Moog LP vs Novation Bass Station Rack

[dustinh]

I know that both the little phatty and the bass station are made by two very different companies but I was just curious to see if there is anyone out there that has played both. As far as features go, they are very similar. Both are very simple, straight forward analog synths, although you could buy 3 or 4 Bass Stations for the price of one LP.

I used to own a Bass Station, but I haven't had one or played one in over 15 years so I have forgotten a lot of the the sound of it, and listening to demos only takes you so far. I kinda want to get one again though as it was my first synth and I fondly recall staying up late nights tweaking it and discovering analog synthesis. So I guess it has a nostalgic value for me.

I played the little phatty at guitar center and I was quite pleased with the sound of it as well. Very thick sounding analog synth. I'm pretty sure the LP outclasses the Bass Station in terms of sound, but I'm trying to decide if the price differential is worth it. In other words, how much better and fuller does the LP sound?

I know this is all subjective and you have to find gear that suits you, your tastes and workflow. I just thought I'd get a second opinion on the subject

[Rick N Boogie]

Yes, very subjective, and truthfully, you should do a side by side comparison if there's any question. I know for my ears, there's no substitute for that Moog vibe, and the Phatty has it in spades. I've played with the Novation, and it certainly has it's own vibe, but really, it's apples and handgrenades.

[th0mas]

bass station was the first analog mono I owned. It always sounded quite thin. could not escape it.

Played a moog LP in stores. The controls are a bit annoying (multi-function knobs) but the sound is nicer.

[megamanx]

I used to own a bass station rack, and now I own the LP, I think the BSR sounds brighter than the LP...the lp is darker, grittier...

[redchapterjubilee]

Bass Station sounds really clean, precise. Not very nasty, somewhat refined. I didn't like the controls on it, because I would forget which envelope I was editing (you have to switch between VCA and VCF) and same with the oscillators. Kinda bummed the filter tracking wasn't very precise. But I thought it was a fun instrument. Reminded me of a single Juno voice. The LP...well, it sounds like a Moog. Big, burly, wooly. Made better than Novation, more solid feel. That said, I bass this off of owning both a BS-1 keyboard and a Little Phatty, that I felt like the LP was more of a preset synthesizer. Sure, you've got plenty of real time control, but I found myself tweaking presets I made more than just laying hands on it to mess around. At least the Bass Station had more of that experimental "just mess with it and see what happens" factor to it. I no longer own either synth.

[TheKeytarist]

The Moog uses vco's as opposed to the bass station's dco's, so that probably explains the moog's "thicker, fuller sound". Just recently I had an opportunity to compare the little phatty to a dco synth(DSI mono evolver). I realize that evolver is a completely different beast, but even on sounds without the digital oscilators, I still noticed the dco's thinner sound as opposed to the Phatty's better sounding vco's. I'm not quite sure what it was about the phatty; it didn't nescisarily sound "warm" or "phat", it just sounded good, most certainly better than the othe dco Synths. Plus there's the fact that the Moog has an actuall back lit LCD as opposed the bass station's "cryptic" 80's style LCD. These are just my thoughts...

[dustinh]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm going to hold off on a Bass Station rack. I know that I'm looking at the Bass Station through my biased nostalgia and can see that it wouldn't be the best buy for me, I should just save and get a phatty or even a mopho. I have an alpha juno which can do most of what a Bass Station can do. The Bass Station sounds kinda Rolandy anyway.