Creative Monosynths

dannydisaster93 · 2023-06-06T21:53:46.738Z

Not sure why there’s so few suggestions for the Norand Mono so giving that one a nudge. For real though it’s the winner for me primarily because of how fun it can be to experiment with and explore. The A4 is a great shout too, but I find it harder to take it some of the weirder and interesting rhythmic palettes the NM is capable of without much more intricate tweaking.
Special mention for the Waldorf Pulse2 when not being used in paraphonic mode, for melodic electro elements it’s a tasty unit.

plragde · 2023-06-06T22:11:39.003Z

The Norand Mono (mk1) is the single most fun synth I own. That said, it tends to drag me towards acid just because of its 303-style sequencer on steroids and appropriate filter. It takes me effort to slow down and do something else with it. (I see I was a vote for it, almost a year ago, and there seem to be a lot of mentions of it back then…)

dannydisaster93 · 2023-06-07T21:46:47.311Z

I bought it as a bass synth, and it’s great for it, but I’ve now sampled far more bass lines & multisamples that I’ve minimised my dependence on it for that. I have most of my fun with it creating weird and almost glitchy sounding percussive grooves with all the randomisation parameters it has. Random automation within a range is so sick, and then creating a bunch of variations to pattern morph between brings in the fattest dopamine hit.

kenjamminbro · 2023-06-08T00:51:03.328Z

Pioneer Dave Smith AS-1 is a lethal mono synth. Solid bass and leads. Awesome arp. Decent FX. Punches above its weight. Can often be bought used for a fair price.

Matthewsavant · 2023-06-08T04:34:58.159Z

Dave smith said that his Pro 2 was the most powerful mono synth he’d ever made, I would argue that it is the post powerful mono synth that’s EVER been made.

I’ve had my Pro2 since it first came out and am still finding new stuff to do with it.

Kja · 2023-06-08T10:47:05.667Z

I would go for more west coast synth, I would use my microvolt, but they aren’t made anymore so maybe the taiga? I don’t have one though.

abluesky · 2023-06-08T11:43:10.157Z

Well, the Norand Mono can also be a west Coast synth as well (sans the wavefolder) via the audio rate modulations. There are some examples on the Norand website.

cutlery · 2023-06-08T11:46:45.339Z

The pro2 gets you a lot of what the evolver does and can be had pretty cheap, relatively.

crash · 2023-06-08T11:48:18.952Z

I’m in the market for something new to make some abrasive electro type tracks.

I love the sounds of Dreadbox’s mono synths.

Suspect_Frequency · 2023-06-08T11:49:46.175Z

I’ve been enjoying my Empress Zoia as a creative monosynth. It’s build your own, or customized off of someone else’s patch. It has a multitude of modulation and effects, sequencing, looping, sampling, and audio in/thru. It also has lots of colorful lights.

Additionally, when you have recorded your monosynth, it can switch to a wide range of other duties in your studio (FX, Midi, Polysynth, CV, etc) and return to synth duties at the turn of a dial.

hdd · 2023-06-08T12:25:33.222Z

cwejman S1 mk2

FM, insane fast envellope, complex filtering, various noise sources.

Encephalitislerthargi · 2023-06-09T04:00:36.418Z

behringer arp 2600 with 3 osc’s set to lf mode, synced to one another and some filter pinging, lots of looping audio rate modulation sources and cross patching. kind of the perfect percussive monosynth (aside from the a4)

mokomo · 2023-06-09T04:18:16.061Z

IK Uno Pro is surprisingly good for the price with lots of scope for creative use and, whilst not as good or varied as typhon, a good effects set.

Hans_Olo · 2023-06-09T07:42:08.862Z

Plus a dedicated knob for pretty much everything you could possibly have the desire to manipulate. Downside: it’s a bit of a behemoth for just one voice and it’s not exactly a steal.

Laser · 2023-06-09T07:51:09.291Z

Did anyone mention also that the Circuit Mono Station has patch flip? (lock a patch to each step).

If you hold Shift you can live record the flips onto a pattern without changing the notes.

Also you can still tweak the controls even when everythings flipping.

It’s fricking insane, a much overlooked feature. I’ll never sell mine!

I had to choose recently between keeping the AS-1 or the CMS, bye-bye AS-1!

Microtribe · 2023-06-09T09:07:00.026Z

Its a chunky big bastard true.
I bought mine second hand about 7 years ago, so not the stupid price they go for now.

MurkyFreddery · 2023-06-09T09:18:12.064Z

Vermona Mono Lancet is worth a look

zollenz · 2023-06-09T10:34:18.843Z

badegg303:

I’m in the market for something new to make some abrasive electro type tracks.

Regardless of what you end up with, I’m interested in hearing the result because abrasive electro type tracks is my jam

(Co-sign on the DSI Pro 2, Norand Mono, Erica Synths DB-01 and the Dreadbox Typhon)

fffiiissshhh · 2024-12-04T08:49:46.973Z

Following this topic. I’ve owned plenty desktop subtractive monos (AS1, Minitaur etc) but am looking for something more creative - built in sequencer, plocks, automation, modulation. Piquing my interest from a size/form factor/UI perspective:

DB01
Norand Mono
Moog Labyrinth
Moog DFAM
Wirehead Basilisk - hybrid, but looks and sounds quite nice in the demos and the UI looks fun.

Bardial · 2024-12-04T09:07:06.136Z

Erica DB01 is incredible for that. To the original poster :Just Chek the many many videos that Richard De Hove has on YouTube.