Synth dilemma

Bridgehouse

Ok, so during lockdown I’ve got back into keys. It was my first instrument all those years ago, and it’s been like a comfy pair of slippers getting back into it.

Decided I wanted a do it all solution for home use and so got a Yamaha Montage 6 for DAW integration, sequencing, and all that good stuff. So far it’s been excellent - and the FM engine is pretty magical. 

Having invested in a decent K&M stand I got a free upper tier thrown in (you can see where this is going) and I’d rather not keep it empty.

So, I’m looking for something a bit different to fill it - I’d like something analogue (or digital but focused on that sort of thing) - budget is up to about £600ish.

So far the Argon8 and Cobalt8 have taken my fancy - am I missing anything else that would be a good alternative? Considered the Deep Mind 6 as well. I’d prefer smaller, more compact really I think.

What sort of music? Real eclectic mix. I think if anything it’ll be used for pads and lead tones, but at the moment I’m very much in the experimenting and seeing what I like stage. 

Thoughts? 

Jalapeno

Oberhiem or derivative - think Behringer are toying with an OBX clone soon

Bridgehouse

Jalapeno said:

Oberhiem or derivative - think Behringer are toying with an OBX clone soon

UB-Xa? Still feels like vapourware at the mo tho?

goldtop

A Hydrasynth (polyphonic aftertouch, ribbon controller, etc) plus a great sound, including wavescanning, etc:



I've dithered about getting one, but sitting above my MODX8 at the moment is a Waldorf STVC.

Bridgehouse

goldtop said:

A Hydrasynth (polyphonic aftertouch, ribbon controller, etc) plus a great sound, including wavescanning, etc:



I've dithered about getting one, but sitting above my MODX8 at the moment is a Waldorf STVC.

Yeah, I’ve seen the Hydrasynth - it might be a bit too much out of my budget at the mo tho! It does sound fantastic tho.

Roland

@paulmapp8306 ;

horse

Put a shelf across it and see if you can squeeze a used DM6 for pads and a Beringer model D for leads onto it!

I picked up a modx7 last year, which was a great buy, so slightly envious of the montage :-)

Bridgehouse

horse said:

Put a shelf across it and see if you can squeeze a used DM6 for pads and a Beringer model D for leads onto it!

I picked up a modx7 last year, which was a great buy, so slightly envious of the montage :-)

The montage was a total splurge lockdown purchase and well in excess of my talent or needs - but, you know how it is

Funnily enough I bought a K&M 18820 kit for home and it came with the second tier and a shelf... so I do actually have a shelf...... it’s 650mm wide. At the moment it’s got the laptop on it, but you can get a separate laptop holder for the 18820. 

The modx7 is pretty much the same sound set as the Montage but with less audio IO on usb and less extra functionality, no?

Bridgehouse

horse said:

Put a shelf across it and see if you can squeeze a used DM6 for pads and a Beringer model D for leads onto it!

I picked up a modx7 last year, which was a great buy, so slightly envious of the montage :-)

And the model D certainly looks interesting.. I shall investigate. Sadly @goldtop has got me looking at the hydrasynth now... grrr!

horse

Bridgehouse said:

horse said:

Put a shelf across it and see if you can squeeze a used DM6 for pads and a Beringer model D for leads onto it!

I picked up a modx7 last year, which was a great buy, so slightly envious of the montage :-)

The montage was a total splurge lockdown purchase and well in excess of my talent or needs - but, you know how it is

Funnily enough I bought a K&M 18820 kit for home and it came with the second tier and a shelf... so I do actually have a shelf...... it’s 650mm wide. At the moment it’s got the laptop on it, but you can get a separate laptop holder for the 18820. 

The modx7 is pretty much the same sound set as the Montage but with less audio IO on usb and less extra functionality, no?

Modx has half the FM polyphony, lesser DACs I think, which doesn't bother me, but the Biggie is the keybed is much lower end and no aftertouch. But the size, weight and features for the price I paid are great, and I'm setting things up so I can either gig with it standalone if I want, or paired with a weighted one if I can be bothered taking out a bigger set up.

I've got a K&M table job for home with 2 extra tiers - shelf across the top one for holding a mix of smaller stuff.

Korg minilogue is another option for pads

GavRichList

Elektron Digitone. I had both that and the Argon8 - the Digitone definitely gets my vote. Plus, if you get in to the Elektron work flow it’s infinitely rewarding 

Bridgehouse

GavRichList said:

Elektron Digitone. I had both that and the Argon8 - the Digitone definitely gets my vote. Plus, if you get in to the Elektron work flow it’s infinitely rewarding 

That’s another option to check out - thanks!

GavRichList

Bridgehouse said:

GavRichList said:

Elektron Digitone. I had both that and the Argon8 - the Digitone definitely gets my vote. Plus, if you get in to the Elektron work flow it’s infinitely rewarding 

That’s another option to check out - thanks!

Im sure @Octatonic will back me up here too 

octatonic

Digitone is a no-brainer under £1000 but it is FM and it sounds like you already have that covered.
Subtractive or some flavour of Virtual Analogue is what I would suggest.
Elektron Analogue Four is well worth considering too.

I have the ASM Hydrasynth and it is absolutely amazing but it is fucking DEEEEEEEP.

Another thing I picked up recently was a used Nord Lead A1.
It is simple to use, sounds great, has loads of voices and sounds analogue and you can actually learn how to program by using it.

So that, or another one knob per function synth.
Also check out the Polyend/Dreadbox collaboration- the Medusa.
I've been using it a lot lately, has an amazing sequencer, analogue and digital synth engines and you get some really nice textures.

Korg Wavestate is good but deep, although not as deep as the Hydra. Keybed sucks though.
Or a used Novation Peak.

Or go for some monosynths- Arturia Minibrute, Novation Bass Station II.
You could probably get 2-3 for £600.

Or an Access Virus A/B/C. 
Or a Novation Supernova, or an Ultranova (I have one of these for sale).

Whatever though, buy used, cheap and buy 'off trend'.

Most people buy synths and then hardly use them because learning synthesis properly is hard and shopping around presets is eventually quite boring.
Most hardware synths end up as studio furniture until they are sold for the new shiny.
Virtually everything in my studio that wasn't review stock was bought used and off trend because people sell the 'old thing' cheap to finance the new shiny. There new shiny eventually becomes the old thing and the old old thing becomes fashionable again and the prices go up again (look at the current price of JP8000's- doubled in value in the last year).

horse

Waldorf Blofeld is another option. Decent virtual analogue and wavetable, with very interesting mod matrix functions. FX aren't brilliant but you could run it through the montage's.

Module is cheap as chips, or keyboard version has a quality fatar keybed I believe.

goldtop

^ I think the Blofeld Keys is the same keybed as the STVC, which is excellent.

Bridgehouse

Thanks for the suggestions so far guys - loads to go and look at!

I've watched a load of vids on the hydrasynth, and I must admit I am getting more attracted by the idea of sound creation - the montage is great for FM creation or existing patches, and the integration/workstation stuff is really useful, but I'm thinking I should probably invest in something that widens my creative abilities right from the point of creating new sounds. 

It's definitely a home recording/producing thing - once we are out of lockdown I'll be jamming/gigging again, and there is likely to be an increase in keys usage out and about, but I've got a cheap lightweight MX61 to take along for those. 

octatonic

Would you consider modular?

IMHO it is the best format for sound creation.

Bridgehouse

octatonic said:

Would you consider modular?

IMHO it is the best format for sound creation.

Yes and no I think.  (lol)

At the moment, I'm probably trying to fill a number of criteria which means I'm not going to get the best of any.
I'd really like another keybed, and I'm trying to keep it relatively simple as well. For the moment, I'm probably focused on an all in one of some description - going modular for something else may well happen at some point, but I'm not sure it's right for me at the moment. 

Having said that, I'm about to upgrade the MacBook Pro and so there's a whole world of VST's to explore as well.. I suspect that might be the start of a more modular route...

Gah! Too many choices!

Funkfingers

Roland Juno 106 or near equivalent.

GavRichList

Funkfingers said:

Roland Juno 106 or near equivalent.

Find me a Juno 106 for £600 and I’ll snap your hand off