synthesizer?

Post Reply New Topic

should i get one and which one should i get?

If you feel like getting into the wonderful world of synthesizers, then by all means get one. I've been meaning to buy one myself for the longest time now. One unit I've had my eyes on for a while is the Arturia MicroBrute - it's apparently a pretty good and affordable synth.

Or if you want a slightly simpler entry-level synth, the Yamaha keyboards appear to do the job well. Not sure about their prices, though.

If you get something cheap, you will have a cheap synthesizer in the end that you will probbly get sick of. If you get something good, you will be spending a much more considerable sum of cash, but if you get sick of it, the good synth will command a higher resale value should you lose interest. --You might want to consider buying a good one used, that way, you will be able to recoup on your investment should you sell it later on.

Roland Jupiter 4

Roland Juno 6

Korg Mono/Poly

Yamaha DX7

Moog Prodigy

Yes, you should get one. Everybody should have at least one synthesiser! I started with a Korg MS20 and it is still a favourite of mine.

Which synth to buy is going to depend on what you want to do with it. If you want to experiment with sound, a modular synthesiser is going to be the most fun, but also the least practical and potentially most expensive. If you want to play live in a band, then a semi-modular is going to be a more practical solution.

Another thing to consider is to get a MIDI controller and then use virtual instruments in a DAW or VST host. This is potentially a cheap solution as there are many free VSTi's available for download, and it allows you to try many types of synth before deciding on what you want in a hardware synth.

If I ever get back into creating music again, this setup pretty much approximates where I'd go.

Controller: Nektar Impact LX88+
Software: Cubase
Synthesizers: Native Instruments, Arturia, LinPlug, etc.

I'd say plink with some softsynths/vst's for a moment and see if you like them much or not.

I know there are some halfway decent free ones, TAL Noisemaker wasn't bad.

Past that - as far as getting a physical synthesizer - the sky's the limit in terms of what you want, whose filters and envelopes you like, etc. etc.. Just be aware that if you get a classic analog synthesizer you're not going to get a lot in the way of onboard sounds; lots of cool cv play no doubt but you tend to sacrifice stored pallet. Some of the newer analog re-release might get around that, also the virtual analogs tend to be good all-around war horses.

I started out 20 years ago with a Roland MC-505 that I bought myself as a graduation gift. That was before DAWs were really a thing and it was handy to have a synth, sequencer, and drum machine all in one based on that.

u-he's Bazille is very very very very good and capable.