thinking about gettin a sound module

Hey guys after a bit of advice really. I've been thinking lately about gettin a used sound module. Like most hiphop heads I love that east coast sound, bass in particular.
Now whilst I do understand that a module is only as good as the presets the user tweaks it does open up a new world to me as I would like to experiment with other sounds jus for fun at this stage.
I've been lookin at two products in particular, the jv2080 and of course the famous mo phatt. Quite like the idea of having a rack as opposed to a full size keyboard although I'm not against one. I know a lot of you will suggest a softsynth I'd rather hardware at this stage.
I heard some of the roland samples on synthmania an was quite impressed but aint managed to find much on the mo phatt. How do guys think they compare? I know the emu has been used by many people I listen to ie preem so I know sounds I like can be coaxed out of it with the right rom, but don't know so much about the roland.
I'm lookin for quite a realistic bass (at least I think I am lol) to tweak the bass I'm after. Is there one that would lend itself more for that type of bass?
I know this is old kit but I like some of the bass I have read were made on them (at least the mo phatt) an their age makes them pretty cheap here in the uk.
Am I on the right track as ironically I'm generally not into the synthy sound that the presets offfer at least not in hiphop (don't shoot guys)
If you read this far I owe you a beer lol.

yowordiagree wrote:I know a lot of you will suggest a softsynth I'd rather hardware at this stage.

If you're just looking for that particular Primo/Pete Rock type bass, i think software would be your best option
If you don't have it, download the Minimogue vst and try the preset called sub bass or something like that. Tweak it a bit and maybe add a compressor or eq and you will get quite close to the sound you want.
If you really want to go hardware, i think an e-mu module(mo phatt or proteus 2000) would be better than the roland jv. Or get a cheap bass, record one note in your mpc, filter it around 10 to 30, add a bit of resonance and use 16 levels to play your bassline. This is what i do most of the time and what works the best for me

Thanks for your help, I'll check that vst out for now but I'll need to grab some form of hard ware as my mac is often tied up rendering video.
Is there any reason you would go for the emu over the roland? Seems to be the general concensus from what I've read but no really says why lol
I have actually thought about gettin a bass and then choppin but again after reading forums a lot of people have mentioned its still quite difficult to the sound a lot of us are after, although its still something I'd like to try.

if you're looking for a collection of "bread-n-butter" sounds for all kinds of use, then you may as well just get a used Korg TR-Rack on eBay... it's got all the korg trinity sounds in a single-rack unit... a much cheaper alternative to getting the trinity or triton... only downside is that the user interface doesn't have any knobs, so editing the sounds can be a bit tedious... the sound quality is amazing though.

you're asking why some people prefer e-mu over roland... that's like asking why some people like chocolate ice cream and others like vanilla... you can't base this kind of decision on someone else's tastes 'cause chances are they won't suit yours. you gotta browse the web and listen to some audio samples or watch some youtube videos etc to make sure you're getting something that suits your needs.

on another note... every time i read your name i hear raekwon saying "yo word i agree" in my head...

not owning either, i would expect the roland to be more versatile but more tame, the emu to be more specific but more colorful.

the roland will have a variety of sounds that are probably mostly pretty usable and maybe even familiar.

the mophat will probably be better at the bass, the synthy stuff - more characteristic likely.

and don't take for granted that whatever you get, with enough time you can coax whatever you need out of it. and of course you can still sample - which im sure is what most of those guys were doing anyway.

i personally love the sound of emu stuff - the filters and especially the resampling algorithms are very distinctive and sound good to me.

@crossings- yeah I feel you there I should have been clearer I meant in terms
Of how they operate rather than the sounds but I need to hear more of the mophatt
Rather than rely on what I've read that's a given. I gotta be honest I'm not that familliar with the korg modules so I may of missed a trick there thanks for the heads up.
@ tapedeck thanks man I guess I need to do a lil more homework an try and hear a few more samples before I commit to anything.

The saga continues lol

I have a mo' phatt. You will not be dissapointed if you pick one up. Some of the bass sounds sounds better than those on my Motif.
Good bit of kit.

Z

yowordiagree wrote:Is there any reason you would go for the emu over the roland? Seems to be the general concensus from what I've read but no really says why lol

I had the roland jv1010(same sounds as the 2080), it does everything ok but it's not really great for basses. What i heard from e-mu sounded better for bass.

I have the JV-2080. I've managed to create few quite nice deep bass patches.
I bought it because I had to have a synth quickly and with a budget.
If I had the money, I'd sell it and get Nord Electro Rack and Acces Virus C instead.
Then again, JV has lots of great sounds, you can make your own patches (would be easier with editor), and with re-sampling it gets even better.
I'd suggest that you use Reason as a sound module via MIDI if possible.