Members Superace25 Posted October 21, 2007 Members Share Posted October 21, 2007 What synths compete with the DSI Evolver Desktop? After looking around a bit, I've only been able to find three synths in this category / price range: DSI Evolver Desktop -- $550 new, $350 - $450 usedNord Micro Modular -- discontinued, $310 usedMFB Lite series -- $300 - 550 new what has your experience been with these, especially the MFB products? Specifically, did you find the on-board sequencer reliable and intuitive? Were you able to find a solid computer-based editor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kooki_sf Posted October 21, 2007 Members Share Posted October 21, 2007 http://www.littlesounddj.com/lsd/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Superace25 Posted October 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 21, 2007 haha, thanks, but maybe something vaguely analog instead of 4-bit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kooki_sf Posted October 21, 2007 Members Share Posted October 21, 2007 well it is cheap... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Superace25 Posted October 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 21, 2007 bump Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members robotsquid Posted October 21, 2007 Members Share Posted October 21, 2007 The Waldorf Blofeld should be in that range when (if) it comes out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kuniklo Posted October 21, 2007 Members Share Posted October 21, 2007 Novation Nova maybe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Superace25 Posted October 21, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 21, 2007 The Waldorf Blofeld should be in that range when (if) it comes out. Ah, good call. I need to do some web-crawling and find out if it's going to have a step sequencer and vocoder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mytee2.0 Posted October 21, 2007 Members Share Posted October 21, 2007 Novation Nova maybe? awseom synth with even better quality/price ratio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kuniklo Posted October 21, 2007 Members Share Posted October 21, 2007 awseom synth with even better quality/price ratio Yeah. As little as $300 for a compact, multimbral modern VA. Hard to beat. I don't like the encoders but otherwise a tremendous bargain. Too bad Novation doesn't do real hardware synths anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members setAI Posted October 21, 2007 Members Share Posted October 21, 2007 I am searching for micro synths myself- my wife is getting me a touchscreen tablet notebook pc for my b-day and I am also getting a kaoss pad 3 to go with it- so my studio is going wireless/mobile and I want some little synth devices to process through everything that I can fit in my laptop bag- a small modular pedal would be ideal- like the bug brand weevils- there are a few people out there selling complete Sound Lab boxes for a few hundred dollars- I am also looking at circuit bent stuff on ebay- some cool options there-a couple of weeks ago I stumbled on this British engineer who was making these cool round-shaped analog synth pedal gizmos- they are about 6 inch wide disc shaped cases with a ring of knobs- he was making a new modular version with a ring of altrernatig knobs and CV jacks- but I stupidly forgot to save the bookmark and cannot find the site again! (>__ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kooki_sf Posted October 21, 2007 Members Share Posted October 21, 2007 hmm.. there is also the x0xb0x.. but thats got a limited sound range. (but a nice one at that) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Superace25 Posted October 22, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2007 A small modular pedal would be ideal- like the bug brand weevils- there are a few people out there selling complete Sound Lab boxes for a few hundred dollars- I am also looking at circuit bent stuff on ebay- some cool options there- Bummer you lost that site... I hate doing that. So BugBrand seems to make some botique pedals and some modular equipment. Pretty cool noise boxes... not quite the same class as an MED, but maybe I should pick up one of those bit crusher pedals so I can wear the t-shirt legitimately! "Sound Lab boxes" seem to be a fairly recent DIY analog kit? Seems like a fun project. Off-topic, but how do you actually use circuit bent stuff musically? It seems like you'd have to record long stretches of noise-making fun and sample bits of it to make it useful. (not that it HAS to be useful of, course ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Superace25 Posted October 22, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2007 hmm.. there is also the x0xb0x.. but thats got a limited sound range. (but a nice one at that) Ah, I think I've run into this before. It's a straight TB-303 clone. right? Also DIY. It certainly hits the price point... $330 for a new kit, or get this train wreck for next to nothing. Does anyone have experience with the Nord Micro Modular? can you A / B it with the MED? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sizzlemeister Posted October 22, 2007 Members Share Posted October 22, 2007 Black Coffee. Modular even. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Superace25 Posted October 22, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2007 Black Coffee. Modular even. Thanks for another good find. Discontinued, but one on ebay. I wonder if I could dig up a basic sequencer for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tusks Posted October 22, 2007 Members Share Posted October 22, 2007 I enjoyed tweaking one of these at Jor Rivers place once ... Limited feature set, and some fiddly little connections ... but nice form factor and fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Superace25 Posted October 22, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2007 Novation Nova maybe? Ah, sorry I missed this one. An older novation synth is actually in my long-term GAS list... I currently have an X-station and like the sound despite it's bastardisms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Superace25 Posted October 22, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2007 I enjoyed tweaking one of these at Jor Rivers place once ... Limited feature set, and some fiddly little connections ... but nice form factor and fun. Looks like fun! Heh. Technosaurus is the best brand name ever. Too bad you can't actually buy it anywhere... it seems like a lot of nifty synths come from companies that aren't large enough to really sustain themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members girevik Posted October 22, 2007 Members Share Posted October 22, 2007 I'm probably going to get a Roland SP-404. Not a synth, but you can record softsynth tracks into it and trigger it via its onboard controls or MIDI. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members carbon111 Posted October 22, 2007 Members Share Posted October 22, 2007 There's still the little Nord Micromodular...but you'll need a computer to get the best from it. Usually around $300 these days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members depulse Posted October 22, 2007 Members Share Posted October 22, 2007 Depends how you define desktop, the Nord rack without its rack ears is fairly compact and can easily be put on a desk. The Yamaha AN200 and DX200 are other alternatives in desktop format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Superace25 Posted October 22, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2007 There's still the little Nord Micromodular...but you'll need a computer to get the best from it. Usually around $300 these days... Have you played with the Micromodular? I tried out a software-only demo of the clavia modular software a while ago, but I had a hard time getting usable patches out of it. Are there some quirks I should know about, or do I just need to learn some programing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Superace25 Posted October 22, 2007 Author Members Share Posted October 22, 2007 Depends how you define desktop, the Nord rack without its rack ears is fairly compact and can easily be put on a desk.The Yamaha AN200 and DX200 are other alternatives in desktop format. Does the AN200 have the same synthesis guts as the PLG150-AN expansion card? edit: Actually, the DX-200 looks even more interesting. What was the original price? About $200? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members carbon111 Posted October 22, 2007 Members Share Posted October 22, 2007 Have you played with the Micromodular? I tried out a software-only demo of the clavia modular software a while ago, but I had a hard time getting usable patches out of it. Are there some quirks I should know about, or do I just need to learn some programing? That computer-only demo is G2 and most of the modules are disabled. The beauty of the micromodular is that you can do all the huge 50-module patches you would in the normal Nord modular but just not as much polyphony. Read the "G1" manual to get a feel for some of the cool stuff you can do: http://www.clavia.se/downloads/manuals/default.asp Its a deep machine but theres tens of thousands of patches already out there to tweak and learn from. It also makes a great FX box and filterbank... I basically built replicas of my favorite synths when I first got started with the Nord Nodular...then made patches with those replicas. Now I make all kinds of weird synths...physical modelling, DX-style FM, additive, you-name-it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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