Evolver vs BSII

[Grumblepig]

I've been pondering getting a Bass Station II for a while. Not that I need another mono synth, but you know how it is!
I have a Pro One, an MS20mini, an MS10, a Dopefer DE, and a Micromoog to that end. Plus, Prophet 6, Juno 6 and access to a P5 and PolySix.

The BSII looks great on paper and in demos. And simply, I like how it looks. My experience in the music store with it hasn't knocked me out, but even the Prophet 6 sounded "music store-ish" until I bought one, so I don't really worry too hard in that regard.

Only recently did I become aware of the Evolver, the desktop version. I know of many people in synth forums who swear by these machines, and the way they're spoken of does sound like DSI conjured something special. I'm not sure what it is that's pulled me in that direction, and maybe I don't even know what that direction is, but that's why I'm writing for input.

I should add - I'd be using whichever of these two synths for recording.

I imagine these synths are somewhat far apart on the similarity scale, so I'm looking forward to any thoughts from the crowd here!

Cheers!

[Stab Frenzy]

The Evolver will give you a lot of sounds you don't already have, the BS2 won't. The strengths of the Evolver are the digital oscillators, the tuned feedback paths, the delays and the distortion. If you just want regular analogue synth sounds then the BS2 would be better for that, but then again the Pro One you already have would be even better.

[Grumblepig]

That sounds about right - I'm well-covered in analog-land. Of course I'm not much a digi-kid, but I've only heard the best things about the Evolver and I'm open to new (to me) sounds. Maybe it's also that it seems an intriguing and challenging instrument.

[monolith]

The Evolver all the way. With what you already have, a bass station seems absolutely redundant. I love the Evolver, and though it sounds great for analogue stuff I have hardly programmed any typically analogue sounds with it, as it feels it is severely under utilizing it. Even after a few years I'm still floored by how many different sounds can be pulled out of it.

[meatballfulton]

The Evolver has much deeper modulation options...4 LFOs, 3 EGs, 4 slot mod matrix, sequencer can be used for modulation, digital oscillators can be used for audio rate modulation.

[Grumblepig]

Well, I've gone ahead and ordered an Evolver - thanks for the encouragement. It sounds like a unique creature. I'm looking forward to getting lost!

[Rick N Boogie]

I've been totally lost inside my Evolver KB for over 5 yrs, and still amazed with the depth and complexity of it.
Enjoy it, push it, and be amazed.

[Grumblepig]

Yeah - I've been much enjoying the Evolver. Using it in bits and pieces so far, dabbling. Sometimes just reaching for it as analog monosynth, other times tripping out on the freako sequencer, trying to get my head 'round!

My attempts at using it as audio input have been cute, uh, at best, so far! I'm getting guitar sounds that are not unlike what I came up with as boneheaded teen, so nice to see I'm still the same person no matter what gear I'm using!

[Stab Frenzy]

One cool thing you can do with the Evolver easily that nothing else really does is modulating the delay time using the envelope follower on the input. Sounds quite cool on vocals, quiet bits have short delay and loud ones get massive.