did anyone mention the new bass station?

[Mslwte]

looks pretty slick boys!

youtu.be/HbLqzq5S_vQ

[arc]

Yeah these look really nice.

I'm planning on getting my first piece of hardware gear and I'm torn between either this or the Sub Phatty. I'm leaning more towards the SP because it doubles as a controller, which would be fucking awesome with the Moog-style knobs. But I also don't want to break myself in the process so the BS looks like a nice compromise.

[Mslwte]

I think the bass station would probably be a better all rounder (out of the two) but if you can get the subphatty I would definitely get it.

[arc]

Yeah, the BS has a lot of really nice features packed in. I like how it has a big cutoff knob.

[Críoch]

lol @ that Vid. Tell Penfold that Dangermouse is looking for him

[surface]

with his good eye? tidy looking synth ..

[Hades]

Yeah these look really nice.

I'm planning on getting my first piece of hardware gear and I'm torn between either this or the Sub Phatty. I'm leaning more towards the SP because it doubles as a controller, which would be fucking awesome with the Moog-style knobs. But I also don't want to break myself in the process so the BS looks like a nice compromise.

I'm quite sure the bass station would be a better allrounder, as mslwte suggested.
The Moog will sound better, but it'll be a lot more limited.
Personally I've always found Moog synths overrated, but that's just me.
I had a customer once who was mainly using software, and wanted to get a hardware synth. He was also set on getting a Moog, although I thought for his way of producing, it would only be a lot of money for something he'd barely use. I suggested he'd use the cash and get some good software instead.
He didn't listen and got the Little Phatty. 4 months later I asked him how he got along with it, and he had already sold it, said he barely used it.
Always feels nice to be right.

If you want a synth that's fantastic at bass, and pretty good at leads, but not a lot more, get the Moog.
But I'd never recommend anyone getting a Moog for a first synth. It's simply too limited for the ridiculous cash you pay, and if you do decide to go hardware, you want the best bang for the buck.

I have a k-station here, and I really love that thing. Normally I hate VA synths, and see no reason for them in hardware country, since they can just as well be made in software version. Yet the k-station I really like. It's on the floor of my studio, so my 5 year old can play around with it, so I haven't properly used it in years, but I really miss it. Great sound. Very easy to tweak and very big sound palette.
Whether or not the new bass station is anything like it, I can't tell. Sounds rather different from what I can tell on headphones from this video, but then again, it's polyphonic VA versus mono RA, so comparing both makes no sense.
I didn't like the original bass station though. I messed around with it several times in a mate's studio back in the day when they were fairly new (yes I'm that old). I thought it was rather weak sounding and too limited to my taste, but this synth does seem like a lot better. Wasn't massively impressed either though.
But I'm sure happy Novation got back into making hardware synths.

What are you looking for in your first hardware synth arc ?
Maybe we can suggest a few other options.

btw : only room for 64 user patches ?
What are we, 1983 ?
What kind of crap is that ?
You can get that filled in a day or two with a synth that is that easy to program.
And fuck storage to computer. It totally kills the moment when you gotta go upload sounds from your pc to your hardware synth.
As if adding more storage would have costed so much more.

[arc]

Honestly Hades I'm not really sure I even want a hardware synth the more I think about it.

The main reason why I was so excited about the Sub Phatty was the fact that it can be used as a MIDI controller. My old controller (Axiom 49) had horrible knobs (stepped, endless) and the thought of using the Moogs knobs was really the main reason I wanted it. I basically wanted a *really nice* (and expensive) MIDI controller that just so happens to have 2 oscillators built in.

But I just bought a Novation 25SL MkII to replace my Axiom 49 and it's fucking glorious. I love it to death - so much so that I don't really think I want the SP at this point. (or any other hardware synth, software is just so much more robust)

So yeah, I think I'm probably going to continue saving my cash and hold out for a beastly synth like the Prophet 12 or a Voyager. Maybe.

[arc]

Also, if Novation makes the Bass Station compatible with Automap, I'm sold.

[ozias_leduc]

these kinds of synths just make me yawn :\

if i'm going to buy a hardware synth i want something crazy or vintage or modular. surely this thing could just as easily be achieved with a VST and midi controller?

what am i missing here?

[arc]

these kinds of synths just make me yawn :\

if i'm going to buy a hardware synth i want something crazy or vintage or modular. surely this thing could just as easily be achieved with a VST and midi controller?

what am i missing here?

I think we're just suckers for new gear.

[Udy]

I miss my old Bass Station, all the hardware was the first to go when times got tough. This looks like great fun but what I really should be spending my money on is a decent MIDI controller to go with the soft synths I've already paid for!

[Hades]

Honestly Hades I'm not really sure I even want a hardware synth the more I think about it.

The main reason why I was so excited about the Sub Phatty was the fact that it can be used as a MIDI controller. My old controller (Axiom 49) had horrible knobs (stepped, endless) and the thought of using the Moogs knobs was really the main reason I wanted it. I basically wanted a *really nice* (and expensive) MIDI controller that just so happens to have 2 oscillators built in.

But I just bought a Novation 25SL MkII to replace my Axiom 49 and it's fucking glorious. I love it to death - so much so that I don't really think I want the SP at this point. (or any other hardware synth, software is just so much more robust)

So yeah, I think I'm probably going to continue saving my cash and hold out for a beastly synth like the Prophet 12 or a Voyager. Maybe.

I think most modern day hardware synths can be used as a MIDI controller, no ?
As long as the knobs are sending out MIDI data, you can use them as a controller. Whether this be Sub Phatty, Bass Station, Evolver,...

If software is what works for you, stick with it. It'll save you a lot of money. (trust me, I know what I'm talking about )
I was all hardware (except for DAW), then half software half hardware, and now I have way more hardware than software, but still use software for 50% of the work.
Whatever works for you mate.

[Hades]

these kinds of synths just make me yawn :\

if i'm going to buy a hardware synth i want something crazy or vintage or modular. surely this thing could just as easily be achieved with a VST and midi controller?

what am i missing here?

I think a lot can be done with software.
I have one or two analog synths here that get very accurately reproduced with software.
But whether or not it can be done with software is impossible to tell untill you actually had the thing for a while in the studio.
In this case, I'd be guessing "sure" ! Cause it's in the lower price range, so the sound will not be so exclusive that you can't copy it with VST's.
But not every analog hardware synth can be copied with VST, that's for sure. We've come a long way, and VST's have become great, but there are still some that can't be copied.

I agree that I'd prefer something more crazy though. The evolver seemed a lot more "exotic" for example than this thing is.

Why would you prefer vintage over this ?
I think most vintage synths (in the same category) will sound better than this (got enough of them here), but I can't possibly tell from just that video.
Plus good luck finding a good functional vintage synth in that category for the same price tag.

[arc]

I think most modern day hardware synths can be used as a MIDI controller, no ?
As long as the knobs are sending out MIDI data, you can use them as a controller. Whether this be Sub Phatty, Bass Station, Evolver,...

If software is what works for you, stick with it. It'll save you a lot of money. (trust me, I know what I'm talking about )
I was all hardware (except for DAW), then half software half hardware, and now I have way more hardware than software, but still use software for 50% of the work.
Whatever works for you mate.

Yeah but most hardware synths out nowadays don't have such knobby panels like the Sub Phatty. All the DSI stuff, Korg, Roland etc., none of them compare in terms of ergonomics IMO.

The only reason I want a hardware piece is to give myself a new workflow to experiment with. Recording straight into audio would put limits on things, limits that would open up new possibilities and force me to think differently about what I was going to do.

Now that I have the 25SL MkII, I finally feel like I have the amount of hands-on control I've always wanted with my VSTs. Automap is truly a thing of beauty, the way it works is amazing. If I could figure out a way to replace the pots on it with Moog-style knobs without breaking it, I'd be in heaven. (but they're fine just the way they are. I *hate* endless encoders for precise performances of something like the cutoff)

[arc]

With all that being said, the new Bass Station has really nice knobs (something I'm really picky about). That big, fat cutoff knob really catches my eye.

[Hades]

That big, fat cutoff knob really catches my eye.

because you find it hard to find the cutoff knob ?

[arc]

That big, fat cutoff knob really catches my eye.

because you find it hard to find the cutoff knob ?

[Hades]

ow now, come on, that's humour

but seriously though, why do they make it big ?
I can't possibly see the point in it.

[arc]

ow now, come on, that's humour

but seriously though, why do they make it big ?
I can't possibly see the point in it.

I think it's the one parameter that producers like to have a really nice knob for. Most everything else can be set and left untouched, but the filter is something that most people like to automate/perform with.

I could be wrong though, that's just my guess.