Affordable modular to get Minimoog like bass?

[Reptil]

Originally Posted by SWAN808

well...it looks like I identified a trend - and assumed the opposite....

[Mr. Varaldo]

Originally Posted by Reptil

If you read this thread you'll understand.

[Reptil]

Originally Posted by Mr. Varaldo

If you read this thread you'll understand.

I did but I'll do it again tomorrow, I've missed something I'm sure.
Nice guess the synth game btw.

[synthguy]

Originally Posted by Yoozer

...So this is a slippery slope!

Tell me about it. I'm giving some serious thought to throwing caution and common sense out the window, forgetting almost everything else and saving up for a huge custom Dotcom synth, so I can try my hand at being an American Tomita, or at least Larry Fast.

As for Mr Varaldo's demos, I was going to vote, but I kept thinking that the samples just sounded a hair different, and too similar to really care one way or another.

[Yoozer]

Originally Posted by Mr. Varaldo

Minimoog / Synthesizers.com audio comparison game

the winner is YOOZER with 7 correct guesses

Hah, sweet! (though statistically speaking, with just 10 examples, 7 is only slightly better than average).

To add insult to injury: I listened to the demos using my office laptop's headphones and soundcard, and I don't think my hearing goes beyond 16-17kHz anymore.

My judgement for Mini-esques is what the envelopes do. A good example is this:



(from 3:14 onwards). The entire album's actually pretty good, too.

That kind of "clicky" lead is something I haven't managed to get out of emulations, and it's the first thing I test. You can get it on the Mini by setting the Decay lower than the Sustain. I think this is that "clipped envelope" effect - sounds almost like a compressor being applied to the sound.

[lysander]

Originally Posted by Reptil

...
ok, I hope you don't mind, can I suggest some changes?
...

Thanks a lot for your suggestions reptil !
For now I will follow your advice on the Wiard boogie and the Oakley VCA, and will keep the rest in mind ( LFO was too late but might change it later, Mcbeth oscillator yeah it seems amazing but a bit expensive / HP hog / hard to find, maybe if I can get my hands on a second hand one at some point ).
I'll be interested to know what you come up with for the wave shaper pimping.
Also trying to get what I can find second hand.
[/offtopic, sorry]

[synthguy]

Originally Posted by Yoozer

My judgement for Mini-esques is what the envelopes do. A good example is this:

(YouTube)

That kind of "clicky" lead is something I haven't managed to get out of emulations, and it's the first thing I test. You can get it on the Mini by setting the Decay lower than the Sustain.

Huh... very Gino Vannelli, tasty stuff. Why have I never heard of them?

Anyway, I have to play with this on some of my toys and see if they'll cooperate on this. In the past, I wasn't a big fan of this percussive effect, but used in the right context, maybe a little more subtly...

Still debating on that modular. Presets are cool and all, but I have those out the wazoo, and I'm now really hankering for some serious analog sweetness. And you can't get much more analog than a patchable synth that can play with itself in unpredictable ways. Moogy filters too?? Oh lawdy...

[soundsubs]

i too longed for the moog sound in euro format. so to the OP question:

Macbeth X-series backend filter (the most important part)
2x or 3x Livewire AFG oscillators (3 if you want that 3rd osc sound)
1x Midi/CV converter (if you need/want it)

in my search/quest for moog like euro, nothing else does it but this combo. these pieces will get THAT sound though, and give you tons of flexibility that a "real" mini will not, including FM across all oscillators, etc.
my point of reference is that i have a studio electronics midimoog with minimoog boards. which is stupid, i know, because i have both.

[tonnu]

good thread

you know, this thread has pushed me to get a 5U format

i currently own a eurorack but did not find it fit for me (see here Muff's Modules & More :: View topic - Should I give my Eurorack a one last chance?)

at first i was deciding to get a micromac but given that it's $1,500 a few more $$$ would get me a 22U DotCom / MU Format system which, let's face it, LOOKS ****ING COOL (compared to the diminutive micromac). size envy? yes!

but anyway, that system 8A was definitely the tipping point. oh my, THE SOUND! it's unmatched by anything seriously. it's so raw and organic, almost pulsating with the raw voltage through the modules, the air vibrating up and down, etc. i mean there's that clicky click in the beginning of the envelope that just sounds like "i'm a modular and i don't give a ****" rudeness .. oh my

but anyway, in the end i did not go with the MOS Lab route for two reasons: 1) i can't wait. i don't know how to wait. 6 months = eternity if you want gear and 2) MOS Lab (and also COTK) runs at 5vpp levels (COTK at 7vpp) as opposed to DotCom 10vpp.

i like to be eclectic and i cannot see myself committing to only one maker (i'm from euro, after all), so i am afraid that the levels do not play nicely together. for example, from talking to seb at MOS, he says if his filters get higher than 5vpp input, it will distort. or another example, the STG CP3 mixer clone is designed to work at 10vpp levels. so if it is fed with a 5vpp level, then it may not distort as nicely.

of course, i can try to get attenuators and amplifiers but that would be kinda like a blind shot in the dark--how can i know that i'm boosting to the correct levels? use your ears, yes, but also i'd like to have a cohesive system that doesn't distort or not distort as it is meant to do.

the above is just conjectures, tho, as i've never tried 5U / MU format before. however, with my experience with euro where i have had inappropriate VCA's and not enough attenuators, etc. where the VCA's always distort, giving really harsh sound, i try not to repeat my experience.

so, what i'm starting with (for any who cares) is:
2x Oakley SVCO
1x STG post-lawsuit LPF
1x MOTM 490 converted to MU (*really* excited about this!)
1x STG mixer
1x Oakley multimix
and some utilities like mults and EG's, etc.

i'm just afraid from reading this thread that the Oakley VCO's sound more "modern" and not as raw as MOS / COTK, but i guess that's all relative.

will report back once i get it!

ps. i concur with the OP on modern moog stuff, esp. the LP. i owned that. it sucks balls. filter is OK, moogish, but nothing special, the distortion in particular is really lackluster. oscillators = piss poor, sounds like VA, actually worse than VA, it's severely rolled off (this fact is well documented, even in SOS review).

pss. down the road i still want to augment my 22U system with the 8A from MOS Labs. Maybe not a full one, but definitely the VCO's and the filters