Of those two, I’d definitely buy the Sirin for deep bass lines, unobtrusive, rich sine sounds and filling out the frequency range. But if you’ve got that area covered with other gear, miniature desktop analog synths with bite have far more competition now. When I bought the SE-02, it was practically the first of its kind commercially. Modular synths and the market for tiny instruments have changed that. These years, the Dreadbox Typhon looks better all around. It has at least as much bite and treble energy as the SE-02, as well as its own sequencer and Zoia-like effects, but it also delivers the bottom and depth for which the Sirin and Minitaur are known.
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I had been ignoring the Typhon, assuming it lacked presets… Oh dear.
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One issue you should be aware of re the Typhon: MIDI clock drift if you use the internal sequencer as master. Clock drift from external sources has been fixed in the new firmware, and Dreadbox claims that MIDI drift using the internal sequencer will be fixed in the next firmware update. But as we’ve seen with Overbridge, that process can on occasion take years. Whereas with the SE-02, Roland and Studio Electronics’ utterly reliable sync implementation works in every standard scenario out of the Boutique box.
When it comes to presets, however, the Typhon has them. Not as many as SE-02 – and a firmware update on the Roland/SE gives you two additional massive banks – but enough to be viable.
Dangerously close to buying one of these second-hand locally, while waiting for the Micromonsta 2…
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With MM2 delayed, I am weakening fast… And for 300 CHF in the neighborhood…
It’s a damned nice synth. I don’t think you would be disappointed. 
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i’m in the same situation — there’s a unit available locally for decent price.
i have enough simple monos and want sophisticated one!
if it’s still available when payday comes, i’ll likely pull the trigger.
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Some of these patches are extremely impressive:
Particularly “Poly Plushpad” at 5:20
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This really sold me on the capabilities of the SE-02 for strings and atypical analog sounds a
I’m not at a place right now where it makes sense to own one, due to other instruments I have. But wow, very impressed.
Their SH-01A patches also impress.
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It also shows off how nice the delay is.
The SE-02 sounds lovely when you tune intervals. I end up doing that all the time. Especially with one oscillator at a fixed pitch.
A friend of mine is a keys player, ahead of going on tour with [well-known electronic artist] she came over to learn a bit about synthesis (not that I’m an expert) and out of all the synths I had out the SE-02 was the one she immediately responded to the sound of. It leaps out at you.
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I’ve revisited the Micromonsta specs, and what’s known about the MM2, and convinced myself it will cover the same ground as the SE02 (and much more, with 12 voices and 2 parts).
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I think that‘s a bit of the apples and oranges thing…
The se sounds very different than the MM and I guess also compared to mm2 (but who knows?!)
300 in the neighborhood is a steal deal
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man, i had no idea the se-02 was capable of that type of string sound. i haven’t spent enough quality time with mine. my patches tend toward the 303 end of the spectrum, so there’s clearly room for more experimentation.
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For those who have one: https://www.synthtopia.com/content/2020/11/28/studio-electronics-se-02-editor-v2-now-available/
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Patch blending and randomisation… nice.
Is the filter stepping still an issue when using a DAW and sending CC’s to it? If that is a workaround, I am interested in one of these, they can be had cheap nowadays used.
EDIT: Now a used Minitaur is also available nearby, it’s tough because the SE-02 sequencer is very cool but the Minitaur does great bass, but otherwise seems to have less features. Only other analog I have is the Typhon. Thoughts on what to get?
just my opinion, but having both the se-02 and typhon, i feel like the typhon is more versatile and easier to play than the se-02. i’d probably sell the se-02 if i needed to but hope to spend more time with it at some point. not sure how they stack up to the minitaur. people seem to love collecting monosynths, but the couple in my stable are more than enough for me. the usb midi/audio is pretty convenient with the se-02, though.
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