At the first glance this Bad Gear video is ticking all the boxes. Moby lookalike, tons of random memes, controversial gear that will rise in price after this video and sick jams in genres that I didn't know existed but now need to hear a full album of.
At first glance, this comment is ticking all the boxes. Random internet users stringing together words, controversial opinions, funny satire and eloquent expressions. However, the content is a bit wobbly and the meaning is lacking. Now onto the jam.
Normally meme heavy videos/channels bug the crap out of me but the way he does it doesn't detract from the content and often references stuff that I actually find nostalgic in a way that I find humorous instead of annoying.
I recently got a perfect condition Circuit Mono Station for around 270 bucks US, which is by far my favourite 303 emulator. The sound engine of CMS is somewhat a downgrade version of Bass Station II given only 1 LFO and 1 single EG are available. However, I would never imagine how the sequencer would change my opinion for an analog synth before CMS, which is so powerful and versertile that you could pull all your imagination into reality. People yelled that they would exchange CMS for Arturia Minibrute 2S for better sound design possibility, but I came the other way around. CMS is really a good combination of analog sounding richiness and digitally control versatility, the two separte paraphonic sequencer really made this unit shine among the synth world.
I loved this so much I sold it. I then bought another a couple years later after I learned how to use synthesizers. Now I'm a happy mono station user 😄
Monostation is one of the most useful synths I own. It sits somewhere in most of my tracks effortlessly. Never could figure out how so many missed on this one. Their loss!
Easily my favorite under appreciated synth. These were $599 when they came out. I got mine a few months ago in mint condition for $300. I think these were confusing for a lot of people because of the original Circuit. Was my best kept secret synth till now!
My baby!! This is a surprisingly great synth... especially if you got it when the prices dropped. The sounds do get tired pretty quickly but I found running it through some decent pedals really opened up what you could do with it. With the Deluge sitting next to it I have more than enough colourful pad controllers... Whatever I get next is going to have keys.
You mastered the art of showing the bad side of each gear while making it sound good, showing *at the same fucking time* how can it sound good if held in good hands. Well... Also - Speach 100 - Smart ass quotes - Fantastic movies and cartoons references - amazing script - bulet speed memes and inside jokes coming letf and right -- the rare ablity of knowing how to make a little fun of yourself sometimes - great jams everytime - lots of episodes in little time spam How you are able to do all this and wrap it up so fine its beyond me. We can just be grateful. You run now the best electronic music oriented series on the internet Florian.
That may be a common, unifying factor among audio pilz viewers. We’re all here because we have bad gear but we still make it rock because every piece of gear, good or bad, in the right hands can make magic. Sometimes you just have to get a little creative to get where you want to be going and that creativity is what sets you apart from everyone else ^_^
It sadly came out when i just made the switch from multiple external sequencer to sequencing everything in my DAW. Otherwise i'd probably have bought one. I'm a huuuge Novation fangirl and really like their synths. It's a pretty nice synth in itself and the sequencer is one of the best in this kind of synths. I guess, it might really be worth a look, if you want to get away from those usual and overused 303 acid lines. Besides the various 303 clones there aren't many synths that offer an accessible, performance oriented sequencer like the Monostation does. If you look at it as some kind of specialized analog groovebox, it really doesn't have any competitors. Maybe that's also a reason why it failed. If there would be demand for a "groovebox synth" like the monostation, i guess there would be more competition.
I'm thinking of going back to the DAW myself. I mostly like my (buggy) Keystep Pro, but I need more tracks and flexibility than a DAWless rig offsrs. Plus, I miss being able to mangle digital audio.
@@mikemeengs5720 - plenty of hardware sequencers out there with lots of tracks. Maybe less flexible than a DAW but massively more fun to use. Imho of course!
That's it: for the forthcoming thermonuclear winter I'm only keeping the Timber Behr and Circuit Mono Station. The one thing about the Circuit Monostation is that it's a badass machine that sounds absolutely amazing in every way.
My favourite small synth! I love this thing! And yes I do understand it's a bit of a strange concept. But it's so much more versatile than it has any right to be. The patch flipping thing is great for drum sounds. It can become a unique drum machine, an acid bass machine, and a lead machine, sometimes in one sequence. This is the thing I'd rescue if my house was on fire.
thank you for doing this one! I have to admit I have a lot of fun rocking my monostation. It pairs nicely with tracks, and rhythm as well. man, I'm digging you jams this week. keep up the fantastic work you do. I look forward to your content every Friday ⚡️
Minor correction on something you said about the CV/Gate outputs - in the 1.2 update they allowed using the mod sequencer to send the CV/Gate, decoupling it from the internal sequence. Makes it way more viable.
I came to comment this too! I love using mine to control my 0-Coast. Also the analogue clock in/out is incredibly useful too - coupled with MIDI, it’s a machine which can talk to basically anything in my setup, which makes it super versatile
@@EuanLynn I've been super curious about how the midi clock out behaves if you send it a wonky pulse - was wondering if the 0-ctrls ingenious time controls might be send over midi to other gear via the CMS... Wouldn't happen to own a 0-ctrl as well to test, would you?
@@RDijt No I’m afraid I don’t have an 0-Ctrl, sorry! It’s a very interesting thought though - I assume it transmits virtually whatever clock it receives outwards through MIDI though, so what you’re suggesting would make sense I think. Would be very interesting if it did work like that!
@@EuanLynn yeah I'm going to have to test it! Love the idea of variably timed steps and would be awesome to sync with my digitakt via CMS if it does translate in such a manner. Like you said, I imagine that's how it would work, but I wonder if the midi being a digital standard has some sort of limitation in how that would operate.
$260 CAD on Kijiji (after talking down the price a bit) - straight up sweetest purchase I ever made. The only thing I now regret is not getting the MicroFreak instead when it was available for $300. But with the CSM the way you can send LFO to velocity and modulate one oscillator with another, - the sound has some real character to it, I swear it feels like playing a real analog instrument of some sort. Also this little thing was the best intro into the world of pads a traditional piano guy like me could wish for.
@@MikeButle it's the dongles - especially annoying when synth A needs a Type B dongle and synth B needs an Type A dongle and both need to be connected by a 5-pin MIDI lead and finding short MIDI leads is a challenge in itself.
It's like you can read minds. I have this device, and I really like the quality of everything, and it's a good machine to get results really fast. I was thinking of getting myself a circuit and something something bass (had a bass station 2 in mind, even), and then discovered the mono station which a French seller had on massive discount. Now I have a reduced bass station 2 which looks like a circuit 😁 What I particularly like is that your can get easy results fast, but when you dive into it, you can do really sophisticated stuff with it. And as always: nice video! Thanks for all the work you put into your channel. It's become a valuable resource for synth related information. 👍
Rewatching this I realize that at the end listening to your summary it almost sounds like you fell I love. Seldomly have I seen so much passion about a bad gear device coming from you. Need to check this out. I had it 4-5 years ago but never used it cause I was irritated by the workflow but now the video made me feel like I need a challenge. Damn you !
I had buyers remorse at first but Im glad I kept the circuit mono station, mainly because I use mine as a midi/CV master controller. It replaced my Korg SQ-1.
I feel a little bad for Novation with this product as it feels to me like it’s a victim of behind ahead of it’s time. Behringer proved there’s still a great market for selling analogue mono synths and DAWless jamming is currently all the rage. Had this product been priced right (cheaper than a beatstep pro + Model D) it would have been a great “first synth” that gives a taste of subtractive synthesis plus a really powerful sequencer to expand into when it’s time to buy the next synth. I think a few tweaks to make the sequencer handle say 3 lanes + an external drum kit, this product could be re released with better success today given the current trends. It was an idea that came too soon and really, Novation probably deserve some praise for seeing the future even if they released it too soon to know it yet, lol
I have two Mono stations, its unique in its kind, very hands on. Too bad that novation abandoned the synt, I hope someone do the hardware of software mods for it.
And now with the Mono Station that's almost every piece of gear that I own covered on this channel lol, I'm pretty sure you'll get to the rest eventually but I'm not going to tell you what those are :D The Circuit Mono Station is a little bit of a strange beast, but the sequencer and automation on it are so good, really a shame it got discontinued! The workflow on it is one of the best of any analogue synths I've used
Finally a bad gear synth I own! I'm prob biased but I love it. I think there were three main problems: Firstly, despite it actually being pretty powerful, it kind of looks and feels like a toy. Second, the single envelope turned alot of people off. But most importantly, the original price was entirely too high, especially considering the early bugs, and by the time they had fixed everything and lowered the price, it was too late and any buzz they could have created was long dead. But I got mine for just over 200 bucks, and at that price, these are a steal. Especially after they released the sample flip feature, which allows this to be used in a myriad if different ways, not the least of which is a simple drum machine. The sequencer is highly underrated and super versatile. They are still readily available for around $300 in mint condition; anyone wanting a simple but great sound mono with a sequencer that has patch memories, this is def a candidate to keep in mind.
@@martinlymer9535 I don't totally disagree, but I was more referring to the somewhat awkward oscillator knob section, which lights up like an old Litebrite or something and also the weird laminate-like yellow bottom which actually is pretty functional but looks sorta cheap at first glance. It also kinda LOOKS like a toy to me, but that is subjective I suppose. But hey, if you read my whole post, I make plain how much I love the Mono Station overall. And I'll even go a step further and say that I think there is a possibility it becomes a real rare gem at some point in the future. This would be partially due to how short of a time the product was available; I mean, my guess would be that there can't be THAT many out there in total. I've considered buying a spare on numerous occasions.
Nicht nur hier auf, aber insbesondere wieder mal hier fällt mir Deine musikalische Kompetenz auf. Hinter dem klasse Konzept (Intro, Phrasen, Struktur, Closing) baust Du Dir einen ganzen Haufen Erfahrung mit Geräten und deren musikalischer "Ausschlachtung" (ok, der ist etwas heftig) auf. Konsequenz daraus: Deine Meinung zu Geräten hat für mich hohe Relevanz! Klar, gibt es noch persönliche Vorlieben, aber so breit gefächerte Erfahrung ist selten. Also nochmals: ganz klasse Format und Inhalt. Danke!
I had one of these and absolutely loved the concept, but no matter how hard I tried, just could not get a sound I loved out of it, which was a shame, as for ages it seemed like the perfect 'secret weapon' synth. Ended up sitting in a corner unloved. Sad to give up and sell it, but life is too short for synth-uninspiration
That's where I am with mine. Just glad I bought it after they dropped the price. I hate to concede defeat but now that it's been on Bad Gear this could be the best time to sell.
It’s gorgeous and I’m shocked I’d never seen it before! Shame it didn’t have a built in drum sequencer though, as a self-contained groovebox that would’ve been 🤤
Great video! I once owned the Circuit Mono Station and was very fond of it, but alas, we had to part ways. Good Stuff: The sequencer was amazing and after one of the firmware updates, it allowed me to enter a different patch to each step which made for some interesting results. The cut-down synth engine sounded nice and beefy, which gave some of my Moog's a run for their money. Not So Good Stuff: While the synth engine was OK, I do wish they would have simply migrated the full BS2 engine to expand its sound palate. I never got comfortable with the pad-based interface. Another annoyance was its garish, plasticky look. However, with all that said, your excellent tracks using the Mono Station brought back nice memories of my days with it.
Still amazed at the amount of skill shown in these demos. They always sound amazing. I also really enjoy the knowledge and explanations on synth related functions, I actually find actual tutorials harder to follow than this. Memes are also always on point. Will we ever see a Good Gear channel ? :) Novation.. how about the Novation supernova ? they are kinda bad, right ?
There are some “better gear” videos lurking on this channel… a rare beast, not often found in the wild, but I heard from a weary traveller that they occasionally appear
I've got 2 of these. Super underrated. I use them way more than my bass station. Built in pads give totally unique basslines, especially when played paraphonically. And they pair fantastically with circuit. I'll get a polyend medusa before long. Novation sells them refurbished for $199 when in stock.
This would have had a better chance if it was marketed more clearly. At the time the circuit was hot and was getting updates left and right. Much like today, even then, there was a lot of speculation about a new and improved circuit. And then this dropped and despite everything felt like a huge step backwards. No one saw the analog synth, no one saw the potential because it just felt like Novation completely missed the mark. No one asked for this. And that's a shame because it really is cool. I get the feeling this little thing will be "rediscovered" by some indie artist who buys one for like $50 in 2034 and then writes a top 40 hit with it,
A similar deal with it's bastard-sibling , the Pioneer SP-16. I just bought one this week. I's got a phenomenal sound and workflow/ jam-ability - but it is ALSO 'feature-crrippled', and it becomes easy to see why so many don't like it.
"Hey! People love the circuit, people love the Bass Station 2! What if we did the unique and intuitive groovebox interface, but for the Station!" "So a Circuit with one Monophonic Synth voice?" "Yeeeah! But it's like, intuitive!" "So it's a Bass Station 2 with a slightly better sequencer." "No, no, It's a Circuit, but with Bass Station sounds. It's Paraphonic!" "And drums and a digital poly synth or something to round it out and make the interface worth using?" "Well, no, but -"
@@AudioPilz generally when you get "the synth but with a better sequencer and no keys" it's around the same price and doesn't reduce features, the Korg stuff comes to mind. Though granted, this does have the nice glowy pads so you can pretend you're an Ableton Live DJ.
I have a BS2 and I got this to save space in my live set up. I just never understood it. The 2 voice mode was just weird. I tried for a few weeks and then had to get rid of it. I’ve had a lot of synths and this actually made me quite angry. I have no idea why. It had such potential.
I just got this yesterday used off of Reverb. I wanted a cheap, portable mono synth with patchy memory that is easy to sequence. So far I really like it. But not for its looks.
I love my circuit tracks so I could only imagine a similar sequencer on something that makes real honest to god beefy analog sounds with a nasty sounding filter. I'm assuming this would give me something like that. Obviously the sampler on the tracks is a big part of its appeal but it's synth engine doesn't come close to those sounds and I generally use it to sequence other hardware because of that.
Thanks again for the legendary videos. Would like to mention though that this synth does perform parameter locking akin to an Elektron box by holding down the sequencer step and moving any parameter. Loopop video demonstrates this. Now I’m waiting for mine to be delivered!
I wonder what people think of thing these days, since Elektron has released the Syntakt. With 12 tracks and a lot of drum sounds to pick from it's more of a fully featured groove box, but it's still got 4 analog monosynths crammed into the chassis too.
You’re just working your way through my desk jam setup one box at a time. I got the CMS a while ago at a good discount and i think it is a pretty good piece of gear. The price definitely hurt it, as did the lack of effects. The OG circuit has a way more powerful synth engine (although digital, and only editable with a computer), but you get two of them, drums/samples, and effects… for less money! Tough sell. I definitely would not have got the CMS at full list price, but luckily I didn’t have to. It can make an unholy racket once you get into it, and i actually find the compact form factor to be a plus over the bass station. If you can find one for cheap, i still think it’s worth getting.
Omg you’ve now done both of my hardware synths 😅 This synth is fucking awesome and really fun to use. I’m reserving judgment on this video until I actually watch the whole thing.
This, and an OG Drumbrute were my firsttwosmallboxes, and I especially love the Mono Station! Clearly I need to up my “cartoon set to groove” game though… ⚡️✨💥
Might want to check out the novation x-station sometime. Pretty low cost (esp. the 25 key), good keybed with AT. Three OSC 8 voice poly VA synth based on the KS, two xlr/phono combo inputs with phantom power and a decent little FX section (simultaneous delay, reverb, chorus, compression, distortion, EQ). Also functions as an ASIO/Core audio interface. The midi controller implementation is very comprehensive too. Not sure it qualifies as 'bad gear'(didn't generate much controversy) but it's a handy thing to have around. It even has a battery tray! The joystick potentiometers often get dirty for some reason but it's an easy fix, sometimes you can pick up them up at a great price due to the problem.
Couple of boxes left to be ticked and I will have all my synths labeled as bad gear. Nice. Actually, trick that you were showing in Microbrute episode with setting osc volume to half makes monostation filter sound very pleasant. Also you can hook it up into feedback loop chain on mixer and create some nice dirty effects controlled by sequencer. I have video on this account showing that trick.
I used to have gas for the K-station by novation . This looks worthy , and sounds pretty tasty 😋 . The circuit line is way too nice to have discontinued gear in the ranks . A small windfall might put me near a circuit rythm (sampler) because it's billed as a sampling groovebox . Your jams are high art , And your videos need a category at the academy awards. Excellent infotainment!
Audiopilz: *slaps roof of YT channel*
Full Tracks, Extended Jams, Sample Packs: www.patreon.com/audiopilz
Is there a playlist with full length versions of your audio/video creations?
At the first glance this Bad Gear video is ticking all the boxes. Moby lookalike, tons of random memes, controversial gear that will rise in price after this video and sick jams in genres that I didn't know existed but now need to hear a full album of.
Thank you so much!!!
Freaking awesome comment!
At first glance, this comment is ticking all the boxes. Random internet users stringing together words, controversial opinions, funny satire and eloquent expressions. However, the content is a bit wobbly and the meaning is lacking. Now onto the jam.
Top tier comment
Normally meme heavy videos/channels bug the crap out of me but the way he does it doesn't detract from the content and often references stuff that I actually find nostalgic in a way that I find humorous instead of annoying.
Mission Completed! With this one, all the hardware synths I own now have a Bad Gear episode!
A day to celebrate!!! Congrats!!!
..just stop buying that new Roland jizzunk..
@@normdurkin6425 and Arturia. And Novation. And Korg. ;)
we don't buy gear unless it's on bad gear
@@themartinian7465 ..you are missing out on Great Gear.. such as Vermona, RiDrum, Hexinverter.. some korg and Arturia..
Appearance in the Bad Gear is actually a seal of approval for a synth. Finally Mono Station gets recognition it deserves.
True that!!!
I recently got a perfect condition Circuit Mono Station for around 270 bucks US, which is by far my favourite 303 emulator. The sound engine of CMS is somewhat a downgrade version of Bass Station II given only 1 LFO and 1 single EG are available. However, I would never imagine how the sequencer would change my opinion for an analog synth before CMS, which is so powerful and versertile that you could pull all your imagination into reality. People yelled that they would exchange CMS for Arturia Minibrute 2S for better sound design possibility, but I came the other way around. CMS is really a good combination of analog sounding richiness and digitally control versatility, the two separte paraphonic sequencer really made this unit shine among the synth world.
I'd take a station over a brute all day;)
It isn't a proper Bad Gear episode without a piece of gear I own and love.
😀
I loved this so much I sold it.
I then bought another a couple years later after I learned how to use synthesizers. Now I'm a happy mono station user 😄
Nice!!!
I got mine this week for 120$ from a musicstore summer sale. Brandnew! Could not resist this bargain ;-)
@@80iesDude45 daaannnggg! That's a steal. Good for you. It's such a great machine in a small size.
Aww the mono station was supposed to be my hidden gem that nobody is talking about and I'd eventually buy for dirt cheap. Now it's been found >_
Lol rip that dream...
Eventually everything ever made is going to be on bad gear so you might as well just start making your own synth now
I feel guilty now...😔
@@AudioPilz I love your jams!
@@AudioPilz and that you should! Bad Gear is now bad for the broken hearts 💔 of soon to be synth owners lol
Buy a Dark Star, it's the only cure ;-))
Monostation is one of the most useful synths I own. It sits somewhere in most of my tracks effortlessly. Never could figure out how so many missed on this one. Their loss!
👍
yeah, I own it too and the mods are fantastic. The VCF is grea too. Shame on you bad gear. Maybe the guy from bad gear is deff and fools us all.
Agree with you here, the Mono station is one of the best Novation offerings made. I love mine.
Easily my favorite under appreciated synth. These were $599 when they came out. I got mine a few months ago in mint condition for $300. I think these were confusing for a lot of people because of the original Circuit. Was my best kept secret synth till now!
Yeah, these have an aura of mystery
Shhhhhh! I don't want any to know how I am doing my live set patch flipping glitchy music
Novation shit the bed on the marketing on this thing... I feel bad for the dev team that worked on this gem of a synth.
Got my MonoStation brandnew for $169 Sale last year! Excited ;-)
That Volca Cowbell looks sweet! Especially the big "more" button!
The cure!!!
If Korg does this, they have to tap Christopher Walken to endorse it.
My baby!! This is a surprisingly great synth... especially if you got it when the prices dropped.
The sounds do get tired pretty quickly but I found running it through some decent pedals really opened up what you could do with it.
With the Deluge sitting next to it I have more than enough colourful pad controllers... Whatever I get next is going to have keys.
Sometimes keys can be helpful;)
You mastered the art of showing the bad side of each gear while making it sound good, showing *at the same fucking time* how can it sound good if held in good hands.
Well... Also
- Speach 100
- Smart ass quotes
- Fantastic movies and cartoons references
- amazing script
- bulet speed memes and inside jokes coming letf and right
-- the rare ablity of knowing how to make a little fun of yourself sometimes
- great jams everytime
- lots of episodes in little time spam
How you are able to do all this and wrap it up so fine its beyond me. We can just be grateful.
You run now the best electronic music oriented series on the internet Florian.
Thank you so much!!!
The man is a UA-cam treasure!
The Volca Cowbell would usher in a new era of musical renaissance for us all
Korg, we need to talk!
Sounds good to my ears ! By the way i must confess 90% of my hardware setup has been reviewed on your channel and i am proud of it !
I think I like your setup;)
You an only be an AudioPilzer if you get 100%
That may be a common, unifying factor among audio pilz viewers. We’re all here because we have bad gear but we still make it rock because every piece of gear, good or bad, in the right hands can make magic. Sometimes you just have to get a little creative to get where you want to be going and that creativity is what sets you apart from everyone else ^_^
It sadly came out when i just made the switch from multiple external sequencer to sequencing everything in my DAW. Otherwise i'd probably have bought one. I'm a huuuge Novation fangirl and really like their synths.
It's a pretty nice synth in itself and the sequencer is one of the best in this kind of synths. I guess, it might really be worth a look, if you want to get away from those usual and overused 303 acid lines.
Besides the various 303 clones there aren't many synths that offer an accessible, performance oriented sequencer like the Monostation does.
If you look at it as some kind of specialized analog groovebox, it really doesn't have any competitors.
Maybe that's also a reason why it failed. If there would be demand for a "groovebox synth" like the monostation, i guess there would be more competition.
True, it's quite unique
I'm thinking of going back to the DAW myself. I mostly like my (buggy) Keystep Pro, but I need more tracks and flexibility than a DAWless rig offsrs. Plus, I miss being able to mangle digital audio.
@@mikemeengs5720 - plenty of hardware sequencers out there with lots of tracks. Maybe less flexible than a DAW but massively more fun to use. Imho of course!
In addition to his many other talents, Mr Pilz is a chap who knows the value of a well placed guitar pedal
Thanks!
I really love your videos. I dont even have any synths, just digital ones, but even just the short cut scenes are gold . Thank you!
Thanks for watching!
I have two of them you can write a baseline and melody line
and then run it through a ton of different patches
and do it all in the dark
Works best in the dark;)
Outstanding as always, love looking forward to these very friday!
❤️❤️❤️
That's it: for the forthcoming thermonuclear winter I'm only keeping the Timber Behr and Circuit Mono Station. The one thing about the Circuit Monostation is that it's a badass machine that sounds absolutely amazing in every way.
Matches the Timber Behr perfectly;)
fully agree
My favourite small synth! I love this thing! And yes I do understand it's a bit of a strange concept. But it's so much more versatile than it has any right to be.
The patch flipping thing is great for drum sounds. It can become a unique drum machine, an acid bass machine, and a lead machine, sometimes in one sequence.
This is the thing I'd rescue if my house was on fire.
Yeah, it really surprised me!
I have 2!
I didn't realise this beast existed! A bass station 2 groovebox ticks all my boxes!
Yeah, that's an odd one...
thank you for doing this one! I have to admit I have a lot of fun rocking my monostation. It pairs nicely with tracks, and rhythm as well. man, I'm digging you jams this week. keep up the fantastic work you do. I look forward to your content every Friday
⚡️
Thank you so much!!!
This has ticked all the boxes and turned around a crappy week and I can pass out happy! That second jam was fire, btw. Loved it!
❤️❤️❤️
I was randomly searching for MS stuff, and being away on vacation last week I missed Bad Gear and low and behold this is here. This is lovely as usual
Nice!!! The randomizer works great!!!
Can't wait for the episode with the Circuit Rythmn and see the three circuits playing together.
Great idea!!! Thanks!
Wow, that dual circuit jam was tops man! I love this piece of gear, the whole Circuit line is so much fun imo. Great video as per usual!
Thank you!!!
I remember asking for this. U have made my life since 2020! Thanks for this again
Thanks for watching!!!
It may have taken you a long time to get a balanced sound in your "patch flip" jam, but I love how it turned out!
Thank you!!!
I used to have the Bass station 2. Got this. The Bass sound is amazing, but it took some time to get around the sequencer and editing. Now I love it!
👍
Minor correction on something you said about the CV/Gate outputs - in the 1.2 update they allowed using the mod sequencer to send the CV/Gate, decoupling it from the internal sequence. Makes it way more viable.
I came to comment this too! I love using mine to control my 0-Coast. Also the analogue clock in/out is incredibly useful too - coupled with MIDI, it’s a machine which can talk to basically anything in my setup, which makes it super versatile
@@EuanLynn I've been super curious about how the midi clock out behaves if you send it a wonky pulse - was wondering if the 0-ctrls ingenious time controls might be send over midi to other gear via the CMS... Wouldn't happen to own a 0-ctrl as well to test, would you?
@@RDijt No I’m afraid I don’t have an 0-Ctrl, sorry! It’s a very interesting thought though - I assume it transmits virtually whatever clock it receives outwards through MIDI though, so what you’re suggesting would make sense I think. Would be very interesting if it did work like that!
@@EuanLynn yeah I'm going to have to test it! Love the idea of variably timed steps and would be awesome to sync with my digitakt via CMS if it does translate in such a manner. Like you said, I imagine that's how it would work, but I wonder if the midi being a digital standard has some sort of limitation in how that would operate.
Thanks for the heads up. I shouldn't have trusted the original manual;)
$260 CAD on Kijiji (after talking down the price a bit) - straight up sweetest purchase I ever made. The only thing I now regret is not getting the MicroFreak instead when it was available for $300. But with the CSM the way you can send LFO to velocity and modulate one oscillator with another, - the sound has some real character to it, I swear it feels like playing a real analog instrument of some sort. Also this little thing was the best intro into the world of pads a traditional piano guy like me could wish for.
Great price!!!
I'm starting to think there might be a correlation between 3.5mm midi sockets and bad gear status
You might be onto sth;)
Well by virtue 3.5mm midi sockets are bad. Just use a normal 5 pin midi input. It’s literally perfect and always has been.
@@NullFX why is it OK for modular but not for regular synths?
@@MikeButle it's the dongles - especially annoying when synth A needs a Type B dongle and synth B needs an Type A dongle and both need to be connected by a 5-pin MIDI lead and finding short MIDI leads is a challenge in itself.
@@unclemick-synths so it's more of a "I'm used to this way" issue than it actually causing any connectivity issue?
It's like you can read minds. I have this device, and I really like the quality of everything, and it's a good machine to get results really fast. I was thinking of getting myself a circuit and something something bass (had a bass station 2 in mind, even), and then discovered the mono station which a French seller had on massive discount. Now I have a reduced bass station 2 which looks like a circuit 😁
What I particularly like is that your can get easy results fast, but when you dive into it, you can do really sophisticated stuff with it.
And as always: nice video! Thanks for all the work you put into your channel. It's become a valuable resource for synth related information. 👍
Thanks for watching!!!
Just realized I wasn't subbed. I love what you did with the intro tune. You never fail to make me laugh. You're one of my favs!
Thanks!!!
Rewatching this I realize that at the end listening to your summary it almost sounds like you fell I love.
Seldomly have I seen so much passion about a bad gear device coming from you.
Need to check this out. I had it 4-5 years ago but never used it cause I was irritated by the workflow but now the video made me
feel like I need a challenge. Damn you !
I really liked that one!!!
I have two. (One is still brand new in its cellophane - I knew its time would come.)
The under-rated "TB303" of the 21st century.
Nice, gonna be the king in 2030;)
@@AudioPilz haha I'm playing the long game.
Wow that looks amazing instrument. I like the knobs are like on Peak (not like bs2). Great episode like always, cheers
Thank you!!!
I had buyers remorse at first but Im glad I kept the circuit mono station, mainly because I use mine as a midi/CV master controller. It replaced my Korg SQ-1.
Definitely a keeper!
There’s some really good music in this episode.. well done!
Thank you!!!
I feel a little bad for Novation with this product as it feels to me like it’s a victim of behind ahead of it’s time. Behringer proved there’s still a great market for selling analogue mono synths and DAWless jamming is currently all the rage. Had this product been priced right (cheaper than a beatstep pro + Model D) it would have been a great “first synth” that gives a taste of subtractive synthesis plus a really powerful sequencer to expand into when it’s time to buy the next synth. I think a few tweaks to make the sequencer handle say 3 lanes + an external drum kit, this product could be re released with better success today given the current trends. It was an idea that came too soon and really, Novation probably deserve some praise for seeing the future even if they released it too soon to know it yet, lol
True that!
I have two Mono stations, its unique in its kind, very hands on. Too bad that novation abandoned the synt, I hope someone do the hardware of software mods for it.
Nice!
So you have one Stereo station?
@@stheil yes, we just need a Quadraphonic Station
I saw one of these in a bin of old NES controllers at a charity shop a while back.
😱😱😱
For I am new to this, now that I have Bad Gear Reviews whats left are some Bad Synth Tutorials.
Great idea, thanks!
And now with the Mono Station that's almost every piece of gear that I own covered on this channel lol, I'm pretty sure you'll get to the rest eventually but I'm not going to tell you what those are :D The Circuit Mono Station is a little bit of a strange beast, but the sequencer and automation on it are so good, really a shame it got discontinued! The workflow on it is one of the best of any analogue synths I've used
I really liked the workflow on this one
Me: Comes in
Me: Hits Like
Me: Watches video.
Me: hits like, causing unlike
Me: Slaps forehead
Me: Slaps Like again.
Like!!!
1:14 LMAO, volca cowbel would be great. And fever, prescription and MORE knobs should be on every synthesizer from now on!
😍😍😍
I have the cms and I love it! Excited for this one!!
Cool!
Finally a bad gear synth I own! I'm prob biased but I love it. I think there were three main problems: Firstly, despite it actually being pretty powerful, it kind of looks and feels like a toy. Second, the single envelope turned alot of people off. But most importantly, the original price was entirely too high, especially considering the early bugs, and by the time they had fixed everything and lowered the price, it was too late and any buzz they could have created was long dead. But I got mine for just over 200 bucks, and at that price, these are a steal. Especially after they released the sample flip feature, which allows this to be used in a myriad if different ways, not the least of which is a simple drum machine. The sequencer is highly underrated and super versatile. They are still readily available for around $300 in mint condition; anyone wanting a simple but great sound mono with a sequencer that has patch memories, this is def a candidate to keep in mind.
They really messed it up in the marketing
I disagree that it feels like a toy. Its actually well built with the same knobs as the Peak.
@@Heathcliff_hensel Agreed. It’s a solid brick of a synth.
@@martinlymer9535 I don't totally disagree, but I was more referring to the somewhat awkward oscillator knob section, which lights up like an old Litebrite or something and also the weird laminate-like yellow bottom which actually is pretty functional but looks sorta cheap at first glance. It also kinda LOOKS like a toy to me, but that is subjective I suppose. But hey, if you read my whole post, I make plain how much I love the Mono Station overall. And I'll even go a step further and say that I think there is a possibility it becomes a real rare gem at some point in the future. This would be partially due to how short of a time the product was available; I mean, my guess would be that there can't be THAT many out there in total. I've considered buying a spare on numerous occasions.
really like the sounds of the bassstation 2 for some reason. also really liked the jams in this video :)
Thank you!!!
Nicht nur hier auf, aber insbesondere wieder mal hier fällt mir Deine musikalische Kompetenz auf. Hinter dem klasse Konzept (Intro, Phrasen, Struktur, Closing) baust Du Dir einen ganzen Haufen Erfahrung mit Geräten und deren musikalischer "Ausschlachtung" (ok, der ist etwas heftig) auf. Konsequenz daraus: Deine Meinung zu Geräten hat für mich hohe Relevanz! Klar, gibt es noch persönliche Vorlieben, aber so breit gefächerte Erfahrung ist selten. Also nochmals: ganz klasse Format und Inhalt. Danke!
Vielen herzlichen Dank!!!
I FUCKING LOVE YOU BROTHER. The only person that ever took it into consideration. Fukin love man
❤️❤️❤️
I had one of these and absolutely loved the concept, but no matter how hard I tried, just could not get a sound I loved out of it, which was a shame, as for ages it seemed like the perfect 'secret weapon' synth. Ended up sitting in a corner unloved. Sad to give up and sell it, but life is too short for synth-uninspiration
Yeah, sometimes it just doesn't click
That's where I am with mine. Just glad I bought it after they dropped the price. I hate to concede defeat but now that it's been on Bad Gear this could be the best time to sell.
It’s gorgeous and I’m shocked I’d never seen it before! Shame it didn’t have a built in drum sequencer though, as a self-contained groovebox that would’ve been 🤤
Yeah, a missed opportunity!!!
Korg marketing: "We need more cowbell! Release the volcas!!"
Word!!!
Great video! I once owned the Circuit Mono Station and was very fond of it, but alas, we had to part ways. Good Stuff: The sequencer was amazing and after one of the firmware updates, it allowed me to enter a different patch to each step which made for some interesting results. The cut-down synth engine sounded nice and beefy, which gave some of my Moog's a run for their money. Not So Good Stuff: While the synth engine was OK, I do wish they would have simply migrated the full BS2 engine to expand its sound palate. I never got comfortable with the pad-based interface. Another annoyance was its garish, plasticky look. However, with all that said, your excellent tracks using the Mono Station brought back nice memories of my days with it.
Thank you!!!
Love mine and the drumbrute impact I use with it.
A lot of these videos seem less and less “bad gear” these days though.
Nice setup! "Oddly controversial gear" doesn't work so well on YT;)
Still amazed at the amount of skill shown in these demos. They always sound amazing. I also really enjoy the knowledge and explanations on synth related functions, I actually find actual tutorials harder to follow than this. Memes are also always on point. Will we ever see a Good Gear channel ? :) Novation.. how about the Novation supernova ? they are kinda bad, right ?
There are some “better gear” videos lurking on this channel… a rare beast, not often found in the wild, but I heard from a weary traveller that they occasionally appear
Thank you so much!!!
This is my favorite show on the internet. Can't wait to see Bad Gear: The Movie!
❤️❤️❤️
And i keep desiring it...
The jams you do, the sound is awesome! Bravo
Thank you!!!
I've got 2 of these. Super underrated. I use them way more than my bass station. Built in pads give totally unique basslines, especially when played paraphonically. And they pair fantastically with circuit. I'll get a polyend medusa before long. Novation sells them refurbished for $199 when in stock.
Great price!!!
This would have had a better chance if it was marketed more clearly.
At the time the circuit was hot and was getting updates left and right.
Much like today, even then, there was a lot of speculation about a new and improved circuit.
And then this dropped and despite everything felt like a huge step backwards.
No one saw the analog synth, no one saw the potential because it just felt like Novation completely missed the mark. No one asked for this.
And that's a shame because it really is cool.
I get the feeling this little thing will be "rediscovered" by some indie artist who buys one for like $50 in 2034 and then writes a top 40 hit with it,
I'm pretty sure its time will come!
EMU MP7 Command Station. The PurpleNurple extra pretty please with sugar and such on top 😻
Had one of these for about 5 mins, sent it back when I realised having a Bass Station 2 pretty much negated having this.
True that!
I think I recognize that "internet troll".
it's also an internationally recognised symbol for 'accent'
I had one. To me it is the ultimate tb303 without being a clone. But I hate pads and it's frustrating to not be able to name the pattern and patch.
True that!
I love the synth/sequencer concept of things like this, the Polyend Medusa and the Minibrute 2S.
Yeah, these are quite similar...
i did not even know that this gear existed. Thank you for you ongoing motivation to show us all the stuffs in your conviction. ^_^
Thanks for watching!!!
DSI Tempest is a very devisive instrument. I wonder if there is anything else to say about it that hasn't already been said.
Great suggestion, thanks!
A similar deal with it's bastard-sibling , the Pioneer SP-16.
I just bought one this week. I's got a phenomenal sound and workflow/ jam-ability - but it is ALSO 'feature-crrippled', and it becomes easy to see why so many don't like it.
That price tag was ridiculous.
"Hey! People love the circuit, people love the Bass Station 2! What if we did the unique and intuitive groovebox interface, but for the Station!"
"So a Circuit with one Monophonic Synth voice?"
"Yeeeah! But it's like, intuitive!"
"So it's a Bass Station 2 with a slightly better sequencer."
"No, no, It's a Circuit, but with Bass Station sounds. It's Paraphonic!"
"And drums and a digital poly synth or something to round it out and make the interface worth using?"
"Well, no, but -"
That sums it up quite nicely
@@AudioPilz generally when you get "the synth but with a better sequencer and no keys" it's around the same price and doesn't reduce features, the Korg stuff comes to mind. Though granted, this does have the nice glowy pads so you can pretend you're an Ableton Live DJ.
Loved Morpheus unfolding his paper-doll cutout. Good review, funny as always, and informative. Thanks!
Thanks!!!
Great Video!!! I completely forgot about Mono Station Thanks for covering it. Also Would love to see a Kawai XD-5 Video.
+1 on Kawai XD-5!
Thanks! Great suggestion!!!
I have a BS2 and I got this to save space in my live set up. I just never understood it. The 2 voice mode was just weird. I tried for a few weeks and then had to get rid of it. I’ve had a lot of synths and this actually made me quite angry. I have no idea why. It had such potential.
The Monostation would have been a good one to give the AFX treatment to (as well as the Bass Station 2
It's the odd member of the family
I just got this yesterday used off of Reverb. I wanted a cheap, portable mono synth with patchy memory that is easy to sequence. So far I really like it. But not for its looks.
Nice!!!
how much £$?
@@Tubeinnit I paid $300 US, with tax and delivery included. There is a good deal on one listed in Paris France right now.
@@jona_KardCiv1 Awesome bargain, thanks! 👍
Absolutely love mine! Just needed some reverb and delay to really shine. 😊
Works great with FX
Jam 2 is the most interesting thing I've heard here, really well done !
Thank you!!!
I love my circuit tracks so I could only imagine a similar sequencer on something that makes real honest to god beefy analog sounds with a nasty sounding filter. I'm assuming this would give me something like that. Obviously the sampler on the tracks is a big part of its appeal but it's synth engine doesn't come close to those sounds and I generally use it to sequence other hardware because of that.
I think the Mono Station is for you;)
Can relate, with time I'm using less and less the synth engine in the Tracks, but the sequencer is a powerhouse.
I think it was designed to complement the first circuit with the same workflow and a analog engine.
If Im right the Tracks has a dedicated sequence for external gear? If so you might be better using that with a BassStation2? Just an idea.
Imagine if this also had sample-based drum tracks
INSTABUY!!!
Isn't that basically a Circuit Tracks?
@@HairySalamander But with analog synths and much deeper nob-per-function controls
@@HairySalamander That's why I have got a Tracks, a Mono Station and PO-33. "Budget" combo so to say. Starting point to add other gear.
This was my first synth, great machine that Kick-started my addiction, never selling it
He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty synth nerd!
😂😂😂
There's too much good gear on stage lately :D
"Strangely Controversial Gear"
Thanks again for the legendary videos. Would like to mention though that this synth does perform parameter locking akin to an Elektron box by holding down the sequencer step and moving any parameter. Loopop video demonstrates this. Now I’m waiting for mine to be delivered!
Thank you!!!
Great episode! IDK, I love mine to pieces!
Thanks!
As a proud owner of a Korg Volca Cowbell, I'm tired of you complaining, it's almost perfect although I have to say the cowbell is a bit disappointing.
😂😂😂
Cosmic themed streaming service tune very good
Quality as usual mate
Thanks!
I wonder what people think of thing these days, since Elektron has released the Syntakt. With 12 tracks and a lot of drum sounds to pick from it's more of a fully featured groove box, but it's still got 4 analog monosynths crammed into the chassis too.
Is it really analog?
Its rare for novation to discontinue a product that quickly like bass station 2 is over 10 years old
True that!
Always a pleasure watching bad gear!
❤️❤️❤️
You’re just working your way through my desk jam setup one box at a time. I got the CMS a while ago at a good discount and i think it is a pretty good piece of gear. The price definitely hurt it, as did the lack of effects. The OG circuit has a way more powerful synth engine (although digital, and only editable with a computer), but you get two of them, drums/samples, and effects… for less money! Tough sell. I definitely would not have got the CMS at full list price, but luckily I didn’t have to. It can make an unholy racket once you get into it, and i actually find the compact form factor to be a plus over the bass station. If you can find one for cheap, i still think it’s worth getting.
Nothing personal;)
Omg you’ve now done both of my hardware synths 😅 This synth is fucking awesome and really fun to use. I’m reserving judgment on this video until I actually watch the whole thing.
Nothing personal;)
it sounds very nice and warm, love ur vids bruh
Thanks!
It's Friday! Time for a cold beer with a new episode of Bad Gear
Have a nice weekend!!!
This, and an OG Drumbrute were my firsttwosmallboxes, and I especially love the Mono Station! Clearly I need to up my “cartoon set to groove” game though… ⚡️✨💥
OG DrumBrute - that thing is "special";)
great video once again.... Where's that violin playing space robot from!? Freakin cool. xD
Thanks! Some strange Eastern European film even IMDB didn't know about
I got one when they dumped them for 150€. It's such a nice mono synth and fits my Circuit v1.0 perfectly.
Nice find!!!
Dam it! Now I want a Volca Cowbell. I can’t unsee it!
We need that!
Might want to check out the novation x-station sometime. Pretty low cost (esp. the 25 key), good keybed with AT. Three OSC 8 voice poly VA synth based on the KS, two xlr/phono combo inputs with phantom power and a decent little FX section (simultaneous delay, reverb, chorus, compression, distortion, EQ). Also functions as an ASIO/Core audio interface. The midi controller implementation is very comprehensive too.
Not sure it qualifies as 'bad gear'(didn't generate much controversy) but it's a handy thing to have around. It even has a battery tray! The joystick potentiometers often get dirty for some reason but it's an easy fix, sometimes you can pick up them up at a great price due to the problem.
Already did that one (thanks for the suggestion nonetheless;)
Couple of boxes left to be ticked and I will have all my synths labeled as bad gear. Nice.
Actually, trick that you were showing in Microbrute episode with setting osc volume to half makes monostation filter sound very pleasant. Also you can hook it up into feedback loop chain on mixer and create some nice dirty effects controlled by sequencer. I have video on this account showing that trick.
Thanks for the heads up!
I used to have gas for the K-station by novation . This looks worthy , and sounds pretty tasty 😋 . The circuit line is way too nice to have discontinued gear in the ranks . A small windfall might put me near a circuit rythm (sampler) because it's billed as a sampling groovebox . Your jams are high art , And your videos need a category at the academy awards. Excellent infotainment!
Thank you so much!!!