-=[THE SYNTH ZONE]=-

looks genuinely awesome. the ody is discrete right? korg should bring back curtis chips as well 8)

otm

ow hope it's not stupid mini version of the arp, hate mini keys

Yep, looks like it's gonna be a bit tinier than the original model

http://i.imgur.com/293L5xi.jpg

man i've been living in maxmsp land for ages now, miss playing with the synths :(

(i don't own many of these, landlord is an ex synth-junkie who lets me use all his stuff. also, i work in a recording studio doing programming/engineering)

korg ms-20 - original. badass. the best. new thing doesn't really compare imo. the originals really scream. maybe it's just age and worn components.
sequential circuits pro 1 - filthy filthy. surprisingly versatile. love the seq/arp and modulation madness.
moog taurus 2 bass pedals - got that moog sound. kinda wooly. mine's a bit scratchy.
waldrof pulse - monster sounds, huge. v annoying to program from the front panel. not really mastered this one yet.
minibrute - does some really interesting things. don't really go to it for classic sounds out of but good for experimenting.
novation bassstation 2 - it's growing on me, started using one of these in a band. really good for overdriven dubsteppy type sounds.
moog micromoog - hugely underrated, S+H etc. have had 2 and they both sounded v different.
moog minitaur - fucking great.
little doepfer modular setup - love it. rarely use it on its own. need to try out that cv software thingy
mc-202 - does what a 101 does but without the keyboard afaict
tb303 - broken but when it worked it was… eh alright. 202 does a good enough job.
prophet 12 - getting into it. i always end up in terry riley land for some reason. spent a few days doing rudimentary things like making drums / basic sounds to get a feel for it. it's a v powerful synth but it's not good at everything. the wave morphing stuff is cool but eh, computers are better at that imo.
roland gaia - LOL
juno 106 - with electricsound on this one. i'm not the greatest keyboard player but i've heard people make them sound great.
alpha juno - keyed has gone on mine again. which is fine. i like it for drones
matrix 1000 - love the sound of this. amazing value for money.
walford q - cheeky little number. like the pulse it's annoying to program, i quite like to make it freeze and crash it does all manner of weird things.
yamaha fs1r - my favourite synth in the world
casio cz101 - these sound really really great
roland jd800 - pretty cool. too many knobs and things, always have fun playing with it but don't find it partic useful.
jv1080 and all those - these are all great if you want vintage, err, digital
volca keys, beats, bass - fantastic stuff
novation supernova - v v cool, always end up getting useable stuff out of this
logan string machine - lush as fuck

really wanna play with:

more arp, buchla, ems stuff. flood's studio isn't far from where i work, really wanna get in there for a night.

synths synths synths. a lot of fun, but i think i've got to a point where i'd be quite happy with just a laptop and max/reaktor.

That list... wow

Also re: Roland, one might think they'd change their stance on VA/analog gear after the bad reception of the GAIA but oh well...

waldrof pulse - monster sounds, huge. v annoying to program from the front panel. not really mastered this one yet

yeah this needs a controller beside it to really shine. i have the kiwitechnics PE which opens this thing right up. i got mine mega cheap from someone who clearly gave up trying to program it.

aaaand I bought the Blofeld!

Gonna sell my K-Station.

wow that kiwitechnics thing looks great! want want want arghh

this is a dumb question well below the level of what everyone here is doing BUT ANYWAY: i have one of these http://www.atarimusic.net/featured-articles/retro-review-articles/271-yamaha-pss-680-retro-review, ostensibly a cheap beginners keyboard but with some surprising fm synthesis features, and even more surprisingly what seems to be fairly advanced fm synthesis hardware that can't be manipulated with the keyboard itself but can be using the midi in. i downloaded some software for that purpose but i get errors when i try to send my edited patches to the keyboard, perhaps because the software is like 15 years old. is there any general purpose software (for pc) that would do this job?

You tried that PSS Edit software, right?

Hmm... Did you try installing it in compability mode (assuming you're using Windows 7)?

If the PSS is able to work with SysEx commands you can maybe try a SysEx program but I don't know if editing SysEx files is possible without good results...

general purpose probably not, the only thing i could think of that deals with multiple types of synth sysex editing is midi quest which is notoriously unstable and very expensive for that. what is the editor you're using? also make sure the synth memory has any write protect settings set to off..

xpost

ya it's PSS Edit I've been using. I think the keyboard may be to blame, I noticed that while it initially saves my patches (the ones I make on the keyboard itself) to the banks they eventually disappear to be replaced by the default. Oh well. It still works as a MIDI controller, and has the interesting side effect of producing weird random sequences out of thin air when I use the pitch wheel. Ghost synth.

does the PSS use an internal battery?

oh, it has that option but I use mains power. Definitely something wrong with its storage though, the chord memory function doesn't work either. Never miiiiind.

now that i finally got the midi in + audio out set up for my Volca Keys, i'm really happy with it. noticed something weird though...after i took an audio track of chords that i recorded with it and pitched it down an octave, there was a super unpleasant high frequency hum in there that made it unusable.

the original pitch version sounds just fine, although maybe there's something in it that's higher than i can hear?

Possibly the delay:
http://audiocookbook.org/korg-volca-keys-delay-circuit-noise/

oooh thanks! i'm sure that's it...i was definitely using a sound with a low cutoff and i wasn't entirely sure how to turn off the delay entirely. i guess you do that by turning the feedback all the way down? the manual says "FEEDBACK knob: This knob sets the amount of delay feedback as well as the mix level of
the effect and dry sounds."

The Blofeld is tons of fun... I don't have the Sampling License but there is a free Wavetable Editor for it and I've been transferring my Microbrute's waves to the Blo.. interesting, especially with the huge amount of options this synth has. Almost modular-esque.

i obtain microbrute

have spent last 20 minutes grooving on 'I feel love' sequence; went all 'patrick cowley remix' for a bit

So we have a Moog Prodigy at our studio, and I LOVE the crazy filter modulation that I can get out of it. Is there ANY modern synth that can sound like that, or should I just start saving my bucks for my own Prodigy? Wondering if maybe the Novation Bass Station II can match it...

Everyone needs to have a Moog in their life once. Often copied, never matched.

But what exactly do you mean with crazy filter modulation? Assigning the LFO to the filter cutoff and then setting the LFO speed so fast that it's audible and changing the sound?

Every (good) analog synthesizer should be able to do that (like the Microbrute)

No, I mean assigning something in the filter (Contour? Not sure exactly what is going on - or maybe it's modding an oscillator?) to the mod wheel, and riding it. It gets these crazy braaaps and squelches. When I try to do something similar with a software synth (I know, I know), it sounds all wimpy and lame.

Sorry, I think I was actually using the PITCH wheel to modify the second oscillator sync. I'll have to look more closely.

Yep.Like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCY28P-rgN8

Sounds like you can do it with the bass station 2 (needs 2 oscillators, so maybe not with the microbrute).

Sounds like something only a Moog could pull off well. However, both Microbrute and Bass Station II have the ability to distort the filter which should give you similar squelchy results.

Looks like the bass station 2 allows you to oscillator sync, and then control the second oscillator pitch with the mod wheel, which is the sound I was looking for! Now to save my $$... Maybe I should just trade my Retina iPad Mini for one. Anyone want to do that trade?

Your post gave me two good reasons why I should own a Bass Station II.. now if I had one... hnnnnnnng (<- sound of Synth Desire)

speaking of Synth Desire, can anyone tell me if the Oberheim OB-12 is any good?

also should I get a foot pedal?

i'd never even heard of one before! xpost

Yeah, the OB-12 has been widely decried by synth geeks because it's a VA synth made by Viscout, that Italian company that bought Oberheim and it had huge OS bugs when it was released. I don't care. It looks beautiful and has IMO one of the best interfaces I've seen. But - does it sound good and does it work well nowadays? Hmmmmmm?

Viscount*

lucky it was the n and not the o

Heh

I think I'll pass on the OB-12 and save up for an used Mopho X4. Or maybe I'll buy a second AN1x (lol).

But I definitely want a foot pedal. I basically just want a MIDI expression pedal so I can use it as a second modulation wheel. Does anyone have recommendations?

On the analog ones, can't you just plug them into a CV input?

I use the one from Moog with my Nord electro to act as a volume/wah-wah pedal: http://www.moogmusic.com/products/accessories/ep-3-expression-pedal

Yeah, I realized basically all expression pedals don't use MIDI but a CV/audio jack. So that's what I'm looking for.

Does the EP-3 also register/transmit subtle presses?

Yep, and it has a scale knob so you can adjust how sensitive it is (though usually you get a similar thing on the digital side). I had one from Roland, but it was shittier, and died after a year or so (of not that much use).

That sounds great! BOUGHT

worked out DAF 'der mussolini' sequence, then just played it endlessly doing gabi delgado impression. wonder what the neighbours think?

haha awesome

Haaaaa, so good.

Check out this Waldorf product announcement. Imagine if this thing would initiate a renaissance of string synthesizers... that would be GNARLY

Last sentence was gramatically incorrect, but I don't care. String synths.

BTW my Moog expression pedal arrived and, damn, it's huge (never had an expression pedal before) but awesome and helpful. THX schwantz!!!

i was interested until "bus powered"

Glad you like the pedal (x-post)! Just heading to the studio with my new Bass Station II! This thing sounds huge.