hardware advice

[impostor]

I'm getting more and more in to production, but doing everything in the box is getting annoying for me. I'm more of a hands on person. I want to get a synth to play with, I'm not massively bothered what part of my music it's for because I can do other parts ITB still, but the idea is to build up gear over time, this is where I wanted to start though. I like to make quite techy music also, if that helps. Price limit is about £500 but I can possibly stretch a tiny bit more.

I've looked at the Dave Smith Tetra, Mopho, Arturia MiniBrute, Moog Slim Phatty and Minitaur.

No idea which one I want or which would be the most useful for me starting out. Or if there are any other ones you could add to the list to confuse my decision any more!

[Barfunkel]

If you want hands on, don't get the Tetra or the Mopho (or at least get keyboard version). Lots of menu diving involved, they're not exactly performance instruments.

Of the ones you mentioned, I'd get the Minitaur, although it's limited to bass sounds. Minibrute is a wonderful performance instrument, but many don't dig the
aggressive sound of it.

One other option is the Vermona Mono Lancet. Digging the demos I've heard, and it's cheap.

Also, the Doepfer Dark Energy. Loved by many.

Also, many vintage options exist, though they tend to be very expensive these days.

[Opuswerk]

I've got the MonoLancet, and it's literally in all my tracks. love it. Cheap and easy to learn, and with a very small footprint. It can sound raw and agressive and smooth and punchy too.
*shameless promo plug*
Actually the track i made the first day i got it came out recently on Knotweed records. The 2 others also heavily feature it.

*/shameless promo plug*

As Barfunkel said, the Tetra and Mopho aren't exactly performance synths, so your best bet would be to go for 100% analog synths, or digital ones with lots of buttons. Kink uses one of those small MFB ones, and i reckon he's really performing on it, so it might be interesting to look into those?

[impostor]

thanks for the advice.

Also curious about DAW integration from those that own these, I'm still not ready to start moving away yet, so compatibility is a big issue with me.

[Phase Ghost]

I'd go for the minibrute or monolancet personally. Had the mopho, didn't dig the menu diving on the module. I did enjoy the sound of it though, but for the price of the keyboard version, I'd have a look elsewhere. Doepfer dark energy could be another choice.

[impostor]

Yeh I'm strongly leaning to the MiniBrute now, I like the dark and harsh sounds, and I can use logics filters to have some fun with them back in the box.

So it's basically between that and possibly a second hand Moog Slim Phatty, I've seen the demo's and they sound really good with quite a thick sound to them.

I think I'll save the decision between the Doepfer/MonoLancet/Minitaur for my second piece of gear.

While people are still reading, are there any extra things I'm going to have to purchase, this is still completely new to me. I've read about getting a MIDI to USB converter (should I get the Brute), but have no idea about other bits and pieces.

[Opuswerk]

for basics, you're gonna need a decent soundcard, to get the sounds of the MiniBrute in your DAW. And you're gonna be needing a MIDI interface too. Most decent soundcards do come with MIDI connectors, so that could be a factor to help you choose your soundcard.

I'm currently using a ESI M8U to connect all my gear. It's basically a MIDI patchbay. It's not a must, but it's very handy when you start having a bit too many bits of kit

[impostor]

AH! I just bought a focusrite saffire pro 14, that will do won't it?