MeeBlip anode - compact bass synth w/analogue filter

[Shabdahbriah]

http://meeblip.com/

[Chad@PA]

That looks great! The intro preorder pricing is also very nice!

[Shabdahbriah]

That looks great! The intro preorder pricing is also very nice!

Indeed! Sounds cool too. (IMHO)

http://soundcloud.com/cdm/sets/meeblip- ... irst-sound

[Numanoid]

Too bad that this one has got lost, deserves a bump

[foosnark]

And another bump, because I just got one used from eBay.

My first impression after playing with a it a couple of hours is that it strikes me as really... basic. I mean, that should be obvious coming in. While it's not a bad synth for the price by any means, it's not a big, fat, wet sound. For a "bass synth" it isn't earthshaking. The filter has some squeal and character, but it's not exactly brutal. Via MIDI CC you can dial in some envelope modulation of the filter but it's still the same AD envelope as the VCO. It doesn't have a wide sonic palette. (This particular unit is still on the Anode v.1 firmware so it doesn't have the wavetable option yet, just the pulse oscillators; I will probably upgrade that tonight.)

I haven't used a hardware synth since the Korg DS-8 from 1986. With software I'm used to being able to just dial in more -- unison or an edgier waveform or more modulation or some built-in effects. So the Meeblip is making me take a different approach: how do I make the most of this limited synth?

And that's the big thing for me. Not OMG REAL ANALOG WARMPF!!! but putting in the time to sequence a simple synth to make it punch above its weight. (And it does; it sounds good but you really can't expect to be wowed by just holding down a note, even if you're playing with the filter knobs while you do it. It is a synth that is great in context, instead of a showoff synth where it's hard to find a context where it works.) No longer taking a giant pile of effects for granted, but learning just how much life a simple delay can add.

I doubt it's going to cure GAS though. I want an analog delay stompbox and a Soulsby Atmegatron and a Microbrute... and someplace to put all this stuff...

[foosnark]

Turns out the V2 firmware adds not just wavetable selection, but note reset for the LFO (which can be disabled via MIDI CC) which is almost as good as having a separate filter envelope. Plus a random LFO mode, and the option to have osc A stay pulse while B is sawtooth. That does open up the anode's sonic possibilities somewhat. Still, it remains a relatively simple synth that calls for judicious sequencing

[waiting man]

Nice find. I was almost convinced to get an se when the anode came out.

Do you think the osc+filter combination resembles any vsti you tried?

[Shabdahbriah]

Turns out the V2 firmware adds not just wavetable selection, but note reset for the LFO (which can be disabled via MIDI CC) which is almost as good as having a separate filter envelope. Plus a random LFO mode, and the option to have osc A stay pulse while B is sawtooth. That does open up the anode's sonic possibilities somewhat. Still, it remains a relatively simple synth that calls for judicious sequencing

So, basically... you want at least four of 'em?

[foosnark]

Nice find. I was almost convinced to get an se when the anode came out.

Do you think the osc+filter combination resembles any vsti you tried?

Nothing really springs to mind. With the filter about 3/4 open, the oscs remind me a bit of the SID chip, and I can get a "close enough" match in Plogue Chipsounds easily enough. But I admit I'm not a connoisseur of raw oscillators.

Nothing really sounds at all like that filter though once the resonance is up.

[waiting man]

Sounds like fun...wanna find some snippet with a pattern and severe knob action.