I have owned a ton of stuff MD, OT, various synths, but for the last year I have only played a DSI Mopho Keyboard. No grooveboxes, drum machines, or recording. I’m finally ready to get back into a more complete setup.
I want it to be dead simple so I can turn everything on, get a groove going, and start jamming. It also has to be compact because I move pretty often.
What are your opinions on these setups?
Mopho Key and Volca Sample
Pro’s
-Dead simple and immediate interface, no menus
-Cheap
-Compact
Con’s
-Need a mixer
-I find samples less inspiring than synths
-Lack of polishing FX
Mopho Key and Elektron A4
Pro’s
-Beautiful sounds
-Immediacy of the Mopho
-No Mixer, relatively compact
Con’s
-Price
-Not sure how immediate the A4 is. How quick can I go from init to groove?
-Single stereo outs on A4. I dont record, but I may eventually.
Analog Keys
Pro’s
-One machine, one work paradigm, increased focus
-Sounds great
-Nice keyboard, multiple outs
-Built in power supply
-Multimap (I know the A4 has this too, but I refuse to get another controller)
Con’s
-Size
-Seems immediate from Cuckoo’s jams, but Idk how much prep he put in.
-Price
-4 Voices, not really a big deal
-Seems like a great groovebox interface, but not sure how it would feel on the days I’m just synthing.
Well, what kind of music do you make? That sort of factors into it.
Im all for super minimal, compact setups with lots of limitations. YMMV, but thats whats get my creative juices flowing.
Another option, instead of the volca sample (as you prefer synthesis to samples); a volca beats with a few stompboxes for FX.
EDIT: i have lots of thoughts on the subject, Got to go now, but Ill add my 2 cents later tonight.
If you like the DSI sound, the Tempest ought to be on your radar. It is the single most complete and self contained jammable instrument I have ever used. The OP-1 is a close second, but loses points to the lack of proper MIDI and fixed velocity keys. On a desert island, a OP-1 and a Monotribe would be my choice, since the Tempest requires mains. (though I’d need some kind of solar charging setup I reckon.)
Never mind all the naysayers who complain about this or that, people complain just as much about the OT bugs or the A4/AR not being able to MIDI sequence. Sure it is not without it’s limitations but if you had a Tempest and one or two decent FX pedals you would have a blast. It’s very inspiring to use.
And if you’re clever you can do a lot more than the 6 voice limit would suggest. For example use the FX1/FX2/FX3/FX4 parameter to sequence oscillator volume on a voice to essentially give you 4 different sounds on a single voice. But even without extreme cleverness, it’s really fun to play.
As far as “just synthing” it’s got 4 voices, 5 envelopes, 2 filters, feedback, distortion, and a killer set of pads with ARP and a crapload of scales. So coming up with cool stuff is wicked easy and fun.
Out of the 3 options you suggested, I’d go with #2, the Mopho and A4. The Mopho going thru the A4 FX would sound really nice, and you get keys and a bit more variety. Plus the Mopho keyboard is much nicer than the AK keyboard.
I’m just looking to make some weird synth pop/rock. Dancy indie whatever. Similar to Of Montreal. I know I’m in love with the sound of the A4. All of the demos sing to me.
The reason I’m still considering the Volca is $$. This is just a hobby for me, so its tough for me to justify spending a lot. I have in the past, but I have a bad habit of beating myself up mentally when I have lots of money in music equipment.
I am kind of happy to hear that the Mopho has a nicer keybed than the AK. The AK is extremely appealing to me in every aspect other than size and cost, but getting the AK would require me to sell the Mopho which is something I’m not sure I want to do.
What advantages does the AK offer over using the Mopho as a controller for the A4?
Obviously, more outputs, more keys, joystick, extra knobs, but anything in terms of workflow?
I’m also somewhat considering the Tetra now, but I’m not convinced on the multi-timbral aspect and workflow.
Workflow is the most important to me. I rarely save anything, and am not recording. I just want to sit down at my setup and get some grooves going.
Is there any way you could demo a Tempest? I’m sure it will blow you away.
Anyway not really much advantage to the AK apart from everything being in one box. The AK doesn’t have a pedal input, but you do get an extra half an octave I guess. The only thing you’ll have to do is if you don’t want the Mopho to play audio, turn LOCAL OFF in the settings.
I would steer clear of the Tetra, while it sounds great the combo mode is a bit of a hassle to use, and programming it is a real chore without a computer editor.
SRSLY though check out the Tempest! It’s basically the Mopho voice x 6 plus 2 digital / sample oscillators and a kick ass sequencer. The pads are great and personally I think it has more personality than the A4.
I wish I could demo a Tempest. Research on the Tempest is what made me consider the A4. I know I would be very happy with the synth architecture of the Tempest, but the demos I have seen have been nothing in comparison to what I’ve seen from the A4/AK.
I’m also not sold on the workflow. It looks like it takes a lot of menu diving to get everything set up. Like its a ton of fun after you have written your patterns, but not very immediate to get those patterns written. I’m not really sure though. I’m familiar with Elektron sequencing so I know that writing patterns won’t be an issue.
Problem with the tempest is it has no delay / verb eq etc. It’s really dry on its own. The workflow might be a matter of taste but I didn’t like it. Editing a recorded sequence was a nightmare to me.
Maybe the new elektribes are something to look out for. Not too expensive, has fx, sequencer etc
As far as I can tell having the AK vs A4 and a midi controller is not going to be too much different, depending on the controller.
I’ve never had a Mopho, but I’ve had some other DSI gear, such as Tempest and Tetra for a little while.
The Tempest is definitely fun to jam on, and it sounds amazing. It really shines with undivided attention, no other instruments. This is mainly due to the 8 event limitation, lack of pattern chaining, and limited number of patterns. To get the most out of it you really have to play it.
As stated before, there’s no effects, and unless your really into raw sounding synthesis your’re gonna want some effects for Tempest.
I briefly got a Tetra because I like that DSI sound.
I was thinking about getting an A4 but never cared much for the sounds I had seen in demos.
The Tetras tedious UI quickly got the best of me and I went for the A4 for funtion over sound.
I was WAY wrong about the A4 sound, it’s amazing.
It blows me away how capable it is, like p-locking stored sounds to create drum tracks on one track.
I find the A4 very immediate, and extremely versatile.
With the built in FX, performance mode, and mixing mode, I don’t mind the stereo out limitation at all.
If I would have known all of this before, I would have never got a Tempest.
As others have said when it comes to samplers, there’s other options.
The wide range of Electribes, maybe an Electro Harmonix 4500, or even and Electrix Repeater?
If you like the A4 sound, get one, I cant imagine you’ll regret it.
It completely crushed my desires for any other synth in a similar range.