Vermona Mono Lancet ’15 / Kick Lancet – Lead- and Groove-Synthesizers

2013 and the following years are dedicated to the “little” ones. The little BIG synthesizers, to be exact. It’s a phenomenon of our time that manufacturers produce analog synthesizers in pocket-size and with high-quality analog sound.

Welcome to the Mono Lancet ’15, Mono Lancet and Kick Lancet test report …

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This is the “new” Mono Lancet ’15 …

The little BIG ones:

  • Analog Solutions Leipzig
  • Doepfer Dark Energy I / II / III
  • DSI Mopho (desktop)
  • EMW WCS-1
  • Eowave Domino
  • Korg Monotron
  • Korg Monotribe
  • MacBeth Micromac
  • MFB Dominion Club
  • MFB Dominion X / X SED
  • Mode Machines SyntLab SL-1
  • Moog Minitaur
  • Moog Mother-32
  • Mutable Instruments Anushri
  • Studio Electronics Boomstar
  • Tom Oberheim SEM
  • Trax RetroWave
  • Vermona Mono Lancet
  • etc.

… just to name a few.

Vermona-MonoLancet-KickLancet-01

We don’t want to forget the Technosaurus Microcon, an old guy from the late 90s. In its days, it was novel and rare: compact design and high-quality analog sound. Then there was the Doepfer MS-404. Housed in a 19-inch rack, it was very popular for many, many years.

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Its name leads us – nomes est omen – back to the mother of all micro synthesizers, the Roland TB-303 bassline of 1982. Last but not least, there were (are) all those bassline clones … many dozens of them were designed and produced during the last 3 decades …

Anyway, next to small (Eurorack) modular systems, handy pocket-sized instruments dominate our current era of analog synthesizers.

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As you can see, finding a handy analog synthesizer is not going to be an easy choise. Is the Tom Oberheim SEM better than the MFB Dominion? Is a Moog Minitaur all you need? What about the flexible Doepfer Dark Energy II? Judging synthesizers is always a question of personal taste. First, overall appearances are important. And second, you have to decide what musical value you are looking for. Strengths? Weak points? The individual instruments often differ significantly, so finding the synthesizer you really need won’t be that easy.

We have already taken a closer look at the MFB Dominion X, the Waldorf Rocket, the Trax RetroWave and – just recently – at the Moog Minitaur. Now it is time for our summer guest, the Vermona Mono Lancet.

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But, wait a second. Before we go there, please have a look at our Perfourmer MKII review. And – more important – listen to its sound files! The Mono Lancet’s big brother (the Perfourmer …)  is – in our very personal opinion – one of the best modern analog synthesizers that has ever been created. And although concept and sound of an instrument are always a matter of taste (we realize that not everyone feels comfortable with the Perfoumer MKII), there’s a solid and remarkably strong community of Perfourmer MKII enthusiasts that has grown during the last two years.

So, after having become acquainted with the Perfourmer MKII, expectations for the Mono Lancet are high. Whether the monophonic analog pocket-synth can satisfy these hopes and what its musical applications are is what we are about to try to find out. And yes … we also take a brief look at the Vermona Kick Lancet. That’s another cutey – a percussion synthesizer for classical and experimental kick drum sounds. Most of the attached soundfiles present the Mono Lancet and the Kick Lancet side by side.

Hardware

Hardware? There is not much to say here. Well, depending on the point of view, there would be a LOT to say, but you know this already: the Lancet instruments have excellent knobs, strong chassis and so on. Vermona builds – just like Moog or Doepfer – high quality instruments. And the design is tasteful: anthracite (casing), beige (pots) and silver (switches) combine to lend the Mono / Kick Lancet a charm of its own.

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There are no wobbly buttons, everything is sturdy and of high quality. This year Vermona introduced wooden side panels (for the Lancet as well as for the Perfoumer MKII, by the way). The light wood looks good and goes well with the dark chassis of the instruments.

Since there are no points of criticism here, we now turn to the …

Concept Of The Mono Lancet

The Mono Lancet’s overall concept is somehow slightly different from other synths. First, it has 2 VCOs. The oscillators sound brilliant, reminding us of the awesome Prophet-5. Cutting, strong analog sounds, very powerful. Excellent for lead lines, tasty filter sweeps and bass lines. The Mono Lancet’s “classic” sound is simply excellent. So … good sounds and yes, of course, there’s MIDI.

Nothing unusual (or wrong) up to know. The Mono Lancet is a powerful 2-VCO synth with MIDI. All right. But what about CV/gate? What about those INs and OUTs many of us are looking for? Well, in order to control the Mono Lancet via CV/gate, you’ll need an optional device. It’s called Mono Lancet Modular Dock.

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Basically speaking, the idea of the Modular Dock is not bad. It’s a 3-unit-(Eurorack)-module that connects to the synthesizer via a 25-pin computer cable (D-Sub / DB-25). A green contact light flashes as soon as you have properly set up the connection. The Mono Lancet Modular Dock houses a few switches, jacks and knobs that extend the modulation- and control-possibilities of the synthesizer. Thus, interaction with other modular gear is very simple. Hook up a step sequencer to the synth, send a few (external) high frequency LFOs to the VCF, add voltage controlled envelope generators or a ring-modulator … it’s up to you!

But the fact is, this control unit is optional. So, buy a Mono Lancet and the Modular Dock and you’ve come close to the price of a Tom Oberheim SEM with CV/gate. Or a MFB Dominion X (which is a bit more expensive, but on the other hand features 3 VCOs, lots of LFOs, ring modulators, memories and so on).

One of the Mono Lancet’s strongest competitors is the Doepfer Dark Energy (formerly Mark I, now Mark II). It has 1 VCO only, but offers – besides MIDI – all CV/gate connections in one and the same instrument/unit. Taking this all into consideration, it’s not easy to evaluate the Vermona Mono Lancet concept. The Modular dock is just brilliant, but we’d really wish this module to be either an integral part of the instrument or to be sold in a (not too expensive) package together with the synth.

Vermona-MonoLancet-KickLancet-08

Admittedly, the Mono Lancet does come equipped with 2 VCOs, giving it more musical potential (in this one respect, at least) than the 1-VCO synthesizer from Doepfer. From this perspective it becomes obvious that comparing different instruments depends on your personal requirements. And here we’re back where we started. Whether you like the unique Mono Lancet or not has a lot to do with what you do want to do with it … simple, but true.

The Mono Lancet Features

  • 2 VCOs (with noise)
  • LFO (with sample / hold)
  • VCF
  • VCA
  • ADSR
  • MIDI
  • CV/Gate (via the optional Modular Dock)

The features are well chosen and well organized. The double oscillators, combined with the small mixer (well, actually it’s a mix knob), are especially useful. It’s beautifully simple to fade back and forth between a 32“ pulse- and a 4“ sawtooth sound. Or to create simple octave movements. That opens musical vistas, whereby that little mix knob can make an especially big difference. The pulsewidth modulation is gorgeous, by the way. Two little criticisms among all this praise. Firstly, the PWM can only be controlled by the (optional) Modular Dock or via MIDI. There are no provisions for “direct control”.

Update: Vermona tells us how to install a simple pulse-width knob. It’s a DIY job and not really aesthetical, but here you are:

LINK Mono Lancet Pulse Width Knob Installation (> currently not active, contact Vermona for the mod).

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Secondly, oscillator-synchronization is missing. Synth experts will be puzzled by the fact that we have here a 2-VCO synthesizer with wonderful sound potential, but with no possibility for oscillator-synchronization. Ok, it doesn’t have to do that. The Minimoog – the most famous synthesizer in history – didn’t have a sync option either, despite its impressive 3-VCO sound architecture. And despite this “weakness” it became the most famous mono synth of all times. But today we look at this a little more critically. So it remains a pity that a 2-VCO synth should have no sync possibilities.

Above and beyond this, this is what Vermona promises according to the Mono Lancet user manual: living sounds. This is really an understatement. Those “living” sounds are sensational. Such beautiful (fine) beats, delicious pulse sounds, cutting sawtooth creations (and much more) are available on very few other analog synthesizers. The attached sound files should give you an idea of how powerful – how brilliant – the Mono Lancet can sound.

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How could it be otherwise? The 24dB filter is also good. Again, we have a suggestion here concerning filter resonance. At high resonance settings, the self-oscillating filter may occasionally produce dirty (non-harmonic) tones. Dirty filter resonance can be a musical plus, but in this case the non-harmonic overtones may be difficult to tame. We’ve dedicated a soundfile to this topic. 3 filter sweeps with Zero / middle / high resonance settings.

MIDI Potential

Since the Modular Dock has been concepted as an option only, let’s look at the MIDI potential of the Mono Lancet.

  • MIDI channel
  • Note on/off
  • Pitch bend (VCO)
  • Modulation wheel (PWM)
  • Aftertouch (VCF)
  • Velocity (VCF and VCA)

And then there’s Auto-Glide and Legato (two important performance functions) that can be turned on/off via MIDI.

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What Are The Biggest Assets Of The Mono Lancet?

These considerations are enough to classify the Mono Lancet as a superb instrument perfect for rich and delicious analog sounds. The 2 VCOs and the 24dB VCF may not bann the Oberheims and Prophets to the past, but they will certainly evoke admiring nods of respect from their direction. If you’re looking for strong lead sounds, powerful synth sounds, velvety filter sweeps and other analog textures, then you’ll be comptletely satisfied with the Mono Lancet. Ideally, together with the Lancet Modular Dock.

Although there may be some questions of concept, the Mono Lancet certainly has strengths that will ensure it a place in the studio. A sophisticated lead / bass / solo synth. Especially attractive, by the way, is the LFO-to-VCO-modulation (vibrato) lead sound. Some would call this a bread-and-butter-sound, one of those all-time “living analog sounds” that are especially difficult to obtain with such conviction and vivacity.

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Very few analog desktop synths can hold a candle to the Mono Lancet when it comes to lead sounds. It is a top-league lead synth, despite small weaknesses in the area of crazy / experimental / FX sounds. On the positive side, there’s autobend (VCO) which delivers nice effects, and the LFO does range from 0,05 to 60 Hertz (or 240, as the Vermona website tells us) and offers sample & hold, …but we must also say that the creation of experimental sounds is not where Mono Lancet is at its best. Which it admittedly doesn’t have to be, if the buyer of the mono is looking for a versatile lead synth.

Update 02/2016: The new Mono Lancet ’15 now offers 6 LFO Waveforms.

The strengths of the Mono Lancet should be obvious. And if you have any doubts, listen to the attached sound files. You are hearing a lead / bass / solo synth at its best.

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Kick Lancet

The Kick Lancet is simple to decribe. Basically, it’s a percussion synthesizer comparable to one channel of the Simmons SDS-200/400/800 series. Pitch, Attack, Noise, Decay and a few other parameters are adjustable, allowing for variable electronic percussion sounds.

The Jomox XBase 09 could make for an even better comparision. There, too, you will find the classic pitched bass (and snare) drums.

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A special Kick Lancet goody is the wide-range LFO (30 Hertz up to 3 kHz) which enables surprisingly flexible (experimental) tone colours.

Now, the usefulness of such a simple bass drum synth may not be obvious at first. Just a bass drum? Where you need at least three instruments (bass, snare, hi hat) in order to create complete patterns? But there’s more flexibility here than seen at first glance. On the one hand, multitrack recording belongs to the basics of modern home studio work (you record your patterns track by track). On the other hand, the Kick Lancet can do much more than simple bass drum sounds. It’s a great source of unusual electronic percussion that will enhance your songs in unforseen ways. That one special sound could make the big difference …!

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In a nutshell …

Vermonas Mono Lancet and Kick Lancet are two analog desktop synthesizers designed with special musical purposes in mind. Great instruments for uncomplicated, fast improvisation, great tools for making electronic music. At your fingertips.

Neither of the modules is a universal instrument. But a lot of you out there are not looking for that anyway. And each has its own special strengths, assuring it a place in many a musician’s studio where handy desktop-synths are needed.

Mono Lancet delivers classic analog sounds in the best sense of the word. For experimental percussive work, the Kick Lancet is a good supplement.

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Wonders never cease …

PS: A last word about a Lancet we haven’t even talked about. The Filter Lancet is a well-designed module for external signal processing with a multimode filter at its heart. If we had one wish, we would wish this multimode filter to one day be part of the Mono Lancet (along with the VCO sync function). That would be perfect.

Mono Lancet ’15

2016-03-03: Vermona presents the new Mono Lancet ’15. What’s new?

  • 6 LFO waveforms instead of 3
  • USB for factory upgrades
  • New power supply

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’14 Analogsynthesizer

2016-11-30: Vermona presents the ’14 Analogsynthesizer. A Mono Lancet keyboard, with great performance-tools (arpeggiator, programmable wheels, etc.), some extra extras … and with a wonderful touch-sensitive keyboard, of course.

Vermona Mono Lancet ’15

Monophonic Analog Synthesizer

Price: 459 Euros
(01/2023)

Vermona Lancet Modular Dock

Modular extension for the Mono Lancet, 3 HE / 22 TE

Price: 149 Euros
(01/2023)

Vermona Kick Lancet

Analoger Percussion / Kick-Drum Synthesizer

Price: 249 Euros
(01/2023)

Wooden Side Panels (for all Lancets)

Preis: 39 Euro
(01/2023)

Website Manufacturer:
www.vermona.com

Links:
Vermona PERfourMER MKII Synthesizer Review
Vermona ’14 Analogsynthesizer Review
Vermona Interview

Filed under 2013, Reviews

“Es genügt, einen Ton schön zu spielen” sagte der Komponist Arvo Pärt im Jahre 2005. Diese Aussage ist ebenso einfach wie ich auch exzellent: Es braucht kein Meer an Tönen, denn entscheidend ist der Klang. Dass so mancher Vintage-Synthesizer der 70er und 80er Jahre teils unerreicht hochwertige Klänge liefert, steht außer Frage. Doch tatsächlich leben wir “heute” in einer nahezu perfekten Zeit. Einerseits hat man – mehr oder weniger – noch Zugriff auf die Vintage Analogen, andererseits wird auch bei Neugeräten die wichtige Komponente des hochwertigen Klanges wieder zunehmend berücksichtigt. Doepfer, Cwejman, Synthesizers.com, MacBeth, Moog, GRP, Studio Electronics, COTK, John Bowen und andere Hersteller bauen hervorragende Synthesizer, die den “Klassikern” in nichts nachstehen. All diesen (alten wie neuen) “großartigen” Instrumenten ist Great Synthesizers gewidmet. _________________________________________________________ In 2005 composer Arvo Pärt said: “Playing one tone really well is enough”. In other words, it is sufficient to play one tone 'beautifully'. I agree with that. All musical efforts are focused on the sound itself. Although I studied classical music (piano and drums), it’s the electronic sound that inspires me. Synthesizers are the epitome of new sounds and exciting tonal spheres. Today, many companies produce high-quality - excellent! - synthesizers: Doepfer, Cwejman, MacBeth, Moog, GRP, Synthesizers.com, COTK, Studio Electronics, John Bowen and others. It's their products I'm really interested in ... apart from Vintage Synthesizers, which I have been collecting for 20 years. Subsequent to our former websites Bluesynths and Blogasys, Peter Mahr and I have now created GreatSynthesizers. We hope you like it.

25 Comments

  1. MoodProject

    Thanks a million for such an in-depth review! I’ve been looking for this quality audio demos of the Mono Lancet for ages, but everyone seems to be using silly sequences for triggering the instrument, with extreme knob-fiddling following rather than actually playing anything at all. This is basically an instant buy where I’m concerned – thanks again! Also enjoyed your review on the Dominion X. Great stuff.

  2. Ich kann MoodProject nur beipflichten. Die Demos sind tatsächlich Demos. Großartiges Tool , großartiger Test

  3. A. Person

    What’s the name of the drum synth in the picture underneath the Kick Lancet and Jomox drum machine?
    Great :) reviews by the way

  4. Theo Bloderer

    … it’s the Simmons SDS 800 (o:

  5. cyklops

    wow great demos guys sounds awesome

  6. i was amazed at the living sound of Lancet. As the other poster said, also really thankful to find some more ‘beautiful’ style synth demo playing anywhere in the world these days. thank you for having such a great site!

    in the group of new monos, is there another which rivals it in leads? my only curiosity is if there is one with perhaps more ‘body’ to the sound but is still so milky and inviting, maybe more fx ability.
    listening to the dominion X for example, it so much mod ability, but the sound is not with the same milkiness and ‘non-opacity’, at least with the settings and style that were recorded. Is it that the Dominion lured you or suggested those demo styles and they were made accidentally omitting more naturalistic lead ideas?, or was it that the Dominion was not suited for them and thus not recorded?

  7. these demo recordings have really single-handedly given me faith i will find a beautiful lead sound in a modern synth. :D
    it has really been difficult to find people who play and think in this fashion, in order to even see an instrument tested in that realm, let alone described and rated alongside others! maybe it’s just my subjectivity but this review of the Lancet is like a SINGLE guiding light in a sea of brittle cheapness, in all the affordable market today.

  8. (sorry for multiple post but i figure i may as well be clear)
    In the affordable range, a synth with more ‘body’ is Minitaur. I am not convinced the Slim phatty has the depth of what a good lead would have. Tho it does have sync and distortion that the Lancet lacks, it also lacks the simple natural sound. The lancet is somehow ‘delicate’, ‘transparent’, ‘inviting’. Maybe it just shows I finally found a synth I really like and feel in common with, but I have the suspicion or worry that it’s because of the difficulty of sifting through demos for a sound that just isn’t tested by the users and testers so far, up to their limitations of taste. It is worrying since the sync and distortion in the Slim Phatty are great, but with the sound verging on being part of the brittle sea of other affordable monos, and with all the technical issues in it (since I am looking for a machine that can come with me live, in sometimes not the best conditions), I feel a real compromise, tugged in multiple directions but none of them really covering the core ideas of a synth completely.

    One day I will join the Perfourmer club you speak of :) what a grand place, a city of tone and color worthy of a great performance! a voice teacher I know said ‘If you aren’t an expert at every trick, don’t overstep yourself, but make a rich tone, and they will remember you.’

  9. Melvoin Stanke

    Others have said it earlier, and more eloquently than I, but thank you for this review, and also for this website. Your thorough, thoughtful reviews are always excellent and informative, and your audio examples have been a most useful resource when I’ve been interested in a particular instrument. It amazes me that even with so many instrument demonstrations on the internet, there are still so few really good ones! Thank you and please keep up the excellent work. Melvoin Stanke, Emperor Penguin

  10. Andrew

    Thanks for the excellent review & sample sounds/tunes. Love the tone of the Mono Lancet. Could very easily order it but wondering if since I have an SE1X, is it the right kind of addition to my arsenal.

  11. Andrew

    Thanks Theo, & that suggestion has certainly come for me out of leftfield, those demos sound very good & it looks superb value. I hadn’t really for some reason been thinking along these lines but just realising space-wise for me the smallness of something like the Lancet is quite a plus, not that it’s the final word.

  12. Andrew

    Went & ordered the Lancet last night. An end to looking at reviews of this, that & the other for a while! And the lack of memory might even hopefully force me to be more serious in understanding sound sculpting.

  13. Theo Bloderer

    … I think the lack of memory is a big plus! Create all your sounds “from scratch” … it’s the best you can do … it’s as close to the heart of music as you can get. (And there is no backup battery to worry about :o).

  14. Andrew

    Yeah, thinking about it, rather than progressing towards getting a synth without memory it seems to make much more sense to actually begin with such a synth, rather than forever leaning on the crutches of pre-programmed sounds, just as a child, rather than learning mental arithmetic relied on a calculator, would be stunted mentally.

  15. The Silkie

    Vermona is at the top of the heap of “boutique” synth companies. Vastly superior to the overrated and overpriced Studio Electronics, in my opinion. I LOVE Vermona!

  16. Theo Bloderer

    … me too. The Vermona synths have a beautiful, deep, pure analog sound … quite excellent.

  17. As has been said by so many before – thanks for a great, thorough review, and for the review music which is impressive enough to sell on bandcamp. I bought the Mono based on your music (very happy with it) and I’d gladly buy your music too! :)
    Keep up the good work!!

    PS what effects were used in the music?

  18. The ‘Lead’ and ‘Pulse3’ are the possibly the most beautifully haunting synth pieces I’ve come across … bravo

    Question though – would PerFourmer be able to make those and more? Is it worth 3 times the price of the Mono? Decisions, decisions.. :-)

  19. Theo Bloderer

    Hmmmm … yes, I’m sure the Perfourmer MKII can do it. (Regarding the basic sound architecture, there is no difference between the Mono Lancet and “one” Perfourmer voice.) The Perfourmer is a lot more, of course. “If” I had the choice, I’d even go for the CV/Gate version (AND I’d ask Vermona to install 4 VCF-IN ports as well). It would be one of those instruments I’d keep for the rest of my life :o)

  20. Theo! You mention the Retrowave above as an alternative to the Lancet. They both sound GR8 in your demos. As a companion to my A2 does either of them stand out as the more interesting choice? Seems to me that the Lancet has that gorgeous Vermona sound and even a bit of the ’14 in it. But the Retrowave has its very own gorgeous sound – and while lacking a 2nd oscillator it offers much more in the way of modulation and wider tonal palette? Any thoughts? ….

  21. Theo Bloderer

    … the really great thing about the RetroWave is the (VCF) mixer section with the basic VCO signal and the two (!) sub-oscillators. Tweaking these signals in realtime is a simple, but yet extremely wonderful procedure. And the two LFOs are brilliant … Overall, having almost the same size of the GRP, I think the RetroWave matches perfectly with the A2 …

  22. mark pigott

    This is the one Vermona synth I did not buy.
    I have the ’14 and perFOURmer and the Retroverb to add analogue compression and reverb.

    I always felt the Mono Lancet would be too much duplication with the ’14/perFOURMer.

    I do believe the Mono Lancet does not have MIDI Synced LFO?

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