Starter synths?

Luminous · December 2015

blobb said:

My first real synth was a novation KS rack plus a cheap midi keyboard. You could probably find a KS4/5 with keys but the way the rack is laid out really works for learning the basics of subtractive synthesis. 16 note poly (notes at same time i.e. chords) and 4 part mutlitimbral (4 synth engines at the same time) everything done using twiddly knobs and has a distinctive sound.

3 OSCS into a mixer > filter > 2 Lfo's > mod envelope > amp envelope > effects engine.

Plus and arpeggiator, vocoder and audio in (to the filters).

Once you have your head around how subtractive synthesis works it's grown up enough not to be junked.

Headphone out or audio out (stereo or mono) into an interface / amp of your choice.

Onboard power (kettle lead) so no wall wart.

An absolute neglected gem of a synth (i.e. cheap to buy now), based on the Kstation and before that the bass station which was Chris Hugget design (WASP / OSCar), so bags of credibility. The only thing missing is a sequencer but you can sort that later.

http://www.vintagesynth.com/novation/ks45r.php

Honestly, it's just so well laid out. Accessibility can make or break a synth. I have a Korg Prophecy which is immense but the menu diving means it sits doing nothing. The KS, just switch it on, plug in some earphones and in seconds you are swirling textures about like a pro.

This ^^^^^^^^^

ROOG · December 2015

Go for used, (just make sure all the buttons work) visit local music shop, 'last years' synths don't hold their value unless they are iconic Moogs etc.

I bought my 'Arranger' (does synth too) this way and saved well over 50% on new.

Stick with known names, Yamaha, Roland, Korg etc.

If you want to understand what is going on as apposed to being happy with factory presets I would steer clear of the DX7 and related instruments. I could never get my head around anticipating what a parameter would do! Perhaps I'm just an 'analogue' thinker.

racefaceec90 · December 2015

i am in a similar position to you op,as i also want to get myself a synth to play about on.

i have 2 in ind that i am thinking about

both are great from what i have seen on youtube vids/reviews). am leaning towards the novation atm (as i love the sounds it was making on yt demos).

blobb · December 2015

The Novation KS comes with a different pedigree to the newer mini nova types. Honestly, what you want with a 'starter' synth is accessibility i.e knobs on the front panel, and a clearly laid out signal path so you can visualise what is going on. You will hate mini keys, get a ks4 or a midi keyboard for a rack synth. Novation keybeds are great for what they are. A roland JP8000 (jp8080 for the rack version) is also worth looking into. The Korg MS2000 should also be on your radar. I'd take a Novation Nova over a mini nova anyday.

Neil · December 2015

blobb said:

The Novation KS comes with a different pedigree to the newer mini nova types. Honestly, what you want with a 'starter' synth is accessibility i.e knobs on the front panel, and a clearly laid out signal path so you can visualise what is going on. You will hate mini keys, get a ks4 or a midi keyboard for a rack synth. Novation keybeds are great for what they are. A roland JP8000 (jp8080 for the rack version) is also worth looking into. The Korg MS2000 should also be on your radar. I'd take a Novation Nova over a mini nova anyday.

I agree with your premise that I would definitely need a clearly laid out signal path to visualise what's going on.

Also I don't think mini keys would suit my sausage fingers.

dogload · December 2015

The MS2000 would be one of my top recommendations were it not for the fact that it is mostly monophonic. It has limited polyphony (four notes?) although it can be used as a polyphonic controller keyboard.

The layout does provide quite easy access for programming and editing though.

minimoog · December 2015

This would be ideal. Collection only though

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/novation-ks4-/172019908973?hash=item280d2f816d:g:xmMAAOSw34FVIU3K

Around £300 would get you one of these. Not as deep as the Novation but easier to get your head round.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Roland-JP8000-Analog-Modelling-Synthesiser-William-Orbit-/221966979423?hash=item33ae43515f:g:GiMAAOSwcOFWbF3X

There was a KS4 here for £175 a few days ago - http://www.soundonsound.com/readersads/AdBrowse.php?Cat=23

Neil - how much are you looking to spend? Hard to give concrete suggestions without a budget.

DulcetJones · December 2015

I was where you are now a couple of years ago. I picked up a MIDI based Oxygen25 by M Audio, downloaded the free "Ignite" program, connected the USB cable to my computer and away I go. These are so easy to use it's crazy but are limited by the things outlined in a lot of the previous posts in this thread. I get what they are saying and did spend some time dabbling in the nuts and bolts but it's not my thing, I just want to make creepy weird music and this thing works for me. I do have a strong background in music theory and that helps but isn't a requirement.

Neil · December 2015

minimoog said:

This would be ideal. Collection only though

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/novation-ks4-/172019908973?hash=item280d2f816d:g:xmMAAOSw34FVIU3K

Around £300 would get you one of these. Not as deep as the Novation but easier to get your head round.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Roland-JP8000-Analog-Modelling-Synthesiser-William-Orbit-/221966979423?hash=item33ae43515f:g:GiMAAOSwcOFWbF3X

There was a KS4 here for £175 a few days ago - http://www.soundonsound.com/readersads/AdBrowse.php?Cat=23

Neil - how much are you looking to spend? Hard to give concrete suggestions without a budget.

It really is just a whim TBH and I won't have a lot to spend until after Christmas but really just wanted to know what sort of stuff (+ease of use) was available to a complete beginner.

Moss · December 2015

Neil said:

blobb said:

The Novation KS comes with a different pedigree to the newer mini nova types. Honestly, what you want with a 'starter' synth is accessibility i.e knobs on the front panel, and a clearly laid out signal path so you can visualise what is going on. You will hate mini keys, get a ks4 or a midi keyboard for a rack synth. Novation keybeds are great for what they are. A roland JP8000 (jp8080 for the rack version) is also worth looking into. The Korg MS2000 should also be on your radar. I'd take a Novation Nova over a mini nova anyday.

I agree with your premise that I would definitely need a clearly laid out signal path to visualise what's going on.

Also I don't think mini keys would suit my sausage fingers.

You need the new MDPhillips Keyboard Range

http://cdn.instructables.com/FTM/3F0Y/HEBNAA2Y/FTM3F0YHEBNAA2Y.LARGE.jpg

minimoog · December 2015

Neil said:
It really is just a whim TBH and I won't have a lot to spend until after Christmas but really just wanted to know what sort of stuff (+ease of use) was available to a complete beginner.

Fair enough. It you want to keep it really cheap and still avoid computers and softsynths you could do worse than a Yamaha CS2X. You can pick one up around £100 and they have some decent sounds in them, a reasonable 5-octave keyboard, and are very light if a tad flimsy. They are waveform/sample based rather than subtractive 'true' synths like those mentioned so far, but that probably won't matter at first. They are programmed via a matrix rather than having a nice sea of knobs and sliders to tweak, but that's the compromise for cheapness. I found mine pretty easy to get on with even so.

blobb · December 2015

This is worth a read. Gordon Reid in fact (see what I did there!), and his brilliant series of articles which ran in SoS for a few years. Start at the bottom and work your way up, you will be pretty well clued up if you make it to the end.

My journey with synths went something like this:

Want a synth > researched > bought a KS > stumped > seek knowledge about what synthesis actually is > understood what all the knobs were supposed to control > experimented with how the controls interact > create own sounds with a purpose > bought a deeper version of the ks (Supernova2) > applied knowledge gained previously > wanted to start midi sequencing > wanted to sequence multitimbraly > stumped > learnt about sequencers > bought a sequencer capable of multi seq > stumped > f~*ck it > twiddling again on the KS > enjoying synths again

Notice at no point in there is there any reference to 'playing piano'. I'm just as clueless now about keyboard playing as ever but you know what? I learnt an awful lot about synths from that ks. It's a brilliant thing to learn about and play around with, you'll enjoy the experience.

Synth secrets:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/allsynthsecrets.htm

blobb · December 2015

In fact, if you only read one of the articles, the end summary sums it up nicely:

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul04/articles/synthsecrets.htm

Clarky · December 2015

a great "first synth" is the Roland Gaia..

it sounds great, is pretty capable, and was actually designed to be [according to the manual] a synth for first timers..

one of my boys has one... I think it sounds great..

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