First Synth Setup- Advice?

Hi, I'm looking for a little help picking out my first synth setup. I don't have much playing experience, which is why I'm hesitant to spend alot of money on a synth. I've narrowed it down to a few synths but I also need advice on a setup for home use. My main uses will be recording basslines, using it as a midi controller for virtual instruments (piano), and adding vintage sounding leads. Music style is boards of canada, mgmt, indie pop, and a little funk.

I apologize in advance for another one of these threads, I spent a lot of time searching the forum and many other places over the last week to narrow it down to these, but I still couldn't make a solid decision.

I've narrowed it down to a couple choices (budget of around 1100-1200):

Moog Little Phatty- Played this at the store and loved how it sounded, and I don't mind that it's monophonic since I have literally no keys talent.

DSI Prophet 08 (used)- Sounds great from demos I've heard, and seems like it would have everything I could possibly need.

Nord Modular G2- Seems like it would be a great starting synth.

Roland Juno 60- no midi right? But prices are decent and it

Roland SH-201- A solid synth for a beginner, and I like the "looper" built into it for practice purposes. I don't want to play trance/house/techno, however which seemed like it did alot of in the store. Sounded decent at the store but I preferred how the Korg R3 sounded.

I want a knobby synth where I can safely learn to make sounds without the dangers of lcd menus.

As far as setup goes, I'm using a M-Audio ProFire 610 interface and I will be getting Sonar 8 with some better monitors sometime down the road. Can I use the Midi In or Line in on that and play through the monitors? I'd rather not have to get a mixer/poweramp/pa combo so a combo amp would be a better choice if my interface won't work. I also plan on an analog delay, chorus, phrase sampler, and phaser which are not stereo effects.

Moog Little Phatty- Not the best first keyboard. It's great for learning the basics of synthesis and you'll get the bass lines and phat leads that you want, but you'll feel limited once you want more voices (stringy, piano-y or similar sounds) or want to use multiple sounds at once (synths that do this are called "multi-timbral") This would be a great second keyboard IMHO.

DSI Prophet 08 (used)- This is one I'd recommend if you can afford it. You can get the same phat analog sounds and better when you stack voices. You can also do all the other classic analog synth sounds like the old Prophet 5 and can have multiple sounds at once. It also teaches you the basics of synthesis just like the LP - you get all the knobs and buttons for hands-on control plus the added functions menus offer.

Nord Modular G2- This is not a great starting synth. It is a monster and I'd love to own one, but it is uber-deep and requires a computer to access the programming. There are a lot of sounds on the net for this synth and you can modify the sounds from the front panel. On the downside for a beginner, it's really advanced and not at all as straightforward as the others on the list. One of the ultra-pricey synths too.

Roland Juno 60- Owned one and gigged with one for years in the 80's. I love it and want to own another one as a collector and for an occasional cameo in a recording. If money is an object, this is the cheapest of the synths, and it has a classic analog sound; but no effects, no midi and only six voices. Very fun to tweak and to play. This is the one I'd buy if I had minimal cash and no computer.

If I had a computer, the low-budget winner would be the SH-201, but it depends on what you want to do and how you play. The 201 can be connected to a PC via USB so you don't need a MIDI interface and it also comes with additional software, so you can start to record immediately with the 201 and a computer.

If you like the sound of the R3, then get one of those. They're really cool, not expensive, and have all the goodies like the 201.

Good luck, listen to the other postings - there are a lot of smart people on this list - and have fun! You can't go wrong with any of the keyboards on your list. It just depends on what you want to do - and how much you pay .

Thanks for the advice. I was considering the Moog LP because it says it can function as a polyphonic midi controller. I want to use sampled software instruments so I was hoping the LP would be the best of both worlds.

The prophet is my ideal choice but it is difficult to find one for around 1100. I will keep looking because it seems like it would fit my needs.

With either of these choices, what kind of setup would be ideal? I'd like to just get a decent amp and be done but could anyone explain other setup options? For now it will be used at home and possibly a friends house so Im thinking an amp is my best bet for portability.

I think Im going to pass on the SH 201 because I don't want to feel the need to upgrade it down the road. If I go with analog now, I think I will be happier in the long run.

Go with the P'08.

yeah if you can find a p'08 and afford it, that would be great, but it might be wise to buy a little cheaper and fill out the rest of your studio infrastructure.

for instance, a few processors/effects units will be able to work wonders with almost any keyboard sound source. you have effects on your wish list, maybe factor those into your synth purchase.

korg radias might fit the bill for what you're going for as well. R3 would be a bitch to use.

the p08 is a pretty 'polarizing' synth, you should read some information on here about it via search. i think it's stupid, a lot of people drank the p08 koolaid when it came out and came to the same conclusion as myself. still others value theirs quite a bit, it depends on your preferences i suppose

if you can find someone local willing to demo his p08 or any other synths i think that would be helpful to you as well, though i realize that's not always possible.

I think I'm gonna go with the prophet and possibly a little phatty down the road. I saw peoples comments about the filter on the P08 but since I am not an experienced synth user, I doubt I would even notice.

Can anyone help me out with setup ideas? Id probably just be using grados initially.

Thanks for all the advice guys, I have a nice used Prophet 08 on the way that I got a decent deal on. I'll probably run it into my interface and headphones to get a stereo mix for now.

I went to the store again today and tried out a juno 60, sh-201, r3, some rom based keys, and a moog LP. The Juno and LP easily had my favorite sounds, with the LP being my favorite (the juno they had wasn't in the greatest condition given their asking price). I will definitely get a Moog LP some day, it has all the sounds I want but I'm not a strong enough player to rock a monophonic synth right now. The VA stuff was decent but they didn't really inspire me at all in that price range.

You concider $1,200 plus synths not much money? LMAO and congrats on not haveing the idiotic to me attitude some have of "wants great synth for $200 or less".

Well done on getting the Prophet - how much did you pay?

It was the same price as buying a new little phatty online. So 1250, not great but not bad. I've been saving a lot of money lately with my new job so I wanted to get something that would last and make me happy. I just hope I like it as much as the little phatty I played.

That is a fair price. I sold mine for 1350 a couple of weeks ago. I didn't sell it because I don't like it, but because I wanted to get Waldorf Q and replace the P'08 later with a rack mount.

Nice score! The P'08 is definitely a keeper synth, something that you will likely have for many years. You've done well rather than buying what I call an interim board that you'll end up uograding from in the next 12 months.

Sounds like you're well on your way to GAS....