Recommend me a tabletop synth

Anything about hardware musical instruments.
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I'm looking for something analog or at least with an analog filter that can do both bass and drum sounds. Monophonic is Ok as I can just sample into the triton to build pads etc. Immediacy and fun factor are important and I want minimal warm-up time if any...

So far the ones that have peaked my interest are:

Mopho desktop - great modulation ops / sequencer, but I worry about the interface. I really don't want to rely on a computer, it completely kills creativity.

Waldorf Rocket - seems cool but limited envelopes and not velocity sensitive

Moog Minitaur - I love the Moog filter but it has limited pitch range, a single LFO and no noise.

Vermona monolancet - I love the sound, but no midi or patch memories, and you can't map modwheel to vibrato! duh!

Did I miss anything? Pulse 2? Mono Evolver?

Would be great to hear your thoughts!
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I have heard that the Novation Bass station 2 is good for analog drums and a nice filter(I think it has ext input)? I haven't tried it personally though.

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Pulse 2 for sure. Great sound, tons of features, quite cheap for what it does and could be fully programmed without a computer (did that during the whole beta testing time).


Ingo
Ingo Weidner
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Having just bought one I would have to say the Pulse 2 does what you want. Its very versatile too. I wouldn't get the minitaur because of its limits and I actually bought a slim phatty after I tried both in the shop. Slim phatty is great but no noise gen.

Tetra sounds great too if you wanted true polyphony but if you don't a mofo might do.
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- The Mopho desktop is probably not very fun to program (I don't have it myself, but never read the opposite).
- The Rocket seems a bit limited.
- The Minitaur is mostly aimed at bass.
- I have a Mono Evolver. I control it with a PC editor, iPad editor, or BCR2000. Editing it on the device itself is not that difficult, but you need it in front of you, in a well-lit room. I love the thing, just wish I had the keyboad version. :ud:

The Bass Station is great fun & sounds good. I don't have the Pulse 2, but it looks very interesting.
I just bought 2 new desktop synths:
- Boomstar SEM: Best monosynth I've ever heard! (myself) :love: , and it was worth selling my Slim Phatty for! I don't mind the lack of preset memory, there's enough other synths that have that.
- Shruthi 2xSVF: just arrived yesterday...

From what I read it sounds like you might like this one:
http://mutable-instruments.net/anushri
If you can't assemble it yourself, you could contact one of the trusted builders ( http://www.mutable-instruments.net/foru ... rs-list/p1 ) ;)
Last edited by T-CM11 on Thu Feb 27, 2014 11:24 am, edited 3 times in total.

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- double post -

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these look very cool

Due April


http://www.hypersynth.com/xenophone.html

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That's what I'm looking at next.... or a 2nd boomstar (CS80), or a Perfourmer Mk2 :oops:

@the OP: there's the Korg MS20 Mini too. Or wait for their new Arp. :wink:

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Arturia Microbrute ... does great bass. Pretty sure it will make good kicks and percussion too (just haven't got round to it yet). :)

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Love my Microbrute.....does have a keyboard though....and the Pittsburgh Modular System 1 looks cool.

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True ... the brute has a keyboard, but its still tiny.

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thecontrolcentre wrote:Arturia Microbrute ... does great bass. Pretty sure it will make good kicks and percussion too (just haven't got round to it yet). :)
Even better if you throw in an external noise source :)
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Pulse 2 ftw. Incredibly versatile and sounds great.
cytospur wrote:
thecontrolcentre wrote:Arturia Microbrute ... does great bass. Pretty sure it will make good kicks and percussion too (just haven't got round to it yet). :)
Even better if you throw in an external noise source :)
When I had a MicroBrute I used the Metalizer a lot in place of a noise source. Great for hats, and usable for harsher snare timbres. It'll do gritty kicks, too.
Meh.

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If you want something cheap, fun and versatile (far more versatile than it looks) i recommend the korg volca keys. I love mine - it can do a decent kick and all sorts of fm sounding clangs (due to it's unison ring mod and polyphonic ring mod) as well as monophonic and polyphonic (3 note). Gritty and a bit noisy but has an awesome korg 700 esque filter.
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Microbrute if you want lots of hands on control but don't mind the lack of a noise source/modulation.
MonoEvolver if you don't mind menu diving.

You might also consider a second hand Shruthi or Kraftzwerg.

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