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Hey guys, it's been a while. I've got into modular a bit and realised it's too expensive for me so I sold everything. I still have a case for sale that you can see in the BST section. (expect to get $600).
So, what could I do with $600 ? I want another piece of gear (most likely a second synth) to add to my setup.

My setup so far is :
Electric guitar
Waldorf Blofeld Keyboard
Ableton
Mixer, monitors, interface ...

I like ambient/droney/wall of sound stuff, dark-jazz, lo-fi/boards of canada-esque stuff.
Not looking for a techno/house/acid/whatever sound.

From my short experience with it so far, Blofeld is great for digital/lo-fi pads, decent bass, pretty versatile poly synth. I'm not really looking for effect pedals for now, I'm all good with ableton effects and plugins (I actually sold all pedals I had). Drum Machine/sampler/etc are not completely off the list but I kinda think I already have most of these features in Ableton. (might be wrong here.. ?)

SO, I'm looking for something to complement this setup. $600 maximum.

At first I thought I could get a minilogue but (correct me if I'm wrong) it would not necessarily bring alot of new features to my setup, Blofeld can pretty covers it already (except for sequencer). Then I thought about Dreadbox Erebus, would be cool but the fact that it has no keyboard and that my only keyboard/controller so far is the blofeld.. might be a PITA to switch from one to the other all the time.

Right now I'm really thinking about getting an MS-20 mini. It's really different from the Blofeld, (analog/digital, mono/poly, semi-modular/regular-synth, can also be an external audio processor.. etc.) I watched alot of videos and I really like what people seems to achieve with this synth.
Any other suggestion ? +1 for MS20 ?

I don't have any recommendations as I'm mostly a guitar player (I mess with computer stuff like Reason a bit... but not that much).

But I'm curious... what on your guitar board? I love the way you described your style.

As I said I don't have any pedal for now. I've never had too many of them. Loved the RM1N thought. When I play guitar I'm mostly going for neospych-rock/folk like Spacemen3, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Rancho Relaxo, all that stuff. The best pedal for me would probably be the Acid Fuzz Sonic Boom. Playing a Phantom Guitarworks PH6 guitar.

MS-20 is rad but you have a lot of options around $600 for standalone synths, which is what you're asking for, I assume. Based on what you say you want, the Korg would be a good bet.

I'm way more of a synth player than a guitar player so for some good synths around $600 you have the following options.

1) MS-20 mini - I have one and it owns for aggressive bass and leads... but really needs a good delay/reverb and an SQ-1/beatstep pro to bring out the best in it. Hz/v CV so it doesn't like 99% of other CV gear.
2) Reface DX/CS - The CS has a massive sweet spot and the DX is a great FM synth. No audio processing on either but they do have great effects. Instant fun for jamming.
3) 0-Coast - No keyboard, but it's a great little synth for the money. Probably want to pair it with a beatstep/beatstep pro and a reverb/delay
4) SE-02 - micro-mini-moog. The keys module + the unit is $600, but it's self contained and the on board delay sounds great. It's fucking tiny though.
5)D-05 - another boutique so it's tiny, but the D-50 was a pad machine and this is a great re-issue of it.
6) System 1m - Can find good deals on used ones, can be a 4 voice VA or you can load a classic mono synth. Pairs well with a beatstep and has onboard effects.
7) Mother 32 - an actual moog that sounds great. No keyboard but the 32 step sequencer that comes with it is solid. Does need some effects or another Mother 32/0-Coast to really shine.
8) Minilogue - for a starter analogue it's great, but it's oscillators are a bit limited for more advanced stuff. It actually doesn't have much overlap with the blofeld aside from being a poly synth and in unison can do killer bass sounds.
9) Arp Odyssey Module - You'll need to use a controller and put it through effects but Odysseys are fucking killer mono synths.
10) Erebus / Nyx - Great units but will need a beatstep/beatstep pro. I seriously can't find anything wrong with anything dreadbox does synth wise and I've been close to buying the abyss a few times but went in other directions.

Also, don't really worry about having the Blofeld as your only keyboard controller. Just get a midi cable, read the manual about midi out on the blofeld / midi in on whatever you get and you'll be fine. Hell, I play/sequence my MS-20 over midi most of the time while I sequencer things on it with an SQ-1.

Wow thanks Gringostar. I can already cut this list short.
System 1 - No thanks, can't stand the look.
Reface - meh.. looks great for the price but I feel I would never use it.
0-Coast - never really been interested by this one...
D-05 - nope
SE-02 - never looked at it before, looks good I will take a closer look at it, but I don't really see it be the ''winner'' here

for the rest, wow I really have to read more about each one cause I can't decide.

- MS20mini looks and sound great, only drawback is no PWM and apparently kinda weak MIDI implementation.

- ARP Odyssey module looks really nice, I have to hear more demos to see if it can do what I'm looking for in terms of sound. Apparently it's more of a ''players'' synth, not as weird/sound-design oriented as the MS20. Keyboard version would be even better but kinda pricey... don't spend more than $600, don't spend more than $600 , don't spend....

- Erebus looks great, kinda more interested in MS20/Arp at the moment but I keep this one in mind.

-Minilogue, and mother-32 are also still on my list but kinda lost interest in them at the moment.. that might change..

Kinda hard to make up your mind on youtube videos, you might think you prefer one synth to the other but in fact, you prefer the artist..

JTurbide wrote: - MS20mini looks and sound great, only drawback is no PWM and apparently kinda weak MIDI implementation.
- ARP Odyssey module looks really nice, I have to hear more demos to see if it can do what I'm looking for in terms of sound. Apparently it's more of a ''players'' synth, not as weird/sound-design oriented as the MS20. Keyboard version would be even better but kinda pricey... don't spend more than $600, don't spend more than $600 , don't spend....

Hey Buddy! I have both of these (ARP ODDY w Keys and MS-20 mini). You should be able to find an ARP ODDY with keys for less than $600. I got mine at the start of 2016 and that's what I got mine for. I wouldn't let people sell you short on the Oddy, it's a great sound design tool. That said, I bought mine cause I am a self described ARP Fetishist and love the sound (the ODDY went on my purchase list as soon as I found out they were reissuing it albeit, I wasn't going to pay $1200 or whatever retail was).

That said, you can get MS-20 mini for VERY CHEAP now (I got mine for $350 and it's one of the three synths I will NEVER part with). To other posters points, you really do need a reverb and/or delay and (IMO) a pitch shift to stretch it to its FULL potential (I mean it's a great synth on its own but you start doing patches with some pedals and you'll open all sorts of doors especially for cheated polyphonic pads).

IF I were you (and with my taste in gear) I would do 1. MS-20 mini - $350 2. SQ-1 used ($90?) 3. I would cruise BST here and look at cool clones of delays and reverbs (One I had my eye on is $120) then I would get an EHX Pitchfork or something used. OR some sort of used delay with an fx loop (I'm not trying to promote EHX but you can score a Deluxe Memory Boy for like $100). These effects will work with your other gear so think of them like utilities. I really like my Ibanez Echo Shifter with the MS-20m but I bought that pedal years ago and the market has come a long way in modulated analog delays. I do love mine but these days I don't think it's the best analog delay in that price range (EQD has the space spiral which to me sounds great).

The big thing with the MS-20m is its ability to process external audio. FAR SUPERIOR than the ARP (and rightly so I mean, look at the difference in years from when the originals were released).

BTW, I almost got a Blofeld desktop unit. I could have had it for $350 but someone called dibs on it before me. I love wavetable synths but I also love rude mean monophonic machine.

Please excuse the long post.

That said to that said...my favorite MS-20 mini youtuber does all his effects and sequencing in Ableton so maybe don't listen to me on the pedals (I like pedals and I like playing through amps. If you do a lot of you recording in the box then my point in moot).

Hey thanks $harkToootth ! Don't worry, long posts are often more detailed

So in your opinion processing either of them throught VSTs effects would be as good ? I mean, I had pedals before and while it's great to have actual switches and knobs, my wallet sure appreciates VSTs. I've seen lot's of youtube videos with Valhalla's reverb ''for example'' that sounded freacking awesome!

Also, don't forget that I'm talking $600 CAD which is around $500 USD. I think I should go to a store and try both MS-20 and Arp but at the same time I wouldn't explore their full potential in a store, worrying about sales persons and ''am I been in here too long? is someone looking at me ? ... '' haha.

but yeah... now it's a pretty even race between MS-20 and Arp..

edit: (just saw your last post) :

Another delay that sounds fucking amazing with just about any synth is the space echo. I literally can’t get a bad sound out of one when paired up with a synth, although right now my ms-20 is paired up with a demora for cv fun times. I’ve also seen the superego used with a synth to great effect, which reminds me I need to get a superego.

$500 USD - Sorry, didn't think of that. I'm so used to exchange rates working to my disadvantage. I should go Canada (seriously, I'm told I would love Toronto)
I would recommend an MS_20_mini to everyone even slightly interested in synths. Same goes for the Volcas (Sorry, I don't work for KORG). They're the right price and I think they sound great, and they take up very little space (I love Ensoniqs but those keyboards are literally bigger than me). I prefer mini keys too...I'm not a concert pianist.
You should go to a store and try them, great point, but please don't pay retail for anything...ever...except food I guess.
I'm not a VST guy but 'Yes' I would say they're enough. I'm judging by my ears though. I'm going to link some videos.

Favorite MS_20_Mini Youtuber - Check out all his videos, read the descriptions. You'll find he's very in the box and his sounds are amazing. MS_20_Mini with Ibanez Echo Shifter Creating pads on an MS-20 (NOT THE MINI but applicable) One more piece of gear suggestion. A hardware Ring Mod with an input for the carrier. I know I like to do this. Modulate the MS_20_mini with the any one of the thousands of crazy waveforms from the Blofeld. I have this cheap 8-Bit Wavetable synth and I have not done this enough.

May not be your next gear purchase but maybe next next purchase: Landscape Stereofield? Would probably be a cool fit to mess with everything else you have.

$harkToootth wrote: You should go to a store and try them, great point, but please don't pay retail for anything...ever...except food I guess.

Damn Right ! I just paid for a brand new white Blofeld Keys ($1400 CAD) and two days later I saw one (only 2 years old) on Kijiji (canadian craigslist) for $500 CAD .. I was fucking pissed off.
I saw all of those videos already, the first one (all of this channel's videos) are awesome, he's the reason why I'm so interested in the MS20, the phasing fx on the lead at 3:14 is just epic

Speaking of APEX TWIN - I should mention my favorite track of his was done with all soft synths and VSTs.

Since it sounds like you're looking at mono synths more than polys, maybe check out the Monologue. Having the built in sequencer seems like it could save you a little money and they are pretty inexpensive even new.

Obviously the sound isn't quite as unique as the MS20 but it has a lot of other useful features (sequencer, presets, microtuning).