"Cheap" hardware synth for techno?

[Moe Shinola]

My Behringer Crave is great for bass sounds, but I just yesterday took delivery of their Edge synth and despite being sold as a percussion synth, does great basses, leads, and plucks too. I bought this preset collection, it sounds very nice:

https://lfo.store/shop/hardware-synths/ ... 0-presets/

[jethrobull]

Listening to all the hardware demos I came to the conclusion that’s it’s not worth spending this much just to have physical knobs. So for now it will be a midi keyboard and Pigments 5.

But, if you was ever to change your mind, I'd definitely recommend the Dreadbox Typhon. Out of the HW and SW Synths I own, it's the only one you'd have to pry from my cold dead hands.

[chk071]

The Minitaur is a great little synth that is capable of many of those techno sounds. Its biggest limitations are (1) the number of secondary functions that aren't really all that intuitive and require you to remember the button combinations, keep a cheat sheet handy, or use the software editor, and (2) the lack of a screen for visual feedback, knowing which patch you're editing, etc.

I would argue that its biggest limitation is the limited note range.

Somehow typical Moog. They offer something low cost, and then it comes with a twist. Therefor, I'd go with the Behringer Model D, if the Moog sound is wanted.

[pekbro]

Dunno how cheap they are, but I am pretty fond of Twisted Electrons stuff. Likely buy some more of them at some point. I have the Blastbeats currently...

https://www.twistedelectrons.com/products

[isuckatproducing]

Thanks for suggestions but as mentioned before I don't think it makes sense to invest in hardware anymore, unless you like knobs or perform live. I like the "cool" factor, but my soft synths are capable of same sounds it seems.

[cryophonik]

The Minitaur is a great little synth that is capable of many of those techno sounds.

I would argue that its biggest limitation is the limited note range.

Yeah, that's definitely a limitation for some things, but for techno it's probably a non-issue. I had a Minitaur for a couple of years and never ran into a problem with its note range, but the flip side of that coin is that it wasn't my only hardware synth so I had the luxury of other synth choices if it was a problem. You could always go for a Sirin, but they're much harder to find, more expensive, and the OP already decided he's sticking with software so who cares, right?

[pekbro]

Thanks for suggestions but as mentioned before I don't think it makes sense to invest in hardware anymore, unless you like knobs or perform live. I like the "cool" factor, but my soft synths are capable of same sounds it seems.

Fair enough, I would say there's quite a lot to be said for the fun and inspiration factor
with even inexpensive sound modules like the pest and beast from Cre8audio or even the korg volka line. I would argue as well that there's no way you are going to be able to replicate every scenario of owning the HW in SW...

Anyway, horses for courses, whatever floats your boat etc.

[isuckatproducing]

Thanks for suggestions but as mentioned before I don't think it makes sense to invest in hardware anymore, unless you like knobs or perform live. I like the "cool" factor, but my soft synths are capable of same sounds it seems.

Fair enough, I would say there's quite a lot to be said for the fun and inspiration factor
with even inexpensive sound modules like the pest and beast from Cre8audio or even the korg volka line. I would argue as well that there's no way you are going to be able to replicate every scenario of owning the HW in SW...

Anyway, horses for courses, whatever floats your boat etc.

I recommend this talk if you have some time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk-3vXOAtVo

[chk071]

You could always go for a Sirin, but they're much harder to find, more expensive, and the OP already decided he's sticking with software so who cares, right?

1.000 to 1.848 € on Reverb.

I wonder when the used prices went south like that. Crazy.

One can only hope that less and less people pay such crazy prices. But, I don't have much hope in that regard.

[zerocrossing]

Speaking of the Waldorf Pulse 2, it went out of production a year ago, but Thomann recently released a special edition in light blue (that people probably either love or hate) at a ridiculous price:

https://www.thomannmusic.com/waldorf_pu ... dition.htm

I just saw this the other day but, unfortunately, they won't sell to US-based customers.

Anyway, it's a pretty powerful analog synth that I'd probably take over anything mentioned so far, aside from the Analog Four mk2.

I know, I got so pissed I bought a used regular Pulse 2. Should be here on Wednesday.

[isuckatproducing]

Speaking of the Waldorf Pulse 2, it went out of production a year ago, but Thomann recently released a special edition in light blue (that people probably either love or hate) at a ridiculous price:

https://www.thomannmusic.com/waldorf_pu ... dition.htm

I just saw this the other day but, unfortunately, they won't sell to US-based customers.

Anyway, it's a pretty powerful analog synth that I'd probably take over anything mentioned so far, aside from the Analog Four mk2.

I know, I got so pissed I bought a used regular Pulse 2. Should be here on Wednesday.

I can't imagine having this blue alien on my desk.

[pekbro]

Thanks for suggestions but as mentioned before I don't think it makes sense to invest in hardware anymore, unless you like knobs or perform live. I like the "cool" factor, but my soft synths are capable of same sounds it seems.

Fair enough, I would say there's quite a lot to be said for the fun and inspiration factor
with even inexpensive sound modules like the pest and beast from Cre8audio or even the korg volka line. I would argue as well that there's no way you are going to be able to replicate every scenario of owning the HW in SW...

Anyway, horses for courses, whatever floats your boat etc.

I recommend this talk if you have some time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk-3vXOAtVo

Interesting, ime the flaws & characteristics of analog are exactly what's impossible to emulate accurately in SW. The user experience thing is also debatable. In any
event, these are all just personal opinions. I could give a shit what Mr Barton thinks,
but that's his prerogative to form his own opinion as it is everyone else's. I don't believe that folks can accurately form an opinion without at least trying out one or the other as well.

*Most may not realize it, but as a species, we are really only beginning to understand
the behavior of electrons and what bearing that might have on our current
understanding. Also the stuff that we do understand is often impractical to try
and reproduce in SW. While it may be nitpicking, these facts are indisputable.

[cryophonik]

I recommend this talk if you have some time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk-3vXOAtVo

Why would anybody give a flying f### what he or any other synthfluencer thinks? I don't own hardware because someone else thinks I should and I would never make a decision to sell any of my hardware because of someone else's opinion. Instead of watching youtube vids, turn on your brain and think for yourself.

[isuckatproducing]

I recommend this talk if you have some time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk-3vXOAtVo

Why would anybody give a flying f### what he or any other synthfluencer thinks? I don't own hardware because someone else thinks I should and I would never make a decision to sell any of my hardware because of someone else's opinion. Instead of watching youtube vids, turn on your brain and think for yourself.

I have had a hardware synth already, and I have listened to blind demos. On top of that song consist of more tracks than one, so no one can tell the difference in the end anyway. But keep coping if it helps you.

[zerocrossing]

Perhaps take a look at the IK Uno Synth Pro X....which can also be controlled in the DAW via a VST plugin.

Will take a look.
I need something with noise generator and fast envelopes for rolling bass lines if that makes sense.

I'm looking for this kind of sounds mostly
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiGcaZlSdnU

The saw sound that starts from beginning actually comes from Prophet hardware, but I believe it's super expensive.

EDIT: this high pitched arp is also a Prophet.

This is a type of bass sound that could really come from almost any synth. Surprising you couldn't get it out of a Bass Station 2, as it's a very capable synth, that sounds great, IMO.

You might not want to hear this, but maybe it's you, you, you're the problem. It's you. It's OK. We all start somewhere. I've been doing this crap since the early 80s and I sucked for such a long time because it was so hard to get a hold of anything decent.

Remember, what you are hearing above is absolutely not a naked Prophet. Also, using the name Prophet doesn't give that much information, because Dave Smith called almost all his polyphonic instruments Prophet Something. There's even a Prophet 2000 that was a sampler. It can be frustrating not being able to nail a sound you hear on a record, but who knows how much compression, EQ, effects, or even layers, it has.

In all honesty, unless you're craving a different type of work flow that is more hands-on, I would not leap into buying a hardware synth just yet. There are plenty of great sounding plugins that do the trick. I bought each hardware instrument in my studio because they offered some unique attribute, not because I wasn't able to get a killer bass sound out of The Legend, Repro, or any number of great plugins. Watch as many tutorials as you can and learn enough so that you can change your forum handle to "iusedtosuckatproducing."

Here are the analog emulations I think are stellar. I own these, even though I have 6 great hardware analogs, including a Prophet 6.

The Legend (really the HZ version is the one to get, amazing)
Repro
OB-E (there's a cheap version too that's the same engine but with limited control of parameters)
Oddity 3

I'm sure there are more that I'm forgetting at the moment, but those are widely considered some of the best.

If you really are hanker'n for hardware, I'd recommend...

Anything from Behringer. Really. They all sound really good to me. Choose your flavor. You will need an interface to get audio into your computer, which frankly you will want anyway. They're a bit too simple for my needs, but they will give you very good imitations of the classics.

IK Uno. Any model. I have the X Pro Sounds fantastic.

Waldorf Pulse 2. Lots going on, sounds great.

Bass Station 2. I know you didn't like it, but I guarantee that you can get great sounds out of it, and running the headphone out into the audio input gives some of the best feedback sound I've ever heard on any synth. (must crank input gain up)

Moog stuff is great, especially if you can find a decent deal on a used one. That said, I've always found them to be a bit more expensive than I think they're worth. My "Moog" is a Studio Electronics ATC-X, which I think it a better instrument than any of the Phatty range. Hard to find used, though, and they're also a bit pricey. I did have a Sub Phatty that sounded really good, but that might be out of your range.