Desktop synth to complement my Digitak+BS2 Combo

The Lounge Other Gear
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Looking for a desktop synth to complement my Digitak+Bass Station2 Combo.

As the BS2 is mono, I am looking for a versatile synth that can do multiple voices to fill in gaps in my sound. I mainly do drum/groove-focused House & Tech-House with very simple synth/melodic parts.

Also for consideration: I am a bit time-poor and don’t have much synthesis/music theory knowledge, so I’ll be using presets & tweaking them, not so much doing sound design sessions or big chord progressions. Immediacy & being able to quickly get grooving is important for me at the moment.

I’m not taking sequencing capabilities into account as I plan to do that with my Digitak.

Top Contenders so far:

Roland SH-4D
Pros: 4 multi-timbral synth parts, Various different synth models & sounds to choose from, a dedicated 16-voice drum machine that can help me free up Digitak audio tracks, Lots of presets, Internal FXs, Lots of knobs and immediate controls, battery-powered overall seems simple out of the box.

Cons: ~$200 More expensive than the other two options, Unable to import presets if I get tired of the stock sounds, bigger footprint than the other two options, Might not be well “supported” in the future.

Dave Smith Tetra
Pros: Love how it sounds, super compact, cheap for what it offers, has loads of presets, the ability to import user-generated presets, and has depth for growth if I get into sound design in the future.

Cons: Only 4 voices compared to the other two (altho it is more than enough for me), I feel the sound overlaps with my BS2 (although is having more of that a bad thing?), few knobs & lots of menu diving, no internal FX, a very complex synth overall.

Waldorf Blofeld
Pros: 16-part multi-timbral, Presets & sounds for days, ability to import user-generated presets, Internal Fxs, Could use some of its parts for drums (to free up Digitak Audio Tracks), has depth for growth if I get into sound design in the future or more complex melodic ideas.

Cons: Sound wise it might not fit my needs (Most Demos I find are more melodic or “deep” but I am after an underground club-type sound), few knobs & lots of menu diving, a very complex synth overall.

Any thoughts, opinions, other considerations or desktop synths I haven’t listed?

Thanks for the help!

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Roland S1 is good for the price. Sound wise though, it might fall into similar territory as the BS2, but with 4 voices. I might be wrong as ive never owned a BS2

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Not sure how much help I’m going to be bet I’ll chime because I own or have owned all of these except the 4d.

Tetra I’ve owned 3 times. The sound is great and imo has a very different sound and character than the BS2. Editing can be a PITA! Main reason I always sell it lol.

Blofeld. I’m on my second unit. First I had 10+ years ago. Encoders were flaky so I moved on. Picked my current one up 2 years ago. So few synths in its price range offer as much flexibility.

My current setup features BS2 and Blofeld as mainstays. There are better sounding synths out there for sure. These 2 are fkn workhorses.

Funny the 4d appealed to me evoking nostalgia for my jp8080. Fact is I don’t trust budget gear to last anymore. I’m old and cynical. Also budget gear is priced like premium here in Australia. I’m regularly priced out of things that actually interest me but I digress.

It’s hard to beat Blofelds 16 parts. I’d love to hear some lush pads through that beautiful digitakt reverb which I also owned once upon time but……

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You could take a look at the Micromonsta 2. Bi-timbral and I think it’s 6 voices per part (I believe there’s also a 12 voice Mono-timbral mode). It’s honestly the best bang for your buck if you can get your hands on it. Great sounding little synth.

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I didn’t dig the sound of the MM2. I thought it would be closer to the sound of the OG which gave me Novation vibes. It seemed bright and harsh to me. Filter was nice though! I moved on from it quick fast.

Not trying to influence the op btw.

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Thanks everyone for your input!

I hadn’t thought of the S1, for that price I think it beats the Tetra for sure. Polyphony has super solid sound, and is dirt cheap… only issue would be the lack of presets, but for that price, I can live with it.

Like @Strangelov3 mentioned, Blofeld is probably the best bang for buck & probably the smartest choice as it is probably the most versatile synth of the bunch.

the 4D is the one I have the most GAS for, but also being in Australia, it’s not that cheap, retails new at $880 whereas a Used Blofeld can be around $600

I checked the Micromonsta 2, and there is currently a waiting list for it, so out of the question.

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MC-101 or MC-707… if you’re happy to use presets and basic tweaks, these are both great.
You’d also get the MC’s track faders which is extremely handy when you’re playing/jamming.

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Have you considered a Minilogue XD? Proper analog 4-voice-poly and with the additional open-architecture digital oscillator there’s tons of possibilities beyond the normal subtractive paradigm. The analog parts are also pretty much knob per function, which is nice.

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If getting something going quickly is important to you, and you are focused on genres with minimal, simple melodic material, and you want to add a synth for that purpose, I think multitimbrality might be less of a concern than you think. I like multitimbral units, and I use a PreenFM2 in my setup, but it definitely adds a lot of setup and prep time to what I am doing.

Have you considered going for something with less multitimbrality, but with a robust midi implementation for program change messages to switch presets on the fly from the Digitakt? I don’t know how good the midi implementations for any of the devices you list are, but I find the Preen becomes a lot more immediate for jamming now I have patch combos already set up, and I can just send a CC message from my DT to change to a new bank of four voices.

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I have a Blofeld and as Sh4d, and while the Blofeld does sound excellent, I use the Roland quite a bit more, because it is easier to tweak sounds, and because of the effects, FX on the Blofeld are shit, and you get to use insert FX plus send FX plus EQ and Compressor on the Roland. That is hard to beat.

Multimode on the Roland is simple to navigate, on the Blofeld not so much. But the Blofeld has more presets, and you can get lots of sounds for free, and there are good soundpacks for sale. Some of them might sound the way you‘re looking for.

I don’t know about the current price, but how about an A4 mk1? Very versatile, lots of sounds available. Wouldn‘t sequence that from the DT, though, because the onboard sequencer gives more options, but don’t need a mixer, because you could route audio from BS->A4->DT.

Or get the Roland JD-08 (Boutique version of the JD-800), it has multi, fx and you can get presets. You might even get one of those plus the Blofeld for the price of an Sh4d.

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If you really want analog, I’d go Dreadbox Nymphes for 6 voices in the same size with much less fiddling. Good sound for classic house.

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Having a Digitakt I 100% understand the desire for multitimbrality. I didn’t get a multitimbral synth because I found them too expensive and I didn’t get on with the Blofeld when I borrowed one. I ended up getting an Argon8, Streichfett, J-6, NTS-1, and a Circuit Mono Station, to make good use of the Digitakt midi tracks.

They’re all great in their own way but it’s a big permanent setup and honestly probably should have gone with a single multitimbral companion like an Access Virus, or Nord Rack for about £1000.

I’ve looked long and hard at the sh-4d but in the end it felt like too many compromises for me.

If you’re interested in multitracking into a DAW, make sure what you get either has something like Overbridge or another implementation of multi-track usb audio (class compliant ideally) or has multiple outputs and then pair with a usb multichannel mixer like the Soundcraft MTK series or the Tascam Model 12.

You could consider an iPad running multiple synth apps in AUM, which is able to record each track separately. It’s a powerful setup and you can connect the DT to the iPad with a single usb-b (printer) to usb-c connection. Personally I don’t like controlling synths on screen though. Although you could midi the DT knobs to synth parameters.

The MC-101 is probably what I’d buy if I were still trying to do this sort of setup. Or a Digitone, syntakt, or Analog4. I’d probably also add a couple of small synths like the S-1, J-6, and Fred’s lab Buzzzy (which is 4 part multitimbral, but has limited controls).

But actually the Nord option is very tempting.

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I don’t recommend the S1 for polyphony, the single oscillator will always sound weaker than the Tetra 2 osc 2 Subs. It’s cheaper for a reason, less LFOs, less envelopes, no mod matrix…

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Digitone is pretty hard to beat for size and a wide sound palette, and there isn’t much better to pair with a Digitakt.

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Out of the gear mentioned here so far, I’ve owned the Blofeld, Tetra, Minilogue XD, A4, Syntakt, Roland-101, Digitone, and Virus. Based on your needs, I would suggest Roland (compact form factor, good sounds, and low price) or Digitone (great sounds, goes well with DT). Viruses are pricey, Tetra and Blofeld didn’t inspire me to tweak presets. The Minilogue was quite okay, but I got bored with its sound. The A4 didn’t offer me any usable sounds (I was too lazy to learn its basics). I can’t comment on Syntakt yet as I just got it a couple of days ago.

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