Greetings GS members,

I'm a noob here and this is my first post.

I've been lurking for many months and find it is time to join the fray. I need some input from the synth experts here.

My burning question is:

"What are the pros and cons of getting a DSI Mopho Keyboard versus getting a combination of the Arturia Minibrute, DSI Mopho module, and Moog Minitaur"?

For me price is not the issue. I'm wondering if the one DSI unit can do the work and bring the quality of the combo. Is the Moog's bass note so great that I would combine it with the Mopho KB anyway?

I've searched the forum but have not seen this question asked.

In case it influences your replies I do electronic (trip hop, glitch, electro, ambient, dance, experiental noise) and house. I also do fusions of Latin and jazz. Most of my stuff is through a DAW, but I'm designing sounds at this point a I evolve as a producer, and it's time to move to a hardware synth.

That depends entirely on what you figure "the work" is. Leads & bass? Yes. Moog style bass? No. Semi modularity? no. Metalizing? Well, maybe forget about that last one...

Nobody can tell you if you care about Moog style bass except you.

Well, my assumption is that the Moog would be a dedicated fat bass on the low end, the Mopho module would serve up leads, grooves, and bass. But not as deep as the Moog. The Minibrute would be my keyboard while also giving duty to leads and mids, while also providing some decent sound design.

But will the Mopho keyboard do all of this just as well? Granted the Moog sound will not be there without the Moog filter. But will this one unit provide this amount of sound shaping?

The mopho is plenty good enough for leads and massive basses. As is the minitaur but I think one or the other would do. Don't get me wrong this is gearslutz so the standard advice is "BUY EVERYTHING" but why buy three mono synths? Why not buy a tetra and a midi controller? Or a tetra and a minitaur?

You said money wasn't the issue, so buy a tetra and a slim patty?

The combination of the three would give you a much wider palette than just the Mopho keys. Though the Mopho module is a pain to program (you pretty much have to use the computer editor) so you'd miss out on hands-on editing of the DSI synth. In exchange you'd have many more sonic options available.

Or, the GS answer would be: Mopho keys + Minibrute + Minitaur.

Yeah, you buy the Mopho KB for the hands-on programming and the (actually quite nice) keybed. So if you need those things there's your answer.

Sound wise, I've played them all and even owned the Mopho for awhile, and can authoritatively say that whichever you consider "the best" is going to come down to personal preference. Do you want that rubbery Moog bass? The increased modulation options of the Mopho? The new (and quite excellent) sound of the Minibrute? Totally depends what you're after.

Personally, I don't love the Moog sound (it's nice for sure, but not the sound I'm after) and prefer the evolver to the mopho as far as the DSI sound goes, so I'd probably go Minibrute. And unless you really need 3 monosynths, I'd spend the rest on a nice poly (perhaps an evolver? ) .

That too

Good question. When I got my MoPho it was at a point where I was only using software and I was happy with the qualities of the MoPho. I listened to a demo that included an ATC-1 and fell in love with the sound. I found that it was using very different styles of oscs and filter. They could be had fairly cheap at $500 so when one appeared in a local Craig's List I snapped it up and there was a very big difference in character. Both instruments are fairly simple 2 osc monosynths but under the hood there are a whole bunch of design choices that add up to "character" differences that are pretty huge. The idea initially was that the ATC-1 would replace the MoPho, but I found a spot for both of them. In fact, I found a spot for a Phatty as well as it's very different sounding than either one of those.

Now I've got a Minibrute on order. Overkill? Sure, maybe, but I liken it to guitar players who have multiple guitars. Each suited to a different sound and style. (oddly I'm a guitarist who mostly uses the same guitar all the time!) I do like having a nice little complement of different monosynths and crazily enough I have a Prophet 08 as well. They might not all make it into a project, but they all get use. If they didn't I'd get rid of them.

I guess the reason for considering three monos is to capture the unique character of each. More info - I work on a lot of downtempo/chill/trip hop and very soon starting an ambient project. But I also produce higher energy dance stuff. I thought having a more modular approach would allow me to better float between projects. And I like exploring sound shaping with knobs.

Live performance is not a consideration since these are all studio projects.

I've seen a lot of the hype for the Minibrute and Minitaur, but haven't heard much on the full DSI Mopho Keyboard.

I just started looking at the Tetra, but haven't added it to my consideration list.

Wouldnt a mopho + minibrute + minitaur cost about $1100 vs like $800 for a mopho keyboard?

Hard to compare with that much price difference. mopho + 1 of the mb or mt would be more comparable vs the mopho kbd.

If the extra $300 isnt an issue, I'd definitley go for the trio. with the mopho + just th minibrutes kbd you get the same as the mopho kbd, but then you get the minibrute synth and filter + the minibrute synth/filter. To me its no question, get the trio. Its 3 vs 1, and one of the 3 is the same as the 1.

Fair enough, but as a trade-off for having a wide palette of mono's to choose from, there's going to be a lot of cross-over as well. How much this bothers you, if it all, is up to personal preference.

That's because the Mopho is a few years old now, whereas the other two are brand new as of January this year.

More like $1500 vs. $800

Yeah, but he said price wasn't an issue. Hence my recommendation for one or two mono's plus a poly

The MoPho sounded quite good to me especially with the sub-oscillators added in.
It really depends on the sound you are after. I would just try them all out and decide yourself. They all sound different.
Of course the MoPho and MiniBrute both have actual keyboards! The Moog is if you have to have that sound. And it is expensive and fewer features. But there is more to gear than Moog....
Here is a good review of the MoPho if you haven't seen it already and one for the MiniTaur:

I had a Mopho and Moog LP for a while and these handled most of my analog bass needs. I wound up using the Moog as my primary bass 80% of the time. I think you'd have a lot if overlap with all three.

Personally, I'd go with a Tetra and a Minitaur. If you like the Mopho, you'll love the Tetra. I would definitely add a Tetra to your consideration list. If not, I'd go with a Mopho module + Minitaur for the win. Lots of sonic territory would be covered with a DSI synth + Minitaur setup.

+1 for Tetra and Minitaur. that would be a deadly combo. I'd love to spill cash on that. love my Mopho but the 4 voices of the Tetra would be supreme.

I think most of the slutiez here do have both Mopho and a Moog as a standard studio kit. Think of it as a prerequisite for synth bass for any possible projects. The Minibrute might also become one of those prerequisite as well since its so unique sounding.

Sounds convincing ay? instead of just telling you to get all..

Hey are you challenging my slutzibility??

Hey imagine a Tetra Keyboard? DSI you listening?
May get a Tetra to chain with my MEK when it arrives in a few days!
5 voices of mayhem!

if everybody owns one then its sound ISN'T unique.....

Haha.. @ OP Welcome to the sub-layer of Gearslutz

Welcome to GS

All 3 of those monosynths have quite a different sound...The MOPHO is fat with a lot of bass, a juicey filter but a bit plastic sounding. The Minibrute sounds quite edgy/punky and the MiniTaur is a clean modern Moog sound.

First off I would listen to demos on YouTube and see if any stand out to you.

Try to not use logic alone to buy your instruments - start off with listening and what your gut tells you - you need to be inspired by the sound otherwise its pointless.

Other things to consider is that if you are still learning synthesis - The Minibrute, Minitaur and perhaps a Slim Phatty will be better to help learn and program - they have better interfaces and are simpler. This is a big deal - getting hands on making your own patches rather than relying on presets - which is a big temptation with DSI synths. Obviously the Mopho desktop and Tetra are not great but I dont think the MOPHO keys is that user friendly for a beginner either...ok for an intermediate maybe but it has quite a complex architecture and not that many knobs.

If you want to play chords the Tetra is a good suggestion, as well as an Oberheim Matrix 1000 which is great for ambient styles.

Do also consider the Slim Phatty which IMO is a better choice than a MiniTaur which is too limited IMO. The SP (as any Moog) has plenty of bass-plus it can do a lot more.

FWIW having tried most of those synths bar the new ones - for your styles of music I would suggest the Slim Phatty. The Moog sound is a slight cut above in terms of quality and can do all of those styles. I think the Minibrute might be too rawkus for Jazz and the softer ambient. Even better - if you can stretch it get a used rack mount voyager .

I have to say, GS is a GREAT community. You guys have given me a lot to think about. I've heard the concerns of overlap, and I definitely see your points. And I really appreciate some of the alternative options you've put forth.

My current thinking is combining the Minibrute with either a Tetr4 or a Slim Phatty. Watching numerous vids now.

Ya bastards got me.

If you like the mopho/tetra sound, I would buy the Mopho Keyboard. The interface of the modules is very annoying.

The mopho is definitely better as the keyboard imo. I would skip the minibrute and get the mopho keyboard and moog minitaur. Sounds like a winning combo to me.

^^^This. Love the sound of the Mopho desktop...hate editing it. it hasn't been getting used as much due this issue.

The MoKey is the Tetra keyboard. Just think of the Tetra as an expansion module for it.

Unfortunately they're not polychain compatible. Different architecture.


If you've got an iPad there are editors for it that seem to be better than the Soundtower one. Try iControl MIDI.

I think that stacking and detuning oscillators on different synths especially in mono or unison mode sounds better than any one synth could. If there's a filter input on one to "glue" the sounds together so much the better.

Oh and get a used/b-stock mopho keys while you keep an out for used minitaur and minibrute.

I generally assume that one unit can't do it all, which is why I started this thread.

From the feedback so far I think I'll go the "modular" route.

Despite some objections I've decided to order the Minibrute tonight. I really like the sounds it produces and it'll fit well with some project plans I'm making. I'm 75% sure I'll be matching it to a DSI Tretr4. This will give me a keyboard and arguably a full sound spectrum to start from.

I'll add in some lo-fi synth elements, and FX modules for some quirky flourishes.

I'll hold off on the Minitaur for now. Reason being, with these two, plus Monotribes and some lo-fi stuff I'll have plenty to dig into and to build analog music with.

Plus the Dark Energy 2 is due this summer and I'd love to compare it to the Minitaur prior to settling on something.

So any thoughts on the Minibrute/DSI Tetr4 combo?

Should be a good combo.

The drawbacks are:

1) Minibrute only has a 2 octave keyboard which would be limiting if that's your only keyboard.

2) Tetr4 is not easy to program; you'll have to use the editor software.

Sound-wise they should complement each other well.

Also, can anyone confirm that the Minibrute keyboard MIDI out is poly? If you're going to be playing chords on the Tetr4 using the Minibrute you should make sure the Minibrute keyboard sends polyphonic MIDI keyboard data. (I assume it does, but you should check.)

Hmmm...I never thought of that.

Does anyone have a recommendation for the best keyboard to use with a Tetra?

I am almost positive I read that it does, but I can't remember where.

Really, honestly, the best keyboard to use with it is the MoPho. I know that's not what you want to hear, but being able to polychain them together is, IMO, one of the coolest features DSI gave us.

Failing that, any old MIDI keyboard should do - and that's a topic that's been discussed exhaustively here. Search and ye shall receive