Should I get an Akai AX60?

[ExplodingBoy]

I have a chance to get one. It is MIDI capable so I guess I could control my FS1r with it... HOWEVER, I'm wondering if the sliders on the AX60 would transmit midi data to control parameters on the FS1r?

 

I am either going to drop $700 or so on a used VA like the KS5, or I could grab the AX60 on the cheap for now and have a REAL analogue synth that seems to get good reviews.

 

Thoughts?

 

How are the pads and strings on the AX60? Anyone know about how flexible it would be as a MIDI controller?

[Boom]

The sliders do not transmit data and IIRC it does not have velocity sensitive keys.

 

But the strings are pretty good, very good for one osc. It is a true analog (vco) and It can sound very dark and wicked.

[Umbra]

I think you should have kept your motif and learned how to use it instead of worrying about every other synth under the sun

[Unfed]

ExplodingBoy - you're not from WNY are you? i seem to recall a local band w/ a similar name...

[ExplodingBoy]

I think you should have kept your motif and learned how to use it instead of worrying about every other synth under the sun

 

I'm obsessed.. what can I say? The Motif was too much for me. Both in price and features. I loved the sound, but I decided that I no longer wanted a rompler. I want real synths that are expressive and more dynamic. Something that can sound totally unique and allows me to make sounds from complete scratch.. not from samples.

 

I know I ask about a million synths a week, but I really need a specific combination of instruments and there are soo many choices that it's tough to keep my GAS from going crazy. Especially when I start searching EBay.

 

I'll probably end up coming full circle and getting an EX7 again. I know it is a rompler, but it also has AN and FDSP so I consider it more of a synthesizer than a stock Motif without the PLG cards.

 

The main thing was the money. I had $1700 tied up in that ES6 and if I wanted to add FM and AN synthesis to it, I'd spend another $600. That's a total of about $2300.

 

By selling that and getting an FS1r and a VA of some sort, I'll have everything I'd ever need for half of that.

[ExplodingBoy]

 

ExplodingBoy - you're not from WNY are you? i seem to recall a local band w/ a similar name...

 

 

No, my screen name comes from an early song by The Cure.

[Umbra]

 

I'm obsessed.. what can I say? The Motif was too much for me. Both in price and features. I loved the sound, but I decided that I no longer wanted a rompler. I want real synths that are expressive and more dynamic. Something that can sound totally unique and allows me to make sounds from complete scratch.. not from samples.

That's what I mean, the motif is very programmable, as programmable or more so than most of the synths your looking at. It's far more programmable and expressive than something like an AX60! Expression and dynamics are a result of good programming and then practice with the patch more than anything else, your never going to get that out of a synth or any other instrument without practice and lots of it. In the case of other instruments its practice getting your tone and expression the way you want, with synths is practice programming expression into the patch, routing the various controls to places that make sense, etc. and then practice using that patch.

 

The whole rompler phobia is a bunch of BS spouted by geeks that want to feel elite, don't fall into that trap as 99% of it isn't true. Your best bet would have been to stay with the motif, stay away from here, stay away from ebay and learn how to use it as you make music.

 

The EX7 doesn't buy you anything at all over the motif other than dumb limitations like 1 voice of AN.

[CAPPS]

 

Originally posted by Umbra Expression and dynamics are a result of good programming and then practice with the patch more than anything else, your never going to get that out of a synth or any other instrument without practice and lots of it.

 

 

+1

 

exactly. a little analogy that i have for this is that there's this kid that i know that has a pc and a pair of headphones and makes synth industrial better than anyone i know or have heard in the amature range. he could probably be very succesfull someday with his talents. he doesn't go out and buy tons of crap and try and relearn stuff all the time. he spends his time making music with what he's got, fruity loops, which he has had since like version 1 or 2.

[ExplodingBoy]

 

That's what I mean, the motif is very programmable, as programmable or more so than most of the synths your looking at. It's far more programmable and expressive than something like an AX60! Expression and dynamics are a result of good programming and then practice with the patch more than anything else

 

Look, I see what you mean, but I do disagree to some extent. You cannot create patches that are as dynamic and responsive on a sample based machine as you can on a machine that generates it's own sound. The Rhodes patches on my Motif had 3 variations in sound. Soft, medium and hard. You could clearly hear the change in timbre from the samples changing. With something like an FM synth, and even the Z1.. the EPs "play" much more like a real Rhodes. Instead of hearing 3 distinct sample changes, you get that smooth velocity curve which makes it more like a seamless curve like a real EP instead of a 3 level velocity switching sample. Know what I mean?

 

I just started to feel like sample based synths weren't as "alive" as FM, VA, or analogue synths. Even the DX-7 seems to breath when you play it. It feels more like an instrument to me and not just a "playback device". I realize that you can use the powerful synthesis engine on synths like the Motif to create phenominal sounds. I LOVED the sound of the Motif. It was probably the best sounding synth I've ever played. The problem was that it was NOT the best feeling synth I've ever played. To me, sound is almost less important than feel. If I don't feel in tune with the synth, it's not inspiring to play. I like sample-less synths because it responds to every minute degree of input. Instead of Soft Medium and Hard.. you get REALLY soft.. Medium Soft.. A little less soft.. soft medium.. medium.. etc etc.

 

It's even less graded than that really. It's like a seamless curve.

 

I know what you mean. I also know that the AX-60 is NOT expressive. I only was interested in that because I hear it has a very distinct sound and it's a nice way to get a real analogue synth on the cheap side.

 

The one thing that could have made the Motif much more expressive in the way that I'm referring to "expressive".. (I guess I should actually call it "responsive")... would be if they included FDSP synthesis. That was what made the EX series IMO. The EPs came alive like nothing else when a clever programmer like Ski applied FDSP to them. It was a way to make those velocity changes more seamless. Even though it only had one voice of AN, it still seemed more expressive to me than the Motif. And with the EX5 having VL as well, that's even better.

 

I know for a fact that I'll be keeping the FS1r for a long time. That's why the next synth I buy is very important and why I ask about a million synths every day. I need something to round out my palette and really compliment the FS1r. At this point, I'm really thinking about a KS5. We'll see.