-=[THE SYNTH ZONE]=-

Synths, synths, synths, let us talk about all the synthesizers

They're great instruments.

SYNTH FACT OF THE DAY: Despite performing what is called "photosynthesis", plants are in fact NOT synthesizers.

do you a favorite synthesizer?

Are you an old school analog synth fetishist?

Fave synth, that's a hard question. I like synths where every function has a knob you can twist, so let's go with that. The Yamaha CS-80 is my dream machine, though. The recent Dave Smith synths like Prophet 12 are good contenders for My Fave Synth as well.

Analog synths do sound great (I own a Microbrute) but some of the analog-fetishism (or rather digital hatred) can seem ridiculous for some. After all, it's the player that makes an instrument sound good, not the other way around.

Speaking of analog and fav synths, if I owned this synth I would be happy for the rest of my life:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imuCQ3Do6lk

I am interested in what envelopes and VCAs sound like, usually the first thing I do when I check out a synth is how "snappy" the envelopes can get, how nicely the VCAs and filters respond to it, the percussive qualities. Buchlas sound like "pk" then "pup" then "plup". ARP 2600s sounds like "clk" then "cluck". Rolands and new DSIs do not have any percussive qualities that are as useful as those synths.

I love the sound of FM synth + analog filters these days and have been tooling around with a couple of Mutable Instruments objects that are very interesting. Switchable tuning! turn a knob and it's real, it's Pythagorean, pretty cool stuff.

FM synthesis definitely needs a comeback

My first encounter with FM synth (outside of pre-pubescent .cmf programming, and I didn't really get what was happening) (ditto a DX7 in high school) was with a Nord Wave, where it was suddenly like oh! I don't need to artificially create an overtone series? I really love the pairing of FM oscillators and analog filters, the Mutable stuff has been super fun. A friend of mine has a... Wave, PPG? what is it. Something like that. The big one. I played around with it but again the envelopes were mushy, it was all tone and no snap.

A studio I worked in had a CS-80 and it's not all that. When it came time for futuristic polysynth it was always the Jupiter 8-- which at this point has an equally ridiculous price tag

I know the CS-80 is mostly associated with Vangelis sounds although it is capable of more and may be not that great after all... but just look at that design! It seems like no other synth that came before and after the CS series has the same looks/design influences. As far as reliability goes.. at least it's not the PolyMoog.

Actually, now that I think about it, the Polymoog DOES share some design similarities with the CS-80

The CS-80 is surprisingly difficult to get into "dialling in" a sound, its interface isn't as intuitive later synths. Also tbrr I need MIDI or CV/gate connectivity, have the computer play the line while I work with the sound, and I don't know if that's a possibility for CS-80s (or if any owner would go for it if it was)

I don't have much use for MIDI to be honest, sitting at a computer and programming notes, I am unable to work like that (and I tried). It just doesn't give me the same kind of joy that touching a keyboard while twisting knobs does. But it's helpful when I need to synchronize several synthesizers.

You can also buy a MIDI kit for your CS-80 at a bargain price of 470 £!

Hmm, I get you. My process is this: typically I dial in a sound, record the take simultaneously as MIDI info and as audio, then save the patch (if applicable). When the song develops and suddenly I realize the synth is too glassy or too dark or whatever, or just wrong, I just feed the already-recorded MIDI info back into the synth and fix the patch in realtime. Not so fastidious, just an easy way to make changes.

A side note to this is that I've gotten so enamoured of my ARP 2600 that I rarely use any analog poly synths, I typically track each voice monophonically using MIDI-to-CV. The signal-to-noise on the ARP is so ridiculously low that you can track 10+ tracks of it and still have silence (provided you keep the spring muted). I love my ARP. I bought it with the money from a soul-destroying film gig several years ago, best decision ever-- though I'm told the Cwejman 2600alike is just as good/better (and cheaper and easier to service)

I usually dial in a sound, play along to the track and slightly change the settings until it fits in well, record (often with a metronome) and hope for a good take or two. Sounds risky and not as professional as your method, but personally I don't like having all these "safety nets" while working on creative stuff. Having this slight tenseness helps me concentrate and evaluate certain synth sounds, mixes and parts more. Like, every part you record could be the last one of your life.

The ARP 2600 is awesome and I wish I could own one. In fact, I wish I could own every classic monosynth. I'm more of a poly guy anyway, although in our multi-tracking DAW age monophonic synthesizers work just as well for me.

Speaking of awesome monosynths, Soviet synthesizers are rarely talked about:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IMpElp0a_Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rceP4hDkXi4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYEYzPW6mes

i was digital only for a few years but i'm getting into using analog synths more and more. it's baby steps, but i've been using a Microbrute (running straight audio) and i just got the Korg Volca Keys (controlled via MIDI).

i know a lot of dudes who are more into messing around with old gear and than they are into making records and i never want to be that, so i'm just getting hardware when i'm having a specific sound that i'm not satisfied with the digital version of.

speaking of, i really do think they both have their place...soft synths can sometimes cut through a mix much more easily.

haven't messed around with FM synthesis yet but i really want to, probably going to get NI FM8 to learn on.

"Always appreciate all kinds of synths and syntheses." - Synthfucius

Speaking of digital synths and new purchases - I'm about to get a Yamaha AN1x for 250 €. Way underrated VA synth in my opinion. And even if I don't need its sounds I can use it as a MIDI controller with velocity and aftertouch and whatnot.

Jordan, I agree with you re: creating music vs. farting around, but making bloopy shit can be fun and even cathartic sometimes.

Anyone get a Microbrute? Looks pretty sweet, especially for the price.

I use a Prodigy that someone in our practice space owns, and I love it, but the newer Moog stuff is $$.

I also just bought Korg Gadget for my iPad mini, which is pretty neat. I cannot find a software synth that comes close to sounding as good as the Prodigy, though.

Whoops just saw your post Jordan. What do you think of the Microbrute? Can you get big, squelchy sounds out of it?

i loooove it, and yes. mostly i've been using it for thick saw basslines and square-ish leads, and lfo chaos. it's very intuitive imo.

Awesome. I think I'm gonna get one. I wish it had another octave, and full-size keys, but other than that it looks sweet.

Unfortunately my main keyboard (Nord Electro) does not have pitch/mod wheels.

Also, I got to play a Jupiter 8 on our latest record, and DAMN that is fun to play.

Does anybody want to recommended sites or tutorials for gaining a practical understanding of synthesis? All I do is play with free VST synths at this point and I get the basics but I want to have a better handle on it.

Also own a Microbrute - it's brilliant. The minikeys aren't as shitty as on the MicroKorg, allowing you play quite smoothly. And it can do anything from exquisite to big and squelchy.

St3ve, check out the Synth Secrets series, should teach you a bit (start from the bottom): http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/allsynthsecrets.htm

Oh yeah, I had started in on those Synth Secrets articles but gotten sidetracked, thanks for reminding me.

i've had the most luck looking on youtube for either the VST i'm working with or general synthesis tutorials.

what are your favorite synths for bass sounds? that's the #1 thing I'm lacking right now. I've got an Oberheim Matrix 6 (I finally got it fixed!) which makes some really lovely & mellow sounds, and I also recently bought an MS-20 Mini but haven't done anything too ambitious with it yet.

the Matrix isn't very good for heavy tweaking on the fly though

read that as heavy twerking on the fly

uhm, I think your MS-20 mini should be able to produce some great bass sounds, although I personally don't like the KORG Sound, it's just too.. "crispy" and "defined" for my taste.

The MS-20 is a fabulous bass synth, probably the best currently-available combo going, in that regard? I always forget about it! So great.

yay for fixed matrix!

my fave bass machines are juno 60 & pro one

i'm in a snit with vintage machines at the moment though since my really fucking expensive prophet 5 hasn't worked at all since i got midi installed

Vintage synths can be so uncompromising, that's why I like them

Well, until they stop working of course.

ha. it wouldn't hurt so much if it didn't sound so incredible when it's working

Speaking of vintage synths, I just realized how much 70's and 80's library music has this sci-fi synth soundscape thing going on:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di_HMqlO28E

So many broken synthesizers. ;_;

Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Synths

Actually I'm wondering: Has anyone here played a Synclavier?

no, but if i did i would make it say jammin on the one

I am fascinated/curious about what makes people say this or that synth is good for particular applications, or how to to understand the different character of different synths besides the dry technical details about oscillators and such. e.g. electricsound says he likes the Juno 60 for bass sounds but for whatever reason I associate Juno 60s more with string pads and like mini Moogs or Korg SH101s with bass sounds? Maybe those are just more obvious cliches?

Yeah, it's interesting since I always thought synths to be sonic all-rounders, even with their various configurations and designs. But maybe some people like the sonic capabilites of, let's say, an ARP Odyssey more than the capabilites of a Minimoog in terms of bass/lead/pad?/... sounds.

personally when i say the 60 is good for bass it is because it has nice snappy envelopes and very tight but not wooly low end. it can do string pads well too though, it it a p amazing machine tbh. i appreciate it even more now after five years than i did in my initial rushes of excitement when i first got it

also i have never played a minimoog or sh101

i need to step up my pad game

One day I'll type out my synth adventures but not today. I own a lot of synths. Maybe I will type it. Here we go.

Juno-106 - great entry level synth. Start here and end here if you plan to own house or children. Only issue is that the oscillators like to burn out, and replacing them involves ordering chips and soldering.

Juno-Alpha - teeny tiny, the B is velocity sensitive, super light, super durable, mine got the shit kicked out of it and it still works. There is a cool fifth- and sixth-stage on the envelopes, it's like an ADADSR, so you can make stuttery sounds. It is a pain to program. I bought a PG-300 (the programmer) from a guy who was looking at me like I was a sucker and then I sold it to somebody and understood what a sucker looks like. This takes a little effort to program properly but it's easier than a DX-7. It's good if you're somebody who needs to travel light.

Juno-60 - I think it's this one that has the miracle arpeggiator. Any time I want to do something arpeggiated I borrow one of these guys. I have never owned one but I use them a tonne. It receives clock in so you can send it pulses from Logic using beat mapper to live drum takes and have the arpeggiation stay in time. It also has CV-out so you can double it up with an ARP or a Minimoog. The "ensemble" function is famous and it sounds good, I never felt comfortable using it because any time I turn it on it's like "oh, that sound". This is a great synth and I'd own one except that I own a Jupiter 8.

Jupiter-8 - a weird synth. It's hella expensive, I bought it with a film score budget for a sci-fi movie. It is heavy (a two-person lift, really) and runs hot. The envelopes are too mushy to be really useful for percussion but they are good for bass and pads. I was working on a film where the director hated synthesizers, and he came by the house and kept asking for any noodles to be removed, he just wanted lame-ass indie piano/ukelele plunky-plunks. The Jupiter was the one exception, he loved the Jupiter. It does sound otherworldly, like The Best Synth Ever! But its arpeggiator sucks, it can't be controlled without MIDIfying it (and the kits are poorly reviewed so I haven't done it), it's not particularly routable, and it's too heavy and expensive to really be useful in any home studio. Mine is out on semi-permanent loan to a friend's studio until I get my own space for it, which will probably never happen. I don't know what to do with it, it's kind of like having a convertible in the garage.

Nords - they sound bad. There is something in that frequency spectrum that drives me crazy. Their pianos and organs sound "realistic" without sounding good, and they never sound good in a band. Nord synths are slightly better but still bad-sounding. All that said, I travel with and play a Nord Wave because it's light, it samples, the FM synths sound good, it's got built-in delay and reverb. You have to wrestle hard with these synths to make them sound good but the lightness, durability and usability makes it work it.

Nord Modular - especially these ones. Capable of sounding unbearably good. This is a DSP-run synth where you built a virtual modular on your PC and upload it into the hardware. Like, you drag and drop your modules on to an environment and connect them with patch cords. Super steep learning curve and, like other Nords, sounds terrible 99% of the time, but it worth it for that 1%. I am a thief, not a programmer, I download other people's architectures and tweak them. I have a Memorymoog clone on mine that is so precise in its emulation that it's uncanny. My Nord Modular is my DX-7 and my drum machine, what a great synth. Any time I need to do a shitty film score real quick I turn it on and the score is done.

ARP 2600 - my favourite synth ever, and the only one I use on recordings that I want to be proud of. It never sounds bad. The envelopes are enormously flexible, the CV modulation is amazing, you can build anything and get absolutely lost in creating self-generating patches. Sometimes if I have a houseguest I make a seagull + seashore patch and put it in their room. The spring is noisy but is fun to route sound through it and then back into other things. I am sending mine in to a synth spa in Savannah to get the ring modulator repaired and the connections tricked out. There is no HPF so you have to figure that out if you want to make hi-hats. There is no MIDI, but I use a lightpipe-to-CV converter; the added control of the Silent Way plug-ins is miraculous. I wish I was at home playing with this synth right now. Todd Terje says that the Cwejman S1 is just as good, better in other ways, and less expensive and that he's been using that these days instead of his ARP.

Mutable Instruments - I have a Shruthi and an Ambika. They are both totally awesome but I haven't found a use for either of them just yet.

I have a modular, too. I've lost a week of my life into creating beautiful, useless music with it, but haven't cracked it yet, made it feel like an instrument. I'll type about it another time.

the 106 is weird, i can't stand the results i get from playing one, but other people seem to be able to coax really nice things out of it

vcv looks ideal -- thanks all!

My only comment would be that it's way more fun to play with a physical synth than a VST. If you could get something like a Neutron or Bass Station 2 or Minilogue, it might be more inspiring for you.

the 0-coast used sells for $350-400, most demos seem to have a harder edge but it could probably do big drone-y wash with a reverb pedal (or two)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLS9UZ1VP2I

Any tracks we can hear? It looks really fun. Like a Circuit++

― DJI, Friday, August 2, 2019 1:35 PM

I goofed around on the Deluge in honor of 808 day. I don't know what I'm doing yet - this thing can do SO much - but threw this together in about an hour:

MSS808

Awesome! Very 80s drums and bass.

Had to use those 808 style drums!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywK9udx4Svc

I have an iPad app that does most of this but having the knobs and sliders looks so nice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjnjHrTIU58

i was worried for a minute that the lines on her hands were conductive paint and were part of the circuit.

I took my first step into synth world and got a Reface CS a few months ago. It's a powerful little machine & perfect for a synth noob like myself. However, the lack of arpeggiator & a proper sequencer have me realizing that I need more. I'm thinking a Microbrute may be my next purchase once I've saved a little $$.

Here's a minimal little noodle I put together on the Reface:

https://soundcloud.com/found-river/sundogs

I like that piece.

I have a Yamaha Reface YC organ, I mostly just enjoy sitting an droning away on notes.

Thanks, DJI!

I traded some comic compendiums for a fancy-lad wooden Eurorack case (Pittsburgh 270). Having fun on modulargrid finding out how many used Honda Civics it could cost to fill it up.

fucked around and came out with the weirdest patch i could make on the volca fm, this is the result:

https://soundcloud.com/momotaropeachboy/sequence-1

lol I would not have guessed that was an FM synth at all

That LFO is definitely coming with the Earthbound vibes.

ha that is probably the single biggest influence on my music so thank yew

i really liked "sundogs"!

some more messing around with a single patch and a simple kalimba-like sequence

Thx, dude!

I got a Keystep the other day, so now I can start making some proper arps and sequences (you can kind of do this with the reface's built in looper, but it's very annoying to work with). Now I just need something to program beats with, like maybe a Volca Sample. I'd use software, but my computer is getting unreliable in its dotage.

Also, I kinda just hate working on a computer, even though you can do just about anything in a DAW.

Digging "Bint"--was this all just on the Volca FM?

That LFO is definitely coming with the Earthbound vibes.

It's like the scene in a JRPG where an NPC reveals themself as the evil villain and then warps the party somewhere, just as they were about to achieve something.

old Korg Electribes are pretty cheap now - the ER-1 is about the same price as a Volca last time I looked.

Are those the little beat boxes?

I once saw a YouTube video of someone doing a really good live techno PA on one of those. Wish I could find it again.

Digging "Bint"--was this all just on the Volca FM?[

yeah just volca overdubbed in audacity

Very nice! I can barely understand FM synthesis, but one can get some pretty wild stuff with it.

I don't think I'll be able to prevent myself from picking up one of these when they come out, this looks incredible for just $99:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhonu-rM0B0

Damn all the new Roland stuff looks lame. When will they stop with the virtual analog stuff?

That little Korg thing sounds pretty great though!

The Juno boutique thing looks good. I managed to get one of the first run in Russia but they’d been sold out in the U.K. for years and were going for a lot more money on eBay.

I honestly do not understand releasing a souped-up digital Jupiter for £2200, though.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000879q

a 60 minute modular-synth mix selected by Steve Davis, former world snooker champion...

(he plays one himself, new lp out shortly as Utopia Strong - https://www.loudersound.com/news/steve-davis-and-kavus-torabi-release-first-new-music-from-utopia-strong )

Wait, what? How did I not know this? That’s amazing.

The Caterina Barbieri album is brilliant btw.

tne caterina has been the stand out track so far. not exactly background listening though (in that i can't concentrate on anything else whilst it's playing)

Talking of modular stuff, I got a clone of Clouds from a DIY builder on eBay and it’s wonderful. I may need a second.

Please enjoy some imaginary action game music I made using Korg Gadget on my Switch:

https://soundcloud.com/found-river/run-jump-dont-die

Pretty cool. Sounds like the theme song to an 80s show about a talking vehicle.

Haha thanks

little ambient thing i did

https://soundcloud.com/momotaropeachboy/fluor

Not a synth at all, but these look and sound gorgeous!

https://www.vintagevibe.com/products/vintage-vibe-tine-piano

I definitely want to pick up one of these when they finally come out. Seems like a really flexible piece of gear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYHqBt6B234

Totally--that thing looks worth it for the effects alone. And I don't have the first clue about DSP, but it will be cool as heck to download other people's FX and oscillators.

I'm finally diving into the Microfreak tomorrow, and as it happens I have one day to essentially write and finish a track for a compilation. Hopefully it doesn't sound like a microfreak product demo, even if that's what it might be, lol.

Hoping for some of the old 'first time user, don't know what I'm doing' magic.

The Microfreak is the other recent synth that I've been considering - although at £260 it's a lot more than the Korg Nutekt. I was thinking about the Monologue when it first came out, but in the end I didn't buy one because although it could get pretty extreme it wasn't that far out of the usual palette of monosynth sounds. Automatic Gainsay's review of the Microfreak demonstrates that it has a lot more range and also potential for in-depth programming far beyond what the front panel controls suggest.

I'm very hopeful, in many ways it seems like the synth I've always wanted. Will report back (hopefully as a conquering hero).

I got to play with one at Guitar Center today, I really liked the touch 'keyboard.'

Omg I love this synth. I've barely cracked the surface, but it's surprisingly intuitive so far, and I've never had as much fun going through presets. The keyboard & pitch bend ribbon are just delightful.

Also preset #2 is basically a Pulse X bass, what a gift

Well now that I've successfully made a track out of the most immediately appealing & usable patches, I guess I need to learn how to actually program the thing

There were some quirks, like it didn't seem to be getting the bpm from my DAW (for LFOs/arps etc), but that was easily set manually. Also everything online talks about 160 factory patches, but I only had about 120 before it got into the user slots. Not a big deal though.

And I haven't figured out much with the matrix yet (basically a digital version of a patchbay where you can change lfo routing etc). All I know is I got some sick sounds, and the glide and pitch bends are amazing on this (always important).

making some really nice droney ambient with my new ehx cathedral pedal, this thing rules

https://soundcloud.com/momotaropeachboy/nnell