I would recommend the MS-20 I know Trentmoller used it quite a fair bit early on along with a virus
I used to think the bass on the A4 left a little to be desired but turns out it was my programming, not the machine.
Now sometimes I use two A4 voices for bass, one for the low sub end with a ton of filter applied (sound that is almost felt more than heard) and another for the low mids etc that carries most of the patchās movement. I need to be able to dial them in separately, at least for some songs.
Before I started doing that I built a modular to do bass. No regrets, it plays so well with the A4ās CV. I donāt just send pitch and gate but also simulate LFOs, manually sequence voltages to control filters, clock, envelopes, sequencer tricks over CV. There are so many things it works great for that Iād otherwise have neededā a grand in modules to do.
So if the OP truly needs another instrument (sorry I didnāt read this entire huge thread), get one that lets you make use of those CV outs!
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yea after hearing a certain bunch of sounds a guy produced on A4 (I canāt remember who it was) I realised all sonic issues I had with A4 were down to my programming.
itās a tricky synth to master (sound design wise), itās capable of so much. really versatile. and I just sold mine last night 
Would agree the A4 takes time to master. Same could be said of the Rytm. I spent a while rediscovering synthesizer fundamentals over these instruments, and feel like Iāve been made a better sound designer for it, especially having come from years of VST use and their often abstractly labelled or ease-of-use driven controls and modifying presets to taste. Now I build most of my patches completelyā from scratch just because I enjoy it.
I may be a nerd who likes that kind of thing, but I also think it gives me more of a personalized sound.
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and what about the SlimPhatty?
my first hand SlimPhatty experience is too limited to comment.
after hearing some demos i think iāll give the Minitaur a try, canāt make things wrong by doing so
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now i got this little fella, running a sequence for one hour straight and i must say i love this filter - it smacks with the rise of resonance
all i have to do is to check out the manual and this editor
btw this is my first Moog
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i few thoughtsā¦
meeblip anode / triode ?
i was using my sshruthi tonight and it sounded good , as mentioned above.
i know its not analog but how about a system 1 + sh101 plugout ?
their prices are lowering (around Ā£250 ish) , sounds good, has fx and keyboard , usb audio , arp.
micromonster ? - again not analog but sound really nice.
mb33 retro - small , bassy , cheap
nord micromodular - again not analog (sorry) but that can sound fantastic , lots of patches around so you wouldnt need to get too messy in software modular land.
preenfm2 , bass station 2, volca fm , volca bass , ju-06, micro bruteā¦lots around.
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wonderful midi input bass synth.
Great filter.
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for my taste the BS2 didnāt fit well!
It was a schizophrenic situation: the BS2 was to smooth, the Pulse 2 was to heavy (or clean, or static ā it blew the A4 out of the mix)
I got minitaur with mopho āchainedā for bass.
Cheap solution if you buy them used but oh boy they sound gold together.
**Iām also looking at Hades. Some demos show really nice low end.
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Monologue on its way.
I considered many. Therapsid Mk2, Minitaur, Slim Phatty, Micromonsta in Unison mode, Roland Boutiques in Unisonā¦
Ultimately settled on Monologue for this bass companion purpose because of its 4 motion sequence lanes make great modulators, even if youāre sequencing its notes with something else.
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$65 shipped. https://reverb.com/item/5634142-tech-21-midi-mouse-for-sale-works-with-tc-electronics-line-6-and-many-other-brands
Tech 21 MIDI Mouse.