Software Minimoog Synth Shootout

In this video, Starsky Carr compares five software alternatives to the Minimoog Model D, and compares them to an actual hardware Model D.

The five soft synths included in the comparison are: Diva, MiniV3, Monark, Legend & Minimonsta.

Topics covered in the comparison:

Sawtooth Waves 1:00
Pulse Waves 7:45
Triangle Waves 10:452
Detuned oscillators 11:45
Filter Cutoff 14:30
Filter Resonance 21:20
Frequency Modulation 26:30
Feedback/Overdrive 29:30
Results 33:30

Check it out and let us know what you think of the comparison!

16 thoughts on “Software Minimoog Synth Shootout

  1. I have Monark and the MiniV… but now I want the Legend 😛

    Shame with Diva. I always heard great things about it, but it failed miserably here.

    1. Diva models the roland stuff better I think. Also being that diva models so many different synths the controls may have been scaled to balance out the difference in sound when switching between modules. I agree that the legend does sound great though

  2. NI’s Monark – as well as Massive, Razor and Rounds – sound like Software, but i would love to have them all 4 in hardware in a dedicated controller each, as they all 4 sound really INTERESTING.

  3. I have all of the synths in this review other than MiniMonsta- they all have pros and cons and it depends on your budget and how authentic you need to be – as part of a massive bundle, the Arturia moog works out at about 20 quid if you pro-rata, Diva is a bit more than Legend but then it does a lot more (its not a one trick pony). I think most people/most reviews say legend is the best out and out emulation, but that’s what it set out to do, and that’s all it does (that said, it is still one of my goto VSTs as its basic sound is just great, irrespective of what it was modelling)

  4. Have you tried the MiniClone VST?

    It’s the most realistic vintage Minimoog soft-synth to date. It picks up radio interference just like the original, and it sporadically drifts in and out of tune as you play. And every now and then, some of the keys stop working or the whole thing stops making any sound. It gives you the most realistic vintage synth experience.

  5. IMHO it all depends what kind of patches you use with your Minimoog or Minimoog’ish VST’s. I’m 55, and in 1978 I bought my first ‘D’, four years lattet bought my second ‘D’. I used both of em heavily in both studio and clubs for ten years, then sold em and eventually bought a Minimoog Voyager which I use to this day. I have all tbe VST’s mentioned here. The types of patches I have always used and still use are heavily influenced by the likes of Kieth Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Chic Corea, and Jan Hammer, very simple and quick to dial up. I can easily get my VST’s to sound like my hardware with these simple, many times open filtered patches when we’re talking recording into a DAW which is digitizing the analog Moog .. nobody .. not even my misician friends can tell what I used. Where it DOES become very apparent in the difference between my hardware Moog and VST’s is when you plug the Minimoog into a 50w Hiwatt double cabinent 8×12 stack and start soloing ala Tom Coster .. no VST in the world is gonna duplicate that!

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