Tiny synth recommendations?

[Derelict78]

The Blofeld looks like a shit ton of fun.

[Chankgeez]

Whatever happened to the idea of wearing a CS-80 as a breastplate?

[Rob Fossil]

Last time I was in the Bay Area, I made it a point to stop off at Robotspeak synth shop on the Haight, I was looking for the exact setup (small desktop to suppliment my bass setup) and they steered me away from the DS Mopho and towards the Blofeld. They were really helpful and tolerant of someone who was a noob to synths. Since you're in the area, do yourself a favor and stop in. There is also a great dive-ish bar down the street that the sales dude clued me in on, I forget the name but ask for the place that has an insane amount of craft brew on tap. Here is the contact info:

ROBOTSPEAK SF HEADQUARTERS
589 1/2 Haight st. @ Steiner
San Francisco, CA 94117
ph 415.554.1977
fx 415.554.1988

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

not that i know from first hand, but the blofeld always seemed complicated to edit to me? this thread makes it sound like its not that way?

i hate menus

[behndy]

not a big fan of menu's either, it looks like the more switchable matrix approach they're doing avoids some of that.

i think there's a pc app for the Waldorf stuff? if so, i'd predominantly be sculpting tones through that. but yeah, a good interface is SO important. i was comfy with the Evolver, but it took awhile. it's not a very intuitive thinger. way too much jammed into such a small space.

RobotSpeak is AWESOME! they're such nice guys. i feel douchey 'cause i love to support local business, but the $70 i'd save buying it through Sweetwater is a tad significant. taxes. taxes EVERYwhere.

[curt]

I have a Mopho. The Tetra is not a bad choice for live tweaking, you would basically set up your patches using the editor on your computer and set up the 4 assignable encoders for what you want to tweak live. There are dedicated encoders for pitch, filter, and envelope. Forget about live sound design, though. It sucks that the Tetra doesn't have an audio input. On the Mopho, you can sync the sequencer to audio.

Tetra is not as flexible as the Blofeld sound-wise, but if you want analog it's a good choice. DSI uses Lexan labels, so I guess you could peel off the label and get a custom one made if the looks are all that bother you.

[behndy]

the looks, and i kinda hated the no interface thing on the Evolver. even after i'd had it awhile it was super easy to get lost meu divit where i'd have to back out of a patch and start over. i like the display on the Blofeld a lot. looks usssseful.

lol. thank goodness for 30 day trial periods on more expensive, idiosynchric loot like this.

[jrmy]

I'm sorry, this is TOTALLY NOT WHAT YOU ASKED FOR, but anytime someone asks for a tiny synth, my mind instantly goes to:

These were sooooooooooooooooo much blippy fun! We used one on my old band's 7 inch single, and had it going in arpeggios at the end of the song in a lockgroove. A friend told me he put it on the turntable, left the room forgetting it had a lockgroove, came back 7 hours later, and it was still going.

Apparently his roommates were not amused.

[behndy]

AWESOME. reminds me of that scene in Spun where he has the stripper tied to the bed, duct tapes her mouth and eyes closed, then. lasts some angry metal to keep her company. comes back and it's been skipping on a 1/8th second crunchy section.

skeelz.

[01010111]

Vl-1's are hella fun. I've got a circuit bent one that gives me crazy bassey drums and death-bringing digital bass sounds

That tetra looks awesome. If you want something that'll give you those warm, thick analog synth tones, that're all the rage, the tetra 'd probably be the one. If you want a synth born from steel and concrete, and told that pain was as close to love as it would get, then try the blofeld.

[Rob Fossil]

RobotSpeak is AWESOME! they're such nice guys. i feel douchey 'cause i love to support local business, but the $70 i'd save buying it through Sweetwater is a tad significant. taxes. taxes EVERYwhere.

You could always give them a call and see if they will match the Sweetwater price. I hate to see awesome indie shops where you can sample the gear hands on, go under.

Also, have you checked out the Arturia Minibrute? I've had my eye on one for a while, the release has been delayed a couple of times but now some online places have them in stock. Seems to be good buzz on this one and it's less $$$ than the Moog Minitaur and has a 25 key keyboard. It's analog and is supposed to generate fat basslines.

http://www.arturia.com/evolution/en/products/minibrute/intro.html

[behndy]

nope. havna checked that 'un out. i've been soft synth so long i'm a newb about what's out now. mad appreciate all the lookit's.

RobotSpeak - jia. that's a good idea. i didn't want to even go in to hands on stuff, 'cause i think that's so dirty to use a shop like that when you know you're gonna order it online. but talking to them first about why i'm trending online is a great idea.

digital vs analog - i guess i'm not as concerned about having a huge phat analog tone 'cause i'd probably want to do huge banging thick bass stuff on.... bass. but don't really want something that can ONLY do thin pain face anger digital stuff. the demo's i've seen seemed like the Blofeld is more suited to the less realistic, digital soundscape stuff, but it can do some of the more thick stuff. is it a bit crossover or all one and none of the other?

murrrrrr?

[behndy]

huh. MiniBrute looks neat, but it's monophonic. and no save spots? i'm really aiming for mostly using a synth for pads to compliment bass stuff. but i'm gonna need to have an easy patch loading interface. that might be cool as a supplement for me or for mah singer grrL (she uses Massive and Kontakt now) later on, but i don't think it's right for the main application i wanan use it for.

thanks though!

[skullservant]

I'm sorry, this is TOTALLY NOT WHAT YOU ASKED FOR, but anytime someone asks for a tiny synth, my mind instantly goes to:

YESSSS

[01010111]

I've been able to get some pretty thick sounds out of it. They all still have that steel-and-mortar flavor, but that's kinda the nature of the beast. I'll do a quick and dirty run-through of some of the thicker sounds I've made with it and post a link here latter today.