Totally agree! Sound is paramount over features! My only issue with this advice is that I already own the System8! =)
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the take 5 is the best of the 3, no question. the only issue would be voice count
but the p12 is also nice if you need more voices. not as good of an overall sound as the take-5 (different filter/vcos), but more mod sources than all three in your list
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I had the deepmind for 2 years and really tried to like it but I was glad when it left the studio. The basic sound of the oscillator is really thin and you need a lot of voice doubling to get into nice sonic teritory. It also just has 2 Waveforms. Internal effects are weak too. Layout is pretty ugly.
Take 5 would be my pick
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Good idea! My only issue with Polychain is having to utilise 4 audio inputs.
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Thanks everyone for their input! =) I think I will look to get a Take5 in the future, but I just managed to pick up a brand new unboxed Deepmind 12 for £475, which is an absolute bargain! So I snapped it up and look forward to testing it in a few days.
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I have had 2 of the 3 plus an Xd. I think the sound of the Take 5 and the ease of patching make sit the best option. That said, the deep mind is quite deep due to it’s effects and routing. I also loved it’s chord mode.
Take 5 only has 5 voices but they are so big that 12 would be way too much in a mix. Whereas the Deepmind oscillator is pretty thin so it stacks quite well. I typically just used 6 notes and used the unison detune which sounded pretty amazing if you are into that wavey brass chord sound.
The Take 5 also has a Sin Wave which honestly is awesome. It’s the only Dave Smith synth I had with a Sin, and to me that’s a really really nice option to have.
EDIT - Just saw you got the DM12. Thats a great synth. Just take your time and prepare yourself to dive a little in the menu because that’s where. the good stuff really is.
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Many thanks for your advice! Yeah I guess it’s the VCO’s of the Take5 that help make it sound so fat. I’ve got a Monopoly and Poly D for mono duties, and it’s the same story there.
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Yeah, but I really liked the DM12 a LOT. It just matters what you are going for, but the DM12 is a beast on chords and pads. I didn’t like it for bass though, which differentiates it from the Juno, which has huge low end.
If you are into making huge sounding pads and chords, the DM12 will deliver. I’d suggest sequencing a chord progression and diving into the menus where unison detune is after you get your envelopes how you want them. After that, try out all the effects, like all of them. I say this because some of the effects I did not think would be much actually ended up being the keepers for the patch.
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Congratulations!
If you have an iPad, it’s well worth getting the Deepmind editor app, it gives a good overview of what’s going on, and the GUI is way better for certain things than the units screen (especially the FX section).
Also, the presets it comes with are the usual OTT/pretty much unusable ones you would expect.
I’d recommend the DeepFind sound bank here;
They’re a good example of more straightforward/usable sounds that you can get out of the Deepmind. (Although a lot of them have that slow LFO pitch mod thing that’s everywhere these days).
Thanks for the interesting info. =) Nice to have the perspective from someone who has both a Take5 and Deepmind.
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Cheers! I’ll check that out! I don’t own an iPad, but it’s going to be right in front of my PC, so I’ll use the Windows App.
sorry to revive this, but @atomix_303, im wondering how you like your deepmind and if you held onto it. i currently have a P12 and a Take-5 but im considering swapping the P12 for a Pwm Malevolent and I should have some money left over for a Deepmind 12d. the p12 is just kind of hard to fit into a mix with other gear, for my current recording and mixing workflow
i love the take-5, but im wondering if deepmind might be the super thin malleable bread and butter synth ive been searching for. ive heard some piano and organ patches from Once Upon A Synth on youtube and it seems to have the capability for more clean, simple sounds that i have trouble getting out of other synths. that could be my imagination though and i could very well hate it. i also think it might just feel like a shittier version of the take-5, which wouldn’t make much sense. but i dont know if thats true at all, just a concern i had
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If you already have a Take 5 you honestly already have a really good bread and butter synth. What are you struggling to achieve with it that you feel the deepmind could do?
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IMO The only glaring omission on the T5 is a dedicated HPF rather than the one in the FX slot. Given how thick the T5 can sound a proper HPF would have been a brilliant addition. Maybe the HPF on the DM can add a different thinner flavour?
That’s what I’m asking. Not sure if it can do anything else. I just learned that it only has pulse and saw waves so maybe it’s not very versatile
T5 is my favorite synth, I’m not sure I even need another poly. But since I don’t usb multitrack, I like to have a synth for every “live” voice if I can. I was considering the Malevolent or the Typhon instead. I actually really like the b pro 1 and the cat as well
Anyway I never really found a synth with a lot of voices that could do piano sounds, thin but analog, apart from the rev2 which has a pretty harsh timbre on everything and the filter isn’t great for toning that down. I’m just wondering if there’s something I’m missing in these cheaper synths, like even the minilogue.
I do love the hpf right beside the lpf on my p12 desktop. My hands are constantly twisting those both simultaneously, and the 2nd bpf on the Elektron digis is really great for better sound design. So that would be nice. I don’t know, I find the t5 to be better for gritty stuff. It can be clean too, with the sine. It can even do some piano and organ sounds. But I was wondering if there was maybe a synth that produces timbres I can’t achieve right now that I wasn’t aware of. I can’t really put my finger on what I’m after though. I guess what I imagined the peak would be? Maybe I just need a Nord or a reface cp? I obviously don’t need anything, but I’m not using the p12 that much in any actual music. It’s extremely fun to patch but I think I’m gonna have to replace it, it gets way too busy in a mix most of the time
But yeah I’m not knocking the take 5 at all. I love it. Maybe I should get a pro 3. Or another take 5
Maybe I’m just stuck in a loop, I guess the peak could do these things and I just sold my second one. So yeah nevermind. Deepmind is out. Sorry for the bump
Sorry for late reply, only just saw this! So far I’m absolutely loving the Deepmind12! You have to delve a little deeper into the synth, but that’s only because they added so much more than the original Juno concept. I’ve found the sound design inspirational and I’m really enjoying the sound. It’s strengths are definitely pads/plucks/leads and anything Poly. I wouldn’t say it’s a bass monster, but then I have plenty of analogue mono’s for those duties including Poly D / Pro 3 anyway. The FX engines are really useable and can totally transform the sound. Considering I was lucky to get one for just shy of £500 it’s a steal!
Just to add, that having bought and sold countless amounts of synths over the years, I think a lot of this is really individual, you just have to give synths a go, and see if they inspire you and connect with you or not. Also I’m not a believer that every synth works for all genres of music, some definitely excel in areas that others don’t.
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I find the T5 can do gorgeous keys-type sounds. It’s been a while, but iirc, Osc1 as sine and Osc 2 as narrow pulse will get you there. Thin it out a bit with the HPF and voila. I like to add a subtle LFO to the pitch of one osc to make it really come alive. Also mapping velocity to the LPF makes a patch like this come alive
I own both a Peak and T5. I turn to the T5 for key/organ sounds far more than Peak.
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Deepmind totally nails these kind of sounds spot on.
I have a Deepmind 12D, a Prologue 8 and a Prophet 6.
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Deepmind series - It is 100% hand down the best thing Behringer has made synth wise, it’s basically a Super Juno, that said, Im have issues with my Deepmind now where there’s a faint hiss regardless what I do with that machine and now that its past it’s warranty, Behringer has completely ignored my requests for help on getting it repaired or replaced.
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Prologue 8 - It’s not a 16 and I’ve definitely thought about upgrading to a 16, not because I want the extra voices, but because the onboard compressor is really nice, especially for those massive huge sounds. I will say this, even though the Prologue series doesn’t have a wealth of modern modulation options you do get ASDR envelopes over the AD enveloped you have for the filter on the minilogue XD. It’s secret weapon really is the MultiEngine. definitely checkout some of the Bespoke Engines that often have their own modulation options that are specific to that engine.
Sinevibes is great
Turbo - Sinevibes
And of course, Mutable instruments code has been ported and sounds lovely. News: KORG Prologue Multi-Engine & Mutable Instruments Plaits Osc! -
As per Sequential. You can’t go wrong, the customer service is top notch. if it breaks, they will fix it. There will be a bazillion sound design tutorials. Lots of Modulation options.
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This is true. It’s surprising what you can get with some creative fm too
Having the sine wave is really nice for this as well. Especially since it morphs smoothly. So you can get a nice clean transient that rings out into some a little more harmonic, or the other way around. Along with the envelope dynamics, and some ultra slow ring mod or rotary speaker, you can get some nice organic but still articulate tones. I feel like it does almost physical-modeling types of sounds like “cello” or strings very convincingly. And yes, there are so many modulation options for adding some natural warble or vibrato. Voice spread & lfo 2 being polyphonic give a lot of nice subtle pitch variation per voice
I think I imagined the deepmind as potentially having such thin voices, that it wouldn’t get crowded as easily as the take-5 can with such a rich core tone. But this is a very good point you’ve made, and I’m sure I don’t need another synth to achieve these sorts of patches
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Check out this post for your hiss issue…
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