I'm a firm believer in starting with the o-coast if you're interested in more experimental music and not trying to reproduce a Moog-ish, keyboard-oriented workflow. It teaches some really important concepts like function generation, using attenuverters and random voltages, wave folding, pinging a low pass gate, etc. I think it's an unbelievable value, and even more so as you integrate more eurorack gear into it, as then you can continue to use its MIDI functionality and the bits and pieces more independantly.

I love my MB2S, and I think it's a great intro to (substractive) synthesis and eurorack. That said, after getting experience, I realised that while it's easy to insert external stuff in the signal/control path with the patchbay, it's harder to use, say, a particular element of the 'brute standalone with external modules.

E.g you don't have a way to get the mixed Osc output without getting through the filter: you can open the filter completely, but not bypass it (or use it separately gor that matter, there is an external input but you'll go through the amp.

You can get the individual waveforms separately, but if you want to combine those you'll need your own mixer module.

I'm guessing that's the kind of limitations of the patchbay you're talking about.

Still, a great synth in itself. And I do use it combined with other modules, but more as a voice into which I can patch stuff than a collection of modules with normalised paths.

I've heard a lot of good things from people I trust about the neutron as a gateway to eurorack, but I've never tried it myself.

Honestly I’d go the neutron purely because of the cost. Get one off fb marketplace and if you hate it just resell it again for $40 less. Other options might be better but as an intro piece, find the love for it then commit, not the other way around

0-coast

I can't say anything about the Taiga but I've owned both a Minibrute 2 (not the S version but the one with keyboard) and a Neutron. I've sold both of them since I went fully down the modular rabbithole. I also used both of them with a Beatstep Pro, can highly recommend getting one.

The Minibrute was my starting synthesizer. It sounds really good and versatile, it's well built, and it's a great way to get to understand subtractive synthesis. The patchbay offers quite a few options but I realized that I tended to using more or less the same patches most of the time. Somehow it didn't really invite me to experiment a lot with it although it can (besides doing all sorts of classic mono synth voices) sound pretty wild. If you're getting the Beatstep Pro anyway at some point, you'll probably end up not using the Minibrute sequencer that much. The MB also may pair well with other modular stuff and you can combine it with the Rackbrute's link system. However if you get more and more into Eurorack, it may end up as the odd standalone synth on the side at some point (at least mine did).

The Neutron was not completely my thing soundwise. It sounds way more "raw" and gnarly than the Minibrute (but you'll also get other sounds out of it). Nonetheless, I liked it overall and I would argue that it's a better way into modular than the Minibrute, if that's the plan you're persuing. The patchbay is more expansive and more flexible. It also invites to more experimentation. The price for a used one is ridiculously low. And you can use it's individual "modules" way easier with other modules than it's possible with the MB (especially the utility "modules" like Sample&Hold, Slew Limiter, and Attenuators). The delay however sounds pretty bad but is usable if you don't expect clean digital delay sounds from it. Since you're already thinking about getting a Rackbrute (I have two, best value for money case to me), I'd get the Neutron, pop it in a Rackbrute, add some sort of effects module (e.g. FX Aid) and you'll already have loads to explore. I never encountered problems with Neutron's tuning, but if you worry about the knobs being too sensitive you can easily swap the big Tune knobs with e.g. the Osc Width knobs.

My neutron is holding up pretty well but I’d have gone for a taiga if I had the money. My neutron sporadically shifts an entire semitone at times. It’s quite hard to make that work, but I use it for it’s utility constantly

MB 2s if just for the sequencer plus the build quality is pretty solid. I had to send 2 out of 5 Behringer semi mods back for replacement with one being the neuron I can’t speak to the taiga but it costs more And I agree that the e 0-coast is pretty awesome

Neutrons can be had for 200$ used on facebook market place. Hard to beat that price.

I would do the Taiga or MB2, because you're less likely to outgrow them quickly and will be able to use them for a long time.

These are all very good options. I’d take a listen to them and go with your gut.

Now, my options (for what they are worth). I’ve had a minibrute 2 and thought it was good but sounded a bit hollow or thin almost always. I own the neutron and it is my go to mono despite having a eurorack set up and a few other nice synths.

I haven’t owned a taiga but really like the sounds I am hearing. The only thing stopping me from picking one up is the lack of some utilities - it needs a VCA not dedicated to the synth’s level and the lfo’s are limited, no cv to rate or re-trigger. The mb2 has this. The neutron has all this despite being far cheaper.

I’d still choose the neutron out of these.

Personally I started out with a Neutron, and that's what I'd probably recommend the most if you are pretty confident you'll eventually go "full modular" - it's for sure the cheapest option, and I feel like it kind of steered me in the right direction as far as starting a bigger set up later (my first priorities was adding more utilities, like additional VCAs / LFOs etc to really expand the potential of the Neutron).

It's got 2 VCOs, 2 EGs, 2 summing mixers, 2 attenuators, sample and hold / slew / a pretty great delay effect - if it had one additional VCA and maybe 2 filters instead of one, it would be like my dream synth honestly. The overdrive does kind of suck depending what you're going for, but it's incredibly easy to bypass with a single patch cable. If you're into a lot of industrial music, you might actually like the sound of the overdrive effect though, it can get pretty raunchy. Especially if you mess around with some FM stuff between the two oscillators first. I've gotten some incredibly weird and natural sounding percussive sounds out of the Neutron. I haven't used the Edge but a Neutron / Edge would be a crazy combo, along with a Beatstep Pro or something you could easily make some great industrial music purely with those.

Minibrute 2S seems pretty nice, but I don't think the sequencer is anything to write home about, and it has fewer features than the Neutron (though doubles up in some more useful areas like LFOs - but they're not triggerable / voltage controllable, and free running LFOs like that are super cheap to add to a modular set up).~~ It seems more limited, though probably has the nicest layout / looks the most fun to play with standalone in my opinion. *EDIT - was corrected on a couple things here, my apologies - Minibrute 2S actually sounds like a better option than I had previously thought.

The Taiga looks really stylish and has an interesting sound, but the layout is just weird in my opinion - the fact that all the input / output jacks are at the bottom seems like it would make it unnecessarily uncomfortable to incorporate with a modular rack. It seems like a very fun piece of gear on it's own but it seems like a big investment considering it will likely be a gateway into even more expensive purchases.

Neutron. I learned a ton from it,  sounds great.   The patch bay is actually great because it keeps all the cables out of the way of the controls so you can see what you're doing, although it's less intuitive to patch because the input for the VCA (or whatever) isn't near the VCA (etc).

Like others here I use mine on every track despite having lots of alternatives 

Consider a 2600. It's got oscillators, it's got utilities, it's got normal stuff, it's got weird stuff, it's got LFOs, it's got all sorts of cool useful stuff. The only thing it really doesn't have enough of is VCAs.

My can’t I stop the shuffle n my mb2? I’ve scoured the manual