KVR Audio

electro · Post by **electro** » Tue May 12, 2009 10:55 pm

Incredible Moog drive circuit
http://uaudio.com/products/software/moo ... index.html

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Tue May 12, 2009 11:14 pm

Mr Arkadin wrote:If you don't want a keyboard and definitely want Mini sounds, then you could go for one of these:

- snipped pic of Minimax ASB -

Yup, I was about to recommend it, as well, though in the form of the Plugiator or Plugiator ASX since those are closer to the price range of the Mopho. The Plugiator has Minimoog, Prophet 5, Oddysey, B3, and even good DX100 sounds, all with VSTi programmers (beta).

I've played the Voyager side-by-side with the Little Phatty and the Prophet 08. The Little Phatty is a significant step closer to the Voyager than the Prophet 08 is. That said, the Mopho's sub osc's really do make a substantial difference so I'll put it up next to my Voyager tonight and report back.

jplanet · Post by **jplanet** » Wed May 13, 2009 12:49 am

Uncle E wrote:
Mr Arkadin wrote:If you don't want a keyboard and definitely want Mini sounds, then you could go for one of these:

- snipped pic of Minimax ASB -
Yup, I was about to recommend it, as well, though in the form of the Plugiator or Plugiator ASX since those are closer to the price range of the Mopho. The Plugiator has Minimoog, Prophet 5, Oddysey, B3, and even good DX100 sounds, all with VSTi programmers (beta).

I've played the Voyager side-by-side with the Little Phatty and the Prophet 08. The Little Phatty is a significant step closer to the Voyager than the Prophet 08 is. That said, the Mopho's sub osc's really do make a substantial difference so I'll put it up next to my Voyager tonight and report back.

Thanks, Eric, I'd love to hear what you think of the Mopho vs. the Voyager...

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Wed May 13, 2009 4:19 am

Alright, here's a little Minimoog test I just threw together:

http://www.jrrshop.com/eric/moog_test.mp3

4 bars Voyager
4 bars SampleMoog
4 bars Minimax
4 bars Minimonsta

In all fairness, the SampleMoog sounds the closest because I had to try to match all the other synths to it since SampleMoog can't really be programmed to sound like the other synths. Minimax is pretty much 1-for-1 the same settings as the Voyager, whereas Minimonsta's settings are entirely different and it took me quite a bit of effort to even get as close as that. I'd say the main weakness of Minimax and Minimonsta is their resonance, Minimax gets a bit squealy at any setting above where it's at in that file (about 1 'o clock) and Minimonsta just gets ridiculously squealy above 9 'o clock. I actually think Minimax is nearly a spot-on Minimoog at low resonance settings and Minimonsta is still my favorite synth for super stable sub basses (it's better than the Voyager and Minimax for that).

Notice that the Mopho is missing? Right, that's because I ran into the same problem as with the SampleMoog, the lack of editing meant I couldn't get it anywhere close to sounding like those synths. Also, the Mopho just sounds very, very different from the Voyager, so much so that I didn't have any success at trying to get the Voyager to sound like it. That's not to say the Mopho isn't as good, it might even be better than the Voyager at those cutting prog lead sounds and the Mopho's presets are certainly better geared towards that genre than the Voyager's are. The Mopho's Tom Sawyer, ELP, and Wagnerian patches are thoroughly convincing and a lot of fun to play.

btw, just for fun, here's those Moog files with drums:

http://www.jrrshop.com/eric/moog_test_mit_drums.mp3

jplanet · Post by **jplanet** » Wed May 13, 2009 6:15 am

Wow, very cool thank you so much for posting this.

Yes, there is indeed a certain "mojo" with the Voyager...

Hmmm...wonder if Scot could post the same phrase from the Model D?????

And once again, my curiosity is raised for the Mopho...it strikes me like what the Sh101 was when it came out - a very simple yet excellent synth, but with a very worthy character all its own...

Locus M · Post by **Locus M** » Wed May 13, 2009 6:48 am

Uncle E wrote:Notice that the Mopho is missing? Right, that's because I ran into the same problem as with the SampleMoog, the lack of editing meant I couldn't get it anywhere close to sounding like those synths.

JPplanet wrote: And once again, my curiosity is raised for the Mopho...it strikes me like what the Sh101 was when it came out - a very simple yet excellent synth, but with a very worthy character all its own...

Lack of editing and a very simple synth???? Try downloading the editor for some slightly moderations of these statements. 22 sources, 44 destinations.

jplanet · Post by **jplanet** » Wed May 13, 2009 6:50 am

Correct, Hskovlund, I should have said "inexpensive", I am aware of the complexity the Mopho is capable of...I really do want to play one, only thing is that trying it out in a store I cna't experiment with editing...The Little Phatty is probably a better comparison to the SH101...

dj ike · Post by **dj ike** » Sat Jun 06, 2009 5:27 pm

Thanks for the demos.

From what I am hearing, they all sound very similar, so I would opt for the cheapest, most convenient.

You could get a real Minimoog, compare it to another Minimoog. The slight coloring from the analog circuitry, your mixer, or soundcard would make the two Minimoogs sound different.

Your giving yourself a sound inferiority complex. Just have fun and make music.

dbolt · Post by **dbolt** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 8:05 pm

SWAN808 wrote:Also FWIW I understand that the fliter and the VCOs of the phatty are the same as the Voyager. However the Voyager does not have the great drive circuit of the phatty. And you can expand the phatty with moogfoogers - so that it become quite a versatile monosynth...

This is one of the reasons that pushed me to go for the LP... I have 3 moogfoogers... Freqbox which will add an extra OSC for modulation, I have the MURF which will add some nice movement and expression to the mono sound of the LP, and I have the Low Pass filter which doesn't do a whole lot to the sound I actually would love to get the Analog Delay fooger... so I'm looking forward to adding these basically modules to the LP.... I have a Motu and plan on picking up Volta to add some more CV modulation to my sound.... I acutally sent back my Desktop Blofeld to upgraded to the LP... I felt like the Blofeld was just a fancy software synth.... and had other softsynths that played its role in my sound.. I have a Evolver for that DSI sound and with my other hardware Nord Lead2x, Juno6, DX7, Evolver, Monomachine, and FR Revolution I thought the LP was a good addition...

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:17 pm

dbolt wrote:I felt like the Blofeld was just a fancy software synth...

It is. That's not a bad thing though. What I learn more and more is that there seems to be no reason to buy a dedicated VA these days unless it's to take the heat off your CPU. I can't for the life of me tell the difference between a Virus and a good VSTi. Maybe there is one, but it's lost on me.

I can hear something in analog though, but that doesn't mean it's good either. Like Scott, the Little Phatty did nothing at all for me, but the Voyager did... now if only I could justify that price. I can't. I just can't wrap my head around it. I'm a hobbyist. I mean that in a positive way. Having it be completely decoupled from having to have an audience or make money is a beautiful thing. However, it also means that it's a 100% money hole. Buying a Voyager to me would be pure personal entertainment.

I'm worth it... no doubt, but looking at the bigger picture... I can't justify it. I feel the same way about the Andromeda. I'd love to have one but I put both of those instruments in the "if I win the lottery" bucket. Now I just have to actually play the lottery.

Maybe if the Moog thing was *my* thing I'd be more motivated to attain it. Guitar is my thing and my guitar cost half of what the Voyager does. Maybe that's part of where my attitude comes from. Also, I get almost all the way there using Minimonsta. Lord knows I'm not lacking for good sound. I am looking at the Tetr4 though. I can justify $800 (I know, it makes little sense) and I just love the sound of the Mopho.

Have you tried one? Listen to the demos on the DSI site. Maybe the sound you crave is there even if it's not the "minimoog" sound.

Also, if the OP's still considering an actual Minimoog... you have to ask yourself do you want to deal with the pain in the butt part of one. For me personally, I don't want to be a sound designer every time I want to play a synth. That makes the minimoog more of what I can "studio furniture." Cool, impressive sounding, but not practical.

Now, can we do a one eighty and start talking about Chipsounds from Plogue?

fceramic · Post by **fceramic** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 9:42 pm

I want to talk about Chipsounds! Where is it?

zerocrossing · Post by **zerocrossing** » Wed Oct 14, 2009 10:36 pm

fridtjof wrote:I want to talk about Chipsounds! Where is it?

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=264918

(sorry to derail this thread in the name of humor)

stonestreet · Post by **stonestreet** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 2:43 pm

jplanet wrote:I've always had my heart set on getting a Minimoog, but I would be quite happy with a much cheaper synth that can accomplish the handful of classic analog sounds I'm looking for. I play prog rock, so I need it mainly for leads and the classic filter sweeps. I hardly ever use apreggiators or step sequences of any kind.

I definitely do not need a keyboard, and I intend to use this for recording only, which is why I'm considering the Mopho. My only concern is, how do the oscillators, filters, and over all sound quality compare to the Little Phatty?

And at that point, doe sthe winner of the two hardware choices really have a sound quality that is substantially better than a quality VSTi like Minimonsta?

I'm afraid of looking at this with too much scrutiny - I am not of the school of thought that anything other than an original Minimoog Model D is a compromise.

Have you considered the doepfer Dark Energy synth. Very basic 1 osc and yet much fun

Have fun mark

dbolt · Post by **dbolt** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:13 pm

zerocrossing wrote:
dbolt wrote:I felt like the Blofeld was just a fancy software synth...
It is. That's not a bad thing though. What I learn more and more is that there seems to be no reason to buy a dedicated VA these days unless it's to take the heat off your CPU.

This is very true I bought the Blofeld right before Largo came out.. and after having both (Largo Demo) they sounded the same to me.... Since I sent back the Blofeld I might have to pick up Largo I really like the filters and the mod possibilites which actually was a little much for me.. I didn't use half of what was available.... But yes I'm pretty satisfied with Kore 2 and Soundpacks along with several NI synths and GR3...

I can hear something in analog though, but that doesn't mean it's good either. Like Scott, the Little Phatty did nothing at all for me, but the Voyager did... now if only I could justify that price. I can't. I just can't wrap my head around it. I'm a hobbyist. I mean that in a positive way. Having it be completely decoupled from having to have an audience or make money is a beautiful thing. However, it also means that it's a 100% money hole. Buying a Voyager to me would be pure personal entertainment.

I'm worth it... no doubt, but looking at the bigger picture... I can't justify it. I feel the same way about the Andromeda. I'd love to have one but I put both of those instruments in the "if I win the lottery" bucket. Now I just have to actually play the lottery.

I might feel the same once I get the phatty in the studio.. its going to be fun for a while.. but I think that once I get the s/w editor I'm going to clear the presets and start making some basic patches to use along with my moogfoogers and sync the phatty to Ableton and actually start making some tracks again.... I'm also a pure hobbyiest so yea the phatty was worth the price..... A voyager would be nice if I hit the lottery or if I get divorced and its just me again.... Just the way it is right now...

Maybe if the Moog thing was *my* thing I'd be more motivated to attain it. Guitar is my thing and my guitar cost half of what the Voyager does. Maybe that's part of where my attitude comes from. Also, I get almost all the way there using Minimonsta. Lord knows I'm not lacking for good sound. I am looking at the Tetr4 though. I can justify $800 (I know, it makes little sense) and I just love the sound of the Mopho.

Have you tried one? Listen to the demos on the DSI site. Maybe the sound you crave is there even if it's not the "minimoog" sound.

I really like DSI sound it's different and has a modern edge to it.. I'm mainly speaking about the Evolver and even though I would like to have the Keyboard version the knobs are terrible and come off very easy so I didn't feel like the price made it worthy.... I have my Remote SL25 mapped to the Evolver pretty well about 3 pages.... If it was b/w the Mopho and Tetra4 I would go for the Tetra4-usb, more voices, etc...

I hope the OP got some good info from this thread.. I did....

AdInfinitum · Post by **AdInfinitum** » Thu Oct 15, 2009 4:36 pm

I'm a fellow prog rocker and own the following: Minimoog, Voyager, MiniMax, Minimonsta, SampleMoog and Arturia's Minimoog AUs. I owned a Litty Phatty, but sold it (it seemed to have major tuning issues). There is just something very special about a real Minimoog. If that is beyond your means, then I think the Virtual Instruments make writing and recording very easy (no tuning issues, oscillator drift, getting your patch to sound the same after you turn the instrument off, and back on). DO they sound "exactly" like a Minimoog - I actuallynever tried to get them to sound exactly like the real deal, but I think they get close enough for prog rock.

In any case, if I was to recommend any one of these, I'd get the MiniMax. Having the real knobs and tweaking while playing is as close to a Mini as you can get. It sounds really close to an actual Minimoog. YouTube has videos of someone mimicking a Mini nearly exactly. The MiniMax also has an editor for creating patches (although there is no VST/AU aspect which frankly sucks).

Softsynths are nice, but having a box with knobs and switches makes all the difference, especially if you like tweaking. I find myself creating some interesting patches that I never did on the virtual instruments.

I picked my Minimax up for around $500. A few were on eBay recently and they seem to pop up every few weeks.

Minimonsta vs. Little Phatty vs. Mopho