I thought that was a new product, but apparently not. The problem is you only get those few sounds and you can't really save variations. The only thing you can change is ADSR, and I'm not sure you can even save those changes. It gives you 16 slots to save your favorite patches, and that's it. I think a person would be better off with something way more flexible like a monologue, bass-station, reface DX, etc. etc. Maybe if you have very modest needs for something very cheap, since it does sound like it is fairly nice quality, and it seems they sell for a couple hundred. Also if you don't mind going the controller with a separate sound module, a person could go with the billions of options like the Boog you mentioned in the other thread, or any of the behringers or even a Korg Volta or two. Then you've got many, many sounds and realtime control over lots of parameters, etc.
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Small bass synth keyboard recommendations
- Thread starter rojo412
- Start date
I'd recommend a Korg Minilogue for most bass lines and probably power chords. It is only 4 voice but very good bass and lead sounds
Arturia Brute Series is also good and I heard good things about the Mini and Micro Freak. If you can find a Moog Sub Phatty for 800 or so go for it. Monophonic only
The XD is even better
Arturia Brute Series is also good and I heard good things about the Mini and Micro Freak. If you can find a Moog Sub Phatty for 800 or so go for it. Monophonic only
I would have recommended this first but hesitated because some folks starting out may find monolog synths lacking. You did good I am partial to Korg symths. Ping me if you need some advice on these.Again, so many thanks for all of the recommendations...
I did a calculated thing - I bought the MONOLOGUE from the local GC for a number of reasons:
1) the price is at the low end of my budget;
2) I can get it today and if there are any issues or I hate it, I can return it because it's GC (not as easy with other retailers or a private sale);
3) looking at the features it has, it seems to be a VERY viable candidate for the majority of what I'm looking for: small, capable, good reputation.
Once I get a chance to mess with it, I'll have a report. And it gets me into a baseline reading of knowing more of what I'd actually need (beyond the "nothing" I start with). As in, if I get this and realize there is a glaring omission of what I truly wanted to begin with, now I can narrow down a future selection by knowing what I need to look for.
Damn GAS! Always getting me in trouble...
It’s weird there is a bass oriented version of the monologue. The xd having the wave table more than doubles the potential, so I think the xd is a better choice, but both are great.
The brutes have a lot of character, so you have to make sure it’s your thing. No presets, but more solid build than many. The microfreak is a nasty little guy. I can’t get a “nice” sound out of it, but that’s not a bad thing. One of the coolest synths out there, and it’s cheap. But it has it’s unmistakable sound. Love the keyboard, not everyone does.
I broke my left hand thumb and will probably need to play some of my gigs on a keyboard until the thumb heels.
What would be a good choice of bass keyboard? THX
What would be a good choice of bass keyboard? THX
What's the budget?
How many keys do you want? 25? 37? 49?
Is preset memory required?
My personal favorite for the bass keyboard would be Behringer Deepmind 6/6X.
The bass station probably is the best all around choice. Just for fun, I’ll add that I am using a Moog Subsequent 25 now, and that’s probably what I’ll stick with forever. It sounds nasty, and is just a super nice feeling synth all around. I don’t think it has the versatility of the Bass Station (I haven’t had it, so I don’t really know) and I’m finding the Moog is a bit of a pain to move around. But it’s pretty great at what it does. And I like having one since Moog was sold off to a Chinese company and will likely be Chinafied.
Would love to see a micro synth (w/full size keys) you could load sounds from a MicroSD card.
If they made the m-vave with full sized keys, either 37 or 25 I would buy it. I will never buy another with mini keys. Or a cheap module, or maybe not. I have a Yamaha reface DX, so I don’t need any DX sounds, but still….
I think samples are complex enough that it would be hard to make a simple keyboard that played samples. There was the Casio SK-1 that stretched one sample (taken with its own mic) over the whole range. I had one and lost it, but it really wan’t that useable. I think the Akai MPC 37 is about as simple as you would want since it can be set up to sample the number of velocities you ask for, and the notes per octave so it could stretch as little as you wanted. And it does this more or less automatically by sending the appropriate midi to the keyboard you are sampling, taking a lot of the arduous work out of it. I’m not sure a sample keyboard will ever be a lot better.
It's been 4 months, and I've got another candidate. Sorry if it was mentioned earlier.
It's Novation Ultranova. Lightweight, 37 full-size keys, lots of presets and sound modification capabilities. The keyboard is velocity-sensitive and even has aftertouch!
Bonus - microphone XLR input for vocoder.
Not exactly cheap, but not expensive, either. Currently the cheapest one is selling on Reverb for $400 plus shipping.
Also, for the sake of continuity I'm going to list there some links to the similar topics.
It's Novation Ultranova. Lightweight, 37 full-size keys, lots of presets and sound modification capabilities. The keyboard is velocity-sensitive and even has aftertouch!
Bonus - microphone XLR input for vocoder.
Not exactly cheap, but not expensive, either. Currently the cheapest one is selling on Reverb for $400 plus shipping.
Also, for the sake of continuity I'm going to list there some links to the similar topics.
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Bought me another one (missed the first one too much) - here's a recent SoundCloud demo I made. This is all MiniBrute - no external processing whatsoever, not even EQ - just MiniBrute straight into my Fostex VF160 16-track digital hardware recorder, and no processing after transferring the demo to laptop, either.
Bump. Often shopping in this direction. Not afraid of an external module and midi keyboard.
Yamaha reface caught my eye.
I have 88keys but they’re so big I never use it. Want something easily set up and able to run from the couch in the evenings.
Not sure how many keys is too few given I’m used to having 88.
Yamaha reface caught my eye.
I have 88keys but they’re so big I never use it. Want something easily set up and able to run from the couch in the evenings.
Not sure how many keys is too few given I’m used to having 88.
I think 37 is perfect for bass. The reface has really nice speakers, so it’s nice for sitting on the couch.
