information, lovely musical examples, and your nice voice and handsome leading man looks make for a pleasant viewing that goes by quickly. 👌😎👍 I've had a Perfourmer MkII for a couple years now but I haven't spent enough quality time with it yet to learn it well so your video was helpful.

shoebridge thanks for your videos...always great to watch.

The Perfourmer feels like an instrument more than any other synth I own. That's why it can only be played live and once. Its particularly good for people that don't play keys or come from a guitar background like me. Two sequences and a drone from a sequencer, some shimmer, and there you are losing yourself for hours, just tweaking the knobs, swimming in a sea of musicality. If I should compare it, I would say it's a melodic Lyra8. Apart from Oora, who is great, check also Mika Forsling's stuff. Tim, it seems the Perfourmer was not made for your workflow. Thanks for this great and honest review.

Both of you guys have really deep lovely music on this video well done.

I con not get enough of your videos and sweet sweet voice! BRAVO 🥂🥂🥂🥂❤❤❤❤

Very interesting walk-through, thanks Tim. Interested in the MIDI Sequencing capabilities upon Live Performance. I'll learn a touch more. Seems an ideal Tool thus far. Appreciated.

Thanks for this, good review!

wonderful music and thorough review

wonderful ! found some hidden gems here thanks Tim

Masterful demonstration of this niche analog polysynth. I hope Vermona take notice of the many subtle points you raise and addresses them in a long-overdue Mark-iii It would also be lovely to see your take on their ‘14 monosynth, if you get your hands on one. (decades in executive meetings…your storytelling skills are really up-there 😉)

lovely music, as always. thx.

Hey Tim - love your videos - your opinion and thoughts make them really valuable, more so than a straight review :-) This has informed me about whether or not this will be on my wishlidst 😉 Love the outro, particularly the spoken words. I think they give music such as this a certain frisson. At least that's what I'm going for when I do it 😀

Great stuff!

The sections of this video on experimentation and variation: awesome.

This was excellent! I’ve had a Perfourmer for a while, and I still learnt a few things from this video. And I would love to see the horror film that has Nightmare as a soundtrack.

"my many lethargic and at some points incomprehensible thoughts" quite clear for the most part, Tim! :D

@Tim Shoebridge I never thought I would want a synth more than when I've watched your demo. This was a sleeping giant synth that I never realised its versatility until your video.

Thank you for producing the video, Tim. Excellent sharing of thoughts and impressions. I also have an MC-707, and that seems like a potentially fun pair for live brainstorming or performing, along with something like the Typhon (which I also have). Imagine a collaboration between Vermona and Dreadbox, a Mediterranean melange, combined with boutique-quality effects by Sinevibes, and with 3 switchable/selectable filters for each voice, including the 4-pole on the Typhon, the current PerFourMer filter, and a Moog-style ladder filter. And, while I’m dreaming, imagine an integrated Conductive Labs NDLR-type capability, with drone, melody, and chords option combinations, depending on how you choose to allocate the use of the 4 voices. Ah, my impractical, futile daydreaming. Lol Anyway, thanks again, Tim. Again, we have very similar sensibilities and aesthetic tastes. Thank you for your efforts, and for sharing the synth journey with us all, in this place in time space. ☺️👊🏼💥✊🏼

Great review / opinion , thanks for this

Awesome review

Ha, I loved the "Nightmare" jam - the "screams" you got out of it made me want to buy this.

Great vid, thanks for posting I've had one for a while now, I'm almost tempted to get a second one and polychain though a midi them together for a big old 8 voice, simple but super organic. Could be a pain to dial in a patch but that'd be a lovely sound

16:10 in love with this sound! just amazing! Such a relaxing vibe

Credit where credits due. Great review of a modern classic synth. I didn’t think much of your original “personal statement” but hope you took all comments on board as constructive feedback :)

Hi Tim, Today I found your review on Waldorf Kyra and then now watched Venmona Perfourmer MKII. Nice video and I know you took quite a long time to film this "Thoughts" and not to mention the editing. Nice Job and just Sub'ed

Very helpful and some great music as well.:-) First real how-to video on the Perfourmer MkII I've seen. Only critique is that you recorded your voice to loudly compared to the synth, so that I was constantly changing the volume. Your comment about getting a copyright strike was funny because it's true.

Fantastic intro. Great review. I will say this. There’s a few Guys who have this piece of gear and man do they make some of the nose beautiful music. Well dune.

This synth sounds better than I expected

Yeah....great video, thx 🎼

Smooth like butter sound

A fascinating piece of kit. Too bad I'm down to my last kidney... Sound examples are beautiful as always.

LFOs can run in phase as well as in sync and I really love this feature. Apologies if this was mentioned, but I didn’t notice.

And here I am, 8 months later, with one in my studio. LOL. While it is a performance instrument, and I hardly use it out of the studio, it allows me to focus on performance while recording, evolving the sounds and actually making the entire progression somehow "manual".

GREAT!

This made me want to go and play with my PF2!

Personally I really like most of the Vermona products, espcially the midi to CV module and the Perforumer, having legato is really essential, a lot of mono synths doesnt have this feature, I found Kenton, Vermona and uTune to be the best midi to CV modules. I think the Perfourmer sounds absolutely gorgeous, and is more of a turn on and play synth compared to eurorack. When you first tried playing a synth with legato, you will never go back. My conclusion on this synth was that a LP mode only limits it a lot, so hoping for a mk3 with multimode filter

Selling my PerFOURmer last year has been one of my biggest regrets. I ignorantly thought the Matriarch would replace the use cases, but I was wrong... I miss that lush sound of Vermona.

That kraftwerk-esque tune is a beaut 👍

So in terms of alternatives (in or out of production) here's a very unpopular but relevant one: the Akai Timbre Wolf. It was simpler in every respect and the price reflected it but had four identical voices, and three play modes (round robin mono, unison, and poly). To me it sounded great, in fact very similar to the Perfourmer even though it had only two wave forms. Somehow I wasn't bothered by the lack of LFO but hated the fact the Timbre Wolf didn't have an arpeggiator to complement its keyboard and that the pitch bend was fixed to a whole step. If it weren't for these two flaws I would have kept it for sure in spite of all its limitations because of its sheer sound, and it would have been my main live synth. That thing actually felt like an instrument to improvise on, not something you constantly have to look at and program. It would be cool for a keyboard synth to be released that's half way between the Timbre Wolf and Perfourmer in terms of complexity and price, but with that same identical voice concept. I think that identical voices concept goes back to ancient Oberheim synths.

I wanna know about the voice modes, That seems to be the key to getting those amazing sequences out of it

Really enjoyed the track "4 Mono Synths" @30:10 Sounds like an Raga. Gorgeous

New intro bumper? Scary sounding. :P

Another alternative, elektron's Analog Four / Analog Keys. Four independent voices, MIDI-addressable, can do configurable voice allocations for polyphony.

I'm really curious how the mk1 compares to the mk2.. since it's impossible to verify which revision of the mk2 you may be getting.. if buying used I've also been admiring OoraMusic's usage of the mk2 recently, though..

What do you think about vermona qMI 2 module? Looks like it is exactly what you need: perfourmer voice routing applied to existing eurorack system.

Thank you for this insight. Would you consider the Syntrx I/II direct equivalents? I am not sure if you have a review on the Syntrx or the recently released Syntrx II, but I’ll go check. Your reasoning gives me much to think about.

Again, mr.Shoebridge cement his role as an elite member of the very top of great reviewers,-

Great review! I wonder how you would compare the PERfourMER to four Model Ds with MIDI-CV module (like you had in an older video) in terms of sound & flexibility?

Dear Tim, hello, I hope you are doing just fine!! I was wondering if you still own the behringer deepmind. I have seen a lot of videos on that synth, but I just really love your reviews lol I know it isn´t a new piece of gear, but it would really nice if you did a video on it u.u

Great synth & walkthrough. Like you, i am strictly a studio artist who multi tracks everything. I have no need for multi timbrality.

Would love a review of the DRM1 MK4

Tim. Watching your videos is like watching a movie. Thanks so much for the time, care and beauty you put into each video. It is very much appreciated!

Great video and strong influence on my decision to buy a Perfourmer which I'm running through an MC- 707 BUT I just can't get the 707 to control the volume of the Perfourmer as you seem to do in this video. Can I ask please if you do this through Midi and if so how its setup. Thanks.

the perfourmer is inside four completed independant synth. 4 independant cards + à control one . The name: perfourmer , say it all: four synth concentrated to perform live . It is a unique synth for that , compact with symmetric switch. The sound is unbelievable deep and so unique. You have it in front of you and you play … this is not a keyboard synth , not a euro rack synth, this is a perfourmer for performance. Thanks for your point of view, allways appreciate.

As usual, that's a great explanation of a2 piece of gear . Congratulations , i still don't know if you are a good seller or professor ...🤔🙂 both of them ,i'm sure , and also a nice musician 🤗

Elektron Analogue 4 is for sure an alternative that actually outperforms Perfourmer in terms of features, control and value for money in general. But this thing seems to have a really wonderful sound...

Excellent showcase, thank you! ...hey couldn't help but notice that mc707 beside the Vermona. What's up with that? Wouldn't have thought you're into grooveboxes. (:

13:00 Thunder! Aaahaaahaaaah Thunder! Aaahaaahaaaah

Your video looks kind of raw with a gray pall over it. I think with this camera setting it is intended that you need to do post-production to this raw video.

Love your channel, but must say (i own a Perfourmer MK2) that the audio demos don't do justice to this synthesizer. I didn't hear a lot of the filter action, which is stunning. Most of the demo's were using sine/triangle/square waves whereas i feel this synth sounds exceptionally beautiful with saw oscillators. Last but not least: i didn't hear the sound that melts hearts: a 4 voice saw pad sound with a slow filter envelope, voices panned apart and all 4 osc pitch modulated every so slightly by the lfo. That sound. Is. So. Unbelievable gorgeous!

Say what you will about the resonance issue, it sounds amazing. DSI tetra is similar too, though needs a hardware controller to make the most of it. I'm already subbed to Oora. Love his content.

Not finished video yet, but curious how you would compare with the 4 voice elektron analog ?

Great video again Tim, please, could you make another Vermona Melodicer video-tutorial? Thanks Tim.

Interesting synth it's a bit pricy but before this review I wrote it off but I can now see the appeal

I hope the rumors of an Abyss sequel with Typhon-like digital effects and control are true.

How about another Vermona Melodicer video Tim? Thanks

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I'm wondering how it compares sonically to the Elektron Analog 4. I've been shopping for a 4 voice analog synth with individual outs. Elektron's Analog Keys and A4mkii are at the top of the list so far, but this also looks like a good contender.

Here is the thing with this synth - it sounds very "German" - clean, discrete filter, i love all these different options. But, it is focused on live performance (duh!). I would love to add it to my collection, but I cannot see the financial justification in this - I have Pro 2, Pro 3 and Subsequent 37, plus some other stuff, and I am well covered on mono-front. Also, for the price of this synth you can get A4 which in the end does the same thing, but sports Elektron sequencer and effects. I understand the difference, but i think that voice quality goes just a little bit in favour of Perfourmer (it is very basic architecture and sound). I just think there are so many great synths out there - for that pricetag, you can get used Pro 2, for instance, or add two hundred and get a Pro 3. Again, Perfourmer sound is beautiful, had it for a while and loved hands on control and mode switches - i am a sucker for FM pluck going through spring delay. It sounds even more beautiful when you run it through effects because the base sound is as i said, "German" (if you know what i mean by that when it comes to synth sound:) . I would love to have kept it but i just couldn't justify this.

Curious: did you delete the comment from the girl who complained about being "washed out" or did she delete it herself? I guess she was referencing your grey blacks rather than the synth

Abyss MKll will be eight voice.

Elitists are never content and always focus on the negative.

I believe it's official- i have a Thin Shoebridge crush 😍

I just realised something about Tim. He is the synthworlds equivalent to Tony Stark/Iron Man😁 Like Tony Stark he has all the cool gadgets around him and like Iron Man he delivers hardpunching lessons using the gadgets to those needing it👍 Whenever I see a new video from Tim is availible I always crack a smile and look forward to watching it once I can make sure I have plenty of time to just sit and enjoy to the fullest.

Those 4 inserts are begging for effect chains.

NUmero 1 ( You ) , Ciao.

Your VERY serious/ intense about it all…🤨

Lovely tone. Incredibly limited

Thank you for a honest review. So, did you finally sell it?

Quite similar to the analog four, it sounds a bit better and fatter, but for the money the a4 offers so much more with the built in sequencing features

As soon as they fix the filter, I'm getting one.

you don't really have to destroy a patch, lol, there's ways to save it, but I'm doing what Junkie XL does, and not telling the whole world how to do it

“Sometime you want simplicity…” just get a piano then don’t put down a synth because it has a dedicated knob for each function. You’re a negative elitist reviewer time to retire old man.