New Gear

The Lounge General Discussion
#1

Hi Guys,

I have a question and perhaps you guys can give me tips.

At the moment I have the following gear:

  • Elektron Digitakt (functions as a groovebox a.k.a. drum computer)
  • Elektron Digitone
  • Novation Bass Station II
  • Arturia Matrixbrute

I can get a lot of sounds of thes units and they perform very well together where my Digitakt is the brain of the set-up. But I like to expand my gear with something.

For now I am leaning forward to the Roland SE-02. I love the way how small it is so I can fit it everywhere. The sound and sequencer are amazing aswell. But I am thinking it is a bit similar to the MB and th NBS II. Therefor I am also thinkg about a Roland TB-03 or if I save up a bit the Novation Peak. But perhaps you guys can show me something else that is worth checking out. For me it is important it is hands-on in usea and easy to integrate with the Elektron Boxes. I like the workflow of these beasts!~

Thank you in advance.

Gr. Daan

#2

I’ll say what I always say. Nord Lead/Rack. 4 part multitimbral to fit in with the Digitone’s 4 MIDI parts.

2 Likes
#3

Hey,

Thank you! I will take a look at this one!

#4

Analog 4.

1 Like
#5

Eurorack :wink: it’s all very well having a bunch of standalone synths, but get into proper modulated fx processing in the land of eurorack and you enter another world of sound design and possibility.

#6

I think Eurorack is for me a bridge to far at the moment. Also because I love to fiddle around with the syntsh on their own and move them to another room with my headphones. With Eurorack i allways get the idea of one big unit with all differtent kind of modules to work with. They sound awesome, but for me that is not the right thing at the moment. But thank you for your input. It is appreciated!

#7

I like the idea of an extra Elektron Box at my disposal and just as the Nord Lead/Rack 4 it is multitimbral. That’s allways nice, because you get 4 synths in one box!

1 Like
#8

Analog 4 is pretty nice. You can use all 4 sounds with polyphony (with voice stealing though), do splits if you have a midi keyboard (left hand bass, right hand mad lead). And I found it to be very capable as a Groovebox (there are free pack presets with only drums in it).

#9

That’s always how I sell it- 4 x mono synths in one box, with the elektron sequencer, with fx thay can also be used on external gear, plays it plays well with CV/modular gear.
The real choice is mk1 or mk2…

#10

The MKI is easy to buy on the second-hand market for around € 700,- and the MKII is for around € 1.100,-. But is the MKII really better in use / sound? I can see people argueing a lot about this.

#11

audiothingies micromonsta…lot of synth for that budget

1 Like
#12

I recommend playing with an SE-02 before buying. The sound is absolutely incredible. The knobs are incredibly tiny and packed in there. It is a great synth for its size and price, but really check out if you like working with its knobs at that size. A lot of the boutiques suffer from this issue. My understanding is the SH-01A seems to be the one that works best in the Boutique’s form factor.

But it seems that the Digitone is your only poly synth. And it’s a good one. But I’d recommend going for something poly.

I’m partial to the Modor NF-1 / NF-1m. I love its sound as a general purpose poly. It’s got a character that I really love. A “proudly digital” va-style synth with FM and additive parts as well. I was using its FM a bit heavily but that aspect got replaced by Digitone. The full size version has lots of knobs. But the compact version is pretty easy to work with and is not unlike working with an Elektron synth in regards to sound editing. And it has MIDI Thru - even in the compact version - which makes it much easier to integrate into a sequencer-heavy setup (and it has excellent MIDI CC support, making it work well with Elektron sequencers).

I’ve been listening to some Audio Thingies MicroMonsta demos again recently and if I didn’t already have the Modor, I’d be seriously considering it. A good 8 voice poly in a compact setup, priced cheaper than most Roland Boutiques.

I don’t own Peak, but I think it’s one of the more interesting sound design engines out there today.

#13

I think you can already do pretty much with what you got. You should definetely sample the heck out of your matrixbrute though. You could build up polyphonic sounds by sampling to the DT and resampling the results.

But if you like the elektron workflow and features, the A4 mk I could be a good choice. You already have CV inputs and everything :diddly:

I’d advise against the SE-02, not because its not a good synth (it is, I love mine!) but because its features and sound heavily overlap with matrixbrute and bs2.

A secondhand virus desktop synth might also be worth looking into. Good food for DT sequencing and the engines are DEEP.

2 Likes
#14

I like the idea of a poly synth aswell. That is why the Novation Peak is mentioned. I really love the demo’s of that device. What I do like of the Digitone is that it is Multitimbral. And then the Analog Four is a nice device.

I watched a couple of demo’s of the Modor NF-1 and the sound is in fact pretty nice! But in that price range I think I would choose for the Novation Peak as a Polysynth. But I’m not in a rush, so have some time to think about! Thank you for thoughts on this one!

The buttons on the SE-02 do look very small. I have fiddled only once with them in the store. My hands ar not that big haha, so it is workable.

Sampling the Matrixbrute into the Digitakt is just awesome. It takes some time, but it is really nice to do. Also the MatrixBrute is easy to sequence with the Digitakt or with the matrix itself. Created some interesting Pads with sampling and then creating Chords.

At the moment I don’t use any CV with my gear. But perhaps in the future.

I have watched some demo’s and for such a little box it is quite impressive. It has to be said. But for now I am looking for something differten. Maybe later on. It is at a nice price range though:)

Thnx for you feedback!

#16

I would go with something wildly different than you already have.
Malleko Manther
Slim Phatty
0-coast
something Dredbox

#17

I have checked a couple of them. The Malekko Manther is a unfinished box as I read. It lacks midi functionality which is crucial for me. People are complaining about that.

The Sub Phatty is a nice synth. But in my opinion in the same department as the MatrixBrute, Bass Station 2 or the Roland Se-02.

The O-Coast is a noisy little fellow to me. It is a little unpredictable and not the kind of synth for me.

Dreadbox looks very cool from the outside. But it looks like those a more made for modular purpose. The Abyss is the one that appeals me the most. Put that one on the wishlist for later.

Thnx!

#18

Nothing sounds quite like a Moog, SE-02 gets close out of those, the others really are different.

#19

Fascinating. When I hear the BS2 at my mates, I find myself often thinking the sound really reminds me of my ex Little Phatty…

#20

you really liked the BS2-sound? i couldn’t cope with it and sold it, too smooth, not my taste, the Pulse2 was too hard for me - the Waldorf-hardness

#21

Dont you dare to reject datt holy Pulse 2 ;)!!.. One of the most versatile and good sounding as well as powerful analogue synth out there…