Analog monosynth with fast envelopes: Pulse 1, Pulse 2 or other

[Ingonator]

Maybe there are polyphonic synths that also have mono modes and cost little more than a dedicated mono synth.
Polyphonic doesn't mean it has less bass...

For the price of a polysynths that comes close to teh features of the Pulse 2 (if that even exists) you could also buy mulltiple Pulse 2 units and create a polychain with those...
A new Pulse 2 currently costs around 469 € (incl. 19% VAT) here in Germany so you get a lot for that money IMO.

New polyphonic synth only seem to be created by VERY few developers like e.g. Dave Smith and Modal. The polyphonic Modal synths are very expensive, for example teh Modal 008 currently costs around 5500 €. Feature wise this is somehow close to a Oberheim Matrix 12 while a second hand Matrix 12 or Andromeda A6 usually is cheaper than that. Korg also did the Miniloge taht is quite cheap for a polysynth.

There is also the huge Schmidt synthesizer but that is VERY rare and super expensive. at the Musikmesse i was speaking again with the developer Mr. Schmidt who is a cool guy. I would have to save a LOT of money to afford one of his synths.

[AnX]

[fluffy_little_something]

Since you said cinema, PCM-based sounds are often very good at bass. Or does it have to be an analog synth?

Or how about something exotic like the Casio XW-P1

[cocoazenith]

Minitaur IMO as well

[inf0tr8r]

Get a minitaur, i got one used.. played with it last night, was hoping to see it on this thread. Absolutely amazing synth per dollar ratio

[Arrested Developer]

Since you said cinema, PCM-based sounds are often very good at bass. Or does it have to be an analog synth?

In the late 80ies, the 90ies and early 00s i used to have some pcm-based synths. However, i really don't miss them.
Since i'm doing the most things ITB, and i really like my software arsenal, i'm rather interested in specific hardware that i can use for specialised tasks (like my mentioned Sherman Filterbank 2), that suggest a special way of using it...

[Arrested Developer]

Maybe there are polyphonic synths that also have mono modes and cost little more than a dedicated mono synth.

Some of the analog polys that i really like have rather slow envelopes, and some other have the problem that different notes are very different in their punch (e.g. the mks 80), which causes workarounds (sampling multiple cycles of a pattern and then choosing the best events).



So far, it really comes down to a showdown between minitaur and pulse 2...
I will see if i can test them.

[Arrested Developer]

Thanks again to all the responses.

In the end, and after some testing, i decided to get the Pulse 2.

However, i also couldn't resist to buy a Roland jx-8p...

it's amazing how much it's about getting inspired by the specific personality of a tool, that's why it's so subjective.

[pdxindy]

Not applicable here (price) and the OP already made a purchase, but the analog monosynth I'm looking forward to is the Matrixbrute

[Arrested Developer]

Not applicable here (price) and the OP already made a purchase, but the analog monosynth I'm looking forward to is the Matrixbrute

I don't think it's a problem to discuss other synths, since after the purchase is also before the next purchase.

[urlwolf]

Erebus?

[waiting man]

Microzwerge?

[pdxindy]

Not applicable here (price) and the OP already made a purchase, but the analog monosynth I'm looking forward to is the Matrixbrute

I don't think it's a problem to discuss other synths, since after the purchase is also before the next purchase.

In that case...

I've listened to the various audio/video demos of the Matrixbrute and the sound is very intriguing. Very diverse and a big + for the bass. 3 Osc's and 2 filters (one Steiner-Parker and one Ladder and both in 12/24 options). It has 256 presets and all have a direct button (16x16 Matrix)... no menu diving at all or twirling a knob to find the preset you want. The Matrix can also be a 16x16 modulation matrix. Again, all immediate, no menu diving at all and basically any parameter can be modulated. 4 of the 16 targets are assignable so you could put and LFO to modulate just the attack of env3. The 16x16 Matrix is also a 64 step sequencer with each of the 64 steps having a dedicated on/off, accent, slide and mod buttons. Again, no switching between the usual 1-8, 9-16 or 1-16, 17-32 type thing... the Matrix looks brilliant for immediate hands on playing

[felis]

I really, really like Waldorf stuff.

For your requirements though - "extremely fast envelopes and a profound bass spectrum" - I'd say Minitaur.

Oops - just saw that you got a Pulse 2. Congrats. I like them, and one is on my radar.

[Arrested Developer]

I've listened to the various audio/video demos of the Matrixbrute and the sound is very intriguing. Very diverse and a big + for the bass. 3 Osc's and 2 filters (one Steiner-Parker and one Ladder and both in 12/24 options). It has 256 presets and all have a direct button (16x16 Matrix)... no menu diving at all or twirling a knob to find the preset you want. The Matrix can also be a 16x16 modulation matrix. Again, all immediate, no menu diving at all and basically any parameter can be modulated. 4 of the 16 targets are assignable so you could put and LFO to modulate just the attack of env3. The 16x16 Matrix is also a 64 step sequencer with each of the 64 steps having a dedicated on/off, accent, slide and mod buttons. Again, no switching between the usual 1-8, 9-16 or 1-16, 17-32 type thing... the Matrix looks brilliant for immediate hands on playing

The specifications are really amazing. With all those features it's a pity they didn't make it a polysynth.
I hope, there will be a matrix at my local music dealer in the near future; that's an instrument that needs intense hands-on-testing...

What i like so far about the pulse 2 is its (relative) simplicity: it delivers exactly what i want it to do; that's not the most complicated task, but a really crucial one. There are few modulations that i'm missing (an envelope controlling the filter-res e.g.)