Synth Recommendations

Guybrush

Dittohead
Ok, I see. The major advantage with weighted keys is the increased control over the dynamics/each key’s velocity (or, better put: the lack of control over velocity when using non-weighted keys). The other is the feeling. If you don’t need that, don’t forge out the extra cash.
 
N

nomadologist

Guest
I've never played an organ, so I have no idea what organ keys feel like or what proper organ technique is comprised of, and I'd never say organists didn't have "proper" technique. I was only responding to Woebot's inquiry insofar as he said he wanted to use a synth to "learn to play." Weighted keys make a huge difference in terms of feel--without weight, the "attack" on individual keys (as Guybrush describes) can be too fast, and it can make your playing sound halting.

I'm not sure about the difference between semi- and fully-weighted keys, but I do know that my Korg's keys feel equally as weighted as any piano I've played. I was a classical pianist for 14 years and played competitively, so yes, technique and feel matter a lot to me. If Woebot wants to learn to play keyboards with the intention of someday learning, say, Debussy or Satie, I think he'd do best to invest in weighted keys. If he just wants to pick a synth based on the sounds it makes so he can press a simple arrangement as part of a song or recording, that's different, of course.

In my mind, there's no way to "play" a keyboard that isn't two handed, and I would always prefer a keyboard that's a 4 voice + poly, either, for the same reason.
 
N

nomadologist

Guest
I would also in the end, in terms of having a good "studio" synth, rather add effects using pedals or in Reason or Pro-tools, etc., so the knobs consideration in not a big deal. You can still twiddle knobs and play with good technique if you're classically trained, anyway, so that's something I wouldn't worry about...
 

Woebot

Well-known member
Do you really want to learn piano?

Or do you want to muck around with synths?

They're not utterly incompatible aims but they're different paths.

I really want to learn how to play the pianner.

Different paths! Ha, how you make me laugh with your zen buddist tings and tings!

I suspect you don't have time to "really" learn piano unless you're getting lessons. But you do have time to figure out where to put fingers on a keyboard to make little tunes and nice chords and things.

Ye of little faith ;)

Anyway I hear you 2stepfan you big luvvy.
 

hamarplazt

100% No Soul Guaranteed
I've never played an organ, so I have no idea what organ keys feel like or what proper organ technique is comprised of, and I'd never say organists didn't have "proper" technique. I was only responding to Woebot's inquiry insofar as he said he wanted to use a synth to "learn to play." Weighted keys make a huge difference in terms of feel--without weight, the "attack" on individual keys (as Guybrush describes) can be too fast, and it can make your playing sound halting.
Well yes, if you're playing a piano, or something with sounds that work with a similar dynamic. What I meant was that the idea that weighted keys are necessary to learn to play right seems like a slightly, um, "piano-centric" view of keyboard playing. Organs and organ playing, for example, reperesent a very different tradition, where weighted keys have no function at all.

Since woebot have now clearly established that he want to learn piano, though, weighted keys are probably for him.

In my mind, there's no way to "play" a keyboard that isn't two handed,
Even if that keyboard only have two octaves and can only play one note at a time? In a way I do agree, though, because I really don't think synths should be called keyboard instruments at all. They have keyboards - well, most of them anyway - but the keyboards are in no way the most important part of them.
 

woops

is not like other people
It's worth pointing out that a monophonic synth with an arpeggiator will allow you to hold down a chord and the synth "plays" through the chord notes one at a time (up and down in various combinations), which when done quickly and filter-sweeping across the frequency range will have you drooling faster than you can say Delia and Gavin.

And you cannot beat the pleasure of playing with (yes, like a toy) an analog synth.

rubik's cube.
nice thread
 

leamas

Well-known member
Arturia Jupiter 8

There's a non-dongle demo of the new Jupiter 8V on the Arturia website. Though it's been a while since I played around with a Jupiter, this sounds not especially similar imho. But, regardless, it's certainly one of the best-sounding subtractive software synths I have come accross. Also has some really cool modulation options which weren't built inot the original.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Revive!

Was reading an interesting thread mainly about Roland synths. The JP-8 sounds as though it woudl be great. Anyone have any experience of that?

Also, completely random question - am loving many of the tones Ryan Leslie manages to coax out of synths. Anyone have any idea of the type of gear he uses?
 

empty mirror

remember the jackalope
sorry for charging in here---haven't looked at the other pages
just wanted to chime in that i have a roland juno 6
i send it through an electro-harmonix memory man and just zone out
:cool:
juno6.jpg

(not actual size)
 

hint

party record with a siren
Also, completely random question - am loving many of the tones Ryan Leslie manages to coax out of synths. Anyone have any idea of the type of gear he uses?

He's posted up lots of videos of work in progress in the studio. He just has a wall of all the big recent workstation style synths that a lot of the hip hop / r'n'b guys use. Korg Triton / Roland Fantom / Pocket Trumpet... that kind of thing. That style of production is more about quickly scrolling through presets til you find one that fits.


[edit: Also spotted in the videos - Alesis Ion, Alesis Andromeda, Korg R3]

Soft synths too:

 
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baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Ah, OK, that's cheating!:slanted:

To be honest, I wouldn't recognise most synths unless I could see the name branding.
 

empty mirror

remember the jackalope
^ yeah-----they were very common synths back in the day and many are left over. i can name a handful of friends that have junos. i got mine on eBay for a song.
 

empty mirror

remember the jackalope
gosh it has been a while but i want to say in the ballpark of $300 USD

the recently completed sales on eBay have ranged from $350 to $500 for working juno 6's
 

CHAOTROPIC

on account
ha!

are they (and other Rolands) easy to get hold of on the seoncd hand market?

Had a play with a Juno 6 the other day at a friend's house. What a strange experience!! I've played synths for years & the Juno sound is SO rated ... everyone raves about it ... but everything I produced seemed a bit crap & boring & straightforward to be honest. Couldn't make it do anything crazy, just variations & colour swatches of a basic platonic 'synth' sound, but it was a totally live sound & a very different experience than the digital or hybrid stuff I've played on before. Very different even than playing with Voyagers & Polyevolvers in Turnkey, which seem to kindof blossom as soon as you touch them & offer all this immediate access to a broad palette of soundeffects & weirdness. Loved the Juno's one-shot LFO button though.

Had a great synth experience the other night at a gig. Some shit jam band started up comprised entirely of dads with enough money to fork out for really good gear. One of them had this huge square case the size of a pool table & pulled out an original whiteface Arp Odyssey. The gig was all wibbling gurnyface 'psychedelic' guitar solos for the first 15 minutes & then the Arp kicked in ... I've NEVER heard anything like it ... enormous, rich, smooth, crackly, crazy, brilliant sound that kindof went straight to your heart & brain & bowels all at the same time. Best sounding synth I've ever heard by MILES. Even they couldn't make it sound less than throbbingly amazing. The bottom end was INSANE. Just impossible to believe that you could emulate something like that with anything like the living animal power.

I want one. Maintenance would be a bitch though.
 
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