Hydrasynth Explorer or Cobal8? Which would match the Opsix best?

I recently bought a Korg Opsix. And I love it! I spend all my free time nowadays making new sound patches. And while in many ways it is more than enough synth for me, in other ways it isn’t and I would like to pair it with another synth that would work well with it but also provides contrasting sound types.

The two that have caught my eye are the Hydrasynth Explorer and the Cobal8. Both seem equally interesting and are within my price range [though just one of them]. So what I would like to know is: which of them would work better with the Opsix?

Or am I on the wrong track? Is there something else in the same price range that would work even better? I would be interested to know what people think on this.

This article in MusicRadar says you can set up patches on the OPSIX to respond to poly-aftertouch. With suggestion number one they say :

1. Aftertouch

One of the few notable features missing from Opsix is keyboard aftertouch. While it’s not built-in, the synth will respond to polyphonic aftertouch from an external source. Connect an aftertouch capable controller via MIDI or USB, then head to the Virtual Patch menu to route it to any modulation destination.

So that is one thing to consider, a synth that is also a poly-aftertouch controller, whether you are good with a keyboard or not.

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True enough. Both of my wish list synths have that capacity. So they are equal on that score. It is more about the presets and the types of potential sound they are capable of and how that works/contrasts with the Opsix. Something different but also complimentary.

I missed it. When did the Cobalt 8 get poly-aftertouch ? The Modal specification still says channel-aftertouch. Modal even beat out Waldorf ! Good deal.

OK I will have to doublecheck that. I’ve been watching so many videos and reading about these two and other synths that I might be getting things mixed up.

I don’t think you’d go wrong with either. The Cobalt probably has a little more overlap with the Opsix, since you can already run VA oscillators through modeled filters on your Korg. The Hydrasynth will give you a wider sound palette, at the cost of the knob-per-function user interface you get with the Cobalt (although ASM’s UI is brilliant in its own way).

That’s exactly what I was looking for. The Hydrasynth Explorer is my preferred choice, but I wanted to be sure that it is not too similar in its sound palette. Adding that to my shopping list as soon as I pay boring get in the way of fun bills LOL!!! Thanks.