-=[THE SYNTH ZONE]=-

so we have $9 then!

I'm in for $10

it probably only works out at $10 a knob 8)

(i was o_O at the size of that patch panel. then i noticed there were two)

melbourne conservatorium of music (part of melb uni) has one, the head of the department retired this year but his last major project was restoring it! some dudes from the local modular synth mailing list/user group got to go down there and have a play - exactly as cool as you'd imagine, apparently.

I can't offer any money but I can store the synth!

Essentially the synths is complete and almost no money needs to be spent on it other than labour time and any spare to fix any faulty boards.

Good luck with that.

can ppl post more pictures in here i love pictures

you should follow factmag on instagram surm -- it's all studio pix!

you're smart

http://www.sequencer.de/blog/synthesizer/2007/11/alec909.jpg

NICE

that poor thing

you guys, I got one of these: http://www.kilpatrickaudio.com/?p=phenol

it is higly entertaining

any experience with the roland mt-32? everyone on synth forums seems to absolutely hate them but i'm guessing it's mostly anti "very midi-sounding" sounds (which i like and want in my music) -- are they really all that bad?

really, really want the Korg Minilogue, seems like what i've been waiting for.

Totally! Need to try it first, but it looks pretty sweet.

yeah, can't believe it. looks beautiful, amazing features for the price. Got the basics down well and some unique extras. No stupid dated effects.

This video shows some cool stuff. The voice modes are very cool and unique:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGeHKF_DrrA

This thing looks ridiculous!

https://www.arturia.com/matrixbrute/overview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfLTlbGwXD0

I played with a Minilogue a few days ago. It was great. I'll get one even though I don't really need it.

want that matrixbrute soooooo bad. alpha juno, that and the kilpatrick should keep me entertained for a while.

I just bought a Machinedrum. They cut the price in HALF. Now orders are all backed up. Sweetwaters supposed to get it to me in 4 weeks.

I got my minilogue yesterday. I'm LOVING it. It's just fun to play with. Nearly everything is on a knob (other than portamento time, which I miss), and there's no switching between envelopes or LFOs with a button to confuse you. The different voice modes are cool, and well-thought-through. The little OLED waveform display is a little gimmicky, but it's neat as a teaching/learning tool.

Mostly, it just sounds great. It's intuitive, and musical, which is the best thing you can say about an electronic instrument.

Cons? The delay is a little noisy, but I have a SpaceEcho pedal, so it's nbd. I'd rather have full-size keys, I guess (though I'd rather have 37 smaller keys than just 25 full-size ones). I wish there was a mod wheel, but the knobs are all pretty big, so it's not a huge loss...

nice. the only thing preventing me from getting one at this point is that i honestly don't know where i would put it. my studio space is super tight, really need to re-arrange that room (currently i store my drums behind my synths, and risk knocking them over every time i pack up for a gig).

I'm going to get rid of my JP-08 (it's cute, but not fun to play, and constantly reminds me that is is not actually analog) and my midi controller keyboard (never could get it to work right - it was designed to work with Live, and other uses seem pretty unsupported), and just putting the bass station 2 and the minilogue next to eachother on a board on top of my keyboard stand.

the motion sequencing on this thing seems like a masterstroke to me. gets around it only having the one LFO to an extent.

http://www.factmag.com/2016/03/22/melbourne-electronic-sound-studio-mess-vintage-synth-workshop/

I have just taken out a membership here!

Oooh, I would love something like that. Well, there's a guy who runs his own thing here, but uh I do not want to spend any time in his company.

This is pretty neat:

http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2016/05/19/200000-synclavier-now-a-200-app/#more-71357

just got my minlogue from sweetwater. only ordered in in mid march!

I love it. Sounds cool, fun to play with. love the little built in sequencer. Probably won't use most of the modes except for the arpeggiator and chord, which is a really smart implementation. Sure you can't use chord memory on some weird chord you come up with, but it covers all the basics.

here's me ripping it up on two VCS3s at once:

https://soundcloud.com/incrementalcontroller/vcs3-explorations

amazing setup - VCS3 x2, sample and hold module, filter bank module, pitch to voltage module and the keyboard! barely scratched the surface...

I'm thinking of upgrading from a Microkorg at some point - not particularly fussed on analogue or not but ideally something with lots of hands-on options for tweaking sounds in real time. I'm looking at the Sledge 2.0, Minilogue and Minibrute SE. I know lots of people don't like the GAIA. Is there anything else in the same sort of price range that stands out?

I think the Minibrute wins out unless you're really set on polyphony. The Sledge 2.0 seems to work best when it's hooked up to a computer, so that might remove some of it's hands on appeal. A Korg Volca Keys/Bass/FM combo works out at about the same price, the FM even managing to make FM synthesis moderately tweakable. The Novation Ultranova is in the same price range, but it's not much more accessible than the Microkorg, although it does have an LCD display running under the knobs to indicate what's what.

Thanks!

Also:
Moog Minitaur - it can do non-bass sounds but it's a little more work.
Pittsburgh Modular Lifeforms SV-1 Black Box - a standalone synth, but it can be interfaced easily Eurorack modules and can even be removed from it's desktop case to be installed in a regular Eurorack case with other stuff.
Makenoise 0-Coast - might be too far out sonically and a lot of the functions are hidden and accessed through 'program pages' (tapping on the two buttons labelled PGM).

Don't forget the Moog Mother-32 as well.

For mono stuff, I really like the bass station 2, as well. It's got 2 oscillators (whereas the minibrute only has one, I think), so you can do osc sync. It also has sub oscillator and ring mod. It could use a couple more knobs rather than context switches, but it's still pretty tweakable.

That being said, the Minilogue has most of that, but has 4 voices! The only things I miss on the Minilogue is a mod wheel and the lack of aftertouch modulation.

you guys I played an OB6 last night, phwoarrrrrrr

This looks pretty dope:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmwxoho-o4o

ha holy shit I was coming here to post that video - just found out about it

Looks like a lot of fun.

Korg volca Kick demo - I have to admit that I thought this would be a bit limited but this video sells it a bit better by explaining how it actually works.

Also a more in depth review of the Arturia DrumBeast

(amazed that this is £379 although by the time the £ falls against the Euro and the $ it'll probably be more like £500)

played drumbrute last night, placed preorder swiftly after

Sweet. I want one too!

the 808-y kick goes loooooooooooow

luv all the cool sequencing stuff, I basically use my TR-8 with the beatstep pro exclusively so stuffing it all in the one box with extras, sign me up thanks

briefly tinkered with the matrixbrute too - hoo boy there's a lot going on there, will have to give it serious thought I think (after convincing myself I didn't need it). so many possibilities!

anyone have any of the yamaha reface series? my friend has the electric piano one and he loves it as a more portable option than his big rhodes, but i am tempted by the combo organ one. i love organ sounds and the simplicity/focus of it are appealing to me.

I'm excited about the new Korg Monologue