falling into the world of synth...

Slowly but surely I feel like I want to play keyboard more. I have a cheap yamaha keyboard I've been messing with, but it leaves me wanting more. I play guitar mostly, but I want to incorporate more synth, organ, piano etc. into my songs.

At this point I'm at a divide between Soft Synth or Hard Synth. I know a lot of the hardware synths have midi capabilities so maybe that would be a compromise.

The Soft Synth route would be cheaper, but I hear a lot of bad things when it comes to cheap midi controllers. My main focus will be recording, but I see myself eventually using it in a live setting.

I was wondering if a sequencer is a must?

When it comes to price I'm looking to spend somewhere in the $200-$400 range.

Welcome to KSS...

You really need to do some research, as pointed out in our Attention new members thread. Then once you have some specific questions about the products you're looking at, someone with knowledge in that product might be able to help.

I'd say though, with that budget, you're almost bound to go the soft synth route. Cheap controller vs. cheap synth is what you're looking at.

yeah i've been looking at some midi controllers with the drum pads. are those just gimmicks are actually usable?

in the hard synth realm i'm looking at the micron or microkorg. if not possibly a MS2000.

i'm planning on going to a music store at try out some synths this weekend to make sure i really want to spend that much, if not i'll probably go the soft synth route and have some more product specific questions.

I used to have a M-Audio Axiom and they were pretty much gimmicks.

Well, add the SH-201 to that list and the search button is your friend

My advice: sell your damn guitar and drop some $$$ on a Motif!

Now that's some good advice right there! If you've been playing for a while, you could probably sell a few guitars and get something decent.

ah i c. what's a good way to program drums via synth?

i only have but one guitar that's worth anything and that's a fender tele. i am selling a few pedals that'll help me pay for the synth.

Perfect. The guitar goes on eBay now. :poke:

nevar!!!!

i need me some geetar.

DualLowPass is your future self, you just don't know it yet.

You are another in a long line of guitarists tempted by the synth side. My two bits:

1. Increase your budget and plan to buy something used, to help your money go further.

2. Don't expect $500 to get you all the sounds you want - your price range probably won't allow you to get an instrument that is both great at synth sounds (i.e. a virtual analog like the MS2000, which is a good synth) and piano/organ/ocarina.

3. Don't be another lead emo guitarist who walks over to his MicroKorg a couple times during a set and hits a key, shaking his head around like he's Kitaro as he adjusts the frequency cutoff of his low pass filter (the only thing he understands about synthesis). Too many already.

you can program drums from the keys unless the pads are an absolute must have.

DualLowPass is your future self, you just don't know it yet. You are another in a long line of guitarists tempted by the synth side. My two bits: 1. Increase your budget and plan to buy something used, to help your money go further. 2. Don't expect $500 to get you all the sounds you want - your price range probably won't allow you to get an instrument that is both great at synth sounds (i.e. a virtual analog like the MS2000, which is a good synth) and piano/organ/ocarina. 3. Don't be another lead emo guitarist who walks over to his MicroKorg a couple times during a set and hits a key, shaking his head around like he's Kitaro as he adjusts the frequency cutoff of his low pass filter (the only thing he understands about synthesis). Too many already.

o god budget increasing....i was afraid of that.

in all seriousness couldnt i get a good synth for the synth sounds and then use the MIDI capabilities for organ & piano sounds. hmm if not what do you suggest that could cover those realms quite well?

and no i'm not gonna hit one key and shake my head around like a maniac, that's absurd!

There are many free softsynths and sequencers, most MIDI controllers come bundled with software as well. So really you just need a controller to get started.

As far as programming drums, before pad controllers became commonplace many people just drummed on keys...many still do, like me.

drum pads aren't a must have, but i'm really into hip hop and most hip hop produces are using the MPC, so i've considered the MIDI drum pad, but they haven't gotten such great reviews and i don't have the dough to buy the real thing.

i'm also into creating noisy, glitchy, atmospheric music.

id maybe look at splitting the difference and get a good quality keyboard controller and then a drum pad controller

Try getting a used synth module and a controller. To get a good, new, all rounder synth is going to set you back around $2000.

Used workstations in that price range will generally use floppy drives and/ or RAM/ROM cards. Go to Vintage synth Explorer and then scour E-bay.

Software is a good candidate for you with midi controllers.

by synth module you mean like a rack unit and then bundle it with a controller?

I don't think a module is a good idea at all. You should get something that's got a great interface so you can learn synthesis without going insane with obscure menus and terminology reduced to "LPF" "PWM" and "RES".

For synth sounds, a fairly inexpensive but solid synth that's also got a decent interface is the Novation Xiosynth. It can also double as a controller for a module for more traditional sounds. Modules for those kinds of sounds are a good idea because there are tons of them and they are quite inexpensive.

i dunno about the pads on the axiom but i would assume they are the same as the ones on the trigger finger which are fine.

Yes, something with a large display like a Roland JV-2080, XV-5080, JD-990, or Korg Triton Rack. They are easy to learn and get around and have more than enough sounds to meet any need. Best of all, hardware is timeless. It will likely last a good deal longer than your computer OS or until your bored with it.

A module, controller, and Ableton Live software is a good start.

I agree with this. If there were any way to stretch the budget to about $800, I'd almost always recommend snagging a used Nord Lead 2X.

A full fledged synth will not provide a general quality palette of sounds. RA's and VA's are great additions to a rig but IMHO, are not good places to start and build a studio around.

I'm falling in love with my P'08, but it would see E-Bay long before my M3 or Logic Studio would.