-=[THE SYNTH ZONE]=-

This sounds amazing.

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

My setup:
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1957/44156361554_c0ec3a0b3c_k.jpg

got one of those AE modular sets on the way after a little wait - this guy with extra VCAs and a couple other things. getting the sweet-looking FX module as a bonus for waiting patiently!

That looks cool! Can’t wait to hear what you think of it

Wow, very interesting, streamlined design.

I went to Five G in Harajuku the week before last, which is amazing. It's pretty small but absolutely packed with interesting stuff, including the Lyra-8. I didn't end up buying anything but it's a great place to visit.

Has anyone tried the ELTA Polivoks Mini yet?

This thing looks nuts:

https://www.korg.com/us/products/dj/volca_modular/

Reminds me of the Buchla music easel, although hopefully more affordable

$200

I already have three semi-modular synths I can only vaguely understand but I can imagine it would be enormously good fun to pick up a couple of the Volcas and patch them together.

it is fairly amazing that this is a thing. I'm gonna get one for work jamz.

Aesthetic similarities to the Music Easel are definitely intentional.

Multi Volca jams are fun (I have drum, bass, sample and keys) but no use for anything more than fooling around in my opinion - lack of any real number of save files (one of those only has 2, for example) means you're almost always making it up as you go along. That said, this looks like a lot of potential for sounds that will pair well with something like a NDLR.

It looks quite similar to the 0-Coast in terms of functionality.

I don't really use the Volcas for much - apart from the FM, which is terrific. The new Drum one looks quite sophisticated compared to the Beats and Kick, though.

I dusted off my Volca Keys for the first time in ages recently (actually it was the last thing I recorded for an album), it was very satisfying to get some use out of it. One of my favorite tricks is to mix it with a digital synth, the combination of grit and sheen can be really nice.

teenage engineering joins the mini-modular craze:

http://www.synthtopia.com/content/2019/01/18/teenage-engineering-intros-poor-mans-modular-synthesizer/?fbclid=IwAR0kg8S1ZhPSwqtEjucZVziBaI-ziRL_e7d_sJF6JsCsh78PFvScCi210U0

The new Drum one looks quite sophisticated compared to the Beats and Kick, though.

don't sleep on the kick, it bangs

This seems ludicrous for £140:

https://www.factmag.com/2019/01/28/behringer-crave-synth-announced/

It's Behringer so it'll probably last 18 months before going up in smoke but probably still worth it.

Any suggestions for lesser-known, inexpensive (~$200) synths/toys/noise makers that don't take up too much space? I know about the Volcas, Critter & Guitari, etc.

Looking for a birthday present for myself. :)

Otherwise I'm thinking about the Volca FM, since I don't have a great FM synth (aside from Dexed, which I never really got the hang of).

The Landscape Stereo Field seems to have gone up in price recently but looks kind of interesting.

The Elettrorama WSG is about $200 and might be fun.

The Volca FM sounds great though.

If you can spend a little more or find one used, the Novation Circuit rules.

I got a Streichfett string synthesizer for Christmas. It's a load of fun, and makes these great artificial-sounding string sounds, but can also be tweaked to make a bunch of other sounds. I made a whole track with it. Once it's released I'll link it here.

Could always go for a Stylophone or an Otamatone. The Otamatone Deluxe has a line out so you can run it through pedals and other synths.

Not as tiny but as far as budget fm is concerned I’d take the reface DX over the volca.

Is the streichfett a take on the Solina type sound?

Yeah. This is a good review:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_LVudzk-x8&t=735s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_LVudzk-x8

Not as tiny but as far as budget fm is concerned I’d take the reface DX over the volca.

Dan, does it make a difference if I'm not a keyboard player, and would only use it via midi (mostly for arpeggios, grist for processing, etc)?

Anyway I might just get some Crank Sturgeon contact mics & toys instead:
http://www.cranksturgeon.com/PIEZOCRANK.html

No. It’s easier to tweak the sounds on the reface than the Volca which is worth considering.

Anyway I might just get some Crank Sturgeon contact mics & toys instead

I want to get that multi-plunk gamelan thing and strap it to my bargain-bin cajon

That's what I ordered, super excited tbh

I reaaally want one of these cassette synthesizers, it's just a bit too pricey for me. So cool. And Marantz-PMD222 modded into a tape echo.

https://www.instagram.com/ondemagnetique/

i been having a little volca renaissance lately, never really found much use for the keys but FM through a few effects can do some good stuff

Not a synth but I have a Soma ETHER on the way to me from Russia:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdiGn0LPMPs

That's some Quatermass type sound there.

http://cdm.link/2019/02/vcv-rack-1-0/

VCV rack 1.0 and 2.0 should be coming fairly shortly - with full DAW / VST integration for $99.

volca modular is a fun ole time. I keep it in my bag at work and break it out for jams at boring times!

I was messing around with VCV rack at a friend's studio (he's using it to test the firmware for an actual module he's releasing, and make presets), it's pretty wild. I'll definitely go in for a plugin version, for easy sampling.

Hopefully virtual modular isn't as much of a non-finishing-tracks time sink as real modular. Unless your music is based on recording modular-only jams, I really think the key is to just use it as sample fodder and chop out the good bits.

I received the ETHER today. This is the sound of my apartment:

https://soundcloud.com/user-414919605/ether-home

Pretty cool! I suppose it would be fun to chop that up and make it into a drum kit.

Yeah, I think it’s gonna be great for sampling purposes. And a fun listen on walks around town.

I recently got a new iPad, and have been playing with Beatmaker pro. It's pretty sweet, but a little tough to grok immediately. I made a little jam by recording some stuff from my Nord and adding some other stuff from Beatmaker - plan to post it when it's finished.

I want to play around with the Samplr app, but what I learned from my last dive into iPad apps is that it was just too much of a pain to integrate into my DAW workflow, so I stopped doing it quickly.

Yeah apparently there are some iPad apps that will export to Ableton .als files. That would be sweet. Otherwise it’s going to be annoying. I can render out stems to my Dropbox with Beatmaker, though, which isn’t too bad.

I just got a Rackbrute and Plaits to pair with a Mother 32 and it is lots of fun.

thinking of selling some stuff off, and was simultaneously feeling a bit uninspired by the toy selection, so acquired a minibrute 2s last week.

still feeling my way with it a bit (work's been p. intense lately) but it's really hitting the spot for me, really good balance of immediacy and complexity, even without cross-patching it with eurorack stuff or another semi-modular it's got so many ways to quickly alter the sound. the sequencer rules - being able to switch the velocity and pressure lanes to be an auxillary LFO, or random source, or envelope, or various free voltages... so good. absolutely savage sync for your cars 'let's go' impressions or whatever, too.

feels very solid too if anyone is still worried about arturia QA issues. lots to get lost in if you're not a keys player and like an alternate interface.

i recently sold my drumbrute but yeah the arturia sequencers are really nice, definitely the best part of the machine as i felt the voices were kind of anemic.

The Microfreak looks fun. It has a bunch of the Braids oscillator code and an unusual Buchla-style touchpad.