I fancy an analogue synth.

Dodge

Well, I've got a Mother 32 incoming.  I'll go from there, either adding another one (or a Werkstatt or two) or perhaps incorporating it into a Eurorack system.

pmg

@Dodge  congrats but if you decide that mother 32 isn't for you let me know

Dodge

pmg said:

@Dodge  congrats but if you decide that mother 32 isn't for you let me know

First dibs duly granted.

pmg

Dodge said:

pmg said:

@Dodge  congrats but if you decide that mother 32 isn't for you let me know

First dibs duly granted.

Thanks

frank1985

Sorry to hijack your thread, but does anyone here own the Arturia Microbrute? I'm looking for something to interface with my Moogerfoogers and figured this would be the best option due to the CVs. Any other suggestions for a mono synth in that price range (200-300?). I have a Virus KB so am good for polyphony.

streethawk

frank1985 said:

Sorry to hijack your thread, but does anyone here own the Arturia Microbrute? I'm looking for something to interface with my Moogerfoogers and figured this would be the best option due to the CVs. Any other suggestions for a mono synth in that price range (200-300?). I have a Virus KB so am good for polyphony.

I'm selling one of these in the classifieds.
red.

Seems to work, no CV's as far as I know: 

frank1985

streethawk said:

frank1985 said:

Sorry to hijack your thread, but does anyone here own the Arturia Microbrute? I'm looking for something to interface with my Moogerfoogers and figured this would be the best option due to the CVs. Any other suggestions for a mono synth in that price range (200-300?). I have a Virus KB so am good for polyphony.

I'm selling one of these in the classifieds.
red.

Seems to work, no CV's as far as I know: 

I was looking at that one, but I've decided to go the CV route...would be nice to fully integrate a synth with my foogs

streethawk

frank1985 said:

streethawk said:

I was looking at that one, but I've decided to go the CV route...would be nice to fully integrate a synth with my foogs

Yeah I don't have a clue about these things to be honest. 

prowla

I fancy a DX7...

mburekenge

can you get a second hand (Korg) Arp Odyssey? I have an OG mark 1 whiteface Odyssey and it is mind blowing. 

stonevibe

Mother 32 is nice, I bought one last year.

Dodge

stonevibe said:

Mother 32 is nice, I bought one last year.

I'm loving it. I may have to buy another one or two.

GilgaFrank

Beware of Eurorack, approach it with extreme caution as it is a black hole to throw money into. While my modular is utterly brilliant for getting weird sounds and the most incredible synth basses and modulated sounds from, the DSI Prophet 08 and Roland JD-XA score in terms of convenience and programmability.

streethawk

GilgaFrank said:

Beware of Eurorack, approach it with extreme caution as it is a black hole to throw money into. While my modular is utterly brilliant for getting weird sounds and the most incredible synth basses and modulated sounds from, the DSI Prophet 08 and Roland JD-XA score in terms of convenience and programmability.

This image scares my wife. 

GilgaFrank

streethawk said:

This image scares my wife. 

My silver-haired mother was playing Chopin on that lot this afternoon. I handled the filter cutoff.

Moss

GilgaFrank said:

streethawk said:

This image scares my wife. 

My silver-haired mother was playing Chopin on that lot this afternoon. I handled the filter cutoff.

Now that's a video I want to see

KDS

I've been following this post with interest, I'm also interested in getting synth for playing around with. Any body got any thoughts on a nord 2x as beginner synth?

GilgaFrank

Nord make fantastic sounding modelled analog synths. If you're a beginner you would also benefit from the Nord's "one knob per function" design. Little or no menu-diving, all the major functions are laid out in front of you. For this reason I'd steer clear of the smaller Novation virtual analog synths like the Xiosynth which involves a lot of menu-diving and shift-press-access menu-turn-knob sound design.

KDS

Thanks GilgaFrank. I've looking at the options. Don't want to hijack thread (I can start new thread if that is preference), I've been looking at either Nord A1 (2x is discontinued) or Moog sub 37. Both look ace, but quite different. Anybody got any comments? What about amplification? Studio monitors?

GilgaFrank

The best place to get info and advice is the Muff Wiggler forum, everyone who's anyone in the world of analogue synths posts there.

You've got one very fundamental choice - true analogue or virtual analogue.

Real analogue synths have a LOT of drawbacks - the tuning is slightly different on each oscillator every time you turn the module on, the patching takes a long time, there's no patch memory (obviously) so you've pretty much got to hit record and see what noise comes out of the machine. And forget trying to reset it to how you had it set five minutes previously, it can't be done. A couple of filter tweaks and envelope changes on a big system and you'll never get back to your starting point for another take. So recording becomes more about capturing the live performance as you manipulate the synth. The great advantage though is the sound.When I first got an analogue system wired up and working, I'd literally play one note and just sit there enjoying the utterly wonderful resonant noise it made. I've played a lot of virtual analogue synths and none of them come close to sounding as good as the real thing. Think valve amp versus modelled amp, they never quite have the right sound.

And remember, an oscillator is monophonic. If you want polyphony then go with the virtual analogue.

If you do go with the real thing and you're handy with a soldering iron then you can build your own modules. Works out a lot cheaper and there's a great sense of satisfaction in building a synth from individual components. If that appeals to you, look at the Frequency Central System X modules. The top 3U of my modular is almost all System X modules I built from kits. The sound of them is easily comparable to a Moog and the filters don't cut out all the bottom end as you turn up the resonance. Highly recommended.