-=[THE SYNTH ZONE]=-

Excellent! I recently bought Live 10 so I’ve been deep in software fun. It’s pretty awesome to have endless options, but also intimidating.

The Lyra-4 was a poor choice of first synth, traded it for guitar pedals a while back but I'm finally in for hardware round 2 with a Behringer Model D and a Keystep.

Does anyone have a favourite reverb pedal for running synths through? I have a Polara, which is very good, but am aiming to add something deeper for ambient washes, etc. I’m torn between Earthquaker’s Afterneath / Transmisser, Walrus’ Slo and OBNE’ Rever.

I’m a big fan of Alexander Pedals’ Sky 5000. All the MIDI controls are nice.

If you’re checking out the OBNE Rever check out the Dark Star, too.

Cool. Thanks!

I have a BigSky and it’s great for that stuff. Interface is a little too complex though.

Earthquaker are turning Afterneath into a synth module!

hi all, looking for some "first synth" advice...

basically i want to create, endlessly tweak and zone out to penetrating drones and deep washes of noise (think eliane radigue but obviously so much less elegant)

i don't have a lot of money. i'm thinking a software synth is a good option. can anyone recommend something? the arturia modular v maybe (or is that too complicated)? thanks

https://vcvrack.com/ is free and open source and cross platform

Yes, VCV rack is ideal. You can make an amazing soft synth for drone / ambient stuff just from a handful of the Mutable Instruments modules available that’s essentially as powerful as a $6000 modular hardware setup would be.

You can start with a a small virtual rack and work out how to use new stuff as you go. There is a learning curve but there are lots of free YouTube videos, etc to offer guidance.

I have a hardware modular synth and I honestly have almost no idea how the Arturia Modular V works. That’s mostly laziness on my part but the interface is typically larger than a screen can handle and it feels less intuitive when you can’t see what’s going on without scrolling. Their Buchla and Synthi reproductions are also very good.

VCV Rack could keep you occupied for years and would certainly give you a sense of which direction to go in if you did want to buy something else in the future.

VCV Rack is awesome, but it's a bit of a steep learning curve for someone unfamiliar with synthesis theory and methods.

you can start small though, lfo, couple of vcos, some kind of output.

there are tutorials that take you through it

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

(although the actual synth output in that is far too low in the mix. and i wish he wouldn't keep sliding the modules around like he does)

Patch Storage has a bunch of VCV racks people have put together - most of them are insane and overly complicated but if you look through you can find some
VCV has the plugin manager on their site, you probably need to download the 15-20 most downloaded ones to get what people are using. They don't take up much memory and they're free

https://patchstorage.com/beginners-patches-i-basic-sequence/

didn't finish that first sentence - you can find some basic patches that help you figure things out. Tracing backward as to where cables go and how things interact is the best way for me to learn so starting points have been useful.

A grendel drone commander would be an awesome first drone synth, but that's obviously the opposite of inexpensive.

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