Bass Station II vs. Minibrute vs. Microbrute

I am looking for something that can do some really fucked up sounds

[youtubehd]WIiMiU2zjzE[/youtubehd]

But something that can also do very soft and lush sounds.

I haven't ever demoed the Minibrute or Bass Station but I have demoed the Microbrute and really enjoyed it for a bit.

Can the brutes and Bass Station do lush sounds out of the box?

  On 3/13/2016 at 10:14 PM, clarktrent said:

I am looking for something that can do some really fucked up sounds

But something that can also do very soft and lush sounds.

 

I haven't ever demoed the Minibrute or Bass Station but I have demoed the Microbrute and really enjoyed it for a bit.

 

Can the brutes and Bass Station do lush sounds out of the box?

I had a minibrute for a bit and although they can make fine bass lines or drones they are a bit limited. I think if you're after lush sounds out of a box I wouldn't go for either of the brutes.

I bought a Yamaha Reface DX yesterday and it can make some great, lush atmospheres as well as weird fucked up noises. Some people don't like digital but this has a lot of life to it. Check out the video below.

i have a bass station 2 and can testify that you can certainly make all manner of sounds from lush to harsh as fuck. i tried out a minibrute before i purchased the bass station and thought that it was more limited in terms of range of sounds...i reckon the minibrute is probably better if you're into industrial, noise, or experimental type stuff... bass station is a more rounded synth imo

  On 3/13/2016 at 11:36 PM, BCM said:

i have a bass station 2 and can testify that you can certainly make all manner of sounds from lush to harsh as fuck. i tried out a minibrute before i purchased the bass station and thought that it was more limited in terms of range of sounds...i reckon the minibrute is probably better if you're into industrial, noise, or experimental type stuff... bass station is a more rounded synth imo

What ways is the Bass Station limited in terms of sound? I'm looking to make early IDM/Braindance (SAW I Basically) and acid tracks with it.

er, it's not really limited i'd say... it's obviously a monosynth so you're not going to be doing chords with it but apart from that the sky is pretty much the limit....definitely will be ok for acid and braindance stuff. i'd say to not get too bogged down in the presets though and start creating your own patches - this is when you really discover how versatile the machine can be. it's a powerful synth - 2 oscillators and a sub oscillator, 2 lfos, a noise source (so good for percussion too), lots of modulation possibilities, 2 types of filter styles, programmable arpeggiator, dedicated distortion knob...

I own a Bass Station 2 for about a year. It's certainly a versatile synth although it's better at clean sounds than it is at dirty sounds imo. Further IMOs:

- I actually also think it's better at lead sounds than it is at bass sounds! you can make good basses with it, some decent acid sounds but the sounds I came up with it and I'm happier with are rather lead sounds for some reason. The fact there's practically no keyboard tracking (apart some filter keyboard tracking if you use the "acid" one I think but you can't fine tune it) makes it sometimes hard to use in a large octave range (because high notes sound relatively louder. I've tried to use the integrated limiter for compensating that but was never happy about it because it basically squash the sound).

- You can't go for a very snappy sound. I don't know how to explain it but the enveloppes are like that (and the guy of Sonic Lab said it before me in his video dedicated to the BS2!)

Generally it does the job for me but I've never been too excited about its sound. I never really tried other than budget hardware synths but I was more excited about the sounds of my Monotribe when it came to bass and acid. I really loved its filter and kind of miss it when i program a bass with the BS2. But I don't want to be too hard with it, it's pretty versatile and I'm kind of re-discovering it since I stopped to consider it as a bass synth only. As I said it's great for mono lead sounds and I'm sure I still have a lot to discover with it in that direction.

I've had a Microbrute on Loan for a while. It definitely can make some big dirty Bass sounds and sound distorted leads. If you want Lush Pads and Leads maybe the BSii might be the go.

These are the best patch demos I've found for the Microbrute. The guy comes up with some pretty clever uses for the Mod Matrix. Lots of famous patches in there.

I'm biased as fuck because I did a lot of the in-house testing of the BS2 whilst it was in the final stages of development, but it *does* win hand down over the Arturia synths. The only thing I'd say you -should- maybe contemplate is the Korg MS20 Mini and, now, Minilogue. The MS20 obviously doesn't have presets and a sequencer and proper MIDI and etc. etc. etc.

It might be worth you listening to this - Elektron Machinedrum + Monomachine + BS2. BS2 is doing a lot of the whacked out sequences as controlled by the Machinedrum.

  On 3/17/2016 at 9:36 PM, futureimage said:

I'm biased as fuck because I did a lot of the in-house testing of the BS2 whilst it was in the final stages of development, but it *does* win hand down over the Arturia synths. The only thing I'd say you -should- maybe contemplate is the Korg MS20 Mini and, now, Minilogue. The MS20 obviously doesn't have presets and a sequencer and proper MIDI and etc. etc. etc.

Could you elaborate on why you suggest the MS20, other than the obvious fact that it's also an analog, MIDI-capable monosynth with a keyboard? I've been eyeing them, they just seem really fun and cool looking, like nice stress-relief. I have a Microbrute and it's OK, I never really use it. I probably wouldn't use the MS20 much either, really, I'm practically talking myself out of it now, ha.

I've never played the ms20 but my friend has an ms10 and it's fkn amazing. If I had the money at the time I would have definitely bought the ms20 over the microbrute. I'm still considering selling the brute so I can get one at some point, maybe the full size kit version or an original or the ms20m though.

The brute is a cool little thing. I'm most bothered by the fact that there's no 2nd oscillator. Somehow that's kind of a big deal for me :P

Also the MS-20 sample and hold seems like a great time, and so do that patchable wheel and pushbutton, even if they're a bit silly.

I would buy a Minilogue if I could actually get my hands on it. I would get the MS-20 Mini, though, I am looking for something less than $400 (So basically second-hand on eBay).

So basically, I am after a versatile synth that is in that price range second hand, can be harsh and lush, and is preferably analog (though the microKorg looks pretty lush)

  On 3/18/2016 at 7:04 AM, clarktrent said:

(though the microKorg looks pretty lush)

Since I can't edit anymore:

[youtubehd]ifOVWXKvLrQ[/youtubehd]

Example

  On 3/18/2016 at 7:04 AM, clarktrent said:

So basically, I am after a versatile synth that is in that price range second hand, can be harsh and lush, and is preferably analog (though the microKorg looks pretty lush)

yeah BS2 fits the bill...also, to throw a spanner in the works, i'd consider a second hand yamaha AN1x also - one of the best VAs out there and extremely versatile - obviously polyphonic too so good for lush pads and chords. not analogue no, but if you're not too hung up on that then well worth thinking about.

Would a Roland System-1 fit the bill as well?

You can get close to what you want and more from any synth really if you learn it. I'd not worry about sound so much if you are not too prefficient with synthesis (assumng, sorry) I'd concentrate on a synth with a good logical interface so that you want to dive in and explore. If it's a slog to program you will just end up leaving it and looking for something else.

Main thing is, mono or poly?

I don't thing analogue vs digital comes into it right now, there are pros and cons and huge overlaps anyway so I don't think it matters at this stage.

Microkorg is actually a great sounding synth but until you get used to what the limited display is saying to you it can be a pain but does not take that long to get used to. The MS2000 is the same synth but with a much better interface. BCMs suggestion of the AN1x is good, that synth is an amazing synth can do analogue creaminess better than most analogues but again the matrix might be a bit much to start with. The Waldorf blofeld and Pulse 2 have really intuitive matrix's and the Blofeld has a visual display so you can learn alot from how stuff works, sounds amazing, From simple bread and butter (surprisingly most people don't know this) and can go insane. You could literally write a saw album just jamming on this for a couple of hours. Sure there are bugs and annoyances to this synth but avoid them and it's great.

Bass station is a smooth analogue but can be all sorts, brutes are harsher but can be tamed, MS20 can do both and the res hpf is a great bonus.

There are loads of options, Any recent VA will do what you want but all have boring interfaces like the Alesis micron, great sound boring way to get it.

If you want saw style ambient, you can do with mono's of course but poly would be more suitable.

Sorry, I assume you are a beginner from the way you are talking, please put me back in my place if not ;)

PS, yeah a system 1 would do ok if you can got over the garish green.

  On 3/20/2016 at 11:35 AM, Chesney said:

You can get close to what you want and more from any synth really if you learn it. I'd not worry about sound so much if you are not too prefficient with synthesis (assumng, sorry) I'd concentrate on a synth with a good logical interface so that you want to dive in and explore. If it's a slog to program you will just end up leaving it and looking for something else.

Main thing is, mono or poly?

I don't thing analogue vs digital comes into it right now, there are pros and cons and huge overlaps anyway so I don't think it matters at this stage.

Microkorg is actually a great sounding synth but until you get used to what the limited display is saying to you it can be a pain but does not take that long to get used to. The MS2000 is the same synth but with a much better interface. BCMs suggestion of the AN1x is good, that synth is an amazing synth can do analogue creaminess better than most analogues but again the matrix might be a bit much to start with. The Waldorf blofeld and Pulse 2 have really intuitive matrix's and the Blofeld has a visual display so you can learn alot from how stuff works, sounds amazing, From simple bread and butter (surprisingly most people don't know this) and can go insane. You could literally write a saw album just jamming on this for a couple of hours. Sure there are bugs and annoyances to this synth but avoid them and it's great.

Bass station is a smooth analogue but can be all sorts, brutes are harsher but can be tamed, MS20 can do both and the res hpf is a great bonus.

There are loads of options, Any recent VA will do what you want but all have boring interfaces like the Alesis micron, great sound boring way to get it.

If you want saw style ambient, you can do with mono's of course but poly would be more suitable.

 

Sorry, I assume you are a beginner from the way you are talking, please put me back in my place if not ;)

 

 

 

PS, yeah a system 1 would do ok if you can got over the garish green.

What a fucking snob, jesus

What? That was pretty aptly summed up if you ask me.

Did you make a funny that I didn't understand?

I think it's just because Chesney assumed that he's a beginner, which was somewhat condescending but he did realize that and preemptively apologized. The fact that he jumped from discussing analog monos to a digital poly would be consistent with that assumption, though, or at the very least that he hasn't quite figured out exactly what he wants.

And I get this feeling where I think I want an analog mono when really I just want something cute that just looking at it makes me want to play with it, and it doesn't really matter that much what's under the hood, just that it's fun to play with. I mean with some effects and a decent sampler it hardly matters what you use for source material, innit. Thank Korg for volcas!

Limpy grow up mate, lets not turn a helpful thread into one of your meltdowns. Maybe you're sniping back at me becuase I said something to you in another thread.

Anyway, I apologised for being knowitall and condescending if the OP was not new to hardware synths but if he is then I might have been helpful.

Oh well.

I am a beginner

Yeah, the AN1x from what i've seen is fantastic. I'll look into it once I see some more reasonable eBay prices. I've been looking at that thing for a year or so.

yeah great synth...actually after one myself now ;)

limpy, keep yo badness outta here

Yeah I would definitely not turn my nose up at one if a deal presented itself.

  On 3/18/2016 at 4:01 AM, sweepstakes said:

 

  On 3/17/2016 at 9:36 PM, futureimage said:

I'm biased as fuck because I did a lot of the in-house testing of the BS2 whilst it was in the final stages of development, but it *does* win hand down over the Arturia synths. The only thing I'd say you -should- maybe contemplate is the Korg MS20 Mini and, now, Minilogue. The MS20 obviously doesn't have presets and a sequencer and proper MIDI and etc. etc. etc.

Could you elaborate on why you suggest the MS20, other than the obvious fact that it's also an analog, MIDI-capable monosynth with a keyboard? I've been eyeing them, they just seem really fun and cool looking, like nice stress-relief. I have a Microbrute and it's OK, I never really use it. I probably wouldn't use the MS20 much either, really, I'm practically talking myself out of it now, ha.

Again, ultimately biased, the MS20 is my favourite instrument of all time, and has been for a while now. It's the heart of our studio - we use it for plenty of synths BUT also processing, and I think this is often overlooked, but those who know use their MS20s all the time. Even recording bands, I tend to run plenty through the MS20 - drums, guitars, vox sometimes, etc. etc. etc.

IT'S JUST BRILLIANT K?

I don't have an MS20 nut can recommend it. Any good synth with an audio in and nice filters will be good at processing. MS20 will be good because of the dual filters, really nice options. I use the CS30 in the same way. Get great results.

So yeah, MS20 is a cheap way to get rich sounds. Needs plenty of processing and multitracking for ambient SAW vibes but certainly lots of fun doing it that way.