Analog four mk2 or bass station II and other synth

[deluxing]

Hey!
(hope im putting this in the right place)

im deciding between getting an analog four mk2 or getting a bs2 and another synth to complement it to really finish off my setup.

the only reason im considering not going with the four is because I have a digitakt so i already have some drum and sequencing going in the elektron world.

my current set up is a virus ti and digitakt and ik the virus is a power house but i was just looking to add some mono or real analog to it, mby some fm.

so let me know what you guys think if i should pull the trigger on the four or get a bs2 and mby a digitone, or mby a jp8080 to go with a bs2 instead of the four.

sorry if this is all over the place haha
(if you do think i should get the bs2 and another synth please recommend another synth:)!)

[deluxing]

the peak is not off the table as well haha

[sinktothesea]

Another Elektron sequencer will not hurt. Anyway, what I do is to run an A4 with a CV connection to a Pittsburgh Modular SV-1b, which serves as my bass synth. The SV-1b is an absolutely amazing bass synth, plus it is a lot smaller than the BS2.

[obscurerobot]

Get an a Octatrack to sequence and resample your Virus.

The A4 is an amazing machine, but I’m not sure how much more “analog” it sounds than the Virus. It is an absolute plocking monster, but then so is the OT.

A Behringer K2 would add some nice analog flavor into the mix without costing an arm and a leg.

[NUoldNu]

The four is amazing. It’s an analog poly (kinda), it’s 4 mono synths in one device, it’s a filterbank, an fx unit, and the best analog drum machine in its class.

That being said, for the money, you could grab a smaller and cheaper mono, with money left over. You could get for instance a minotaur (analog, bass synth, mono, moog), and a digitone for the same price as a new a4mk2. The digitone would fill another gap as well, hence the suggestion.

Or a syntakt.

[plragde]

@NUoldNu

for the same price as a new a4mk2

Just going to point out, yet again, the considerable bargain that is an A4 mk1.

[Bergfotron]

A really nice analog 3 oscillator monosynth is the Uno Synth Pro Desktop. It’s small and lightweight, like Elekron digi boxes and has a really good analog sound (for bass and a lot else). It’s also not very expensive.

[m0ld]

I personally find it really difficult to run my DT (or my ST) at the same time as the A4. Something about the different form factors and layouts really trips me up. I can do ST and DT simultaneously, but ST/DT and A4 breaks me. You could sequence A4 from DT ot mitigate that, but then you don’t get to use A4’s parameter slides, arp, etc and in my opinion that’s where half the value of the synth lies - I find it kind of boring if I’m sequencing it externally. Or maybe you’re just better at dealing with the 2 together and it’s not a problem at all! If you do really want an A4, get it used. Even MkIIs sometimes go for less than $1,000USD if you’re patient and if it’s a more recent model it should still be repairable under the warranty should something go wrong.

Peak was my first “big” synth and I’ll probably never sell it unless I have to for financial reasons. Not sure you need it with the Virus though unless you just really want another poly.

TLDR: from the synths you mentioned, I’d go with the BS2 + DT or maybe Peak. I might also suggest the Syntakt f you haven’t looked at that one

[pumpkin_head]

I don’t have the bass station 2 but from what I know these are totally different machines, one, the A4 being a very very deep analog synth, deep to the point that you will spend endless hours on it, it has kits which can be confusing when coming from a DT, and 4 voices + cv + fx tracks, so it can cover a LOT. the BS2 in the other hand seems more like a traditional monosynth with presets. So the question might be, what do you want to do with that additional synth? If it’s just for bass, I’d say go with the BS2, or play with single cycle wave form with your DT. Just my two cents but getting plenty of new gear generally doesn’t improve efficiency because the time you could have spend on actually making music is spent on learning your new gear. Anyway good luck!

[stiiiiiiive]

Yep, same kind of question here, actually: what are you looking for? Mono? Poly? Both? Keyboard or not? Or just looking for spending some money? No offense meant!

[obscurerobot]

The SE-02 is another great alternative to consider, particularly if you can pair it with a Mk1 OT and stay within budget.

[Bunker]

Peak is a great synth and is more of a ‘traditional’ poly than the A4 which you could view as 4x mono’s with a poly mode. BS2 is more of a traditional mono but is a great sounding synth IMO. A4 is prob the deepest of the three followed by the Peak then the BS2. It horses for courses and depends on what you’re looking for. I’ve got all three (AK rather than A4 mk2 which I’d like to pick up someday) and they’re all fab synths with different strengths and weaknesses. Good news is they’re all in current production so if you can get the chance to test drive them I’d say go for it.

[deluxing]

wanted a mono synth to go with my dt and virus and at first the four was interesting to also get some good analog sound but now im curious if i could mbt just get a bass station and a different mono or poly analog synth 2 or mby soomme fm

[deluxing]

you think i should get an octa on top of my dt?

[deluxing]

yes this what i was thinking 2 things 2 play around with instead of one and i already have the elektron sequencer

[deluxing]

i dont know if you saw but i do already have the DT mby i should get the bs and see whats next

[obscurerobot]

@deluxing

an octa on top of my dt?

Between the OT and DT you have a total of 16 MIDI tracks, so you can fully utilize the Virus. I like to think of the OT more as a streaming audio processor than a sampler. It is both, but it’s not just a bigger better DT.

The A4 is a fine choice, but I feel like an OT would allow you to explore more sonic territory.

[Jeanne]

… recently had a Dreadbox Typhon in my hands, it has total recall and 3 effects build-in (including a folder) …

[m0ld]

Yeah, I saw that you have it, that’s the context in which I was giving advice

[normanion]

To be frank, the answer to your inquiry depends on your needs. If I was in your shoes - having your gear, but my needs - I would choose some characterful mono synth.

For example, I am collecting right now portable setup from all my current gear, to have one portable setup in addition to two different studios that I have now. And that setup will contain at least Digitone and Syntakt, probably also Octatrack to mix and mangle them, but right now I am exercising and learning them both via Overbridge. I will probably suplement it with Modal 001, Behringer K-2 and/or Neutron. My needs with that setup are to perform both goa and psybient.

I wouldn’t go with Peak unless playing it traditionally via keyboard or with DAW. I have Summit and I like it very much, but - with my taste - it needs to be played from keys, otherwise I would look elsewhere. I would encourage you to look at the way that you want to play it to get the most from any poly synth. But that’s my take - I sometimes play my OB-6 and Prologue with sequences input with one finger so that’s that. But then I am obviously underutilising them. So that’s my general take on poly synth.

Regarding character mono synths, I think that there are some good advices here. K-2 and other semi modular synths would give you new flavours. You have to think, if you can live without presets. I would add B’s Neutron to consideration, as it has plenty on board (plus dirty delay) and different character than K-2.

If you need presets… There was SE-02 mentioned. So it has presets, it has great sound, and delay! I will add that Modal 001 as a novelty - it goes where most synths cannot go, it has unique and (oh boy!) organic sound. And has that special thing that it is bi timbral and each voice is hard panned, so one can use different presets per channel. In that setup it is great to play via sequencer for either layered mono voices or as two mono synths. I could talk a lot about Modal 001, but it’s not time nor place for that. Just giving you some food for thought.

I will reserve new paragraph for A4. My brain has similar wiring with @m0ld in this regard. I have A4 and RYTM and they have somehow different workflow than my Digitone and Syntakt (I don’t have Digitakt… yet!). This is Elektron and this is Elektron, but some differences give different expectations and that, while being in flow, can actually derail my process. But A4 is also unique synth, with possibility to pass one voice into another might get one thinking about doing multi peak sounds, format like experiments, with SVF and then another one and then low pass ladder, just using two voices, this idea can be executed in stereo! I actually have A4 MK2 and A4 Keys. And while I always prefer keyboards to desktops, I actually feel that MK2 sounds better than Keys. And my Keys is ready to be sold. Although… I will miss its perfect form.

Probably that’s it from me.

I wish you to be happy and fulfilled with your decision.

Cordially!