Tiny synth to go with OT?

Elektron Gear Octatrack
#1

Hello everyone!

I am currently away from home for a while but have managed to get my OT on my trip. I miss my DNK though. To scratch the synthesis itch, I tried controlling Fors.fm’s Chiral inside of Ableton Live with MIDI tracks on the OT.
It’s great… but I’m a whiney child and I would like dedicated hardware, even if it is limited.

What I’m looking for is:

  • Good sounding synth (good is enough, versatility is a plus but not a priority)
  • Built-in MIDI (full size DIN or trs are both fine to me)
  • As small as possible
  • As affordable as possible

The only synths I know that are like this are 1010music’s nanobox instruments. While they are super cool, they are also WAYYY more expensive than what I would like for this use case.

So, Elektronauts, what are the cool little sound generators you can recommend?

#2

Have you seen this thread? Lots of amazing ideas!

11 Likes
#3

It’s funny seeing this stream right under the thread where everybody is complaining about synths being too small.

Did you have a synthesis type?

Thoughts on Volcas?

Thoughts on East Beast and West Pest?

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#4

Micromonsta 2 is a great option.

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#5

I second this. Micromonsta 1 is good too…

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#6

Make noise O coast.

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#7

Ask @Fin25, he loves tiny stuff.

Seriously though, the 0-Coast is the most fun I’ve had so far alongside the OT.

6 Likes
#8

1010 music put out a couple of REALLY tiny nanobox synths that might fit the bill.

I will also second @sabana’s recommendation of the 0-Coast. That’s the synth I actually took with me places to jam in the before times.

1 Like
#9

@obscurerobot I saw it but mostly saw jokes haha. Maybe I should have read more, I will dig into it.

@RobertSyrett : I don’t want to close myself to anything for now, I’m just trying to get a list of options to explore. Any synth type counts!
Some things I would love I guess are polyphony (even two voices) and full ADSR. Those would be really welcome.

Volcas I think are too big (I know) compared to how they sound and the build quality in my opinion. Considering I’m only interested in sound generation, I am not really interested in their on-board controls. The point would be to control everything from the OT’s MIDI tracks.

I had never heard about the East Beast and West Pest. The latter sounds great, I love it! The fact that it features MIDI integration is really nice, I was not expecting that from a small analog synth. I will look deeper into it!

@Synthtastic & @sezare56 the Micromonsta looks and sounds siiiiick. If I can get my hands on one, I think I will :smiley:

The O-Coast sounds fantastic, but as a fan of pads, I wonder how much I will miss polyphony compared to recording separate melodies and resampling them into chords on the OT after the fact… For that price, I also think I would rather go with the 1010music boxes I mentioned in the first post, as I am not specifically looking for analog gear.

#10
  • Doesn’t have to be after the fact. The OT can live sample. Edit: plus there’s an arpeggiator!
  • Thinking different is half the fun of the 0-Coast. There are some weird multiphonics abilities with that function generator, for example.
  • Edit 2: It does make really nice pads, polyphony aside.
#11

The SH-01a is also really fun. Great for pads, full ADSR, etc.

11 Likes
#12

Oh yah, I’m a big fan of the sh-01a, the JU-06a and the JX-08 are also fantastic and they are small and cute as a button (but still easy to use).

2 Likes
#13

You guys like the 0-Coast and/or micromonsta 2 better than an elektron synth (like digitone or syntakt or ak4) to go alongside OT? Curious! These little ones look rad.

2 Likes
#14

I’m not going to lie; I started this thread because I am lusting over an Analog Four mkI, simply because my Digitone is far away from meeeee.
I love the Digitone Keys but « fits in a backpack » is not a good description for it.

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#15

I also have digitone and model:cycles that sometimes get hooked up to the OT They both work quite well but I sometimes get confused where I sequenced what if I have the OT sequencing as well as the secondary box.

Other than that, I can fully endorse those two from first hand experience.

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#16

You like the digi keys better than the digitone itself? :slight_smile:
Good luck with your search. Folks here have been so insightful and supportive. Great community.

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#17

Monotribe+midi kit.
I just want everyone to love it as much as me :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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#18

The PL2 is really small and affordable (and passive, it only needs the power from the midi in, which I find somewhat charming)… for the sound you’ll have to decide for yourself

1 Like
#19

Some more serious suggestions:

  • Arturia Microfreak
  • Roland SE-02
  • Roland MC-101
  • Model:Cycles
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#20

i think we have found the tiniest synth