BEST OF THE REST
Novation Circuit Mono Station £430
This great little compact synth ditches the digital polysynths and sampler of the original Circuit in favour of a gritty analogue engine based on the Bass Station II. The featurepacked sequencer and user-friendly interface remain, however, making for a really exciting hybrid of old-school synth grit and modern flexibility. Multiple sequencer and modulation channels, along with fully automatable controls, allow for deceptively powerful sound shaping.
Roland Boutique SE-02 £529
The first and, so far, only analogue instrument in Roland’s Boutique range sees them pair up with Studio Electronics to create a Minimooginspired monosynth descended from SE’s own ’90s classic, the SE-1. The 02 sounds excellent, nailing those beefy Model-D bass sounds with plenty of grit and punch. However, its cramped interface and lack of full-sized outputs are budget-feeling features that don’t match up to its stellar sound and £500 price point.
Roland Boutique TB-03 & SH-01A £349 each
Both the TB-303 and SH-101 have been emulated countless times before, both as hardware clones and as plugins, but there’s no denying that these official ACB-powered versions are up there with the best we’ve seen. New features, including overdrive, effects and polyphony for the SH-01 only up the desirability.
Cyclone Analogic Bass Bot TT-303 V2 £389
2017 has been a solid year for 303 clones, with version two of Cyclone Analogic’s Bass Bot joining Roland’s official offering in competition for the hearts and minds of acid heads. Whereas the Boutique is digital, the Bass Bot is all analogue. There are pros and cons to each, and no clear-cut winner in which is more sonically authentic. The Bass Bot is nicer to programme though, and its sequencer is far more usable than that of the original TB-303.
Dreadbox NYX £512
Another punchy compact synth from Dreadbox, NYX is a paraphonic two-oscillator instrument with a re-routable architecture and flexible mini-patchbay, making it capable of all sorts of semimodular grit and weirdness. A built-in reverb from pedal brand Crazy Tube Circuits sets off the whole package. There’s little in the way of mod cons, but it packs a whole bucketload of analogue character.