Analog Synth time

[didge]

@OP: do you have a decent sound card though? No point dropping money on an analogue synth only to record it terribly.

[outdropt]

Just got a vim that my mini brute should arrive in about 2 weeks, which is exciting. Just did a session w a dsi mopho, which is a great ill synth.

Little phatty and slim phatty are fun, but def not a voyager.

Still use my microkorg daily.

Really it depends on what u want to do. Could be that a used Juno is really what u want.

It would be much appreciated if you give me your thoughts on the mini brute when it comes in. Ive been looking around and for that price, i could not find anything better with that many features. Im still checking out promo videos on the actual sounds produced and it sounds pretty tight.

Moog Minitaur is another cheap-ish (around 700 US I think?...) bass synth that is very fun.

Took a look, it just seems so limited with only two waveforms. Cant lie though, it sounds good.

@OP: do you have a decent sound card though? No point dropping money on an analogue synth only to record it terribly.

Focusrite Saffire PRO 24

[nowaysj]

Minibrute has only one waveform though... but agree, their little tricks produce a very unique sound with just that one little osc.

[collective]

I would say if you want a workhorse analog synth for 500-1000 dollars get a Juno 106 (get the HS-60 version same exact circuitry but has an amp/speakers and is usually cheaper), then I would get some outboard efx with whatever I have left, or something like a MFB-522 or Mod'd Monotribe.

[outdropt]

Minibrute has only one waveform though... but agree, their little tricks produce a very unique sound with just that one little osc.

There's one Osc but you can mix the signals from square,sine,saw,noise. And they have that ultra saw and all those other unique features that seem to produce a some cool bass sounds. And that filter....... i might try to run a lot of my sounds threw there filter as well, seems legit.

I don't want to be close minded to anything else but it is looking like i am heading towards the mini brute. Probably post a new topic asking if anyone has this to get some end user feedback.

[nowaysj]

no one has it yet, arturia have not shipped yet.

[paosciante]

Hi, i mainly use hardware when im in Spain (back home...) for sound creating/sound design... I have a Slim Phatty which sounds awsom-O ALTHOUGH its quite limited, what i do is i use it with a small modular setup (two more LFOs, an extra filter, a waveshaper, another EG and a clock gen and clock seq), it has been al together less than 1500€ (that is like 1800USD i believe)... Even so, the Arturia seems really cool with all those "new complex waveforms" it includes, that seems like something pretty usefull if you want to get away of software like Massive and such, although the Mini Brute its also kind of limited. In my opinion, the most versatile is the Mopho (or Tetra, although that desktop is really unattractive), but with the Mopho Kb you get A LOT! sound is not THAT huge as on the Phatties, but at the end of the day, you will probably end up adding some plugins to mix (compressors, distortions, whatever), so the sound while kind of sound similar...

If you are looking for hardware and dont care about digital or analog, one of my favorite VA is the Korg MS2000, I use mine every single day and it was less than 300€, I usually add a Big Muff and that gives me a good sounding nasty bass, if not I usually process it through the Phatty as its filters O.D sounds scary!!!!!

About Hardware vs Software.... to each its own, I personally think that using a simulation of a square wave will not give you the same effect as using a real square wave, but is true that sometimes you want a super digital sound, or something like that... analog is good to get raw/analog sounds, digital is good to get digital sounds... it all really goes to your workflow, right now Im living in another country and I can only use Logic+Massive+Fm8+Samples and Im not inspired at all, during Easter when I went back to Madrid I spent less than one hour with my Korg ER1 and some shitty Ipod headphones and I was having SUCH a great time, and not only that, but I was doing something that sounding much more inspiring and exciting that anything I had done in the past month just using Logic...

[slothrop]

I get irrationally wound up by quasi-mystic mumbo-jumbo about how magically special "real analogue" is - eg the fact that any given analogue synth is "unique" just means it'll have infinitesimally steeper cutoff or infinitesimally slower decay then another of the same synth, it doesn't mean that it'll automatically make your music sound unique and distinctive. Just because a synth has a "warm" sound doesn't mean that your music will be more emotionally expressive for using it.

(Although obviously some analogue synths sound very nice.)

But what IS magic is actually having a box with knobs and buttons and keys and having really direct feedback from a physical action to the sound. Maybe not as much so as something with wood and strings or reeds and tubes, but I certainly find that having something physical to play with gets me thinking really differently from sitting and poking at a GUI with a mouse.

So yeah, that's what I'd think about if I was going to drop serious money on a synth.

[nowaysj]

It is all about resonance, the human resonating with the instrument. Magic.

[bassinine]

on that note, nowaysj, please make a review for us when yours comes in and you've had some time with it. i'm sure everyone would be eternally grateful.

[wormcode]

@slothrop
I get what you're saying and mostly agree, but you're forgetting one of the best things about analogue synths is they're essentially 'alive'. That electricity flowing through will have an effect in itself as well. The same synth patch can sound a bit different in one city than another due to things like colder/warmer climates which is why it's common to leave them on or let them warm up for a while. Some TB-303s can sound a bit different especially after 20+years. If units have been serviced or not also comes into play as the parts may no longer be the same. Some classic analogues will start to change and morph and drift off on their own if you keep a sequence looping for an hour or so. It's not mystic, it's just electricity and temperature causing a literal physical reaction. It's subtle, but it's very nice. I agree though it obviously won't do someone any good if they can't put it to good use.

[nowaysj]

on that note, nowaysj, please make a review for us when yours comes in and you've had some time with it. i'm sure everyone would be eternally grateful.

Sure thing man, I tend to be pretty vocal with things I like and dislike. I responded to this thread earlier, and it ended up in another thread. Swear dsf's server was tripping (though I've been known to trip), but when... if... I get it, I'd like to make up a kontakt patch (3.5, haven't upgraded yet) so dsfp'ers can try it out themselves.

[paosciante]

any news with the arturia? id like to hear it in a "dubstep" context

[nowaysj]

Should be hitting the states May 30th. But has been pushed back a few times, like significantly. Was supposed to get it originally in Feb.

[paosciante]

D'oh!

I thought i was already out in the U.S...

thats a fucking LONG wait, I hope its worth it

[leeany]

I got a Nord Rack 2x and I highly recommend it

[Shum]

I got a Nord Rack 2x and I highly recommend it

I can also recommend this synth.

I'm surprised more brosteppers aren't on it actually, cause you can get some hard (filthy? ) sounds out of it.

[paosciante]

well, we are talking analog here

nord is digital, although good digital
i myself use the modular g1 and its a nasty beast! able of doing whatever u want... better modlation options than any DAW with automation

[collective]

people who say dont bother with getting an analog synth have never used a good analog synth... you can't mimic the sound of electricity and its subtle fluctuations. Sure it won't make your music better out right, but you shouldn't be buying one unless you want to have fun or can get some use out of it. That being said, it will make for a warmer sound, it will make for a more unique sound and it will force you to really learn synthesis, especially when dealing with older analog synths (and new modular ones). No presets, just your own ability to explore.

[samurai]

I personally believe that the issue of analog versus digital has absolutely nothing to do with sound. because the fundamental fact is that a digital synth and an analog synth will both sound different. the key word being different. one is not better than the other.

with that in mind I think that working with hardware, or to go a step further analog hardware, has much more to do with the aesthetic of working and creating, rather than any sort of end result.

from my point of view anyway. obviously some people will prefer the sound of analog synths over digital ones, and vice-versa.