Why I love my MicroMonsta

[@jimmy_jamesjams_a_lot4171]

Cool! I’m glad I stumbled upon this, I love the small little desktop MIDI synths. This one is exquisite! Thank you for sharing about this!

[@-Deena.]

Thank you! Excellent review. I was about to buy one but couldn't find a detailed and intelligent review until I found yours. I now understand why you love it! 🧡

[@audiothingies]

Great video! Workflow tip: all bipolar values (lfo/env amounts for example) can be reset to 0 by pushing their respective encoder.

[@sbookholt]

audiothingies cool, didn't know that!

[@audiothingies]

SB-SIX another one: in lfo step menu, long press one of the encoder to fill the steps with random values (the encoder number adjusts the amount of random around zero)

[@sbookholt]

audiothingies wow I think I need to read the manual again :)

[@seth4766]

you have convinced me! how had I not heard of this before yesterday?!

[@smokey90]

Thank you for the great video, awesome tutorial on programming the micromonsta.

[@sbookholt]

You're welcome 🙂

[@ChrisSpotta]

audiothingies owes you another commission! been on the fence for a few weeks, this demo was the deciding factor.

[@sbookholt]

Cool enjoy, I think you won't be dissapointed :)

[@InstantlyDistant]

Great video, I really appreciate the details you provide

[@sp-404hypnodiqsoundjunkie8]

Excellent video, you explain things well and helped give me a better understanding of wavetable and FM synthesis. This new gear addiction has me looking at old sound/synth modules lately, i.e.: Kawai, KORG, Roland, Yamaha, etc. I’m kind of glad that I lost my bid on a K3m this evening and am definitely buying this instead, it sounds incredible. Post more, subbed.

[@sbookholt]

Cool thanks! I had a k3 way back. The chorus and filters were gorgeous on that, but the micro is more versatile and more fun to program indeed imho

[@sp-404hypnodiqsoundjunkie8]

@@sbookholt Yeah, that K3m ended up going for $247. Not unreasonable, but I didn't want it that bad, lol. Figured for that kind of money on a 30+ yrs. old instrument, I may as well buy something more up to date and space- friendly. Now, trying to decide between this MicroMonsta and PreenFM2. That thing looks pretty slick too.

[@sp3ct3rsd3mos]

sounds beautiful.

[@timijandrpicminatti7506]

Excellent video! Very clear, nicely presented and the sounds are very pleaseant. Useful presentation of the user interface. This beast completely escaped my awareness - up to now. Cheers

[@sbookholt]

Timijan Drpić Minatti Cool thanks, glad it was useful!

[@damiansalza7297]

I have to say I am impressed with this synth. For a digital synth it has a great punch and smoothness to it. Even with FX off. Definitely digital sounding but that is not a bad thing if done right. Its done right and oh yeah, the price is amazing for what you get!

[@Jim_KYB]

Great video, I had no idea about the step LFO feature, I'll give this a try. Do you know if it's possible to get a Hoover type sound out of this? Thanks

[@sbookholt]

For a hoover sound you'll need a saw wave with pwm. Not many synths have that. Next to the alpha juno I only know of Peak and Pro2 who can do this successfully

[@hugocaldeiravinagre]

hello. thanks for the video. can it do monophonic legato glide?

[@sbookholt]

Yes sure!

[@girlinagale]

Excellent demo. I shall buy one after looking at dozens of other synths, I really like the new digital sounds, I use a Novation Circuit and have developed a liking for the wave table/digital sounds. Even though I am tempted by analogue stuff there is the realisation that for my music work I prefer the liquid and feathery sounds of digital synthesis.

[@sbookholt]

girl in a gale Thanks! yes wavetables can be alot of fun, and the monsta can do very convincing analog emulations as well. Circuit sounds like fun, never played one...

[@girlinagale]

Circuit is often delicious, but the two synths need editing through a usb connection on computer which makes it too limited in sound design (I feel to connect usb and boot up a laptop is a stopper in my creative flow). I tend to get a 'Pack' from the Circuit Components site and work with it for a few weeks then fancy something different. You can assemble your own packs easily and that gives you 64 patches, although any sessions saved retain their patches so you can use the new patches and as long as they are not saved to that session it returns to it's saved patches. I find Circuit most useful, with drum sequencer (the four drum channels use samples, so they can be any sounds) very productive and fun. What attracts me about Micomonsta is having all the synth controls at hand (Circuit has eight assignable macro knobs and a deep mod matrix system). Both Circuit and Micromonsta would be excellent.

[@sbookholt]

OK I see, then they would make a great team I reckon.

[@thedrumunkey]

I've spent more on VSTs that sound worse and are less capable. I need this. Thanks for sharing. Audiothingies owes you commission. :)

[@inthefade]

Yeah there is something special going on with this synth. I don't know if it is just the DAC, clever programming, or both, but the sounds are always more pleasing to my ear.

[@thedrumunkey]

I'll soon find out! Ordered one yesterday, and even though it says back order, it's scheduled to be at my home on Wed. That's amazing. What a time we live in!

[@am5790]

yes, what a time we living in. The democratization of hardware and software has become an enabler of potential and unleashed some creative engineering. Its like living in sonic heaven. TO make a living from it is another story tho.

[@jessetaldotcom]

Excellent demo vid.

[@sbookholt]

Jesse Tal Thanks!

[@sonnyhancock]

Great demo.

[@sbookholt]

sonny hancock Cheers, and thanks for the twitter shoutout

[@madmac66]

Just sounds incredible. The bottom end is colossal. I am shopping for my first analog synth after playing a CS1x for years. That’s a wave table synth but I assume that’s completely different. One thing that concerns me is the amount of menu diving you have to do. That’s what using the CS1x is like. Was looking at Microbrute or Timbre Wolf as all the controls are right there. But I just keep coming back to the incredible sound of this little beauty. How is it to use in live situations?

[@sbookholt]

Mad Mac 66 Its not bad at all for live. You can map 4 params per patch to the main screen. Accessing the other params is simply hitting the [env/osc/lfo/filter/fx] button and turning the knobs. If you want a knobby version of a synth comparable to this you might like the novation peak.

[@madmac66]

SB-SIX Hi thx for the reply. Good to know it’s usable for live. The four macro encoders would fill most needs I think. The Peak does sound quite nice too, but well out of my budget. I really like the small form factor with this too, my space is very limited. Thx again

[@sbookholt]

Mad Mac 66 Then go for it! There is nothing better at this pricepoint and form factor imho

[@shrigg]

How do you think Micromonsta compares to the Mutable Instruments Ambika or Modor NF-1M?

[@sbookholt]

Darren Shroeger I honestly don’t know, haven’t touched either of them

[@noiselabproject9659]

I recently got a Nord Rack 2x to add to my setup but I suspect that this Synth engine is better even though a new one of these is much less than even a s/h 2x ...... the 2x interface is Mega though just imagine that interface on this if you will ?

[@sbookholt]

Noiselab Project Exactly. Nord has a more handson interface but I like this engine alot more.

[@am5790]

great demo. was considering monologue....the economy of footprint is attractive but since I like using step-sequencer maybe monologue is practical...true or am I wrong?

[@sbookholt]

Yes if you don't care about polyphony or wavetables monologue would be a great choice I think.

[@am5790]

SB-SIX sorry for late response...thank you for responding.... I like it for being poly and I am not analogue purist ...realized that I could sequence it externally.

[@alexandervos6122]

Hey man, you think its better then the blofeld? I'm debating between the two.

[@sbookholt]

Alexander Vos yes i personally like it better than the blo but that is subjective of course. I find the micromonsta much quicker to navigate and sounds warmer. The blo has more features though, although they can be a bit buried in the menus.

[@EvilDragon666]

I think they are complimenting each other perfectly, actually! I have a Blofeld on my desk. I'm going to have a Micromonsta, as soon as they're available again. :)

[@WARDISWARD]

Does it do osc. fm and sync at the same time ? SO osc 2 modulated by osc 1 , and at the same time synced to osc 1. Is the fm linear or exponential ?

[@sbookholt]

Ward de jager No it does not have real sync nor fm. the sync and fm sounds are made with 1 osc and using the shape knob. I think its the same technique as the wavetables, scanning thru waves with increased sync/fm

[@sbookholt]

The AM is different, that is using the both oscs to produce the sound

[@audiothingies]

Actually FM and Sync oscillators are not wavetable based, they are dsp based. You won't get these results with wavetables

[@timkermans]

Such a great vid! I've had it for 2 months now but still learned some new tricks. Thanks! (for all the readers, check out the facebook user group ;-) )

[@sbookholt]

Tim Kermans Cheers buddy, very curious how your controller project will go

[@mpmi7588]

Does it sequence? Does it allow multi tracks via midi?

[@sbookholt]

No, no 😊

[@mpmi7588]

@@sbookholt thanks for the reply

[@laurencevanhelsuwe3052]

Nice architecture and great sounds.. now if they released a full interface version.. one knob per function, that would be extremely attractive.

[@sbookholt]

Yes I would definitely be interested too :)

[@spotlight-kyd]

Very good content, but may I suggest turning off the autofocus on your camera next time? The noise the autofocus motor makes and the constant going in and out of focus of the video are pretty annoying.

[@sbookholt]

Thanks yes I will!

[@alyeska4226]

Ooh, tasty!

[@ReneeNme]

Worth $200 USD max.

[@2112jonr]

It's worth what people are willing to pay for it. Welcome to free market economics.