Here's a question. If you were to buy a low-budget analog

Simple

these have audio out or MIDI out, and most likely MIDI in as well, at least the good ones.

You can either:

1. tweak a sound until you like it, then record the audio out

2. using it as a MIDI keyboard (pointless but you could), sending data on the MIDI out

3. you can buy a proper keyboard and use the MIDI in, the record the audio out.

>>51664330
Naw, i know how to record and use MIDI. I mean actual musical applications other than hitting one note over and over while opening and closing the filter over and over again.

The key is to play it with a band. Solo monosynth music is shit.

>>51664382
I dont understand the question then, you can get creative with these a lot.

Most also have CV in which can can mainpulate every filter/OSC on it. You can send cv out with most modern DAW's.

What you ask isnt different from using a VST at all.

If you dont know what to use a VST for dont buy an analog synth but learn how it use a virtual one first with tutorials on youtube/groove3 etc.

>>51664295
I use mine in three main situations.

The first is multitracking, I use it as a single voice and record it a bunch of times. It helps to have music written out before you do this. It lends itself to some incredible harmonies.

The second is when I'm running sequences. I can run the microbrute on one sequence, the modular synth on another, play a poly with my left hand, and my mini with my right.

By far the most use I get with it is when I'm playing with my band. Accenting other parts like vox and guitar are typical, as well as basses and leads. Also on a couple of songs I will do sound effects like modulating a resonant filter with an audio rate oscillator and sending that to a mod delay.

You're really only limited by your own creativity.

>>51664295
I use my microbrute like you would a 303 or I hook it to a chorus and use an octave sequence for 80s basslines. I use my MS20 for IDM drum processing. The ms20 is also p dece at leads.

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I'm fine with VST's for the majority of what I'd consider highly produced electronic music, If i'm bothering to take on the aesthetic of a legitimate analogue synthesizer it needs to be purposeful enough to be worth sacrificing the convenience for.

That means no sequencers and no quantizing, played live.

I'd do turn of the 80s/late 70s style pop music, acoustic drums and instruments, played live no sequencers. Think early gary numan or devo, dirty mind era prince, before digital sequencers capable of storing long chains of notes where the synth is treated as a member of a traditional band and an electronic/robotic aesthetic is not a goal.

>>51664527
Try using a flanger when running a sequence. Adds a ton of motion.

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>>51664295
C-can we have a s-synth general synthi-chan?

>>51664677
I really want to get a DX7, but I'm to cheap to buy a ossiscope and a filter.

>>51664723
just use FM8 then like a normal person

>>51664744
b-b-b-but...
>muh hardware
>muh lo fi digtal
>muh analog filters
>muh cozy ossilocope

>>51664723
You don't need either of those for a DX7. If you really want an oscilloscope, just use a software version.

>>51664677

I bought my first synth yesterday, a Microbrute. Now to learn how to synth.

>>51664806
Remember to keep the mixer levels around 60% if you don't want distortion.

>>51664806
someones retarded

>>51664870

Is it you? The answer is you, right?

>>51664845
You can't do that. If you turn the volume up to high you get this vca hang/phasing noise sound.

>>51664891
the answer is the person who spent money on a hardware synth without having any idea what it is they actually want out of a synthesizer.

>>51664899
Can you read?

>>51664902
tbh if someone doesn't know about synthesizers and they want one any synth is pretty much fine. He could have done a lot worse than a microbrute.

>>51664723

dude, you can get them used from a lot of university as they dump the old ones and upgrade. i stay swimmin in circuits and shit like that.

>>51664924
>Remember to keep the mixer levels around 60% if you don't want distortion.
Ya I can read. I don't know if every unit does this, but when the master volume is to high I get a lot of noise coming out of the synth even if the osc mix is turned to 0 and the VCA isn't engaged. If your mix volume is lower you need to increase the master volume It appears to be related to the LFO.

>>51664902

I'm really going to regret paying 150 bucks for this thing on which I can learn to do something I've got a definite interest in :(

any thoughts on the alesis micron?

>>51664965
How did you get one so cheap?

>>51664965
you won't regret it if you can flip it for more than that again when you end out just using a bunch of VST's ITB like you will.

>>51664295
I had a stroke so I cant play bass very good, but simple monosynth stuff I can do. I use the bass for the simple stuff, and the synths for more melodic and complex stuff.

Also I mix the recordings my band does, so I like to layer synths to fill the sounds. I cant really put into words what my band does, sorta half-assed shoegaze

>>51664902
actually i learned a lot about synthesis using a microbrute, that's enough

>>51664979

Craigslist

>>51664981

Sure that's always a backup plan but you underestimate how much free time I have and how little of a life I have

>>51664981
>everyone has to make music the way I do

>>51664965
Do you have any experience with VST's, , do you understand basic audio/electrical engineering (filters, generators, routing, modulation etc.), do you have proper gear, do you have experience with recording audio?

If the answer no to any of these you shouldnt buy a synth, but learn the basics first.

Though I'm a poorfag and I understand many can afford buying a proper synth and learning it on the fly, but its much easier to learn it in a DAW

>>51665007
not at all.

you will though.

>>51665010
Half the guys that used early modulars didnt have a clue, and modulars are way harder than the microbrute. Stop being shitty.

>>51665043
And all of them sounded like shit compared to what we have today.

Unless you wanna make something like 80s analog sound, which sounds totally cheesy and cheap now, just listen to some old techno tracks.

I always suspected this analog thing is just something of a being a hipster for you guys, because you dont know about audio engineering either way, you just wanna be so pro and different without actually investing the time into it.

Feel free to waste years on something completely pointless because you dont know what the fuck you're doing then

>>51665043
Bands/Studios would actually buy multiple minimoogs back in the day and tape the knobs in place to save patches.

>>51665067
This is the exact reason nobody likes the anti-analog people. They act like they know everything and talk down to everyone else.

Not everyone has to do things the way you do them. Get over yourself.

>>51665067
Ok, m8 have fun spending 300 hours playing in a daw compressing shit while I'm having fun on tape and old analogs.

why would somebody come to a threa about synths just to bitch and moan about people using synths?

Seems like a waste of time at the very least.

>>51665010

It's not like I went out and blindly bought the first synth I came across, everything prior to that was research and learning. I've got a basic understanding of synthesis and have some experience with recording but the entire goal is to understand more and a hands-on approach works best for me. I liked the features of the Microbrute plus the price was very appealing, of course.

>>51665090
I have analog and digital shit working together, but I have an EE degree and I know what I'm doing

Again, feel free to spend years experimenting with shitty sounds instead of opening a book

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>>51665103
>having fun on tape
>tape

must be bait

>>51665113
Christ, you didn't read my post at all.

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Dear /synth/,
What the hell do I do with this stupid thing? It's a Kustom 88 electronic piano that mostly works. I weighs a fuck ton. It doesn't sound that cool.

Love anon

>>51665224
that thing is weird, sounds too much like a real piano to be a useful EP but sounds too fake to be a legitimate piano replacement.

>>51665067
Depends what you call shit.

>I always suspected this analog thing is just something of a being a hipster for you guys
I have had brain damage in my speech center of my brain, but I'm pretty sure that's not a proper English sentence. Also I use analog, digital, analogue models, samplers and soft-synths. Hard-synths give you tactile response and some people learn more through that then theoretical or being shown how to do it. There is not an objective way to learn to play an instrument.

> you dont know about audio engineering either way
It's not much, but I have an advanced diploma of sound engineering, so your wrong. Also, alot of people use synths in many different ways that aren't engineers. Engineers dont always drive F1 cars, and they dont always build bridges. They can, but other people can do it as well. Audio Engineering is the same.

>>51665261
I already have enough piano sounding things that are heavy. What do?

>>51665322
I'd get up in that ass and try and jank up different pick ups or something to try and do something unique with it because it's musically useless the way it is

>>51665339
It's all electronic, no pickups. I suppose I could poke around inside and see if I can mess the thing up. Maybe try to fix the tremolo too.

>>51665279
Please stop this shit, it's going nowhere.

>>51665224

Sell it, buy something you like more. Don't own any gear that doesn't give you a boner.

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>>51665279
>advanced diploma

>>51664545
when I first got into making music as a 16 year old, I obviously gravitated to guitar and piano initially. But I had all these synths in my library on Garageband (then even more once I upgraded to Logic) so I would start using them. But I could not for the life of me figure out why everybody else's music felt so robotic and fixed while mine was loose and felt like it could come unhinged at any second...

I was doing exactly as you were describing. It's like the punk-rock of electronic music. Not being locked in, but still very much capitalizing on the utility of the synthesizer. If I wanted an arpeggio to loop, I would play it until I got it perfect and then loop it myself.

I wish more producers would step away from the grid and give this style a try. Human hands still control synths, so why not let that show through in the music?

>>51665407
Do you like Gary Numan?

>>51665392
It's not much, like I said. Less than a degree, but more than a diploma. If I had taken a course in music theory I would have got the degree, but that's another year for shit I already know.

>>51665391
The problem is nobody wants to buy it. It's heavy and it sounds like crap. Not a lot of places to go from there.

>>51665417
I would really say he was an inspiration to me in any capacity, but yes, yes I do.

I'm aware of that aesthetic in synth-punk and new wave (post-guitars), but in today's music, who actually physically "plays" the synth?

stop arguing about vsts vs hardware. both are fine, both are fun, both are different. i use a plethora of both because i have $$$ dont tell me how to spend my $$$ let people do waht they want!!!111!

>>51665499
These guys play the synth
http://youtu.be/lVmmYMwFj1I

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>>51665407
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZXLyeatI0s#t=325

Gotye really nails this shit, he's clearly a fan of VST's and digital shit too but uses that stuff and acoustic drums and what not and this album just sounds fucking amazing from an engineering/sound perspective.

ITT: Pricks who can't make good music trying to tell people people how to make good music via what you spend your money on.

I'll make a better tune than any of you lot by sampling the sound of my ballz hitting your chin.

>>51665633
I've never really been jealous of a home organ until State of the Art. I even ha pretty damn cool organ with a touch sensitive monosynth.

>>51665721
prove it fag
I'll listen to it

>>51664405
>solo monosynth music is shit.

Only if you're just doing 'one note and filter sweeps' like OP said.

>>51665721
I dunno I'm pretty good I'm just also a massive cunt.

>>51665462
Give it to some poor and talented child. Today.

>>51665790
Come over, bring your chin.

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>>51665762
I used to have a Hammond Romance Transistor beast that was pretty cool but it shorted out because old circuit boards come apart eventually

It was neat though, maybe not as neat at Gotye's bigass Lowry but still

whats a good device for sequencing multiple things via MIDI. getting some new gear and want to to the hardware only trip but i dont really have a proper sequencer

>>51665985
Depends how much you're willing to spend.

Be aware that most hardware sequencers are a ball ache to learn but you can do great things if you put the time in and it's lush not staring at a computer while making music.

>>51666022
> it's lush not staring at a computer while making music.

thats my goal. but yeah w/e price it doesnt matter. need something to shoot for

>>51666062
In that case this is the daddy: http://www.sequentix.com/cirklon.htm

>>51666104
holy fuck that is so legit. honestly 1500ish isnt as bad as i thought it was gonna be

>>51665430
lel

>>51665803
you're not good, you're shit.

>>51664806
>now to learn how to synth
You made the right choice with the microbrute. It's probably the best synth in its price range to use to learn synthesis
Look up some video tutorials, there's a lot on YouTube. But a good way to figure it out is to just mess around

>>51666128
Really, really incredible piece of kit.

>>51664806
>>51666240

Fiddling good, youtube not so good, SoS good.

http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/allsynthsecrets.htm