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Analog synth recommendations?

I don't know - looks more like a pulse generator than an analog synth: https://www.analoguehaven.com/bluelantern/dwarfstarvcn/
 
Maybe they don't keep their website up-to-date?

This is the unit in question:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Blue-Lantern-Dwarf-Star-Semi-Modular-Synth-SYNTHESIZER-DEMO-PERFECT-CIRCUIT-/301807650586?hash=item464523471a:g:T8sAAOSwTapV59NN

It will show up in a YouTube search, too:

 
Moog Sub 37. ARP Odyssey. Korg MS-20 Mini. Moog Slim Phatty. Used every one of them and definitely would go out and buy them in an instant. and I did. Lol!
 
I spent a few hours playing with a Sub 37 creating sounds and was amazed at how diverse the sound palette could be and how organic the synth could sound. Everything on the front panel can be controllable / recorded via CC so some unique sounds can be achieved. Also the Software editor is very powerful and a brilliant marriage to the synth.
 
i was on the fence to buy a Dwarf, I mean swapping it with my M3x McBeth but the seller changed his mind. Seems an interesting unit, sounddesignish and fun.
Erik
 

Thanks for that, Ned, interesting read. Sounds like he doesn't favor it too much, but doesn't want to commit to saying so without giving it some time. In the same thread, Fiddlestickz pretty adequately demonstrates the crazy thick sound of the Dwarf Star. The Perfect Circuit demo shows it doing more standard, melodic playing too, rather than just the crazy modular-type stuff.

I'm pretty convinced that the Sub 37 is the way I'm going to go. The sound seems awesome from what I can tell, and adding the software in makes it into a very refined choice of an analog synth. Just giving it a little more time to make sure that's the way I want to go.

Moog Sub 37. ARP Odyssey. Korg MS-20 Mini. Moog Slim Phatty. Used every one of them and definitely would go out and buy them in an instant. and I did. Lol!

Don't the Sub 37 and Slim Phatty have the same voice? Or is it just the Sub 37 and Sub Phatty?
 
Thanks for that, Ned, interesting read. Sounds like he doesn't favor it too much, but doesn't want to commit to saying so without giving it some time. In the same thread, Fiddlestickz pretty adequately demonstrates the crazy thick sound of the Dwarf Star. The Perfect Circuit demo shows it doing more standard, melodic playing too, rather than just the crazy modular-type stuff.

I'm pretty convinced that the Sub 37 is the way I'm going to go. The sound seems awesome from what I can tell, and adding the software in makes it into a very refined choice of an analog synth. Just giving it a little more time to make sure that's the way I want to go.



Don't the Sub 37 and Slim Phatty have the same voice? Or is it just the Sub 37 and Sub Phatty?
Subs are the same. Slim has a different voicing. :) i use them both extensively on all the scores I do!
 
Little follow-up here - sorry, I didn't get any sounds worth posting, but it kind of makes sense, considering the major expenditure so far doesn't make any of its own sounds kfhkh

So, the Linnstrument is amazing. What I noticed almost immediately was that, despite it being a completely new style of controller, I was able to figure it out without referencing the manual. Testament to it's great design, and the build quality is top notch. I love that I can hook it up to both my computer and iPad, because I do a lot of sketching on the iPad while I'm traveling.

I'd consider myself at the tail end of the honeymoon, that time when you start transitioning from, "this is so cool, how many different fascinating light shows can I make" to "how will I use this to make my production more efficient".

It's the culling period, when you start to get an idea whether or not something is going to stick around long term.

Out of a Linnstrument, Particle, BlueSky, and Steichfett, the only one that's sticking around is the Linnstrument.

In fact, the others are already gone. It's like they say about human attraction, you know pretty instantly if something is going to work for you or not. It took one evening of experimentation with the 4 units to let me know I had no interest in keeping the other 3 around. The Particle got old after around 30 min, and especially after I tried duplicating it with my plugs (Glitchmachines plugs do the same, better). Same with the Streichfett. The BlueSky is great, and I knew it was from previous guitar-based experience, but I pretty quickly realized I like my TSAR-1, Sparkverb, and Valhalla plugs much better.

In other news, I've also had the chance to jam on a Sub 37 a few times now, as well as some vintage analog synths like a Korg Delta, SH-101, Yamaha CS5, and Moog Source. This has lead to 3 more points of clarity for me: 1) I need something that can save presets, 2) I'm going to need at least a duophonic instrument for it to keep my interest, and 3) the Sub 37 is not for me. I got bored with the others pretty quickly. The Sub 37 was great, hence why I came back a few times, and I have no doubt I could come up with usable sounds on it, but I don't know if I liked it enough to want to sink that kind of $ into it.

I've recently heard a couple demos of people using DSI Tempests as 6-voice polys, and I loved the results. I really like the idea of a machine with easy to access / use sequencing capabilities. I might be able to get over the menu diving if it's easy enough to use. If I'm not mistaken, the Tempest is the brainchild of both Dave Smith and Roger Linn?

Thoughts on the Tempest?
 
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MFB Dominion 1
Near impossible to find without waiting 3-4 months but worth it. Handmade in Berlin, very good build quality, CV interfacing to eurorack, and sounds brilliant.
 
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I have to say, having used, owned or played with most analogues over the years the sub37 is perfection. And it's a Moog. Whilst there are literally hundreds of options the Sub37 is really versatile for a mono (duo) synth. It can do 303, it can do resonant sub, it can do sci fi fx, it can do sequences and arps. The overdrive capabilities give it a really unique signature sound too
 
Following-up on this. I did end up picking up a Tempest, and a Tempest bank intended for use as a 6-voice poly. For a machine that does require some menu diving, I have to say that it was very intuitive. Before jumping in, I watched Roger Linn's YT instructional on how to use the Tempest, and was able to hit the ground running when I started programming in the Tempest, and very quickly created a modest bank of patches that I enjoyed playing. No surprises in programming requirements, which was nice. I really loved how many different modes were available, very inspirational. The Curtis filter is awesome.

All said and done, though, after I stopped playing around with the machine itself and started trying to write with it integrated into my rig, level-of-integration and the ability to tweak quickly on the fly became an issue for me, and for the sake of finishing projects on time, I reverted back to my tried and true stable of soft synths.

I'm starting to think that, for me, the best / most useful hardware is going to be something that's useful for creating unique, deep sounds that I will then sample and sequence using Falcon / Kontakt / etc. I think I'll stop aiming for something I would use as a live / standalone instrument in it's own right.

To that end, I'm starting to look more into modular (and not necessarily analog) gear. It seems like the possibilities for creating really unique, interesting, yet usable sounds are abundant in that environment (though it's tough to find good product demos that don't involve a totally uninspiring, sequenced loop that the musician then uses to record 12 minutes of atonal bleep bloop garble).

Thoughts on that? I'm currently most interested in Mutable Instruments' Clouds and Elements, I think I could get a lot of interesting sampled material out of those without a ton of extra modules (if any).
 
the sub is superior in sound to the voyager. Much closer to a classic moog sound
I'm going back to this thread because I bought a Sub37 as a result of it. After 3 or so years of trying at every opportunity, I could never find a place for it in anything that I did.

But this summer I got a Voyager, and HOLY SHIT, it's everything that I was missing from the Sub37. The Sub37 sounds like a toy, and the Voyager sounds like the real thing. After years of Arturia's Minimoog (which has been great to me) and years of the Sub37, when I first played my Voyager, I started to cry. No joke.

In my most recent score, I used the Voyager as a bass, lead, and FX in more cues than not. It's like night and day. Am I mistaken for saying that the Sub37 just doesn't have the same quality as the Voyager? Was I just not able to figure out how to use it? It was just lacking in richness, to my ears. It sounds like an NES game.
 
I'm going back to this thread because I bought a Sub37 as a result of it. After 3 or so years of trying at every opportunity, I could never find a place for it in anything that I did.

But this summer I got a Voyager, and HOLY SHIT, it's everything that I was missing from the Sub37. The Sub37 sounds like a toy, and the Voyager sounds like the real thing. After years of Arturia's Minimoog (which has been great to me) and years of the Sub37, when I first played my Voyager, I started to cry. No joke.

In my most recent score, I used the Voyager as a bass, lead, and FX in more cues than not. It's like night and day. Am I mistaken for saying that the Sub37 just doesn't have the same quality as the Voyager? Was I just not able to figure out how to use it? It was just lacking in richness, to my ears. It sounds like an NES game.

how odd..well I found the opposite as do pretty much all the synth player programmers I work with.....no one kept their voyagers...and of course now the MINIMOOG is back.....most people I work with/Know...bought that

best

ed
 
Prophet 6 desktop module. For $500 more you get true poly and a sound that blows away the sub 37 imo. It is such a wonderful synth for film scoring because of the cinematic sound and inspiring playability.

If you want interesting sounds, you need the harmony that poly gives you. Modular can't really do that well without spending A LOT.
 
Hehe, this is funny. Eurorack is the epitome of a never ending money pit.

Indeed it is, but designing your own signature sounds is most gratifying.
But Ive either owned or have most of the big beasts of yore and after 30 years seek eversion elsewhere on the island...
 
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