sub 37 versatility

I have a small home studio setup (list at end) and am considering the sub 37 but is it very versatile? I assume itll allow me to create punchy bass lines and leads and not just limited to bass? Ive found with other synths there always seems something was not added (filter tracking bs2) and want a synth that can do much more than the others I own.

Thats quite vague question but I want to invest correctly.


kit so far:

ultranova
ms20 mini
bass station 2
maschine studio
tr8 roland
3 x korg volcas
monotribe
push

saffire pro 40
focusrite octopre dynamic.

The Sub37 is so versatile that you may even end up selling off some of your other gear :wink: . I used to have a lot of plastic toys too, but once I entered the Moog world and experienced the bliss of a truly professional analog synthesizer, I sold off all the toys to make room for Moogerfoogers :laughing:

Once you own a modern-classic professional analog synthesizer like the Sub37 (or Voyager :wink: ) you’ll wonder how you ever got along without one.

I fully agree with namahshaman. You are going to be pleasantly surprised with all the things you can do with a Sub 37, and even more pleased that you’ll keep discovering new ways to use it, even after years of use. I have been programing the Sub 37 a LOT since April of 2014, and I’m still finding unexpected new tricks. The forthcoming update is going to be a serious advancement and, after that, the editor will offer even more feature expansions.

I find it quite versatile. I have a modest modular synthesizer and most of the patches and ideas I come up with work with the sub 37 as well. The modulation on the sub 37 is really intuitive and flexible.

The only feature available in a similarly priced synth which I would love to have is the flexible dual filter with variable routing in the DSI Pro 2. Multimode filters are sweet. Sub 37’s filter / drive / feedback sounds great but it is a single LPF.

The forthcoming update is going to be a serious advancement and, after that, the editor will offer even more feature expansions.

Promises, promises. :laughing: j/k

It’s a fantastic synth and will take you some time to realize just how much depth it has. I feel other synths, many quite powerful but I think the Sub37 would be the last to leave since it is such a joy to work with. I have a hard time thinking anyone who is slightly interested in it would be disappointed once it arrived.

Well as luck has it the waiting list was quite long where I live but someone had cancelled an order at the distributer and I ordered mine 10 minutes after so got mine within a day, it really is a beauty, feel like a duck out of water but will spend time with it. Is there any news of VST editor or is that still in the wind?

Regarding versatility: I’ve said this before, I sometimes stand in front of the Sub37 for hours tweaking and playing. One thing leads to another just like when I’m in front of my modular. I won’t claim it is as versatile as the modular, but it is close. There are a ton of ways to get sound out of it, and a ton of sounds too. It’s been a huge time sink for me, in a very good way.

A perfume on a vintage episode of the Simpsons:

http://springfieldfiles.com/albums/misc/0141.JPG

I just got a Sub 37, and I definitely remember Voyager (which I owned some years ago) having a greater range of musical tones, when adding various kinds of modulation. If say you want to add some slight slow lfo vibrato to one of two oscillators to get that Pat Metheny synth solo sound (ideally with a BP filter), the oscillators on the Sub 37 tend to interfere with each other creating stepping/beating effects (w/low mixer levels and no multidistortion), while Voyager which sounded completely smooth. Of course, Sub 37 is much more practical and affordable synth. I couldn’t imagine using Voyager for various local gigs, but the Sub 37 is great for that.

(Edited for clarifation again and again…lol.)

You probably already know this but, just in case…

It’s crucial that the MIXER knobs are set at 5 (12 o’clock) or less for “clean” tones as they’re all designed to clip above 5.

Yes of course, I’m not a complete noob… :slight_smile:

the oscillators on the Sub 37 interfere with each other creating an ugly stepping/beating effect making this impossible

Well, something’s wrong. Mine definitely does not have an ugly stepping/beating effect (unless I want it). Could you post a sound file and patch settings?

Hmm… Could you make a traditional 2 osc lead sound, and use a slow triangle wave mod source (ie. vibrato) to either osc 1 or 2’s pitch. In other words, one oscillator has a stable pitch, while the other goes slowly slightly up and down in pitch. I don’t get a smooth pitch variation, instead the oscillators interact in a kinda grainy/aggressive way (same thing in duophonic mode). It’s nothing extreme, but I don’t get the smooth Metheny sound. Maybe it’s because I’m doing this with a LP filter with lower frequencies muddying the sound, unlike the Voyager’s BP filter mode. Do you really get a completely smooth pitch interaction this way? I would really appreciate if you could confirm this. I’ll post a sound file tomorrow (late evening here..).

I’ll give it a try, but it won’t be until late Sunday - I have an out-of-town family thing this weekend. Sounds like an interesting experiment :slight_smile:

Thanks! Looking forward to hear about your findings. PS: If you use headphones and both osc. in same octave, then it will be the most obvious.

I assume you dont have osc sync on, do you?

In the meantime, see if you can hear it on this recording. It uses Duo mode: https://soundcloud.com/mmarsh/sub37chords