Ready for my first analog synth - Suggestions?

[Nig]

Hey,

I've noticed that over the last few months that I've constantly been searching the net and watching videos for many analog synths. I think it all started when I had a good mess around on a Little Phatty some time ago in my not so local music store (270km to be precise ). The hands on control just made me smile so much and the whole experience has left me with an empty feeling inside for too long now

I would prefer a sound module due to space restrictions so that rules out something like the Minibrute (looks promising though). My budget can go up to about €650ish (would stretch if it was worth it). I plan to use it a lot for basses and some lead lines as well as a few strange noises.

Here is some that have caught my attention:

- Moog Minitaur: Looks amazing but I wonder if it could be too powerful to tame for my uses
- Moog Slim Phatty: Loved it when I used it and can get a really good price on it right now
- Doepfer Dark Energy: Very briefly seen this in action and really liked it for more unusual sounds
- Vermona Mono Lancet: These look quite nice too but not actually seem one in person
- MFB Kraftzwerg/Megazwerg: Don't know too much about these to be honest but look interesting

Would be great to hear some thoughts/suggestions/opinions from people who had experience with any of these or if there is anything else worth considering before I head to a music store.

BTW, if it matters, I make Deep House/Tech House/Techno.

[dayjob]

out of the ones you have listed i'd go for the slim phatty. the mintaur is a one trick pony. your basic moog bass and a little more around the edges. the slim phaty will be more fun, has memory, more flexible synthesis voice.

also, worth checking out when it's available is the arturia minibrute. laid out very much like a sh-101 but a very different sound. kind of hard to overlook if you like how it sounds.

for my money i'd go for the Futreretro XS. a bit more spendy but you can find them used. very nice sound design box for analog craziness and standard vanilla sounds. probably more agressive sounding than the moogs.

really though.. the slim phatty seems a no brainer for what you are after.

[mkdr]

BTW, if it matters, I make Deep House/Tech House/Techno.

For the genre and price range I would suggest the DSI Tetra. 4 voice analog with some great features, like being 4 parts multitimbral or polyphonic. The 4 osc(2+2sub) per voice would also be killer for house tech chords etc.

[Shy]

Get something that is flexible. Slim/Little Phatty (owned it), Dark Energy (used it), Mono Lancet (heard everything it can do) are all very nice but you WILL be frustrated by the lack of synthesis features. I highly recommend saving a little and getting a Doepfer A-100 Basic System 2. If you don't want the great features and sound of that modular synth, then MFB Dominion X.

[JimmiG]

I have the MFB Synth II (one of their earlier synths) and I really like it. The filter sounds a bit shrill, but the oscillators (3x VCO's) sound great and the synth has tons of features for the price (FM, Oscillator sync, 2 env's, 2 LFOs with 1-shot mode, 2 ring modulators, AM, Filter FM, PWM etc. etc.).

The Slim Phatty would be a good option, especially since you've already played it and know you like it.

The newly released EOWave Domino is something I've been thinking about getting. I liked the raw, distorted sound in the demo videos. It's cheap, too at only €289 here.

The Tetra will give you a lot of synthesizer for the money (4-voices polyphony where as almost all other analog synths in the price range are monophonic) but the tradeoff is that you can't do much tweaking from the front panel.

[Shy]

FYI, Dominion X's filter sounds much better than Synth II's. Also it has 2/3/4-pole and low/high-shelf and band-pass.

[himalaya]

Dominion X is definitely a great choice. Also, consider Analogue Solutions Telemark or Lipzieg S. Different approaches but good results, but these may be outside your budget (just).

[Nig]

@Dayjob: Ya was thinking that about the Minitaur vs Slim Phatty too. The Minibrute does look great and I probably would be considering it more only that I don't think I can physically find the room for it right now. Would be great if the released a version without the keys though. I'll check out that Futureretro XS too.

@Mkdr: I had thought about the Tetra too, it would be great having the 4 note poly and does seem very versatile but the main thing that puts me off is the onscreen editor. I would rather have all the controls infront of me right now but could consider it further down the road.

@Shy: How did you find the one knob per module feature of the Phatty? Didn't bother me at the time but was wondering if this became annoying or not. The A-100 does look interesting but too far out of my price range really. The Dominion X could be promising though, may consider this if I can get to play with one.

Thanks for the comments, anybody else have any other suggestions?

[Nig]

Dominion X is definitely a great choice. Also, consider Analogue Solutions Telemark or Lipzieg S. Different approaches but good results, but these may be outside your budget (just).

Thanks, will check out the Analog Solutions for sure. I can stretch the budget a little bit by sacrifising something of lesser importance so if I can get to use some of these and fall in love the option is there, hopefully.

[Nig]

I have the MFB Synth II (one of their earlier synths) and I really like it. The filter sounds a bit shrill, but the oscillators (3x VCO's) sound great and the synth has tons of features for the price (FM, Oscillator sync, 2 env's, 2 LFOs with 1-shot mode, 2 ring modulators, AM, Filter FM, PWM etc. etc.).

The Slim Phatty would be a good option, especially since you've already played it and know you like it.

The newly released EOWave Domino is something I've been thinking about getting. I liked the raw, distorted sound in the demo videos. It's cheap, too at only €289 here.

The Tetra will give you a lot of synthesizer for the money (4-voices polyphony where as almost all other analog synths in the price range are monophonic) but the tradeoff is that you can't do much tweaking from the front panel.

Neary bit the bullet on the Slim Phatty a few time recently but held off because I didn't want to get it and hear about something else soon after (that will probably happen no matter what though )

It's the lack of tweakability on the Tetra that puts me off it really.

[mkdr]

@Mkdr: I had thought about the Tetra too, it would be great having the 4 note poly and does seem very versatile but the main thing that puts me off is the onscreen editor. I would rather have all the controls infront of me right now but could consider it further down the road.

Forgive me asking, doing some market research, would "total integration"-type of software help in your situation? It would require a pc to be run with, but would enable total Daw and midi control.


As another suggestion, there's the DSI Mopho Keyboard at your price range.

[Dogboy73]

I had a good mess around on a Little Phatty some time ago in my not so local music store (270km to be precise ). The hands on control just made me smile so much and the whole experience has left me with an empty feeling inside for too long now

If you want hands on then the SP/LP might not be the best choice with the one knob per module approach. I love the DSI Tetra but without a decent MIDI controller hooked up it's as much use as a chocolate fireguard. If you're happy to use a synth in a similar way then that opens up your choices somewhat. But for pure hands on-ness goodness you really want everything on the front panel of the actual thing.

- Moog Minitaur: Very hands on, might be a bit limited in scope sound pallet wise, excellent MIDI control. I'm buying one of these for sure.

- Moog Slim Phatty: More scope than the Minitaur but only one knob per module makes it less hands on than it could be.

- Doepfer Dark Energy: Very hands on, maybe a bit small & fiddly for large hands. Semi-modular so should have some scope for some interesting sonic experiments.

- Vermona Mono Lancet: I know very little about this but it looks very hands on & people have a lot of good stuff to say about it. Very interesting little synth.

- MFB Kraftzwerg/Megazwerg: Very hands on, good sonic potential, dubious build quality (as with most of the MFB stuff). Check out the upcoming MFB Dominion X


The AS Telemark has also been mentioned. Bit beyond your budget but this one looks/sounds really good. Nice, alrge hands on interface, semi-modular. This one looks hot & I was close to buying one myself until Tom Oberheim re-launched the SEM (the AS Semblance/Telemark is based on the SEM).

I wouldn't rule out the Minibrute either. This looks like it is going to be hot, it's very, very well priced & is quite small. Although I agree that the keyboard is a bit of a distraction. Would have appealed to me more without it.

[JimmiG]

FYI, Dominion X's filter sounds much better than Synth II's. Also it has 2/3/4-pole and low/high-shelf and band-pass.

Unfortunately you lose tha ability to store 99 patches. That's a very handy feature when using the synth for actual production. Guess you can't have it all...

I'm thinking about getting the Nano or Microzwerg in addition to my MFB Synth II to gain access to the multimode filter

[himalaya]

FYI, Dominion X's filter sounds much better than Synth II's. Also it has 2/3/4-pole and low/high-shelf and band-pass.

Unfortunately you lose tha ability to store 99 patches. That's a very handy feature when using the synth for actual production. Guess you can't have it all...

You mean on the Dominion? It can store 128 patches. With Dominion you can have it all and then some! (for a mono synth).

[Nig]

Forgive me asking, doing some market research, would "total integration"-type of software help in your situation? It would require a pc to be run with, but would enable total Daw and midi control.


As another suggestion, there's the DSI Mopho Keyboard at your price range.

When you say total integration software do you mean something like an interface over your DAW that will allow you to assign controls to it? Something along the lines of a "simple" page? Or am I totally wrong in my thinking. Sorry if I'm misunderstanding.

Ya I had thought about the Mopho keyboard but might check it out again. Probably too big for my desk too though.