I’ve got Syntakt, Octatrack, Virus C, Typhon, Neutron, 0-coast, Crave, Volca: Keys, Kick, Drum, Bass, FM. And 15U modular stuff. What would add me some new analog timbres among this list: Behringer Model D, K2, Pro-1. I look for synth mostly for my techno or ambient projects. And my first opinion at the moment is that Model D has signature sounds, K2 has more filter potential and overall is closer to Neutron, Pro 1 has most of the three traditional electronic timbres but unique Curtis filter…
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D is a solid choice for those Moog type sounds but the Pro 1 gives you the, well, Pro One sound. Bear in mind the K2 is Hertz/Volts too so may be an issue wen patching to other gear over CV. Another alternative of theirs is the Cat which I personally love. The OG SRM used an SSM filter and I forget what filter was in the pre SRM Cats but I think it was based on an ARP design? Maybe that’s what B went with? Either way it’s a great sounding duo phonic mono
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If you can’t make unique timbres with the amount of analog gear you already have I don’t think adding anything else would help.
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indeed. These do all analog timbres already
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You have a lot of gear already, but, given what you said here, I’d look at a Novation BassStation 2 (plus fx) personally.
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Ignoring the OP’s existing gear, what do we think of these three synths? I knew the Moog knockoff already. How are the others? Worth buying?
Not these three specifically but had the Cat previously and it sounded excellent. Almost a bit 101ish in character. Excellent modulation options and also made an amazing kick synth. But the sliders are pretty poorly implemented and it was super hard to dial in snappy values. That’s why I got rid of mine in the end.
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I like moog for that classic funk in the filter sound, also great for low end depths, it seems relatively distinctive sounding in higher registers which can be good, but might not always fit the bill if wanting a different flavor, even though differences between synths can be subtle it has a sound that leaves its mark on things- good or bad
Ms20 can be beautifuly aggressive and even when being more tame I tend to think of having a certain edge to the sound. Good for bass and lead of course but i think excells at mid rangey sound. Dual filters are a real joy here and so much love using that hp, dual weilding filter bliss, and it brings some great off the cuff versatility say when running a seq through and knobbing around. The way the filters work together is such a treat and want to be played, on other synths with hp I tend to set and forget, shaving some bass more like an eq, maybe it’s just me but don’t underestimate the ms hp
As-1 sounds lush and has a bit of a refined sit in a mix quality and an elegant beauty when heard alone. Sounds great in upper mid higher registers. Maybe not as relevant here as some nice built in fx sweeten it up nicely. As mentioned above when seeking new timbral flavors don’t underestimate fx. I like that on as1 they are saved with the patch, like on a virus or some other synths and this makes it integrate nicely as part of the sound design.
Maybe not as relevant with the b synths, but interface really plays a big role between these for me as I would naturally gravitate to certain controls or options when playing, maybe a bit less if just pure sound design but I assume these are being modulated by hand so factor that in too
Not the same ones. but the relative equivalent to these synths and I like them all for different reasons. It is also unnecessary but fun. I have a suspicion that sometimes having many different synths does more for the creator than it does for the listener who might not pick up on the subtle differences, unless we were talking something with wildly different capabilities then they might not notice as much of a difference as you would or just what inspires you.
Not sure if this helps but really great sounds/ music can be had with any of them so if looking for more unless you are already after a very specific kind of signature sound, or just really really want something new, then further exploring and pushing what you already have may give you better results than splitting you resources so to speak
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You can hear both Pro 1 and Neutron in this video. Very interesting sounds.
I think what listeners are more likely to respond to is the skilful (or at least idiosyncratic) use of a considered set of tools rather than the sound of someone who owns a lot of gear.
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Agreed, I think it is useful to have extra options as a tool set, only if you know tools well enough or maybe just need to switch it up sometimes for inspiration.
As Bruce Lee said,“I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times”
It can be fun to collect and try new things though, I am guilty of getting multiple things at once, just having some fun and maybe only really using one while others mostly sit, and then maybe coming into play over time. There is only so much time in the day and only so much sonic space in a track, but sometimes I just want to play/ try different synths. No delusions that it will magicly make a track better. I’ve spent much time just exploring sounds and making nothing out of it and am totally OK with that
To streamline results, maybe streamline gear, to have fun exploring go as nuts as you want. If you think the next synth will be the one or significantly different, maybe don’t kid yourself or maybe you will get lucky. Either way most synths are pretty great so it probably dosent matter to much what you pick
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pro-1 is the best of all of their synths, imo. i had it alongside my take-5 and it sounded maybe even closer to a single prophet 5 voice. unreal timbres from that thing and the most rewarding of exploration. i think its the one you can get the most out of and still use musically in mixes. aside from the arp2600 in a way, which is very flexible. the cat has a lot of cool features and options but lacks the richness of the pro-1
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Ooh that’s fighting talk right there!
In all seriousness I never picked up the Pro1 as I’ve got an OG Pro One but I do intend to get one at some point. Still love the Cat tho, even with the smallish sliders. Control of the cutoff is made a lot easier with the key cv knob for instance
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If you’ve got the space and can stretch your budget to a second hand unit their 2600 is awesome. I can’t speak for the Xmas tree as I’ve git the Marvin but that thing has sweet spots everywhere and has its own sound. I deffo wouldn’t be without mine.
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i like the cat. admittedly i havent spent as much time with it as i had with the pro-1. but i dont think any synth outside of sequential have that crazy timbre of the pro-1. even the hard sync has a very particular type of sound that i really love. and the filter sounds really good. i should try the cat again. i am a big fan of the a/d looping envelope and the wave mixer section.
i can never hold onto the behringers for too long, for whatever reason. i like almost all of them. the only one i’ve held onto since buying is the crave, which i’ll never get rid of
but im eyeballing the pro-1 again. i feel like a waldorf m>hydra explorer>pro-1 setup might be perfect for me now that ino longer have the take-5 in my setup
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Yeah that would be a good call. It’s a shame you’ve moved your T5 on too. Funnily enough the crave was the one I was, ahem, craving for when it was first announced but other purchases overtook it. I was on,y looking at them earlier too. I WILL get one at some point, they look so much fun!
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it sounds great. i’ve gotten physically modelled sort of guitar sounds out of it but really its just incredible for bass sounds. not just moog style, but kind of acoustic fretless bass sounds like milford graves or something. i have gotten a surprising amount of pleasant timbres out of it with creative patching . there are a lot of feedback points, and patching things into the sequencer cv ins always leads to interesting useful results
its nice to have a dedicated low end monosynth for these purposes that i’ll never be tempted to sell because it was only like $200. plus i got the very nice all black overlay for it from heinkaroon
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here’s a question
whats better: behringer pro-1 or vermona mono lancet