Hi. First post on this forum. I’ve been producing within Ableton using their inbuilt Synths (Analog mainly), producing House. I’m wanting to move on to another now. I’ve been eyeing-up the outstanding Sub37, but I have also noticed NI’s Komplete package…
Looking for a word of advice/guidance. Ni’s Komplete package comes with a awful lot packed into it, half of which I’ll probably never touch to learn - but I’ve heard Monarch replicates a Moog, plus a good value for money. Where as the Sub37 is slightly more expensive, for one killer synth… What are your thoughts?
The Moog sound is just really really good and I dont know of another synth that can emulate that accurately. The bottom line is do you want that sound or not? I have a friend who has a modular setup and he got a Moog Mother 32 and he ended up getting rid of it because he said it made his other equipment sound terrible by comparison. I think if you get a Moog you do it primarily because of the quality of sound that it produces. That is why I did and I haven’t looked back.
Emulations’ accuracy is one thing, but the ability one has to amke the difference is another one. I’m not sure I could tell the sonic difference, to be honest.
What I am sure however is that the experience of playing a instrument vs. playing a soft synth is totally different.
My bottom line is: it mainly comes to the playing experience one looks for.
I have NI Komplete and “real” instruments as the Minitaur (and a couple of other ok analog hardsynths + foogers and some outboard gear) and guitars. I think of these two type of products as impossible to compare, and I enjoy both. To me they are complements. You can readily get some decent sounds from NI Komplete (grand piano, strings, percussive sounds, etc), which sometimes can be of great use. The Guitar Rig is also a good amp emulator.
The “real” instruments, however, just speak to me more musically (as mainly a guitar player I am amazed how many awful guitar plugins that pops up). Having for some years done most on a DAW with various plugins, I felt more like a programmer than a musician. So I love having turned towards to more “real” instruments. They have real knobs you turn . It makes a major difference for me, compared to turning a graphical image with a mouse. Granted, the Monark does impressive bass sounds, but I just like playing with the Minitaur so much more. I feel I can hear the difference. And as a hobbyist, that feeling is more important than passing an A/B test (which I admittedly may not be able to).
So, ultimately it depends on what you want to do. I would think getting both would be a great idea. Choosing only one will imo either give you many different musical and sonic possibilities to program, or leave you with just one (but probably totally awesome) instrument to be actually played.
I think if you get a Moog you do it primarily because of the quality of sound that it produces. That is why I did and I haven’t looked back.
. It makes a major difference for me, compared to turning a graphical image with a mouse. Granted, the Monark does impressive bass sounds, but I just like playing with the Minitaur so much more. I feel I can hear the difference. And as a hobbyist, that feeling is more important than passing an A/B test (which I admittedly may not be able to).