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Moog vs Prophet vs something else

Okey, im going to buy an analog synth for basslines, yes analog!

The choices i have been looking at are:

Moog Little Phatty

Moog Voyager

Prophet 08

If anyone have pros and cons about any of these please tell me, basslines are my priority with these as i cant seem to find a good VST for basslines except Trilogy. (no need to advice me on VST`s ive looked at them all, but most are hit and miss.)

trilogy is an absolute power house for basslines so if you can't find something in there i'd be surprised. however i own a voyager and had the p08 in my house for about a month as well.

the voyager has quite a few differences from the lil phatty:

With the Voyager you get;

1. A third oscillator

2. Two filters.

3. The X/Y touchpad (looks shotty at first but it's a total blast and very inspiring!).

4. More modulation options

5. One knob per function design

6. The option to expand your system into a semi modular set up with the addition of the Cp-251 and the foogers



really any of them are awesome synths, the lil phatty is cool and will get you some great sounds; the voyager is a bit more indepth.

the p08 sounded awesome no matter how i tweaked it. my only complaint about the p08 is the ridiculous sub menus u have to go thru on a tiny lil LCD screen to get what you're after.

Yes i do find my needs in Trilogy and i use that primary for basslines in all tracks, but their sampled and can only be tweaked so much, plus i get the feeling im loosing power on some notes with it.

And i want to create a signature bassline, my basslines kinda sounds different each time, so i want to use on synth in particluar for bass in my tracks.

How does the Voyager do for basslines ?

You'll probably hear a lot of people rave on and on about the Moogs, primarily because of the "Moog sound" and the nostalgia that they evoke, but performance-wise and sound-wise there's not even a close comparison to the Prophet '08 (yes, I have the rack module version).

First of all, the Moogs are very simple monophonic synths with pretty limited modulation capabilities compared to the P08. The P08 is an 8-voice poly synth with a huge number of modulation sources and destinations and unison mode, which will make much bigger sounds than the Moogs. Add to that two elements per sound, each of which can be turned on/off independently. In other words, each patch has an 'A' element and a 'B' element, each of which can use all of the P08's parameters independently of the other, so it's like have two separate sounds per patch. You can layer them, turn them on/off for live performance to essentially double the on-board patch memory, or stack them. The latter point is most relevant to your desire to program bass patches because you can take the two elements, and program one sound for an attack and the other for the sustain. Or, you can run them in stack mode AND in unison to essentially create the phattest mono bass sound you can imagine. The P08 also has an excellent arp and step sequencer, each of which can be assigned independently to either element, so you can have one patch that uses one element playing an off-beat eighth-note bass pattern, while the other element is playing an arpeggiated mid-bass. The Moogs can't come close to matching those capabilities and, trust me, I've compared them. No contest.

My advice - don't waste your money on the Moogs. They're overpriced and under-performing toys compared to the P08. Add to that the polyphony of the P08, which will allow you to program analog strings, pads, leads, arps, plucks, drones, etc. and you'll quickly see that the P08 destroys the Moogs in every category.

i don't know what cryophonik has against the moogs. but imho if you want "the analog" sound then that's what most associates with the sound of the moogs. i'm using mine in almost every production and can only recommend it.

as long as the prophet i have to say it's very cheap for a 8 voice analog synth. but imho the sound is just different than the moog. for me it's too metallic and sometimes i would say almost "digital". it's imho like with the andromeda they are very feature packed but they are just too predictable. the moogs have somehow their own life. they aren't that "accurate" and have somehow a randomness which creates this alive sound.

as for other analog synths i can recommend to have a look over at the synths from "studio electronics".

Thanks for your input, sounds like a Prophet would be a better choice, i`m leaning towards that one atm, but i`d still like to hear the input of someone who thinks the Moog is a better choice.

quote:

Originally posted by thecYrus i don't know what cryophonik has against the moogs...

It's not that I have anything against the Moogs, it's just that you don't get much for what you pay. I think I explained pretty clearly why I believe that the P08 is a much better choice, in my opinion, than the Moogs. And, the P08 is just as "analog" sounding (it is a 100% analog synth, after all) as the Moogs are, perhaps even more so when you start exploring the "oscillator slop" parameter on the P08.

@Subtle - your best option is to try them out side-by-side if you can find a dealer that has them both in stock. If you can, make sure to go beyond the presets and start turning knobs. You could also try to download the owner's manuals for each and compare features, usability, etc.

AR you have a wicked selection of synths

How well do they handle very short envelopes ?

i own both a voyager and a Prophet 08. If you are looking for bass and leads the moog wins hands down, especially for bass. I would love to see anyone create anything as thick sounding (bass wise) on the prophet 08.

the Prophet 08 has an analogue signal path but the oscillators are digitally controlled (DCOs) whilst the moog uses VCOs. This is a big factor and to my ears the prophet sounds quite digital and too perfect when compared with the moog. The envelopes on the Voyager are also much faster and snappy.

I use the prophet mainly for plucked sounds, pads, arps, chords and fx. the moog is always first choice for bass and leads.

The moog ladder filter also sounds better in my opinion than the curtis filter chip on the prophet 08. The external input on the moog is very handy. I route a mono output from my nord rack 3 through the moog filter and it thickens up the sound unbelievably. If you drive the external input hard, you can get a kind of harmonic distortion due to overdriving the mixer pre-filter.

Thanks for the input, now should i go for a Voyager or a Phatty which is under half the price.

quote:

Originally posted by Subtle Thanks for the input, now should i go for a Voyager or a Phatty which is under half the price.

Are you going to drop two grands on a synth based on couple of short inaccurate reviews you read here? If you could not create the bass line you liked using a soft synth than you need to tweak and learn a lot more to achieve your desired sound. Sometimes all you need to get the right sound is done by using the right EQ and compressor. Also with the the money you have you can invest in an analog valve processor that could add those harmonic distortion you are looking for. Good luck with your purchase.

For something else I'd like to add in the Roland SH-101.

I use it for bass and it does the job well for dark room progressive house and electro style bass lines. Crazy effects can be had from it as well (especially when FM is introduced).

A downside is a MIDI/CV converter is required unless you don't mind playing everything out by hand.

quote:

Originally posted by spolitta Are you going to drop two grands on a synth based on couple of short inaccurate reviews you read here? If you could not create the bass line you liked using a soft synth than you need to tweak and learn a lot more to achieve your desired sound. Sometimes all you need to get the right sound is done by using the right EQ and compressor. Also with the the money you have you can invest in an analog valve processor that could add those harmonic distortion you are looking for. Good luck with your purchase.

Ive already decided to get a Moog, im just checking other peoples experience before i buy.

I`ve created many good basslines on softsynths, but i havent found a softsynth yet that i can use as a goto synth for bass.

Yes, Roland SH 101 is something im going to get some day, seems like a beast.

if you have the spare cash, i would definately go for the voyager over the little phatty. It has a beter layout, expandability, external audio input, extra oscillator, better modulation capabilities, 2 filters etc etc.

Maybe look into getting one second hand. I got my voyager rme for �750 second hand and only 3 months old in immaculate condition.

my buddy has a voyager... i love love love love it. moogs just have it... whatever it is.

yeah it's monophonic but it sounds amazing


david

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