NSD New Synth Day!

OGG

OGG

Master of the Meh
Actually got it on Tuesday but am just getting around to making a post.

Behringer MS-1 Analog (real analog, not digitally modeled) Monophonic Synthesizer.

It's a new "Clone" of the Roland SH-101 from 1982. I had two of those original Roland units that I bought brand new in the boxes back in 1985 as NOS during the Great Analog Purge brought about by the DX7 and others.

While I loved them, they were very cheaply made, entry level synths that were as fragile as they were limited. These new Behringer clones are an exact match in terms of circuitry and sound, but are actually built like a tank (metal chassis vs the original plastic), are LOADED with modern connectivity upgrades and other features and things you'd expect from a modern synth. The price on them is very fair vs the competition. If you opt for classic grey, black, or red, the street price is $329 USD. I opted for the blue one that commands an additional $60 premium for no good reason beyond looking fucking awesome! Still a bargain in my book.

It's already been put to use and tracked on a few recordings in these last few days. It will continue to be a workhorse. I've got some of it's new siblings incoming as well. Can't wait until they're all together. This thing is like my personal time machine back to my youth. I just love it!
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Will be very interested to see how you like this going forward. Behringer's steps the past two years are really remarkable; I'm incredibly likely to purchase one (or more), and just trying to figure out which one.

So - monophonic means no chords/pads? Doesn't that drive you crazy?
 
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Danhedonia said:
Will be very interested to see how you like this going forward. Behringer's steps the past two years are really remarkable; I'm incredibly likely to purchase one (or more), and just trying to figure out which one.

So - monophonic means no chords/pads? Doesn't that drive you crazy?
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Behringer has become an entirely different company in the last few years. It really is quite remarkable. They still offer a ton of affordable gear, and yes... a lot of it is directly influenced by more expensive products, but their whole approach to designing and building that gear is new and state of the art. Quality has become their strong suit rather than a punchline. But, they are also very busy doing their own innovation at an insane pace. They're doing everything right in terms of listening to the market, giving the market what it wants, hiring the best possible people to steer each project, and have literally built an entire CITY in China to produce their wares completely in-house. The turn around is amazing.

They haven't made any new friends in the industry, and have had some PR blunders, but I'm here to tell you they are currently the undisputed leader in consistently high quality musical instruments and related gear. They are crushing the establishment.

Yes, Monohonic means One Note at a Time. An absurd "limitation" by today's standards... or those of any period since about 1983. But, the golden age of synthpop and early electronic music was dominated by monohonic synths. That's almost all there was back then. The MiniMOOG, ARP Oddessy, KORG MS-20, Sequential Circuits Pro~One etc etc were all monohonic and yet made up the bulk of what you heard on all those great old records. Polyphonic or even Duophonic Synths were few, and they were insanely expensive. It wasn't until late '81-'82 that such devices could be relatively easily acquired by regular folks and up and coming musicians.

Any classic Synth Bass sound worth it's salt came from a monophonic synth.
 
I've been playing with monophonic and polyphonic soft synths for a while - just can't see accepting that limit for my first 'real' hardware synth. I know you've had more. I also wondered why they didn't just add polyphony in like Korg did on the IOS version of the MS-20.

I'm thinking about a DeepMind, wonder what you think? I'm not tied to vintage sounds, I just want to find some super fucked up square wave sounds for my droney shit.
 
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Danhedonia said:
I've been playing with monophonic and polyphonic soft synths for a while - just can't see accepting that limit for my first 'real' hardware synth. I know you've had more. I also wondered why they didn't just add polyphony in like Korg did on the IOS version of the MS-20.

I'm thinking about a DeepMind, wonder what you think? I'm not tied to vintage sounds, I just want to find some super fucked up square wave sounds for my droney shit.
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I think Behringer is really trying to provide a sense of authenticity to their "clones" while still giving them modern "upgrades" that allow them to integrate into modern setups and studios. Of course they can add things like polyphony, and they have done that with their second version of the classic MOOG Model D (Behringer Poly D). The temptation must be immense for them to resist, but also can present some serious engineering problems. These aren't digitally modeling an analog signal path, they ARE an analog signal path that is meant to completely re-create the original units right down to the individual resistors, caps, filters etc and therefore perfectly replicate the sound of those old units. The same limitations then apply to these clones that applied to those old machines. The sum of the parts and their makeup precludes them having such features as polyphony etc. In order to make that possible would mean deviating from the whole reason to build them.

Adding MIDI and extending sequencer pattern memory has no affect on that signal path. That type of modernization is easily accomplished (but not without some early hiccups). Lastly, for the most part those of us who cut our teeth on those old machines want the new ones to have the same "character" as the old ones did. The purists will shit on them regardless, and these things have a fairly targeted demographic. They are very affordable and do exactly what they are supposed to do. Unlike the absurdly overpriced vintage units out there with varying levels of functionality due to their age, and that are far too fragile/precious to be "working" instruments. I can replace this quickly and cheaply should I need to.

As for the Deepmind, it is an incredible piece of kit. Behringer absolutely knocked it out of the park with that synth and I eagerly look forward to what new innovations they bring to market of their own designs and not a clone or reproduction. They brought in some legendary minds from the industry just for the sole purpose of establishing them as a real player in the new synth market. There's stuff in the pipeline that is going to put the old school establishment brands on notice.

I think the future will look upon the Deepmind as a defining moment and an amazing machine. I believe that when it suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and from a company with Behringer's image and reputation caught everyone completely off guard. No one wanted to go too far out on a limb to sing it's praises. It nonetheless still got mostly positive reviews from the hyper cautious "influencers" out there, and lately it seems the stigma has subsided enough for a new wave of positive talk.

It's a total no-brainer as a first polysynth that won't break the bank but will also provide professional level capabilities. I'm seriously considering stockpiling a couple more. :)
 
I was wondering what you thought about their steps in the past year in acquiring and replicating those old synths. Glad to see you're pleased.
 
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I want so badly to participate well in this thread and feel like I'm just half-assing my posts and bleating like a fool. Rod, if you feel this is an unkind threadjack please say so, but I'm into the convo and don't want to break momentum.

A few years ago, I bought Animoog for my iPad. It was great sounding. Like really, really great sounding (especially through EchoBoy and Valhalla plug ins). It motivated me to a get a Korg Taktile 49 MIDI controller, which was fairly nice for the time.

I added a bunch of soft synths, which naturally varied in terms of sound and GUI design.

And somewhere in there, I sold my Alesis Micron.

Now, I'm not sure what I want. I do know that I like odd and unusual sounds. When I said 'not vintage,' I should have more carefully said 'not necessarily vintage,' because I do love the Moog Model D app sounds and some old square-wave stuff. But I also like exploring - the Sunrizer app is very modern sounding, and sounds bitchin'.

Self-education efforts haven't worked well, simply because we're in a time of tremendous growth in gear options. Do I want an onboard keyboard? Should I use the Taktile with something, or get a newer, "better" controller (the Taktile has flimsy keys, but otherwise has lots to like about it and I'm a light-touch guy anyhow). Do I go modulare? I am certain I do not have the energy or will to learn about a zillion patch cords.

And yeah: Behringer. Seriously, WTF? They went from making shitty mixing boards to terrific synths in the blink of an eye.

I wonder if I'd be happier with a controller and the Model D clone?
 
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Danhedonia said:
I want so badly to participate well in this thread and feel like I'm just half-assing my posts and bleating like a fool. Rod, if you feel this is an unkind threadjack please say so, but I'm into the convo and don't want to break momentum.

A few years ago, I bought Animoog for my iPad. It was great sounding. Like really, really great sounding (especially through EchoBoy and Valhalla plug ins). It motivated me to a get a Korg Taktile 49 MIDI controller, which was fairly nice for the time.

I added a bunch of soft synths, which naturally varied in terms of sound and GUI design.

And somewhere in there, I sold my Alesis Micron.

Now, I'm not sure what I want. I do know that I like odd and unusual sounds. When I said 'not vintage,' I should have more carefully said 'not necessarily vintage,' because I do love the Moog Model D app sounds and some old square-wave stuff. But I also like exploring - the Sunrizer app is very modern sounding, and sounds bitchin'.

Self-education efforts haven't worked well, simply because we're in a time of tremendous growth in gear options. Do I want an onboard keyboard? Should I use the Taktile with something, or get a newer, "better" controller (the Taktile has flimsy keys, but otherwise has lots to like about it and I'm a light-touch guy anyhow). Do I go modulare? I am certain I do not have the energy or will to learn about a zillion patch cords.

And yeah: Behringer. Seriously, WTF? They went from making shitty mixing boards to terrific synths in the blink of an eye.

I wonder if I'd be happier with a controller and the Model D clone?
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I'm glad you're engaged and into the conversation. Carry on!

A good controller makes all the difference between loving and hating your software. That can't be understated. I have several synth modules as well as full keyboards and software synths. I generally prefer to buy the keyboard equipped versions rather than the modules because of the seamless integration, but space is a premium and doesn't always allow for a bunch of keyboards. Basically I have an assortment of all the formats and I try to keep the workspace clutter-free as much as possible. That's always a process, and items are regularly rotated in and out.

The Alesis Micron is a straight up BEAST of a synth. It's a full blown "Ion", but in a smaller package and with even more capability. It is an absolute staple in my studio and that is very unlikely to change. However, it is not exactly user-friendly or tactile like a classic analog synth. The required menu diving is tedious even when you're well familiar with sound editing and what parameters do what. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone without a strong background in synthesis and a lot of patience. There are a couple of GREAT visual editors for it for both PC and MAC that makes the process so much easier and familiar. I highly recommend using one for those with the hardware. They aren't free though, so that's a big consideration.

My main Synth rig in the studio right now is fairly tidy and can cover pretty much all the ground I need.
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"Seconds" was always such a great tune. Heaven 17's "I'm Your Money" also rocked my balls off during some super-questionable times back in the day.

The menu system was exactly what turned me off to the Micron (it sounded great!). Endless twiddling just for simple edits meant I avoided it. So, it went.

I'm beginning to get interested in the Model D. Talk me out of it?
 
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Danhedonia said:
"Seconds" was always such a great tune. Heaven 17's "I'm Your Money" also rocked my balls off during some super-questionable times back in the day.

The menu system was exactly what turned me off to the Micron (it sounded great!). Endless twiddling just for simple edits meant I avoided it. So, it went.

I'm beginning to get interested in the Model D. Talk me out of it?
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Yup. "Seconds" is in my super elite top ten of all time. Heaven 17 didn't quite have the pop sensibilities on their own (Gregory and Ware) that Human League managed to carry over after their departure, but NO ONE could squeeze more out of a LINNDRUM than those guys.

The Model D is a must-have as far as I'm concerned. You won't get any discouragement from me on that one. I'm waiting patiently for my new Poly D to arrive. Definitely spend the extra few bucks for the Poly D over the 1st gen Model D. The reviews are unanimously positive.

Over the next few weeks or so, I've got a whole shit ton of new Behringer stuff coming in. Pro~1, Poly D, RD8, K2, etc. I also just scored a classic 80s Ultimate Support A-Frame to put it all on.
 
If you were going to use this in a performance situation, like for funk or new wave bass lines for example, what would you plug it into? A keyboard amp? A bass amp? A Marshall stack? Just go straight to the board? How did they monitor the Mini Moogs and such back in the day?
 
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Another synth question, if I'm not derailing the thread.
Whats the best affordable machine nowadays for classic organ and piano sounds like B3, Rhodes, Continental, and Grand Piano?
Weighted keys would be nice but not essential as long as touch sensitivity was good.
I don't want to shell out thousands for a Nord or something like that.
But I wouldn't mind upgrading my old Korg X5 D to something more modern in the same price range. Its sounds are kinda dated, and I'm way too lazy to dig into it's rats nest maze of tiny menus to experiment with improving any of them.
 
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