I have been looking for a go to synth for leads for some time now - hardware or software. I have the moog voyager that I mostly use for bass and the Analog Keys for pads/drones/atmo.
I liked using the monomachine for leads but I sold it back in the day to fund the AK. Now im mostly using the TE OP-1 for melody leads. I really like flutey, stringy, plucky leads that have a natural organic quality to them - not typical analog sounds.
I’ll check it out. I was thinking about trying FM8 but I’ve always found it to be too complicated to program. I have mostly been using the sampler in Ableton but I would like more control over the leads and not just use static samples.
Modor NF-1 / NF-1m. 8 voices. “Proudly digital”. 3 oscillators with ‘traditional’ waveforms, along with additive, FM, feedback FM, and multiple noise waves (wind, sonar, arcade) that can all be modulated. 4 envelopes. Envelopes can be looping to become additional LFOs. Three LFOs. Pretty good modulation matrix. Use of comb filter to provide chorus/flanger/comb filter effects. And has both a regular multi-mode filter and a formant filter. The name “NF-1” stands for “Noise and Formants”.
The NF-1 has lots of knobs. The NF-1m is about half the price in a smaller device but is the same engine.
Demo of some of the presets, ranging from big lead sounds to pleasant little pads to bells and such.
And I really like this demo. Lovely drone at the end using the looping envelopes.
I picked up the NF-1m a few weeks ago. I wish I had the space and budget for the full size one - there aren’t too many digital synths in this style that are really knobby. But the mini version isn’t bad. It’s still easier to edit and make sounds on than my old Yamaha TG-33.
Yeah, shame it was all plastic and not much fun to edit. Still I wish I hadn’t sold mine. It would also make a nice compact controller keyboard with aftertouch and that very nice combined ribbon/wheel pitch/modulation controller.
I use the Moog Voyager a whole lot for leads and basically everything. I am looking for something that has more of a connection to the real world, realistic but otherworldly at the same time.
Fever Ray - plucky wooden type melodic sounds
SIBA - plucks + leads
Looking for something digital sounding (with hint of realism) without needing to refer to samples
Maybe just get another MnM
You clearly still have a soft spot for it’s sounds, you know the workflow. It will be like meeting up with an old friend you haven’t seen in years.
Digitone could also fit the bill, super easy and intuitive fm would be great for the kind of sounds you are after
Im really excited about the Digitone, it’s just that the only demo’s I’ve heard of it sound quite dark / industrial / techno-ish. The issue with getting a monomachine (quite expensive) is that Elektron have stopped servicing those instruments and since it’s a digital machine it may not be the best investment. Although I would jump on a new monomachine at the right price.
If it comes to digital hardware synths, my personal favourite is clearly the Virus (ti2 Desktop in my case) The possibilities are unbelievable! Two multimode filter plus a additional filterbank for comb, Formant, vowel, 1-6 pole low pass filters and more. Wavetables, special waves, virtual analog, Formant and graintables, all shape and modulatiable. 4 ENVs, EQ, Saturation effects and a insane amount (for a hardware synth) of different effects, 16x sounds simultaneous, vocoder, Wave follower(from input signals) that can be used to modulate anything and the fact that you can use the Virus as multitimbral effect box, makes it to the IMO best available digital synth you can get. The vsti / DAW integration works now perfect (at least for me) and the years of constant software upgrades makes it a very valuable peace of gear.
But even my Virus ti2 desktop is the love of my life, I have to admit the most powerful and flexible gear that’s digital, is a PC with some powerful software Synthesizer.
But i really like making music without PC and my Octatrack mk2 combined with a Virus is my weapon of choice! (They even look perfect next to each other, since the have almost the same gray Color, and a similar depth)…
Of course Nord Lead‘s are awesome too! Especially the G2 is awesome as fuck. Modor NF-1 is interesting. And the new Waldorf synth :“Quantum“ has potential to raise the bar! If you have lots of money, check out the Yamaha Montage and the Krog Kronos. Both are workstations with multiple sound engines I it, some synthesis (Montage has a insanely good FM engine) and the ability to play classic instruments like flutes, strings, piano etc.
I do own a OP-1 and it’s in my opinion the one with the weakest sound engine. But I like it for his portability and the different engines and the cutes GUI I ever saw Ona synth:)
I hope someone will make a walktrough video of the Digitone preset’s, just to get a feeling for it’s scope of sounds. It is rather tempting. I mostly used the FM machine on the monomachine back in the day…
I already saw something like that on YouTube. I‘m not sure if it was every preset, but i know that the sound quality was very good, and the recording was done properly (it wasn’t a video Fromm the NAMM.)
We now have our own Digitone sub forum. Check out those posts to find out more. The first orders already arrived!
Pretty sure they are still servicing the mkll’s but I understand what you mean. It’s an oldy but goody. They weren’t working on mkl’s anymore so I had to get a mkll as a backup
I’ll be sure to check those out