Minimoog Softsynth Shootout: Diva MiniV3 Monark Legend Minimonsta vs Model D

[brok landers]

Maybe spend some time actually playing a real minimoog before coming to silly conclusions. Theres a reason why people keep them.

i had 3 of them - one from the 1st revision and 2 from the early 80s. i persanally can say that i am glad i sold them. not to bash the minis - it's just so inconvenient to work with them. it was frustrating, i never was able to keep them stable, especially annoying when you're about to master your track and the tuning suddenly drifts. you're never able to get that sound back, especially if the modwheel depth drifts and you use kinda precise tunings for fm...
i take the software any day over the hardware. this applies to all fully analog monsters. man was i glad when i had the mks80, which features a retuning button. all 5min to be pressed, you could safely create a sound that actually stayed the way you intended it to be. i don't know... maybe it's because i always was result-oriented and thus myths never really worked for me...

[chk071]

Maybe spend some time actually playing a real minimoog before coming to silly conclusions. Theres a reason why people keep them.

i had 3 of them - one from the 1st revision and 2 from the early 80s. i persanally can say that i am glad i sold them. not to bash the minis - it's just so inconvenient to work with them. it was frustrating, i never was able to keep them stable, especially annoying when you're about to master your track and the tuning suddenly drifts. you're never able to get that sound back, especially if the modwheel depth drifts and you use kinda precise tunings for fm...
i take the software any day over the hardware. this applies to all fully analog monsters. man was i glad when i had the mks80, which features a retuning button. all 5min to be pressed, you could safely create a sound that actually stayed the way you intended it to be. i don't know... maybe it's because i always was result-oriented and thus myths never really worked for me...

I often feel like especially people who have been using for decades have this pragmatic way of thinking, while the younger generation (no offense) often craves for those "legendary" synths. But, that's surely not everything, a lot of the hype also seems to hail from the hands on approach, and the material nature of hardware synths, which simply makes it easier to get a relationship to them (which i absolutely can understand). I only had a Blofeld standing here, ever, and, having Largo, there just were too many downsides to keep it. The programming was a total PITA, comparing it to the almost one page layout of Largo, 25 voices vs. 256, or whatever Largo has, one instance vs. as many instances as you like... cables vs. no cables, bouncing vs. full control until the end... the only upside would be that i can fiddle with (very few) physical knobs, and that i have a nice looking box with the name "Blofeld" on it sitting on my table.

Anyway, i surely won't rule out owning some hardware in the future, but, if then, with many, many knobs, preferrably audio over USB, and as close to the in-the-box experience as possible, because i really value the advantages, i painfully realized that when i used the Blofeld. Anyway, each to his like.

[izonin]

The hardware vs software argument is real. Even though Repro-1, Monark and the Legend perfectly recreate the sound of the hw synths they emulate, they're kind of an exception. There's a ton of plugins that fail in nailing the sound 1:1. Some coming from the very companies that built the hardware.

[chk071]

True. Korg e.g. *cough cough*

[egbert101]

<delete>

[AnX]

Maybe spend some time actually playing a real minimoog before coming to silly conclusions. Theres a reason why people keep them.

The only ones i keep, are the ones that havent been emulated well in software. I dont keep the crap ones (and there are plenty) and i dont keep them if they are not useful. Ive spent over 35 years with analogues.

[chk071]

True. Korg e.g. *cough cough*

Hey! I love my little software Korg Polysix.

Actually, i find the Polysix one of the better ones too, but, that's probably rather down to preferring the sound of the Polysix to their other synths. I thought the KLC MS-20 is pretty horrible, e.g., and when i watched some videos of the original unit, which is creamy, and fat compared, i was even more "disappoint". It just doesn't sound like the original unit. Too dry, not squelchy and fat enough. Also pretty bland, and stable sounding, i think the original MS-20 is much more unpredictable.

[starla*]

If you think you will get the same feeling playing with a VST on a computer as you do with an analog Minimoog that you can just turn on and play with hands on control and real electronics inside that will never sound exactly the same you're delusional.
Ok if you have owned one then we have just different taste but I wouldnt trust someone thats been involved in the project.
Its very good but its not a 1:1 clone either. You can match a sound extremely close but they dont react the same when turning knobs.

[chk071]

If you think you will get the same feeling playing with a VST on a computer as you do with an analog Minimoog that you can just turn on and play with hands on control and real electronics inside that will never sound exactly the same you're delusional.
Ok if you have owned one then we have just different taste but I wouldnt trust someone thats been involved in the project.
Its very good but its not a 1:1 clone either. You can match a sound extremely close but they dont react the same when turning knobs.

Fair enough, i think, and i don't really see anyone here disagreeing with that. At least i wouldn't.

[Urs]

If you think you will get the same feeling playing with a VST on a computer as you do with an analog Minimoog that you can just turn on and play with hands on control and real electronics inside that will never sound exactly the same you're delusional.
Ok if you have owned one then we have just different taste but I wouldnt trust someone thats been involved in the project.
Its very good but its not a 1:1 clone either. You can match a sound extremely close but they dont react the same when turning knobs.

Fair enough, i think, and i don't really see anyone here disagreeing with that. At least i wouldn't.

[mholloway]

If you think you will get the same feeling playing with a VST on a computer as you do with an analog Minimoog that you can just turn on and play with hands on control and real electronics inside that will never sound exactly the same you're delusional.

Oh good, thanks for coming on the internet and bluntly informing us that soft-synth emulations, in your expert opinion, don't sound the same as original analog hardware. You are in fact the first person on the planet to voice this opinion in a public forum. Thank you for the insight, none of us had been exposed to this particular sentiment before and it gives us so much to think about.

[AnX]

If you think you will get the same feeling playing with a VST on a computer as you do with an analog Minimoog that you can just turn on and play with hands on control and real electronics inside that will never sound exactly the same you're delusional.
Ok if you have owned one then we have just different taste but I wouldnt trust someone thats been involved in the project.
Its very good but its not a 1:1 clone either. You can match a sound extremely close but they dont react the same when turning knobs.

Its not the same at all. Its better. I dont have to wait for it to warm up, i dont have to keep tuning it, i dont have to write down tons of patch sheets etc etc. I just load up Legend, use my controller kybd and im away. No contest.

[starla*]

If you think you will get the same feeling playing with a VST on a computer as you do with an analog Minimoog that you can just turn on and play with hands on control and real electronics inside that will never sound exactly the same you're delusional.

Oh good, thanks for coming on the internet and bluntly informing us that soft-synth emulations, in your expert opinion, don't sound the same as original analog hardware. You are in fact the first person on the planet to voice this opinion in a public forum. Thank you for the insight, none of us had been exposed to this particular sentiment before and it gives us so much to think about.

Jesus did you actually read what people wrote? I usually dont debate these things because the lead nowhere but maybe I was just tired of reading people claiming the "only reason is nostalgia" I dont know how many times Ive read that and usually from people who have never even touched one. So sorry if I bring some sense into the debate.

[waltercruz]

maybe someday someone should create an 'Analog Turing Test'.

[Amram]

Where is the Clavia Nord lead 4 vs Moog Voyager.

Lets ask ingonator