Studio Electronics SE 1X vs Future Retro XS vs Moog Slim Phatty

[nyne]

So which one of these, mostly for basses and harder edgier tones.

Seems the FR XS has the most immediate interface.
J
ust discovered the SE1X a few nights ago so researching it---why is it so popular with HipHop makers ?? and is it a Moog emulation synth ?

I like the size and price of the Slim Phatty but i dont know how i would deal with the lack of independent knobs for basic filter and ADSRS---is there a work around, midi controller maybe ?

I'm into techno, prog house, Goa, Crystal Method/BT etc .

I just bought an Access Virus TI coming in the mail, so something that will compliment that nicely and serve me for a long time. I'd get a Voyager if i could afford it.

[controlvoltage]

Slim Phatty receives (and sends) 14-bit MIDI for all knobby parameters, so yes it's easy to set up a controller to map all the parameters to knobs at once. There's also a "pot mapping" function that lets you map any of the panel knobs to any parameter... so you can have two knobs on the Phatty mapped to filter cutoff and resonance simultaneously, for instance.

However in practice I almost never notice, to be honest... when tweaking envelopes it takes about .25 seconds to punch a button to map the EG knob to the next envelope stage, after about a day you just do it without thinking. It's pretty intuitive.

I own the Phatty and the FR XS but I've never tried the SE, can't give you info about that. The XS might be a little edgier, it has an amazingly crisp, cutting tone... pure evil for psy squawks and hard lead sounds... better for drum synthesis than the Phatty... but perhaps not as buttery in the bass department due to the 2-pole filter on the XS vs variable 1 to 4-pole LPF on the Phatty. On the other hand the XS filter is multimode and the bandpass and highpass modes are super duper useful. XS also has a better noise source which can be used in the audio path (proggy white noise sweeps, anyone?)

So... If you do a lot of MIDI and want patch recall and parameter automation, that rules out the XS. If you really wanted a Voyager and are settling, look at the Phatty or the SE (but again, you'll need to get pro/cons on the SE from someone else).

If you have other CV gear, don't mind the lack of patch memory and are into the idea of tracking all your synth tweaks live (no parameter automation), you might find the XS covers more bases in the world of analog mono synth sound than the Phatty does. But, it's at the expense of Moogy bass (XS has more, um, Rolandy bass, maybe) and a certain schmoothness.

If I had to choose which to get rid of between the XS and the Phatty, I wouldn't. They are both too damn good at what they do, and they each have areas where one trounces the other (although there's plenty of overlap in the less-nitpicky sense)

[BTByrd]

I second everything that controlvoltage just said, but would add the clarification that while the XS may not be as "buttery in the bass" department, the thing still moves a ton of air and pumps out really deep basses. That it isn't as buttery shouldn't imply that it's lacking; I use the XS as much as my Voyager for bass (but the real luxury is layering them together)!

[nyne]

Hmmm....seems like i should get both!!!

[ddash]

I think you should,so that you can recommend me 1. I really want to tryout the Slim phatty.

[innervoice]

As another XS/SP owner, I agree with CV's review, though I think I'd choose my XS over the SP.

[tvsky]

I am thinking of adding a SP to my XS to give some buttery stuff and push the SP a bit futher with the extra filters

if you can afford both it seems they would make an excellent combo

[Doktorfuture]

Originally Posted by nyne

Hmmm....seems like i should get both!!!

I agree! I've got a Voyager, Voyager RME, 2 Slim Phatty's and the Future Retro XS. My plan is to route the 2 Slim Phatty's through my two ebbe und flut filters.

I really appreciate the tones I get out of the Future Retro XS.

I'm a slut.

[projectwoofer]

Originally Posted by tvsky

I am thinking of adding a SP to my XS to give some buttery stuff and push the SP a bit futher with the extra filters

if you can afford both it seems they would make an excellent combo

I'd take the new SEM over the FRXS anytime...

[tvsky]

sem plus FRXS would be great combo

I have been thinking about adding a sp to my FRXS but with the extra cv options the sem would probably be better

[nyne]

SEM ????

[controlvoltage]

Originally Posted by nyne

SEM ????

SEM.

[Rust Creep]

i am in complete love with my FR XS

next mono coming in january is a patchable SEM

after that, i'm thinking slim phatty

i love analog monosynths

[thefunnel]

Never used the SEM or SP, but I concur... FRXS is pure pwnage.

Love it. Goes into every track I make anymore. Perc, glitch, bass, hooks, fx...just a diverse, great sounding machine...and it will FORCE you to get a little more creative and live. No "lazy" automation or patch saving