Hey /mu/, I want to talk about synths (monophonic, analog, modular).

OP Forgive me for being dumb, but how does something like that work?
I'm not grasping the no keyboard part of it.

>>52484680
you connect it to a controller
which would, usually, be a keyboard

>>52484781
Ahhhh...awesome! Thanks!

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MFB Microzwerg which sounds quite nice in acid sounds

>>52484781
My main wish would be to control it through a daw via a midi interface eg.

>>52484565
Got one of these lately. love it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cagbBg0TmgM

>>52484948
I've still a "hardware" synth virgin, but i'm just willing to get a first machine in order to jam with new sounds a bit. I like acid sounds but i'd like something quite polyvalent (that you can use both as bass and lead).

I like the lead sound you get with the arturia, even though it's not properly what i'm looking for (I don't really have a use for the keys and pitch wheel etc)

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Anyone hyped for the reissue of pic related?

>>52484565
dark time is a sequencer, there's no tone generator

there is the dark energy, which is the same depth and height, and is a 2 vco monosynth that is made to pair with it

>>52484948
love mine, got it for chrimbus last year, amazing for those squelchy on-acid sequences. by on-acid, I mean EMS style sequences, not TB-303 sequences

>>52485103
I'm waiting for the price to make my decision. I don't mind minikeys, but the ones on the MS-20 mini are really annoying for some reason. I like the microbrute ones more even though they're smaller.

Verona Lancet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NlUvvHui_Mw

Proper Acid Sound but seems better at bass than anything else.

>>52485099
whats your budget? are you open for hybrids or strictly analog?

>>52485103
Fairly hyped but I'm still waiting for more info like whether it's going to be full size or not, build quality etc.

Behringer were talking about making an Odyssey clone bizarrely:

F B .com/BEHRINGER/photos/a.10150572353698914.404212.105517788913/10152939189238914/?type=1&theater

>>52485164
I am very interested in the dark energy indeed:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aF1JBjb1G8

>>52485103
Can't wait. Korg better get it right

>>52485166
I've got the Lancet, it's fucking fantastic. Soundwise it really takes its cues from the Minimoog and old Roland monos.

Nicest sounding mono in its price range imo.

>>52485174
I am open for an hybrid and any honest suggestion that has a cool sound, i am not a specialist at all, I guess i'm looking for something roughly around 500 dollars (i know guys, you get better with money and it's an investment but i'm broke).

>>52485190
I am open to this. The analog mono market needs some competition, prices are high just because "muh anal logs"

>>52485190
>Behringer synth
that sounds so wrong [spoiler]no pun intended[/spoiler]

Also what about those (low budget) korg volcas, toy or not toy?

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Here is eowave magma, which seems to have a very clinical sound.

>>52485164
Are doepfer products well build overall? Are they resistant?

>>52485349
beats-snare sucks, but amazing kick
keys-novel mono, sucky poly, dumb sequencer, use a midi keyboard with it
bass-tfwno303

>>52485349
Definitely toy

>>52485164
The Dark Energy is a single VCO mono

>>52485517
Yes, doepfer is like the america of modular synths, though not as classy looking. MFB is like the behringer of modular synths. It's funny because they're all german.

>>52485576
Oh right. That's not that enticing considering the price.

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>>52485619
>doepfer is like the america of modular synths
is that a good thing?

>>52485679
You mean bout the dark energy?

>>52485930
Yeah that could have a doublemeaning, stay careful ahah.

>>52485679
Oh okay got it now, well true now that you made me realize that the dark energy had only got one oscillator the vermona lancet seems all so seducing...

>>52486077
>>52485930
I mean it as a good thing. Like they have a very high build quality, but a very vanilla selection of modules.
>>52485949
Yeah. There's other 1 VCO monos that are cheaper, most monos in that price range have 2 oscillators.

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Dreadbox by Erebus sounds very sexy also.

>>52486279
Has anyone ever tried it?

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I have just encountered the Waldorf Pulse 2 with its three oscillators and such a cool ass filter and distortion. I am thinking of actually stretching my budget.

anyone recommend a particular website to buy synths? newbie here didn't realize i could buy a little synth box and run it through my MIDI

>>52487243
http://www.sweetwater.com/

or craigslist/ebay

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>>52487292
thanks man
here's some charli for your help

>I will never own a Synthi VCS3 or Synthi AKS

Feels bad, man.

>>52488200
>tfw no oberheim matrix 12

>>52484781
>you connect it to a controller

that's a sequencer, m8. you would plug that into an analog synthesizer

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just build your own. you're missing out on so much by not going diy it's not even funny. it's really easy to do this too. just painting by numbers for the most part and it's fun to learn.

this cabinet has the oakley 303 filter clone, which you can hear in this clip:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxiHEJ_24FA

>>52488200
You never know man, Robin Wood is making new ones, albeit quite slowly.

>>52488258
These are actually pretty easy to cop. Prices are inflated for what it is though.

>>52488367
is that your system in the pic?

>>52488367
How expensive or difficult is this to make?

>>52488485
I would love to get my hands on one of the newer ones. I'd even take an older one and get it refurbished by him, but there's never any on sale in the states unlike the UK.

>>52488367
I've been wanting to build my own modules for quite some time. Is there a good place to source the eurorack mounting plates?

>>52487243
http://www.analoguehaven.com/

I'm relativity new to synths and I have a axiom 25 that I want to turn into a synth without having to run it through a computer how would I go about that? Do a buy a sequencer? and if so what are some good ones?

>>52488485
well sorta, my friend and i both make music and i helped pay for a lot of our now huge modular, but we designed it and he built it. it's just one cabinet of several. i prefer to work ITB though, mostly with samples, and only use outboard when the piece could use that extra spiciness, so i just take whatever cabinet when i need it but they're usually at his house since he really loves working with hardware.

but anyone wanting to go diy, definitely do it. it may not be cheaper when you consider the time spent on building it, but it gives you a lot of options and it still is usually much cheaper anyway. our system has something like 12 vcos and 15 filters not including a ton of other modules and it cost us less than 3K.

>>52488607
buy a module like:
>>52484901
>>52485166
>>52485196
>>52486279
>>52487085

>>52488607
You can use it to control a synth module since the axiom is a controller

>>52488791
what VCOs do you have in the system?

>>52488549
it can be really cheap but you have to be a little clever sometimes to cut costs. buy bulk, source for the cheapest deals (but don't get burned by bunk parts, which are common, especially from say chinese sellers on ebay), and build the most versatile and inexpensive circuits. it can be really cheap as far as costs, but it can also be time consuming too finding the right circuits that also suit your tastes (not every circuit will be worth building, there are some definite stinkers out there, use youtube clips and recommendations by builders on sites such as electro-music.com to narrow your search. but it's a great option, and many more people should try it.

electro-music.com is an excellent site btw with a ton of helpful users. muffwiggler.com is great too.

>>52488899
>>52489027
Thank you!! guys are life savers!

>>52489154
I'm on this oakley sound systems site and there is not a single mention of this 303 filter PCB. Mind dropping a link?

Also if you could answer where you sourced the mounting panels that would be really helpful as well.

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>>52489155
If you want more polyphony for cheap, try the Waldorf Blofeld.

>>52489121
we have 2 of these serge clones
http://www.cgs.synth.net/modules/cgs48_vco.html

4 buchla 200 series clones, which i highly recommend. they sound awesome and are very simple circuits.

3 of these motm minimoog vco clones, which are also awesome. they track amazingly and sound lovely. they were a little splurgy but definitely worth it (much cheaper to diy)
http://www.synthtech.com/motm300.html

and 2 wavetable oscillators, i can't remember by who though

>>52489468
>http://www.synthtech.com/motm300.html
my bad these are from the moog modular

>>52484565
>synth discussion
>no keyboards

full pleb.

>>52489468
nice, I should really look into the buchla 200 oscillators

might try the moog modular ones too

thanks for the info

Hey this is one of the more helpful synth threads I've seen in a while so I'm gonna ask y'all a semispefic but pretty open ended question: I want a hardware synth that is incredibly versitile and can model and emulate pretty easily other sounds but doesn't sound like shit. I would rather not have an analog synth, and I need it to be polyphonic, and obviously I'd like to have complete control in terms of manipulating sound. Any suggestions? Or is the synth I'm looking for non existant.

>>52489696
>>52489333

>>52489696
yamaha DX7

if you're prepared to learn how to use it

>>52489696
Why do you want a hardware synth specifically? Unless money is no object you should definitely be going for digital and learning about synthesis on the computer first.

But if you really want to go get a hardware synth, >>52489333 this guy has the right idea. I also have a korg MS2000R which is awesome to learn with cus it has so many knobs.

But again, if you want to model and emulate sounds 'pretty easily' that really has to do with you and your knowledge of synthesis. Which is why I would def suggest soft synths and a decent controller.

Best place for NI tutorials? (Massive, FM8, etc.) If you say youtube, link a channel

>>52489202
it was a couple years ago that we built that but i remember there being some confusion about which pcb to get. i'm sorry but i don't remember exactly what happened but you should email them and link to that clip so he knows what you're talking about. but i do remember that it wasn't hard for us to get that pcb even though it seemed to be out of stock. i think it was just renamed or something.

>>52489696
Korg Z1
Not for beginners, but definitely the best at modeling. That or the Yamaha VP-1

>>52489787
I've been working with softsynths for years and I pretty much know how to figure out and use them quickly at this point. Money isn't an problem because I'm going to be saving up for this as long as it takes, I have wanted a synth for a long time basically for gigging and for more hands-on sound design and just to see what it's like recording it into my DAW for use as audio files. Thanks for the concern though.

Both you and >>52489753 suggest the blofeld and I've been told by a few people IRL that it's a good synth for that kinda stuff, so I'll look more into it. I seem to remember it sounding good. The Korg looks REALLY promising though

I'll look into these as well
>>52489758
>>52490004
They don't look as straight forward but look promising as well. My power went out so I'm only using my phone in shitty service so I can't really do much looking. Thanks guys! If y'all have any more suggestions that'd be great.

>>52489758
>DX7
>can model and emulate pretty easily other sounds but doesn't sound like shit
uhh, not really

>>52490004
Software is better for physical modeling. The Z1 and Yamaha ones are refined, but also super outdated.

>>52490673
If you want imitative synthesis, get a sampler or rompler. You can get some really powerful ones for next to nothing, but they tend to not have knobs or intuitive interfaces.

>>52489931
Ok well thanks anyways. I've been wanting to get into building modules for a while and I have some experience in building circuits as far as guitar pedals go. I'll just have to browse around for one but it looks like there is a pretty tried and true filter module for getting those 303 sounds. I'm definitely going to build those and some serge oscillators when I get the chance to order some parts.

All I need now is a decent eurorack housing and a good place to source mounting plates.

>>52491365
>I've been wanting to get into building modules for a while and I have some experience in building circuits as far as guitar pedals go.
It turns into the most amazing time sink. I'd suggest doing something else unless you really, really like it. I got fed up with it. If you want to get deeply technical, it's much, much easier to learn Max/MSP.

>>52491479
Well I'm not really new to synths at all or electronic music in general and I've spent quite a lot of time building other things so it's not much more of a time sink than my other hobbies.

Also I've really wanted to start a modular synth for a while now.

>>52491098
It's not so much about the model as it is the amount of sound design options and knobs and just general expanability I was hoping would come with it. I want to be able to imitate synths as well as design some more unique sounding sounds. I've considered samplers but I'd rather a synth definitely

>>52491640
modelling*

>>52490673
Yeah I use my ms2000r a lot, it's fun and intuitive. But also depending on how much money you wanna spend, you've got plenty of options. You could get a new Roland Juno Gi or something, or if you can take analog instead, there's the prophet 12 (which has digital oscilators). The prophet 12 looks like a sound design beast.

>>52484565
Do you guys recommend the Korg Volcakeys Analog Synth Machine at all?

>>52491640
The funny thing is that the stuff that's good for imitative synthesis generally isn't that flexible, and the most powerful synths generally suck at imitative synthesis.

And there stuff that's the most powerful never has a simple interface. Power always comes with complexity.

>>52491603
Synth circuits are a lot more involved than pedals. Distortion pedals, etc. are pretty much trivial.

>>52489154
one thing i forgot to mention were the panel costs. this could easily sink all of your savings if you're not careful. it's something you'll have to compromise on if you want a low cost modular but must have a professional looking design, we spent a lot of time looking through designs before we settled on one that was inexpensive yet still aesthetically pleasing (which is important to an extent, you do want to use instruments that inspire you in a way and their appearance does have an effect). in the pic i posted the cabinet is still unfinished, it will look uniformly like the left side when done, but we thought it looked cool in a low-key way, with paint marker used for the font for example. but i have to stress, it's very hard to keep costs down if you demand a very classy design.

for the panels, my friend found some plastic that was thin enough to easily cut but thick enough to hold all the parts. it cost next to nothing. i can't remember where he got them unfortunately but i think it shouldn't be too hard to find something similar.

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>>52491979
Never said they were

As long as I have a PCB it's incredibly easy though. If I don't it just takes way fucking longer. I think I may order two of those serge vco clones. That site is amazing.

>>52492081
I think the early Serge stuff all used a single aluminum panel with a grid of holes cut in it. All the jacks and knobs and whatnot used the same hole size, and a module-specific paper overlay was stuck on the front. The holes that weren't used were covered by the overlay. That always seemed to me like a cheap and fairly reasonable way to do things, provided you can find satisfactory parts.

>>52492110
>As long as I have a PCB it's incredibly easy though.
IMO that barely even counts as building something. It's still a pain in if you have to source parts yourself and wire up a panel, but for the most part it's not that far removed from just putting something together from a kit.

>>52492260
Yeah I mean, why have a synth at all unless you built it from the ground up. You're some kind of idiot if you don't hand-make all of your resistors and capacitors.

>>52492533
I'd rather program it, actually.

>>52492649
If you don't start from machine code, you're not really programming.

>>52491942
Dang that's a thinker then. What are some versatile/powerful non modeling synths?

>>52491756
I've looked into the Prophet 12, it looks good but idk if I want to deal with analog. very very annoying sounding to me. I'll look more into it and the other one though for sure, thanks.

>>52492189
yeah i think those early serges are beautiful and that's definitely a cost effective way to do it. there are a lot of other options though. i've even seen some almost completely cardboard designs, which looked ghetto but still had some character.

>>52492892
If you think analog sounds annoying, why would you consider anything like the ms2000 or the Blofeld? Why would you even consider most VSTs that aren't FM based?