Bass Station 2 vs Monologue: comparison, tutorial, review and demo

Can the Minilogue XD do everything (get as low as, etc) the Monologue does? Can you have double square waves on the Minilogue XD? Four lanes of sequencing? Note slides?

One sounds like its meant to go into produced music tracks and the other like its for jamming/wanking up a sound isolated for fun.

Something like the monologue needs to have a weight put in the case to make it feel less cheap. I generally am not a fan of the way korg's sound but it sounds better than the bass station. To me the a/k stations always sounded far better than the bass station.

Hey m8 love your videos.
I am after a current synth that sounds as close to the Roland SH2, i have been told that the Bass Station 2 would be my best bet. would you agree or suggest something else?
Much appreciated.

The Aphex twin stuff made it more "come to Daddy" it's an amazing tune wether you rock or dance

You have so often exactly the comparation I am looking for. Thanks a lot. The Bass station is on my radar for quite some time now, but the Monologue I can get for real cheap so I was wondering, but better spend the extra money instead of regretting.;-)

There is no "Sine" wave on Monologue, which I found peculiar. You can't "Shape" a sawtooth into a triangle or triangle into a sine wave. The "Shape" function is really a folder (west coast shaper for y'all americans) for sawtooth and triangle, and PWM adjuster for square wave. And I don't know if you missed it, or got it edited out, but you can use "Shape" on both VCO 1 and 2 except for the noise. Selecting "Noise" de facto switches off VCO2 (manual diagram confirms this). It would have been nice to have "Noise" as a separate On/Off switch and have "Square" wave on VCO2 instead.
Worth noting - as you've mentioned several times - that you tried to match Monologue to Bass Station 2, rather than having both synth replicate "a sound" and attain it via two different hardware pathways. I say this cos every time i get an itch to buy a Bass Station 2 or a Roland SE-02, it really comes down to me not being fully competent in getting the sound out of Monologue which I already own. IMO considering it is nearly half the cost of the other two synths (in my area), it easily analogues on par with them as far as the quality of sound is concerened.
My only complaint/request for the future update (apart from black knobs with black indicators on them - WTF 🤪) is lack of "Original Value Indicator" (except for motion sequencing lanes which are preserved). Although you can recall any of the 100 presets instantly - there is no way to tell which switch/knob was where originally (unlike say on Electribes), because all knobs are potentiometers the moment you touch them the sound/sequence goes hay wire and you hafta work your way up to the orginal by feel and ear - i get caught by this EVERY SINGLE TIME. 😆
I keep coming back to this video cos like you said the choice is not as clear cut as it may look from the title, and it does depend on ones own assortment of already owned instruments and tastes of what one considers "analogue" to be.

cool comparison !! i just sold my bs2 (used ) i use it 6 years and now i loofk for another mood :) cool the Monologue

bs2 sounds ready to go out of the box (more hifi like roland). monologue needs a lot of eq to sound good imho. but monologue is half the price - so still good value.

Does a Peak or Summit sound the same as the Bass Station 2, doing Basses and low end ?

666 Likes!! I said "BYE LITTLE PAMPERS!"

~NMB

I do not like the layout of the keys on the Korg (a bad habit with them) at all. This is why I bought the BS2 and I'm very happy with it.

I actually prefer the keybed layout on the Monologue. I think it's more useful that way than the standard two octave layout like the BS has. I see it as having one centered octave with lots of room on both ends to transpose up and down, which isn't possible on the standard 25 key layout without having to mess with transpose buttons real time, which is just frustrating as hell. Usually 37 keys would be my minimum requirement for a keybed, for that reason. One center octave with two octaves surrounding it. But with the layout on the Monologue it works, which is why it's the only 25 key synth I still own.

BS2 vs Super Bass Station ?

The bass station 2 sounds better imo

I do love korg products but I think I might prefer what I’ve heard on the bass station 2 so far! It does sound a little creamier and less aggressive. I’ve never really been a fan of agressive bass especially now I’m getting older. I know you can do smooth also on the monologue though. The korg quality/ price ratio has always been what I love most about them but maybe it’s time to try out novation. More controlled bass!!

I've sold the BS2 after one year lobbying at Novation for "disabling the Keytracking-update" and bought a Monologue:
the possibillity to separate the stored memory sound from the
front panel ('manual' or 'panel load' mode like the Juno 106, Creamware pro 12. etc) is a important feature
for a 'from scratch' workflow. Beeing able to 'see' the sound.
Also to shape all waveforms instead of the square/pulse only, is Very nice.

Oh wow! I love the 4 lane automation system on the Monologue's sequencer. That's really cool and I wish my BSII had that :(

I think that there are many synths that can do much more of both. So much more of bass station ii too. If I compare my Blofeld to BSII for the same price (+ a keystep) I will fly above it 13 worlds. So what?
what is the deepest synth?
I would rather ask: what is the best bass/mono synth for bass/mono parts.
If we come to Leads we start a new field. Reality is that BSII is so complete that I truly miss a module version and a 49keys version. Form factor in BSII is one of the worst points.

The fact that Aphex Twin has personally worked on both these synths should tell you they're both worth it :D

I do struggle to find the perfect analogue mono for me still. I really love the Monologue but the lack of that extra square is what kills me. Same with the Dreadbox Typhon. Not sure the Bass Station II really does it for me either though. They're both great synths, I just wish I had that big double square tone on an affordable synth other than the BSII for some variety.

Really Great video Man! I was specifically looking for this Too so Thanks!. I think the monologue is a great example of the beauty of "raw" analogue synth sounds. But i love all the features on the bass station.

I’d get a moog sub phatty instead of the BS… you can get them about same price.

Ok, so how often does a normal "synth player" use a sequencer? 🤔 I guess I ask because I'm a guitar player looking to get my first synth and the more I research and try to learn about them, the more I'm drawn to the sequencer function (seems to do a lot of the work for you 😀) And from what I see, the Monologue has a much better sequencer, but the demos for the BS2 are sick, making me lean more towards the BS2.

I mainly want one to be able to add more creative ideas and expression to my mixes. I play heavier style songs and mainly get my drum beats from EZ Drummer 2.

I got the monologue for the reasons you mentioned ,The monologue has its own sound ,kind of reminiscent of the Moog Analogues . like the vintage Sonic 6

Cheers for sharing this. Any ideas on whether the Minilogue xd is capable of creating bass lines like the Monologue/Bass Station 2?

the Bass Station 2 is my choice , i just do not like the korg keyboard

thanks for the really in-depth video; I've just got a monologue, so this was really useful.

I can state without ever touching the Bass Station, that it has got nothing against the Monologue. I started to play synths with Monologue and because of it's features - like for example the invaluable OLED display - I now understand much more about synthesis than I would have ever understood if I would have started with the Novation's synth.

BSII has more presence & cuts through a mix better IMHO. Everything about the BSII’s UI feels far more premium and feature packed. The fatar keybed on the BSII kills the Korg’s spongy microkeys, and then there’s the dedicated pitch and mod wheels. Overall, the BSII is a better all round experience.

Very interresting. Thank you.

BS2 probably waaayyy less buggy with its drivers than Korg.. UGH what a nightmare setting up the Monologue..
That said. I cant stop playing with it Lol.

The Bass Station 2 is more aggresive but the Monologue is warmer

Which would be a better companion for the Microfreak? I like the Analogue Sounds I can get from the MF but it's variety, despite the Mod Matrix is kinda limited at least compared to the BSII. I'd maybe be looking at the Minilogue rather than Monologue.

Sawtooth is half a wavelength as compared to a triangle or sine or square so it should sound an octave higher...

Thank you for taking the time to make and post this.

It would be so great to put Monologue filter into Bs2🔥🙏
And, of course, we expect new Bass Station 3 from Novation and some amazing new synth from Korg
And very interesting could the Bass Station record parameters changing as well as 4 length on the Monologue or...
Thank you for your reviews ❤️

ah crap i forgot about the Aphex Mode. brilliant. Like a program change inside a synth.. I may finally get one now..

mmm i give it to the KOrg for the dope sequencer.. nice

You said you have other synths that cover everything the BS2 can do. What synth has an "Aphex" or "AFX" mode? Thanks.

Gr8 review😄

5th comment... we finally agree on something, with your final conclusion, the Monologue does have its own sound, its own capabilities, and does sound rawer, more unbridled, a touch more insane. I'd go that way. I have vst's if I want a static DCO sound.


I'd certainly be happy with either synth though, I would find a use for them in every track I do, and even better, I'd love to have both of them as they are complimentary. Think a Behringer MS-1 and a Moog Sub 37 are next in line (in about a decade when I get the Gmother paid off).

4th comment... you have to have 2 square oscs... it's like half my pallet of sounds.

F, third comment... It would have been better to make the sounds on the Monologue, and reproduce them on the BS2. The Monologue is quirky and hobbled all over the place. The BS2 is a straight up, classic East Coast synth. Much easier to recreate sounds on the BS2. You know what the filter env is going to do, you know what the amp env is going to do. (of course, I'm a vco guy, so like the raw sound of the M, if I wanted a clean Osc sound like BS2, defo a VST is the better way to go - never mind the tactile experience of the BS2, you lose it when you have the same set of controls for two different functions - you can't make fine adjustments, because you'll come back to a fader, but it will be out of place, and when you move it, you have to re-establish its general former position, and then try to refine it - it is a nightmare, I've got an 80's poly VCO that is the same way, and even worse, it drives me up a wall)

Would have bought the Monologue but for the ENV. They didn't have to cheap out THAT badly.

Grandmother as well. And, NAW! Subs can't get down to C, they can hang around E and F, in fact, they really punch there. One of the things I love about the Grandmother. With a limited keyboard, no point in having 3 or 4 wasted keys.

So when is novation releasing BS3 with automation lanes, live sequence record, and analog delay as seen on Neutron?

It does have an input gain level adjust, I believe...