Which of these hardware synths for analogue sound / bass

quadrant6 · Post by **quadrant6** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:04 pm

I need something that can do really fat, deep and full bass, primarily for house music, other analogue sounds would be a bonus to compliment a virus ti, which I have.

Here is what I'm considering:

Studio Electronics SE-1X (red eye edition)
Dave Smith Poly Evolver Desktop
Studio Electronics ATC-Xi QUAD

Someone is also selling a Nord Lead 3 locally, I'm a fan of nords, but think it would probably be better to get an analogue rather than another VA and Im not sure it fits the bill when it comes to bass (compared to say an se-1x above)

At the mo, I'm really heading towards the SE-1X

Recommendations?

cosmosuave · Post by **cosmosuave** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:18 pm

If it's analogue then the SE1.. If you want to gig and do Live Pa then the Evolver would be my choices...

BinaryB · Post by **BinaryB** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 9:41 pm

cosmosuave wrote:If it's analogue then the SE1.. If you want to gig and do Live Pa then the Evolver would be my choices...

Couldnt have said it better myself.

I love the Nord sound but not since they went for
the higher resolution DA converters.

They are a bit too "nice" (Just For Bass)

If money is an issue, check the Nord Lead2. Phatt Bass.

Poster · Post by **Poster** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 10:55 pm

BinaryB wrote:I love the Nord sound but not since they went for
the higher resolution DA converters.
They are a bit too "nice"

heeeelll yeah..
finally someone who noticed this as well...
they've become silky smoothtalkers..

aisling · Post by **aisling** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 11:23 pm

I have to remind myself every once in a while that most of my favorite electronic music made in the 90's was just 16 bit, 44.1 k.....at the most.

Monkey Mouse · Post by **Monkey Mouse** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 11:55 pm

cosmosuave wrote:If it's analogue then the SE1.. If you want to gig and do Live Pa then the Evolver would be my choices...

All the way.....

quadrant6 · Post by **quadrant6** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 12:52 am

If it's analogue then the SE1.. If you want to gig and do Live Pa then the Evolver would be my choices...

Ok

No live PA or gigging planned

I did forget to mention the spectralis. I've been eying it for a while, but its expensive and from demos I've heard, bass is not as fat like the SE-1x.

jlgrimes · Post by **jlgrimes** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 1:08 am

I have an Se 1X and use it for basslines a good bit of time. It also has nice smooth leads.

Be sure not to install it too close to other modules as its circuitry can overheat and cause tuning problems.

BinaryB · Post by **BinaryB** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 1:39 am

Poster wrote:
BinaryB wrote:I love the Nord sound but not since they went for
the higher resolution DA converters.
They are a bit too "nice"
heeeelll yeah..
finally someone who noticed this as well...
they've become silky smoothtalkers..

Yeah I bought the Modular G2 and had to sell it to my mate because
it was too clean. So i picked up a Lead2 to get "that sound" again.

I could get some amazing bass sounds out of the G2 but it was always
a case of fine tuning it wheras the G1's were always humming along
with that nice n chunky bass.

Now i managed to pickup another G1 modular here in the states
and i am back to where i started.

A shame about the preset management on them though...

If only Live6 had a pause button to dump all the controllers into the start of a clip and use them as preset changes.

quadrant6 · Post by **quadrant6** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 2:45 am

Be sure not to install it too close to other modules as its circuitry can overheat and cause tuning problems.

Thanks for the warning

the girl next door · Post by **the girl next door** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 4:33 am

Get the SE-1X.... I have the SE CODE8 (OMEGA8)
Only thing with the SE1X is that its Monophonic

brightonalex · Post by **brightonalex** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 8:24 am

Remind me The Girl Next Door, do you or do you not like your Code 8?

Poster · Post by **Poster** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 10:27 am

BinaryB wrote:
Poster wrote:
BinaryB wrote:I love the Nord sound but not since they went for
the higher resolution DA converters.
They are a bit too "nice"
heeeelll yeah..
finally someone who noticed this as well...
they've become silky smoothtalkers..
Yeah I bought the Modular G2 and had to sell it to my mate because
it was too clean. So i picked up a Lead2 to get "that sound" again.

I could get some amazing bass sounds out of the G2 but it was always
a case of fine tuning it wheras the G1's were always humming along
with that nice n chunky bass.

Now i managed to pickup another G1 modular here in the states
and i am back to where i started.

A shame about the preset management on them though...

If only Live6 had a pause button to dump all the controllers into the start of a clip and use them as preset changes.

guess what..
I had a Micro G1,
bought a G2X to upgrade,
sold it after 2 weeks,
bought a G1 expanded rack..

G2 lacks all the grittyness, the bite..
The G1 has that really distinct edge on the sound that is totally gone with the 2..

But I really love the G2 for it's interface and all..
Lovely rotary encoderes and the response with the names in the displays and such..
the G1 is OLD in that way..

But hey, it's all about the sound that matters in the end..

bytheriver · Post by **bytheriver** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 11:11 am

Heya,

I wanted a hardware synth for electro-house/techno/ basslines, and I was picking between a Nord 2x and a Dave smith evolver. I got the evolver day before last

First impressions, the output hack+distortion can make some extremely full and phat bass sounds, so much so that my problem with it so far has been restraining the bass into a drum track rather than trying to get it phat enough which is the problem with most other sound sources.

The sound is 'dirty' though, the ones i've made at least. I'm not sure it'd be the ticket for smooth bassy sounds.

I ended up with the evolver because I bought hardware to be inspired, I have software that can do the job of most standard hardware to a degree i'm happy with. What I wanted from hardware was buttons to twist that yielded unpredictable and useable sounds.

But then like I say, I like my bass sounds to be quite abrasive and prominent rather than smooth and rounded.

esky · Post by **esky** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 12:00 pm

I recommend a

Waldorf Pulse ( even better Pulse +) or a
Doepfer MS 404.

Maybe you get one on ebay, they're both not very expensive...100% analogue Circuits and so nice and warm...