Audiobus: Use your music apps together.
What is Audiobus? — Audiobus is an award-winning music app for iPhone and iPad which lets you use your other music apps together. Chain effects on your favourite synth, run the output of apps or Audio Units into an app like GarageBand or Loopy, or select a different audio interface output for each app. Route MIDI between apps — drive a synth from a MIDI sequencer, or add an arpeggiator to your MIDI keyboard — or sync with your external MIDI gear. And control your entire setup from a MIDI controller.
Download on the App StoreAudiobus is the app that makes the rest of your setup better.
OT: Which synth for £300
This started in another thread, I have moved it here to avoid a thread hijack.....
I have a budget of £300 to buy a 50th Birthday present..... Currently looking at BassStation II and Microbrute, am very torn between the two, does anyone have any hands on with either of these, or perhaps something else within the budget.
I am after a hands on lead synth to accompany my Novation Circuit and iPad setup.
@MonzoPro said:
@AndyPlankton said:
@MonzoPro said:
@AndyPlankton said:
@dblonde said:
@andyplakton
congrats on getting to the 50 mark
mine this year also, its a good time to start with the slideNot quite made it yet...another couple of weeks to go
I'm stuck between old boy and new boy toys, acoustic for slide, or a shiny new synth ?
Got to be a classic analogue synth for your 50th. Put an original VCS3 on your birthday list.
If only....my current candidates are BassStation II, Microbrute.....really torn between the two.
Both sound great, BassStation has Program memories and swing on the step sequencer, Microbrute is VCO not DCO and has the 'force me to play it' factoer with not having memory locations.
The Microbrute sounds amazing, I'd go for that one!
The sound is incredible, especially from a single OSC, and it is that which is making the decision so hard. The main downsides are mini keys with no velocity, and no swing on the step sequencer, if playing as a live lead then swing I could do without, but the mini keys are a bit worrying, and the reviews seem to suggest they are possible a bit spongy, I also read that where the synth will respond to velocity from the MIDI In, it won't from it's own keyboard, which seems a bit strange.
The BassStation also sounds great, has fullsized velocity keys, but it hasn't quite got the same Grit that the microbrute has, well, as far as I can tell from all the youtube vids anyway.
As I am using an external mixer for the hardware units I will want some form of at least basic FX unit too.
Comments
I bought a Roland Gaia at around that price on ebay last year, very versatile synth, mono and poly, velocity, three octaves full sized keys, been very happy with it. The sound is in some ways similar to the Poison 202, if that is your thing. But obviously virtual rather than true analogue. You pays your money...
What about the Making Noise o-coast. It sells here in Canada for $648 which I believe comes close to £300
Midi it up with your own keyboard and lots of patching possibilities
Monologue?
Depending on the timing you may want to wait till Thursday and see what surprises are in store at NAMM.
NAMM is only a few days away...
Nice sounding synth..and i get the poison 202 comparison
One for more investigation I think.
The Brute has a distinct character to the...brute sound. It got CVs to have fun with, people get really creative with that lil CV section on the panel, squeezing awesome sounds out of the thing. The BSII got pre-filter drive, post-filter distortion (and filter mod) to dirty up the sound. Here it's all about preferenses I guess, what kind of dirt you want/need. No CVs. But the audio in is magic for yer drums (or whatever you wanna mess up), a bit like a poor mans Elektron Analog Heat, so it kinda doubles as an analog drive/filter/dist fx unit. Very capable at a wide range of sounds, it's a fun machine to tweak. While it got fullsize keys there are only 24 of them, so mini or full size probably wont matter either way. It does have a very usefull aftertouch tho
Edit: Btw, the BSII have plummeted in price in EU the last 6 months, it's @ 330€ give or take
That thing looks crazy, and sounds both crazy and normal too.....Ideally I'd like something with it's own keyboard, otherwise I'll just end up sequencing it and not playing it
A synth is as personal as a woman. Whatever you choose, you gotta get hands on before proposing
Are you saying I need to get promiscuous down the music shop
Yeah man, you gotta get all touchy feely. If she don't put out for you in person, she ain't worth taking home!
Or just go 0-Coast, that thing sounds nuts. If I had'nt already thrown away all my synth monies for this year, I would get that one
Take the wife along. Have a threesome
Yeah I hadn't really considered that 24 keys would be limiting but it probably would in the long run......
It does doesn't it
i would say bassstation out of those 2. i had the microbrute and liked it (sold it when i cleaned up a lot of gear i wasn't using that much). but main thing, for live you will benefit from the patch saving on the bassstation. pull up a new sound for any song. the microbrute is pretty quick to program but i would not want any more moving parts on stage. even at home i would normally not stray too far from a sound i liked, just due to laziness.
Take a look at Korg Monologue and Minilogue
Second Hand Roland Aira System One should be about just less than that. Should be a few around when the System 8 is about.
Exactly! I've been eyeing it
That's the thing with these £300 to £400 synths. They either tickle ya fancy or they don't.
Don't forget to look around second hand though, as many people buy these cheap synths then decide they want something else and sell them.
But that Noisy Coat costs over £500 - at least, it was nearly £600 when I first found out about it.
Yeah just spotted that
Yeah that could be a contender.....are they out yet ? Only seem to be available pre-order ?
The o coast is $499USD so it's £403.5 according to Xenon currency exchange
Mark up?!
Yes there is that too
Just by crappy you tube vids alone, I would probably plump for the Korg Monologue. Don't know if I still would in person though.
Yes, these are the main reasons why the difficulty, Excellent sound with ease of use vs awesome sound with not so ease of use
Yeah you have to be careful with the vids.....not a 100% true representation of the sound, but still representative of what I might end up with after recording.
I had forgot all about the monologue until mentioned here, looking at vids now.
I've spent a bit of time with most of these synths at my local music shop. Loved the BS2, really impressed with the Minilogue, wasn't that impressed by the minibrute. Go try a BS2 in a shop, take some nice headphones and browse through its preset banks. Some amazing patches and sounds great (I will be getting one some day soon, the mpc live announcement has put it on the back burner though).
My local (Australia) has told me they will arrive sometime this month...