Recommend me a simple synth. . .

[DylanWilde]

I know these threads are done to death, and it's almost absurd to toss yet another out, but my criteria are a bit different than the average person looking for a synth, and I figured you guys are far more knowledgeable about this and I could use some recommendations after trying to research online. I'm a pianist and guitarist first, with some organ experience and very little synth experience.

 

Firstly, I am looking for organic, warm, old school sounds. If it's VA, that works, if it's true analog, even better. I also want as much simplicity as possible, since my main goal is to simply edit basic waveforms and apply effects to them. I work with mainly piano, organ, and guitar sounds in my music, and I am looking for more interesting but more "natural" synth tones to fill in the spaces and work with that sort of instrumentation. I don't really need arpeggiators, heavily modern electronic sounds, or any elaborate features, but rather the ability to fairly easily pull up sine waves, triangles, sawtooth waves, etc. and adjust resonances, volume envelopes, and apply simply effects like a natural sounding echo. Basically, the easier the access is to the oscillators, LFOs, resonance, and envelope controls, the better.

 

My first temptation is toward something like the MicroKorg, since it is inexpensive and provides access to a lot of what I've mentioned. However, it seems like absolute overkill, and there's a sort of resistant feeling that rises up inside of me, probably since everyone and his brother is making noise patches and trance lines with these things. Is there something older, more intuitive, and more streamlined that would be better suited to what I am looking for, or is it a better idea to move toward something modern and convenient in the vein of the ion, xiosynth, MK, etc.? Price range is preferably at or below $500.

[evildragon]

Try grabbing a second-hand Nord Lead 1 or 2(x). Dunno if it's at 500, but it's worth getting it even for a couple of hundreds more.

 

Just because of the hands-on interface.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh. OK. And it's RED.

[mildbill]

Nord Lead was the first thing I thought of when reading his post - except for no effects.

[jskpongoui]

sh201

jp8000

ms2000

[Swami Digital]

Your best bet starting out should be to get something inexpensive used off craigslist. If not, an R3 would be better than a microkorg, but knobby synths are easier to learn. Start out with free software, make some sounds, figure out what you like, then jump into buying something you can work with would be my recommendation.

[flat earth]

Another vote for the Nord Lead. Its a very straight forward VA synth that happens to capture the analogue sound very well imo. I quite often forget Im playing a VA sometimes.

 

As suggested, the SH-201 is another good 'simple' synth if you want to learn the basics, but I personaly wasn't impressed with its sound at all.

[DylanWilde]

Thanks for the recommendations so far, I will definitely be keeping an out the Nord Lead (I think I see some popping up on the bay for $500-600 at the moment).

 

What about the Xiosynth? After taking a look at it's layout and features, it seems fairly straightforward and intuitive, and allows for more direct use of knobs instead of scrolling through LCD options and matrices like the MicroKorg or Micron. However, from what I've read, the sound leans more to the hi-fi, modern, digital side of things. What causes this? Can the oscillators themselves be radically different in terms of voicing? If I avoid the heavy use of effects, arpeggiators, and other things, will I be avoiding the functions of the synth that give it it's hard, digital edge? Or is it's tone fundamental to the oscillators and filters, and therefore basically unavoidable?

[flat earth]

Thanks for the recommendations so far, I will definitely be keeping an out the Nord Lead (I think I see some popping up on the bay for $500-600 at the moment).

 

 

Just remember the difference in polyphony;

 

Nord Lead 1 (4-notes / expandable to 12)

 

Nord Lead 2 (16 notes)

 

Nord Lead 2x (20 notes)

[evildragon]

And more patch memory and better output stage in 2X, if I'm not mistaken.

[flat earth]

 

And more patch memory and better output stage in 2X, if I'm not mistaken.

 

 

Mistaken you are not Sir.

 

I particularly went out of my way to hunt out a 2x. The huge patch memory is a big plus point over the Lead 2's paltry serving (although a card can be added) The 2X's upgraded 24bit dacs (18bit on the Lead 2) are supposedly a little cleaner, but this is debatable. They sounded pretty similar to me.

[xanderbeanz]

grab an an1x, really cheap and twice the multimbrality of the microkorg, oh, and full size keys

[Meatball Fulton]

 

What about the Xiosynth?If I avoid the heavy use of effects, arpeggiators, and other things, will I be avoiding the functions of the synth that give it it's hard, digital edge? Or is it's tone fundamental to the oscillators and filters, and therefore basically unavoidable?

 

 

Go to this page at Synthmania to listen to the presets. 100, 101, 102, 103, 107, 109, 183, 215 are good examples of it sounding like vintage analog.

 

You can overwrite all the presets and create your own sounds.

[midinut]

Just to stir the pot, your sig says you have a Kurzweil KME61. Does that not have VAST and if so, doesn't it do a pretty remarkable job of pretending to be a VA? ... or so I've heard. Just curious.

[llamastorm]

@midinut, I don't think VAST on the PC3 was even remotely remarkable.

 

Also, not fun to tweak at all. Hugely not fun.

[mildbill]

 

... What about the Xiosynth? After taking a look at it's layout and features, it seems fairly straightforward and intuitive, and allows for more direct use of knobs instead of scrolling through LCD options and matrices like the MicroKorg or Micron. However, from what I've read, the sound leans more to the hi-fi, modern, digital side of things. What causes this? Can the oscillators themselves be radically different in terms of voicing? If I avoid the heavy use of effects, arpeggiators, and other things, will I be avoiding the functions of the synth that give it it's hard, digital edge? Or is it's tone fundamental to the oscillators and filters, and therefore basically unavoidable?

 

 

 

Xiosynth would be a good option if you don't care about the number of keys or learning how to play a keyboard.

But if that's the case, you could just use softsynths too - some are free.

I think Novation stuff has a characteristic sound - it used to be described as 'smooth' or 'round'. Fx don't really disguise that much, but a lot of people like that sound.

There's a few older, cheap, knobby real analog synths too, but I'm not up on them.

AN1X has a good sound, but the editing interface isn't very intuitive.

I wouldn't consider Kurzweil stuff for what you're looking for.

You might also want to look for a used Alesis Ion too - very easy to edit, good sound, and unlike the nord lead, it has some fx built in.

[DylanWilde]

 

Just to stir the pot, your sig says you have a Kurzweil KME61. Does that not have VAST and if so, doesn't it do a pretty remarkable job of pretending to be a VA? ... or so I've heard. Just curious.

 

 

Nope, the KME61 has only sample-based tones (pianos, EPs, organs, and a frew preset synth sounds) but no actual synth generator. I love the acoustic piano sounds and use the vibraphone, celesta, EP, and a couple of the organ settings, but I'm looking for a separate synth to do actual synth tones.

 

I think it's the K26xx series that has the VAST engine and can actually generate synth sounds.

[DylanWilde]

 

Xiosynth would be a good option if you don't care about the number of keys or learning how to play a keyboard. But if that's the case, you could just use softsynths too - some are free. I think Novation stuff has a characteristic sound - it used to be described as 'smooth' or 'round'. Fx don't really disguise that much, but a lot of people like that sound. There's a few older, cheap, knobby real analog synths too, but I'm not up on them. AN1X has a good sound, but the editing interface isn't very intuitive. I wouldn't consider Kurzweil stuff for what you're looking for. You might also want to look for a used Alesis Ion too - very easy to edit, good sound, and unlike the nord lead, it has some fx built in.

 

 

Well I have the Kurz and a weighted key controller, so I play actual piano pieces and arrangements with those boards. I am looking to generate more atmospheric tones and extra melodic lines with the synth, basically to add more layers to my songs and not necessary play full classical pieces or intricate songs on the synth itself. I am going to be working on a project with another musician also playing keys, and I was hoping for him to cover bass lines and those extra atmospheric fills and such with the synth at times. It seems as if two octaves would be sufficient for that sort of thing, and that full size keys would also be a plus when switching from the Kurz to the synth.

 

My biggest concern now is the keybed of the Xiosynth. I just watched a couple youtube demos where the user had gone through literally half a dozen units all of which had keybed problems. He repeatedly used the word "{censored}" to describe the action and keybed quality - which is not especially reassuring.

[mildbill]

Well I have the Kurz and a weighted key controller,...

 

Didn't notice that in your sig.

 

In that case, you could just midi it up, use it like a module, and never even touch the keys.

[DylanWilde]

Well I just took a trip to GC and tried out a few synths. I came away with the following impressions:

 

Alesis Micron -

Nice keybed, good sounds, but very difficult to navigate and generally not very intuitive. I just didn't really bond with it and am scratching it off the list for now.

 

MicroKorg -

More intuitive and comfortable to me than the Micron, and I also liked the sounds about as much as those in the Alesis, but the keys were definitely a bit of an annoyance, since I am used to full sized piano and organ keys. I've used it briefly before, and know how to create/edit waveforms and deal with the oscillators and filters, so that helped, but I also like the filter and amp envelope controls toward the upper right - those seem very useful.

 

MicroKorg XL -

After getting a little used to the MicroKorg, I didn't honestly like the XL as much, from a utilitarian standpoint. Maybe it's because I was very unfamiliar with it, but it seems easier to navigate through presets and patches, but not much better in terms of starting from scratch and manipulating waveforms. Also, I can't seem to justify the higher price tag.

 

Roland SH-201 -

Really enjoyed playing this synth, far more intuitive and usable than the other three, since you can essentially follow the sound path and edit (via real knobs) from oscillator to amplifier stage. However, I'm a big sine wave guy - I love the purity and singing quality of that tone. It seemed like there was something funny going on with the sine wave in the Roland that I just couldn't get past, almost like it had triangle elements to it, or lacked a sort of "roundness" in the tone. I'm not sure what it was, but it was weird, and maybe I'm just imagining things. Anyways, I couldn't also bond with the echo and reverb effects on it (both essentially being a fairly mediocre delay sound, with different trailing characteristics), which is a big deal, especially given that something like the MicroKorg's echo/delay sounds have multiple sounds a bit more depth/versatility to them. Overall, enjoyable to play but the weakest in sound compared to the others, IMO. . .Also it's at least a hundred more than both the MicroKorg and Micron new, and easily 2x what I would pay for a used MK.

 

 

So, in the end, I think I am leaning toward the original MicroKorg the most. Apart from the small keys, which are still usable, it has the best overall combination of usability and tone to me at this point. Also, after dealing with the synths in person, I like the smaller size of the whole unit as well, especially compared to the Roland, which was 2-3 times bigger than the others. Now I just have to hunt for a cheap used one. . .

[flat earth]

Well I just took a trip to GC and tried out a few synths. I came away with the following impressions: Alesis Micron - Nice keybed, good sounds, but very difficult to navigate and generally not very intuitive. I just didn't really bond with it and am scratching it off the list for now. MicroKorg - More intuitive and comfortable to me than the Micron, and I also liked the sounds about as much as those in the Alesis, but the keys were definitely a bit of an annoyance, since I am used to full sized piano and organ keys. I've used it briefly before, and know how to create/edit waveforms and deal with the oscillators and filters, so that helped, but I also like the filter and amp envelope controls toward the upper right - those seem very useful. MicroKorg XL - After getting a little used to the MicroKorg, I didn't honestly like the XL as much, from a utilitarian standpoint. Maybe it's because I was very unfamiliar with it, but it seems easier to navigate through presets and patches, but not much better in terms of starting from scratch and manipulating waveforms. Also, I can't seem to justify the higher price tag. Roland SH-201 - Really enjoyed playing this synth, far more intuitive and usable than the other three, since you can essentially follow the sound path and edit (via real knobs) from oscillator to amplifier stage. However, I'm a big sine wave guy - I love the purity and singing quality of that tone. It seemed like there was something funny going on with the sine wave in the Roland that I just couldn't get past, almost like it had triangle elements to it, or lacked a sort of "roundness" in the tone. I'm not sure what it was, but it was weird, and maybe I'm just imagining things. Anyways, I couldn't also bond with the echo and reverb effects on it (both essentially being a fairly mediocre delay sound, with different trailing characteristics), which is a big deal, especially given that something like the MicroKorg's echo/delay sounds have multiple sounds a bit more depth/versatility to them. Overall, enjoyable to play but the weakest in sound compared to the others, IMO. . .Also it's at least a hundred more than both the MicroKorg and Micron new, and easily 2x what I would pay for a used MK. So, in the end, I think I am leaning toward the original MicroKorg the most. Apart from the small keys, which are still usable, it has the best overall combination of usability and tone to me at this point. Also, after dealing with the synths in person, I like the smaller size of the whole unit as well, especially compared to the Roland, which was 2-3 times bigger than the others. Now I just have to hunt for a cheap used one. . .

 

Nice little mini review ZepFuzz05

[FLNagle]

If you're sure you're happy with the filter on the MK I say do it. The more you turn the resonance up I just think the low pass mode starts sounding really thin and flimsy. I think both the filters (MK only has one filter too, right?) and the effects sound better on the R3 and the Nord Lead has an even better filter, but they doesn't have the same charm the cute little Micro.

[ChristianRock]

[DylanWilde]

 

Haha, nice. Yep, I'm leaning toward the MicroKorg, but still trying to keep in mind any old, quirky little synths that might be simpler and more straightforward to use. I mean, one of my favorite songwriters uses a Yamaha portasound PSS-460 on stage and gets some fantastic synth tones from it, so anything and everything is being considered.

[mildbill]

So did you get a chance to try out the Xiosynth?

[DylanWilde]

 

So did you get a chance to try out the Xiosynth?

 

 

Didn't have it there, which was a disappointment. However, I've been sort of swayed away from it by reviews that talk about really the cheap and inconsistent keybeds used on them.