i'd like to hear that ABC as well - thanks A!

Working on this now. I'm going to be busy for most of the rest of the day, but will do more later. Initial impressions may be that I may actually like Minimonstah MORE than the Voyager. Very very interesting. BUT... initial impressions are also that I like the Pulse the most.

I'm quite impressed with the Minimonstah up to this point. It sounds better than I thought. I still want to do some more tests of the envelopes and other types of sounds. I DON'T like how there is no release on Minimonstah.

http://www.amonvision.com/aspnet_client/1.mp3
http://www.amonvision.com/aspnet_client/2.mp3

Order for this mp3 and all future ones will be Waldorf, Voyager, Minimonstah.

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Last edited by alanzo on Aug-06-2009 at 15:18

http://www.amonvision.com/aspnet_client/3.mp3
http://www.amonvision.com/aspnet_client/4.mp3
http://www.amonvision.com/aspnet_client/5.mp3

The voyager is definitely the darkest, perhaps the most neutral in tone between the two. The Pulse emphasizes the low and high ends a bit whereas the Minimonstah emphasizes the high end. Veddy interesting.

I kind of still like Minimonstah better. It's brighter and more modern sounding. Like the Pulse but, perhaps, a bit more Moog like. Going to do some filter tests tonight/tomorrow.

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I liked the Pulse the best on all the examples except #5. For some reason on #5, the Voyager was killer! Super deep.

I'm glad you are liking the Minimonsta. I bought it a few months ago and have pretty much been using it for bass ever since. It really does sound fantastic for a softsynth.

quote:

Originally posted by alanzo http://www.amonvision.com/aspnet_client/3.mp3 http://www.amonvision.com/aspnet_client/4.mp3 http://www.amonvision.com/aspnet_client/5.mp3 The voyager is definitely the darkest, perhaps the most neutral in tone between the two. The Pulse emphasizes the low and high ends a bit whereas the Minimonstah emphasizes the high end. Veddy interesting. I kind of still like Minimonstah better. It's brighter and more modern sounding. Like the Pulse but, perhaps, a bit more Moog like. Going to do some filter tests tonight/tomorrow.

its refreshing to see someone who owns the real thing actually giving a favourable opinion to the emulation
On certain other forums you would be told to get your hearing checked or that you were just plain wrong!!

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I have a Pulse as well as a voyager.

Completely different sounding. The Pulse is very hard and modern sounding. It doesnt sound warm at all, very cold, hard. Best way i can describe it lol. This is a good thing as it has its own vibe and stands out very well in a mix.

Voyager is darker as someone mentioned. Slightly deeper bass and a hell of a lot warmer (cant think of a better word). Voyager imo has a far superior sound and obviously has a better front panel.

My advice, get both!

Wow, so this has all given me a lot to think about. Based on alanzo's demos, I was actually very surprised at how the Minimonsta stacked up to the Voyager. Is the Minimonsta just like the real thing? No. That being said, it definitely sounds brilliant for a softsynth.

So that being said, I have been going back and forth on this one. I have been doing a LOT of research and listening to demos online (YouTube rules for doing this). I have been hanging out at my local GC a bit playing with what is on the floor (which isnt much, LP, TI, and thats it).

I'll be able to afford to spend about $3,000 in the next few months on equipment. I really want to avoid used, I just have such bad luck with buying things off of eBay used.

I'm kind of thinking analog, because I use so many analog emulations and love the sound. The one thing that is tempting is the Virus with its TI technology. However, I have owned a Virus B and the characters was definitely a bit "dark" for my tastes and the oscillators seemed weak compared to other synths. I don't know if that has changed.

So here are the options:

Moog Voyager (RME)
Pros: Sounds fantastic, real Moog.
Cons: 3K is a lot to spend for a monosynth. Being a monosynth limits is versatility somewhat. Basses, FX and mono leads.

Moog Little Phatty
Pros: Cheap, Moog sound. Could have two of these for the price of a Voyager.
Cons: Interface a bit fiddly at times. Only 2 OSC.

Andromeda A6
Pros: Polysynth, analog, people that own them say sound great.
Cons: Expensive, difficult to program. Availability and support is limited. Hard to find new.

DSI Poly Evolver
Pros: Poly, analog. Sounds good.
Cons: None ??? Does anyone own one of these? I dont see it talked about much.

DSI Prophet 08
Pros: Cheap, poly, analog, 8 voice.
COns: Questionable build quality? Heard people call it "lifeless" and cold (two things you dont want in an analog synth). Is the PEK a better option from DSI?

Access Virus TI
Pros: TI capability, very versatile, and very tempting to use. If I can work with it just like a Software Instrument, thats a huge plus.
Cons: Virtual Analog, TI implementation is buggy for some, which could limit its usefulness. "Dark" character on my Virus B, and somewhat weak oscillators. Has that changed?

Roland V-Synth
Pros: Sound design capability. Seemed very unique.
Cons: Seems like it is more of a ROMpler, seems more targeted as a "jack of all trades" unit. Not analog in any way.

The Minimonsta does sound very similar to the Voyager in several key areas. I'm going to do more tests today and tomorrow. I'm having PC issues at the moment...

The only synth I would get from DSI is the Tetra. It's a 4 voice, 4 part multitimbrel Prophet '08 w/ sub oscs. The sub OSCs should really help phatten up the synth. It doesn't sound great, I prefer the soudn of the Pulse a lot more. But the Pulse is quite rare these days ....

The PEK is not a good instrument in my opinion, read my hardware thread for details : http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...1&forumid=48&s=

The andy is a pretty good instrument. But it's like a big baby. You have to be really gentle with it because if you break it, you don't want to have to get something that huge repaired. But once you open the synth up, the voice board is quite small and could be easily swapped. I guess it feels so fragile because it's a giant mega-analog. If it was digital, I probably wouldn't be afraid of it breaking.

Fuck the TI.

I'm going to do some more comparisons of my synths. I think I'd like to do a super-mega comparison of a bunch of 3-osc / 2osc and sub osc synths. So the Pulse vs Andy vs Voyager vs Minimonsta vs Artirua Minimoog. That should help you out a lot. Hopefully I'll do that today and tomorrow.

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quote:

Originally posted by Eric J Moog Little Phatty Pros: Cheap, Moog sound. Could have two of these for the price of a Voyager. Cons: Interface a bit fiddly at times. Only 2 OSC.

Such an awesome bass machine, here is a sample of what it can do.

http://www.subtleinc.net/phattybass_sample.mp3

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well whats analogue and warm soounding? and has life? Omega 8?

quote:

Originally posted by alanzo The only synth I would get from DSI is the Tetra. It's a 4 voice, 4 part multitimbrel Prophet '08 w/ sub oscs. The sub OSCs should really help phatten up the synth. It doesn't sound great, I prefer the soudn of the Pulse a lot more. But the Pulse is quite rare these days ....

See, that scares me. If the Tetra doesn't sound great, then everything else about it is a moot point. I still have an eye out for a Pulse.

quote:

Originally posted by alanzo The PEK is not a good instrument in my opinion, read my hardware thread for details : http://www.tranceaddict.com/forums/...1&forumid=48&s=

Yeah, I see what you mean. Maybe that is why I havEn't seen a lot of noise about it.

quote:

Originally posted by alanzo The andy is a pretty good instrument. But it's like a big baby. You have to be really gentle with it because if you break it, you don't want to have to get something that huge repaired. But once you open the synth up, the voice board is quite small and could be easily swapped. I guess it feels so fragile because it's a giant mega-analog. If it was digital, I probably wouldn't be afraid of it breaking.

See, this would probably be my choice ATM, IF I knew I could get it new, or buy a used one from someone that I trusted. Poly and true analog? Sold. I just have a hard time shelling out 2K+ to someone I dont know on eBay. I can't get a definitive answer on iF they are still available new or not. Someone on GS said Alesis produced them in batches. Sweetwater has it on their site but its "Arriving Soon". I wouldn't think that they would have it listed if it was discontinued? Plus this would have the additional benefit of being my main MIDI controller, because it has the Pitch/Mod wheels how I like them.

quote:

Originally posted by alanzo Fuck the TI.

Yeah, I totally agree with your review on the hardware thread. The whole "sound like everyone else" is the exact thing that was giving me pause about settling on it. I sold my Virus B and I haven't missed it.

quote:

Originally posted by alanzo I'm going to do some more comparisons of my synths. I think I'd like to do a super-mega comparison of a bunch of 3-osc / 2osc and sub osc synths. So the Pulse vs Andy vs Voyager vs Minimonsta vs Artirua Minimoog. That should help you out a lot. Hopefully I'll do that today and tomorrow.

That is SO appreciated. Thank you so much for taking the time to do this, it's so helpful!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Subtle Such an awesome bass machine, here is a sample of what it can do. http://www.subtleinc.net/phattybass_sample.mp3

That sounds pretty good, thanks for posting that example. I'm definitely going to get a monosynth at some point, its just which to get first.

quote:

Originally posted by orTofønChiLd well whats analogue and warm soounding? and has life? Omega 8?

Agreed, but $4,800 is way too much for me at the moment. I'm have to sacrifice just to come up with the $3K budget I have now.

The omega is crazy expensive. It's not like having 8 Moogs. It's more like having 8 discrete voices of the Andromeda. So it's going to sound better, but not an incredible amount better. Half the voices yet double the price.

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