Jump to content

good versatile first synth?


Recommended Posts

i was thinking about buying a synth, i was looking into the moog sub phatty and roland gaia. im not sure if i should even buy one but if so are there others i should look into id like to see some good demo vids. its either a synth or a sound system and im sort of leaning towards the sound system

Link to comment
Share on other sites

it totally depends what you're after from a synth. if you want something that plays chords then that's not possible with the moog as it's monophonic. if you want something that can do a lot have a look at the korg minilogue which is polyphonic. Moogs are awesome but if you want something versatile you probably want something that's poly too.

 

OR get a softsynth and work out what you want based on how you use that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Knowing what budget you have to spend on a synth would be a big plus here mate,also what type of music would you be making with it ?

 

Are you wanting a brand new instrument or would you consider second hand ? the market is huge either way but without knowing what your budget is its hard to offer any advice and as Jon said it all depends on what you would want from the synth itself anyway

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest rasteri

OR get a softsynth and work out what you want based on how you use that.

This. I know far too many gear nerds who think that they'll become a great producer once they buy enough hardware synths, spend all their spare time reading soundonsound, and never actually make any music. Meanwhile I know loads of great producers who just started banging out tunes using softsynths first and bought hardware synths once they had the luxury of getting paid for their work.

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had little hardware, then went fully software (Amiga), then had lots of hardware, then went fully software again (PC) then ridiculous amounts of hardware, now heading back towards fully software with controllers, always make ten times as many songs in software as i do with hardare.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The MOOGs is are lovely sounding synths, but it does require som experience to make it sit good in a mix according to people I know who owns them. I myself have only owned Dave Smith Instruments synthesizers, specifically the desktop Evolver and the Tetr4.

 

The Evolver was a hybrid digital/analog synthesizer with tons of modulation possibilities and I loved it. Lost it when my appartment burned down, so purchased a Tetr4 instead of getting a new Evolver... and boy was i wrong in doing that. The most cumbersome fucking synthesizer ever, hated it dearly and ended up just using free VSTs instead.

 

I would personally look at the Native Instruments Monark for a Moog-like VST. For something polyphonic, not really sure though, but a google search will net you some really cool stuff online.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

In terms of VSTs I'd recommend Serum as a great versatile soft synth. I tend to write a lot of my ideas in that as it's nice and quick to use and then if I want a big hardware sound once the song is written I can run the midi into my Moog and make a patch with that.

 

When I started getting more into production at the end of 2013 I bought a fair bit of hardware over a 18 month period and a lot of it was me trying to learn synthesis and how to make certain sounds, which I did, but I found that certain instruments suited my 'sound' better than others: I use some bits every day and others every so often. I don't regret it as they've all been nice to have and play with but I could have saved money in the long run - I own three monosynths now, each have been an upgrade over the previous one I owned and they all can do different things and have their own sound and character but it's not 'necessary' per se.

 

If you're really looking to get a piece of hardware over software I'd highly recommend checking out the Minilogue - it looks really versatile and is capable of a wide variety of mono and poly sounds and is really affordable for a new poly imo. I don't own one myself but the times I've used one they've been really fun to use.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually the Yamaha CS 80 is a phat ass synth check out the Bladerunner soundtrack by Vangelis or "Dune" by those masters of cutting edge Rock n Roll the one and only Toto

 

Totally rocking it ..

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks, i want something to lay out nice melodies with and bass, i tried some roland keyboard which was great i dont remember the name but it sounded really nice, i dont think im gonna get the moog ill look into some of the others, im also thinking about the maschine im a big native instruments fan.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks, i want something to lay out nice melodies with and bass, i tried some roland keyboard which was great i dont remember the name but it sounded really nice, i dont think im gonna get the moog ill look into some of the others, im also thinking about the maschine im a big native instruments fan.

I'd go for the minilogue. I'd recommend going to a musuc shop and trying a few out too but from what you're saying that one ticks the boxes.

 

If you do go software you don't need to get all the native instruments stuff, you could do it all in serum (apart from the sample libraries and stuff like granular synthesis).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Yep but he's not looking for sample libraries, he's looking for a synth :)

 

Either you have never used Kontakt, or you just made a mistake there, Kontakt is one of the most advanced synth ever built, even if it is a sampler ;)

 

 

Yep, I'm aware of that :)

 

What I'm trying to say, as was rasteri, is that many people find it's best (and cheaper to boot) just to learn one thing well at the stage Trevor is at and get one thing that covers a lot of ground whether it's software or hardware and then pick up other bits later. I thought getting Komplete would be a bit overwhelming as you get so much stuff to play with, even though lots of it is wicked.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And the point i was making is that, He likes NI, so why spend nearly as much on one NI product, when you could just buy Komplete, you do not have to learn it all at the same time, in fact you don't even have to install it at the same time.

If he wants NI, then Komplete is the better deal over anything else they offer (Single items from NI are a Komplete rip off)

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...