Just played with a Novation BS2...

[Alex E]

Can anyone comment on the actual keybed? Is the aftertouch a usable pressure feel? I felt the Minibrute was too touchy, and my Eps16+ is very hard.

To me, it felt just right. Not as springy and touchy as the Minibrute.

[SeventhStar]

I played around with a Bass Station 2, Little Phatty and a Micro Brute recently at my local Guitar Center.

I spent the most time with the Bass Station 2. I don't like the Micro Brute keyboard at all. The keys are like something I'd expect to see on a Toys-R-Us keyboard. The Bass Station 2 has full size keys, and they feel much better when playing. I also, preferred the sound coming out of the Bass Station 2.

If I had to pick one of those three, I would take the Bass Station 2 over the Micro Brute and the Little Phatty. I think the Bass Station 2 is an overall better buy, for the money, than the other two. The extra $150 or so over the Micro Brute would be well worth it to me. And its price is cheap, compared to the Little Phatty, and sounds about as "Phatt" to me.

[rob_lee]

Had a Micro Brute 2 days and sent it back (not for me) Had a BS2 since day one (use it on everything)
Each to their own

Rob

[blavatsky]

I could probably dig and find this out, but can someone with a BS2 (and whose played/owned a minibrute) answer this?

Is there something comparable to "brute factor" on the minibrute on the BS2? That is one of my favorite MB features and can really make a vanilla saw/triangle based patch really scream and wail. Is the distortion/OD on the BS2 good or sort of thin/digital like a lot of built in synth effects of that sort ?

Can you blend waveforms, like on the MB (ie, sliders or knobs to do tri/saw/square combos)?

How is the keyboard compared between the 2?

Any other selling points you'd like to mention?

Thanks

[Alphacode]

There are only selling points, it's beyond what you can imagine for that kind of money , they just blew off the other monos (in similar price range of course up to Little phatty) as far as sound and features go. Someone mentionned ultrafast lfo in a Sub ,you have them too in the BS , Also someone asked about the VCA limiter , well i found it does add slight clipping on very subtle sounds at maximum setting but works wonders anyway , the Keys are fantastic ! Go for it.

Really have to make that video.

[Jabberwalky]

Dammit, I really don't need one of these

[smcumber]

It's really a rad synth. If Novation puts out an update so you can adjust keytracking I think there won't be too much to complain about.

[Kenneth]

I can vouch for the BS2 keybed. Feels great, very similar to the Minibrute, though perhaps not as solid as the Sub. Aftertouch has adjustable amount and rate (just routed to one of the LFOs) so no issues there. I'm planning on buying one this week.

[Blue Monster 65]

Would a software update be able to give it control over key tracking? As I think was stated above (mis-information and all - ha!) I believe Novation was the one who stated it was set at 100%. Certainly seems it was to me, but I could be mistaken since it's been a while since I had it.

I enjoyed mine, but it came in just before I cleaned house on stuff and it went with everything else. I felt the key bed was light and springy, but not too much so.

I might grab another one when I start buying stuff again. It's a circle I enjoy and certain pieces either come and leave or they come and stay and that one probably should have stayed.

[blavatsky]

Picked up a BS2 for relatively cheap on ebay, bought to replace a minibrute - nothing wrong with the brute, just wanted some of the BS2 features like 2nd osc, presets, step recorder

First impressions: I've come to really like the filter and brute factor on the MB, as well as the metallizer - so at first the BS seems a little plastic-y/very DCO/a little mild sounding....harder to get that grit/about-to-come-apart feeling you can dial in easy on the MB. However, once i dialed in some bass-y patches on the BS, there was no denying it had a thicker low end and the filter, while different, has a lot of possibilities. Plus, the 2nd osc, filter FM, distortion etc give you some options to build more dynamic sounds that it at first seems. Presets and arp are very nice, although I haven't quite clicked with the arp as much as the simple tap tempo MB one.

Overall, I'd like to keep both but money and space being limited I think the MB will go on craigslist; the BS has great gigging possibilities with the presets and through a big system the bass patches can really rumble. Recommended.

[Jabberwalky]

Mine arrives on Monday, from Proaudiostar @$350!! You can't argue with that at all.

[megamanx]

dang at that price, very very tempting!

[Blue Monster 65]

Jabber, you will love it!

[Darkseid]

I just got mine last Sunday and gotta say I love it. The keyboard feels great and it sounds awesome.

[shaft9000]

It's really a rad synth. If Novation puts out an update so you can adjust keytracking I think there won't be too much to complain about.

i think this about sums it up.
playing around with one is a helluva lot of fun, and if i were in the market to get a new mono it would be near the top of the to-try list, cheapie or no