Bass synth choice

[Rich]

Following on from my earlier NSD post and my new-old Novation Bass Station 1, it's proven to be enough fun that I've decided to treat myself to a newer and more able unit. I've looked at what's out there (i.e. frequently on ebay) and have compiled a shopping list of those units that seem to be realistically affordable. As per the pic, they are:

Roland Aira System-1    Korg Monologue

Korg Minilogue    Behringer MS-1 (Roland SH-101 clone)

Novation K-Station    Novation Mininova  

Of these, the K-Station is the only one I have experience of (I used a real SH-101 back in the day, so I suppose I have sort-of experience of the Behringer too) and I know the K to be a superb thing, but alas it is also the generally most expensive of these five. I'm quite taken by the Roland, but have no experience of it. I've seen youtube videos of them all and they all make the most gorgeous bass noises, so any one will probably do, but if anyone has real world experience of any/all of them I'd love to hear your opinions.

Ta in advance!

 

 

 

Edited November 7 by Rich

[BigRedX]

I too had an SH101 (and an SH09 and MC202 which were essentially the same synths) back in the day, and I wouldn't have another because they were simply too limited. Back then they were affordable compared with what else was available but I suspect very few people bought one out of choice - ours were all moved on as soon as we could afford synths the more capable. 

 

My minimum requirement for any synth these days would be 2 oscillators with cross-mod, two envelope generators, either two LFOs or a dedicated vibrato oscillator separate from the main LFO and at least 12dB and 24dB options for the LPF both of which will send the filter into self oscillation at high settings. Also I wouldn't consider anything that didn't have user programmable memories. I work on the principal that I can always turn off or bypass features that aren't needed for a particular sound, but if they are not there in the first place then I'm stuffed. And if you intend to actually play it from the built-in keyboard then IMO 2½ octaves is a minimum requirement - or key transposition and a very good memory.

 

I'd also be wary of any synth that had important features that could only be accessed by menu commands unless it has a very good editor program that runs on the computer of your choice.

[BassTractor]

Not much help, I know, but on a synth forum I just saw one of the Korgs lauded and the other being called lousy, so maybe find out more before the plunge.
I'll see if I can re-find what I read, but deemed it best to post right away.

I was surprised to not see the Bass Station 2 on your list. People are raving about it.
Price, maybe?

[Rich]

1 hour ago, BassTractor said:

I was surprised to not see the Bass Station 2 on your list. People are raving about it.
Price, maybe?

Yup, price. All things being equal I'd have one, but their secondhand values are huge. Twice the cost of the Korgs.

[Rich]

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

I too had an SH101 (and an SH09 and MC202 which were essentially the same synths) back in the day, and I wouldn't have another because they were simply too limited. Back then they were affordable compared with what else was available but I suspect very few people bought one out of choice - ours were all moved on as soon as we could afford synths the more capable. 

Yup, I remember the 101 (and the 09 I used before it) being pretty basic. I mean, it did the job I needed it to do, but only just really.

 

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

I wouldn't consider anything that didn't have user programmable memories.

Me neither, all these do though. I made sure of that before adding them to the wishlist.

 

1 hour ago, BigRedX said:

I'd also be wary of any synth that had important features that could only be accessed by menu commands unless it has a very good editor program that runs on the computer of your choice.

A good point. I know the K has all its controls to hand rather than on external menus/editor -- I can't speak for the Korgs but they look fairly plug & play. The Roland has downloadable models etc but it also has its own sound shaping stuff, so it doesn't need external gear. 

[BassTractor]

3 minutes ago, Rich said:

I can't speak for the Korgs but they look fairly plug & play. 

Sorry, haven't been able to find why one of the Korgs was called lousy. I thought it was about build quality, but don't actually remember, and also can't get it substantiated on other sites.

Whilst searching for that, my eye fell on two remarks:
- The Mini's "infamous ADSR clicking", which makes building certain sounds harder.
- The Mini being able to approach the Mono sound, but not the other way round. Apparently the Mini's unison with sub-octave does a great job.

Again: I do not know. I've lusted after some of these after reading reviews, but lack hands-on experience above a few in-shop minutes.
 

[BigRedX]

The Behringer doesn't have any patch memories. Those buttons are for storing sequences.

 

Also from what I can recall of a couple of hands-on session with the Korgs there are only one set of controls per module type, so to access a second EG or Oscillator requires using switches or buttons.

[Rich]

OK, another to add to the list. Novation Mininova. Just been listening to a youtube video of all the bass sound patches and there are some monster sounds in there.

 

 

Edited Tuesday at 09:27 by Rich

[Quatschmacher]

Are you after mono or poly?

 

I’d also add the following:

 

Behringer Model D (classic Minimoog stuff and only £166 at the moment, though you’ll need some keys to go with it);

 

Roland SE-02 (Very Minimoog like but with patch memory, PWM, and a few other extra modulation capabilities over the original and a built-in delay and sequencer);

 

Novation Bass Station II;

 

Korg ARP Odyssey;

 

Moog Minitaur (bass mono synth module, sounds amazing though has an upper pitch range limitation of C above middle C);

 

Yamaha Reface CS (digital 8-voice poly with built-in effects, knob per function control, preset-saving possible via mobile/desktop app).

 

Roland JU-06/06A (4-voice digital recreation of the Juno 60/106, nice and easy to program and sounds good);

 

Dreadbox Nymphes (poly) and Typhon (mono);

 

Monologue is great. I did find the AD-only envelopes a bit restrictive but it’s a fun and great-sounding synth with some refinements over the Monologue, particularly in how the sequencer works. 
 

Minilogue is also very good. Personally I find 4 voices too restrictive for the chordal stuff I do, but if you’re not doing big extended chords, this is a great synth for the money. 

Edited November 13 by Quatschmacher

[prowla]

Minimoog bass (not a Taurus).

 

 

Edited November 13 by prowla

[RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE]

The Moog Minitaur is great . Especially if you want a small desktop synth . Lots of presets if you're into that kind of thing . 
You need a midi / usb keyboard though which may or may not be what you want . 
 

I'd avoid  the Korg ms-20 mini ,as the build quality is very poor.   Like the moog grandmother ( which is big and chunky) , it is semi modular which may be off putting for some .
 

[Rich]

Managed to pick up a boxed barely-touched Novation Mininova for an excellent price. They're smaller keys, but more of them, and it's polyphonic just in case I fancy doing something daring, like learn to play keys properly