I know UDO tries to aim for very high-quality components, and I’m guessing this is the reason why the sliders on my S6 out of the box have so much resistance on them, but it has always felt like too much to me because this makes it impossible to quickly and accurately change the parameter or “play” the sliders.
Frustrated by this, I tried to loosen things up a bit by moving the slider back and forth, but this seems to make the resistance jump between hardly any and the original heavy resistance. In other words, the resistance becomes quite unpredictable. In general fast movement / more force equals little resistance and slow movement / less force equals heavy resistance, with nothing in between. It is impossible to control fully, so quick parameter changes become impossible to make accurately.
Today my S6 desktop arrived (because I suspect that format suits me better) and I immediately noticed a big difference. Besides the fact that the faders are shorter (I don’t mind) they are of a similar but different type. The feel is really very nice! Still solid but light enough to play them and when moving faster they do not have this erratic behavior where the resistance drops massively. So I think UDO nailed it there.
I probably have one of the earlier produced S6 keys (S611063), so this makes me wonder:
What faders are used nowadays in the production of S6 keys? Are they still the same as used originally?
Can these faders be replaced to have the same type of faders (though taller) as the S6 desktop?
If 2=yes would it be something that could be done yourself if you are handy with a soldering iron? Of course, I understand this would void any warranty.
My understanding is that the 40mm faders on the keyboard version are an off-the-shelf part while the 30mm faders on the desktop are a custom part made for only UDO. I suspect that if there’s any difference it’s because of the different parts and not some run-to-run variance
I’m not trying to play live, so the faders on my keyboard version (also an earlier unit from about 6 months after launch, give or take) have never bothered me. If I want to change something while playing I’ll usually just assign it to AT or the pitchbender. I’m not good enough to play well while putting my other hand on a specific fader and aiming for a specific value without losing time.
I have an earlier keyboard version. I have the same impression like you about the sliders
The sliders react different per slider vs slider. Some are easier to push than others. Maybe it depends on use?
Sometimes it take more force than usual on the same slider. And suddenly the same sliders moves very easy.
I have the impressions the sliders react a bit unpredictable. Some a sliders move move easy. The next one needs a bit pressure. Sometimes you need a bit more force in the beginning and than it gets much easier.
It is not a big issue. Maybe they will be more lose after a couple of 1000 uses.
The rarely used sliders feels stiffer than the frequently used ones.
E.g. the LFO slider on VCA needs much more force than the filter cut off.
I have a brand new one (UK built) and the sliders are all over the place. Some are smooth and have lots of gratifying resistance. Some have almost no resistance and feel completely different, almost like a cheaper component. It really drives down the feeling of quality when on slider is so precise and has resistance and the other is just completely loose.
I don’t understand how the same component can vary so wildly. I wish there was a way to add resistant,
I like the resistants, personally. It’s disappointing that they are so inconsistent. The loose ones are off-putting, and every time I touch them, I hope that they magically get tighter. Sort of a helpless or hopeless feeling for a high-end synth. George mentioned how the slider and knob feel are a big part of the experience. I feel like a few of my sliders are not what he envisioned.
Yes. The inconsistency is the bummer.
When you tweak patches “live” (e.g. the S6 is sequenced by external gear and I tweak the sliders on the S6 in meantime) it can be a hit and miss.
It’s not so much that it changes if it gets used (warms up), but it is that I have 3-4 sliders that are drastically different.
I like the synth (looks, sound design, etc.) and want to have it in my studio, but as silly as some may find it, I almost avoid those beta sliders if I can because of how disappointing they are. I can’t accept it.
Support came back with the line about plastic verse grease. Ok, sure… but why brag about tactility when you are ok with selling products with such large tolerances. My Jupiter X and Opsix both have inferior feeling sliders but, to their credit, are very consistent with each other. They don’t have a slider(s), which makes me sad when touching them.
Just took delivery of a Black/Grey keyboard model here. I think distributor sent this to retailer around mid-December. Zero issues with sliders so far. They feel very consistent among all of them. Nice and sturdy. With the sound that’s coming out of this thing, I’m hardly thinking about it! Just tweaking away!
I bought my desktop unit in October 2022, and the sliders feel perfect to me. I would assume nothing has changed in production since then, so maybe just go for it.
Have had my “Star Wars Command Console” (aka UDO 6 Desktop) for about a month (UK built) - sliders feel perfect to me too. Yes, they have a lot of resistance but I assume they will loosen up a bit over time (as mentioned already in other posts).
My S6 was one of the first batches (manufactured in Germany)
Most likely the parts where sourced somewhere else.
I have the impression the first batch had some quality issues with some faders.
Most of them are okay. But the FILTER ENV for example has a low resistance compared to the others slider.
Maybe this is fixed in the recent models
