As a few people have pointed out, multitimbrality is relatively uncommon for new synths these days, especially for your budget and requirements in terms of needing a built-in sequencer and knobby control surface.
One thing that would broaden your options is swapping your Model Samples for something like a Digitakt that could sequence a multitimbral module via MIDI. A Digitakt with a Nord Rack 2x, Korg Radias or Virus desktop is over budget but it would keep you busy for a very long time.
I’d suggest this little guy:
i was just saying in a private message that the P12 desktop is like an a4 mk2 style polysynth without the sequencer. it has the on panel controls of a hydrasynth with a few knobs for each section, but the 4 screen encoders are massively helpful. i dont know if thats the part youre trying to get away from, but this is at least bi-timbral and crazy deep for sound design
ive been trying to figure out if the Radias still holds up today. I have similar feelings about the virus ti, which i’ve also never tried. they both have all of the synthesis options and audio processing im looking for in modern synths, but also make me hesitant to pay current used prices because i would be blowing about $1000 on some very outdated software/hardware
i’d like to hear from someone who currently or recently has used one in a modern setup because i think it might be the synth i was looking for
I got both a Radias and a Virus TI a few months ago due to a couple of lucky deals and I couldn’t really tell you whether they’re outdated or not. They both sound great and do a lot that modern synths don’t, but they also both have some annoying limitations or questionable design decisions that you might find frustrating. Discussions about whether things are outdated are obsolete are always kind of fraught - regardless of how depreciated a piece of gear is there will always be at least one person who uses it every day and couldn’t live without one. The Radias was supposed to make the MS2000 obsolete and the Virus TI is a superset of all the previous Virus models, but people still buy the earlier ones because they’re cheaper, or there’s some perceived difference in sound that they can’t live without, or they think the older models look better, etc.
I think the fact that nobody in this thread has named any modern multitimbral synths that come close to what they’re capable of is a good indication of whether they’re truly outdated or not.
I worried that this would be the case when moving from the original Nord Lead to the 2X, but I basically can’t hear anything that the original can do that the 2X can’t, even at more extreme settings.
right, i guess i’d have to try one. i think what i mean by outdated is mainly in limitations, but not just on the technical side. I would be very angry spending that kind of money on something with clearly audible aliasing that got in the way of the core sound or some sort of memory limitation. but mainly limits in sound design, meaning poor effects quality, or limited processing functions. because they have things like frequency shifting and formant shifting, but are those any good? or any better than something like a mid-level plugin from the last 6-7 years?
i’ve never played any virus or any korg (ms2000 or microkorg) but have always been interested in all of them. The other “dated” quality, and the main aspect im concerned about regarding any synth is the sound. the sound you get from an init patch or the core oscillators, and then the sounds they are capable of making when you filter them, envelope them, modulate them, cross modulate, and process them. there are a lot of factors i guess. but i think hydrasynth would be a good example. on paper it sounds like it has everything youd want, but in reality hardly anyone seems to use them in hardware jamming because it really does sound like a very nice plugin synth. and even the sound design options arent very far beyond what modern analog or digital polysynth can achieve
i dont expect an objective rundown of all of those components, just clarifying what i meant when i used the term
on the other hand, i do think the M stands up to the other multitimbral offerings. and its 4 part. just an incredible sounding synth. its rare that you plug in a synth and really feel blown away like that. at least for me anyway
At this point, I’ll love to hear opinions of Roland users, pros / cons
Mc101 vs jx-08 vs jd-08?
DSIs would require a midi keyboard (the Rolands too, maybe… but that doesn’t seem as required as with the DSIs) and that conflicts a bit with the space I have for this toys in my desktop
About Elektron… I always wanted a DT but in the beginning I preferred to start with model:samples & see. So the DN would be the option, apart from its sound it would be a test for me & the digis workflow. If the workflow doesn’t fit with me I could always go back to the A4 mk1
Well, I guess the ‘dated’ factor here is that these were both designed to to supplement computer-based production rigs during a period of time where DSP resources were far more limited than they are now. I still value the hardware units because they have a distinctive sound and interface very easily with my Octatrack without any fucking around, but if you can imagine yourself getting the job done with Serum or Vital you probably can.
I think the Radias sounds very mid-2000s, kinda like a Monomachine - very brash, very digital, lots of weird gainstaging and places to degrade the signal or cascade voices into each other. VCA section has some insane saturation models like decimation and wavefolding that can be placed pre or post filter. Init sound is a bit thin, but you can fill it out pretty quickly. The FX sound like (are?) a mid-tier multiFX rack with some bizarre options like the grainshifter or a keyboard-tracking ringmod. Presets are saved by default as a 4-timbre performance, so it feels natural to use it that way.
Virus TI is very lush, wide and rounded - even when you get a buzzy wavetable it’s easy to tame. Still very capable of getting weird. FX are mostly very high quality, especially all the modelled distortions. Frequency shifter sounds great, about on par with the stock Ableton shifter.
wow, you’re selling me on both of these. i love ableton’s frequency shifter. it is one of the most useful audio processing tools for synthesis and sampling in my experience. the radias sounds great too, the way you describe it. i guess i have to try both, but now im really after a virus ti
thanks for the insight
A list of bitimbral and multitimbral synth recommendations on this post:
Digitone is also on sale right now. At least here in the US.
Jx-08 on the way 
I hope you like it!
Your M:S and the JX-08 should make a very good sounding capable pair. Nice minimal setup too!
Thank you very much for all the info in this thread 
I don’t have an M:S but I do have the M:C and I am going to presume that the settings are probably the same if not very similar.
You send program change messages from your M:S by setting your Out Chan >> to PCH Out 8 (you can choose a different midi channel if you like but don’t go for 1 or 2 as these channels are in use on the JX-08 for the 2 separate synth tracks / channel a=1 b=2 on the JX-08 and you can maybe use these channels to send note info from another device to play the JX-08)
On your JX press menu (no note /seq or start selected) - turn the value dial to Midi or choose key 3 and then you get into the midi settings.
A new set of led’s light up as another option menu.
key 1 = CH - press the value dial and turn it to select channel 8 (in this example using CH8 as program change out message channel on the M:C / M:S)
key 5 = Sync - press the value button and select midi
key 6 = Syn.0 - press the value button and select midi (maybe not necessary but I have it set like this)
Connect with midi dongle that you got with your M:S and cable out from M:S to regular midi in on JX-08.
Now when you select and start T1/1 on your M:S it will play the pattern you’ve created on your M:S but also play pattern P.A.11 in sync on your JX-08 as it’s being midi clocked and sent the program change value by your M:S.
So then you have Prg changes that are configured thus (first few examples)>
M:S JX-08
T1/1. P.A.11
T1/2. P.A.12
T1/3. P.A.13
etc
Play around with it and you’ll see how it works!
I haven’t played too much with the arp settings on the JX-08. I will have a play and let you know at some point but it seems pretty straightforward to me.
I really do love this synth and yeah I do understand your comment about the seq after using the Elektron seq but again… you just need a little time and it clicks really quickly. I am using mine with a keystep to input notes mostly because I prefer playing more intuitively to programming but it is ok to program too - just not as immediate.
… and one more thing if you haven’t got it yet… When you are playing back a pattern on the JX-08, if you select the synth sound by holding down the note button and pressing key 1 or 2 while in live record mode (hold note and press start) you can adjust any parameter on the panel and you are motion recording so you can (for the simplest example) adjust cutoff freq to sweep into a brighter sound. This makes this synth mega powerful and a hell of a lot of fun to use.
Yeah, I have been some days out of town, playing & reading, and it was so easy to midi setup once at home
Now I have some days to recalibrate my mixer & surely I will post some jam in a few
I miss a lot of Elektron features in the sequencer but I am starting to get used to this new one. The ARP thing is the main doubt now
