-=[THE SYNTH ZONE]=-

that torso sequencer is maybe a bit too reductive but I've been enjoying dialling in various amounts of chance on the tracker - I find it good to have a simple melody or phrase, then do some auto filling the empty notes with like 10-15% probability, then fill those with a range of random notes to scale - that basic phrase grounds it but then the probability can produce some surprising fills.

it's good to have something else to bounce off, I think, even if it is "the computer" - especially if you're not doing anything with a band environment.

Like I’m pretty sure 99% of generative modular stuff only sounds good to people who are also modular heads. Thousands of dollars and countless hours researching, building, patching and ultimately it just sounds like stuttering digital farts with reverb to everyone not in on the hobby.

Most modular folks I know don't listen to their own stuff, much less music made by other modular synthesists. The majority of modular is performance-only. They're not critically evaluating their own output, they're not releasing albums, and they don't spend any time thinking about the musical aspect of their hobby.

https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/comments/q7lika/sold_90_of_my_gear_to_condense_into_a_single_case/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrcV2W73rGc

excellent review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRVZd19gAaY

lol

I needed something to sit my TD3 on behind the mc707, and was happy that this book was the exact size I needed

🕸

I needed something to sit my TD3 on behind the mc707, and was happy that this book was the exact size I needed

🕸

I needed something to sit my TD3 on behind the mc707, and was happy that this book was the exact size I needed

Unrelated Sidenote: The Roland SE-02 is a fuckin beast and is too slept on. Basically a 3 oscillator Moog for like 400 bucks. Sounds monstrous. Don’t think Behringer is even giving you that much at that price point.

I picked one up today and first impressions are great. I understand objections to the form factor / UX but it sounds huge.

Finally ordered a the Behringer Neutron after months of debating with myself. Fully expecting to spiral down an modular spending spree / wormhole once I get the hang of it - send help lol

Same thing happened to my friend/band mate, and now he sends me a text every other day with some new module he’s getting. Started with a Neutron.

not ready to take the plunge, but I fully expect this will be me someday too

I can believe it. I’ve managed to avoid modular so far (apart from smashing clicks from sampler outputs into SH101 clock ins in the late 90’s), mainly as I lack any self control with buying music kit ;)

It’s not my first rodeo, I bought an Octatrack in the early ‘10s and ended up with pretty much the full Elektron box range within a few years, eventually selling them as all I did was jam and never ever finish anything.

Either way v v v excited to make some odd noises after a few years on VSTs alone

I'm salivating for the imminent Black Friday sales (looking at you NI and Arturia)

behringer is a gross company but i like the neutron. it can do some wild shit but it gets good and moogy when you want it to

I've been eyeing the Arturia MicroFreak, don't know that I'm really ready for more gear yet though

I posted somewhere upthread about it, but I bought & sold the 'freak. Liked the interface a lot, loved the keyboard, hated the sound. Just sounded digital in the bad way and did not fit in my mixes (criteria #1).

I'd have to pile on plugins to get it to sound ok, whereas everything that I've used lately (Volca FM, NI Razor and other Reaktor stuff, Reface CP) I have to remind myself to try some EQ and fx, because it sounds so good raw.

that's good to know because I definitely want something I can blend in with my Ableton stuff, and that doesn't sound too thin

I really like the MicroFreak, but I admit it does have a particular "sound" to it, digital to be sure but it can sound plenty warm with some finesse (subtle supersaw with low-pass filter and LFO pitch wobble sounds pretty good to me). I agree with Jordan that it can be tough to mix, but I'm more of a guy who likes to piddle around and jam than produce finished, polished material, so ymmv

I want to make finished material. Whether I actually will is another story.

I mean I do too, but my top priority is just havin' a good time with knobs & sliders

Also an FYI for you or anyone else considering the MF: it's got a weird phase-cancelling thing with the main out that can contribute to the apparent thinness of the sound, especially if you split the signal from mono to stereo at any point. For this reason I always just use the headphone out, which always sounds good lol

Oh huh I wonder if that was affecting me

one of the biggest thing I've taken away from watching a bunch of Ableton YouTubes is that most producers put a string of effects on every patch for the express purpose of thickening it up, adding some crunch, and narrowing it down to essential frequencies. I don't know if the same applies to hard synths, but I'm guessing in a lot of cases it does.

Yeah my guess is that the MF feels more like a soft synth in that sense.

I had a weird a/b recently where I tried the same part with 1) a sample from my microBrute (RIP), which sounded thick with tons of harmonics to start with but then went through a ton of vsts for compression/bitcrushing/distortion etc, and played in Iris vs 2) NI Razor, which of course can do a lot of those things within the plugin itself, using a barely modified preset I think.

It was crazy to me how similar they sounded given that they were generated completely differently. I went with #1 just on principle since it felt more personal.

I have a pair of the Behringer 2500 filters (the 1047) coming from Thomann to play with the Matriarch and start my eventual journey into Eliane Radigue cosplay.

Much as Behringer sucks overall, the synths all seem to be decent products.

Those Behringer analog drum machines look pretty cool. I don't think they ever put out the 909 one, but I thought it was cool they actually had full 1/4 outputs for each instrument.

i just traded my behringer 303 clone for a model:samples, the behringer sounds pretty good but programming it is i guess very faithful to the OG ie very fussy

model:samples is great, love setting up elaborate cascading p-locks and conditional trigs in that elektron sequencer to turn a 16 step loop into a pleasingly varied fake ass idm skitter

The Behringer 909 exists, just in very small numbers. They got one shipment out four or five months ago and almost nothing since. I ordered one from Andertons in the UK and they're saying November, Sweetwater is saying Feb '22 in the US (I ordered from both figuring I'd cancel one if the other came through).

I went to Guitar Center today hoping to play around with the synths and see what's cool, but they literally had zero synths whatsoever, they had midi controller keyboards, and that's it. Guess this supply chain thing is really real after all.

Probably buying a minilogue xd tomorrow - my first ever hardware synth after eight years fucking around on iOS

New production SP1200 for only, uh, $4000.

I bought my first hw synth - a Monologue - after messin’ around with iOS for years. Now I use all the cool iOS midi toys I’ve learned to sequence it.

Some discussion over here about whether to buy my daughter a MIDI keyboard or a synth for Xmas.

The name Arturia keeps coming up.

That's a tough one. There are a million good free or cheap VSTs she can play with the MIDI keyboard, but you really need an audio interface to get sound out of the computer, a DAW to host those VSTs, etc. - but she could play synths and piano and etc. for the price of one keyboard.

In polyphonic synths, your price of entry is going to be quite a bit higher than the Arturia MIDI controller (or equivalent) - the Deepmind 6 keyboard is still $600ish, I think? OTOH, almost all new ones have USB MIDI so they can also function as MIDI controllers for VSTs.

Are you looking for something with polyphony or a mono?

Poly.

Do you know the story about Rick Wakeman and Jack Wild?

I wanted to spend about 700 and wanted at least a bit of polyphony and I’m definitely not regretting the Minilogue XD

You can same more money and get the more limited, but still very charming, regular Minilogue.

Though both are limited in their poly, so if she is gonna be playing like Rick Wakemen, you might want to go for something with at least 6 voices.

I would spring for the XD if you have the bread. I have the normal Minilogue and it sounds kinda wimpy. I think they fixed the filter on the XD.

minilogue definitely benefits from fx pedals

4 voices of poly is nice for me because it about matches my skill level (1-finger bassline in the left hand, three voice chord in my right hand)

I would take 1 more voice tbh but more than that would be overkill

The problem with only 4 voices is that if there is any release to the notes, you can hear them getting stolen when you change chords. But whatever, 8-voice synths get expensive. One other option could be to get her a Circuit Tracks. If she's not a pianist, it might be more fun. You get a couple of synths and some drum tracks to play with....

I would get the Deepmind over the Minilogue - better keys (and more of them), 6 voices vs. 4, pretty much sounds like a Juno and everyone loves Junos.

If traditional keys are optional, a Microfreak would also be a solid option. Not polyphonic at all but endless sound possibilities.

Or this: https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/BehrMonoPoly--behringer-monopoly-4-voice-analog-synthesizer

MonoPoly has no screen, just knobs, which is nice.

Just wanna rep the Yamaha Reface CS -- 8 voices, easy to program, and cheap ($300-ish). Only downside is that you can't save presets. Also, it's minikeys, but they're real nice ones. I had one for a while and it was great!

I think you can save presets via usb to computer or app no?

Reface series is a sleeper hit, everybody who has one loves it. I have the Reface DX, I even bought a controller for it that cost as much as the synth. It's fantastic.

Went with the software solution on Tuesday, before the Black Friday sale ran out. Kid is currently using with her existing tiny midi controller and headphones until bigger keyboard and speaker arrive.