Synth I’ve Been Loving You…

Coda

Coda

Well-known member
I think I need some synth in my life. I have little to no knowledge of synths at all. I am looking at some of the Behringer models, and would like feedback from synth people…

Here’s what I’m looking at so far:

www.sweetwater.com

Behringer JT-4000 Micro Hybrid Modeling Synthesizer

4-voice Portable Hybrid Modeling Synthesizer with 32 Memory Presets, 16-note Capacitive Touch Keyboard, 6 Waveforms, Analog Filter, Arpeggiator, and LFO
www.sweetwater.com www.sweetwater.com

www.sweetwater.com

Behringer Pro VS Mini Hybrid Vector Synthesizer

4-voice Hybrid Synthesizer Module with 16 Vector Oscillators, Wavetable Synthesis, Analog Low-pass Filter/Sequencer/Arpeggiator, Filter/Amplifier/Oscillator Envelopes, 2 LFOs, USB-C, Sync In, and MIDI In
www.sweetwater.com www.sweetwater.com



There’s supposed to be a Synthi AKS clone, but it hasn’t been released yet…

I am definitely open to additional options, the above are just what tickled my fancy so far.

Any advice would be appreciated.
 
Whats the budget? :) Behringer are good in that they're cheap, but be aware that they don't really have any resell value. My guess is that you want analog. Lots of options there! You want a fat, highly modifiable single voice (monophonic) or polyphonic, so you can play chords as well? Also, do you have a midi keyboard or something?

A fun, punk-ish brand, with some nifty affordable semi-modular stuff that you can expand with pedals that have CV in / out.

Single voice, moog style (mwoaaaab)
www.sweetwater.com

Cre8audio East Beast Semi-modular Analog Synthesizer

40HP Semi-modular Synth with Multi-mode Filter, Envelope Generator, LFO, MIDI, and Eurorack Compatibility
www.sweetwater.com www.sweetwater.com

Single voice, Buchla style (bleep bloop)
www.sweetwater.com

Cre8audio West Pest Semi-modular Analog Synthesizer

40HP Semi-modular Synth with Wavefolding, 32-step Sequencer, FM, LFO, VCA, MIDI, and Eurorack Compatibility
www.sweetwater.com www.sweetwater.com

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Six voices for a rather reasonable price. You can easily download a template that tells you all the secondary and more functions, making the interface less of a pain.
www.sweetwater.com

Dreadbox Nymphes 6-voice Desktop Analog Synthesizer

6-voice Desktop Analog Synthesizer with VCO, VCF, HPF, 2 LFOs, Digital Reverb, and 49 Presets
www.sweetwater.com www.sweetwater.com

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Somewhat more expensive, but a great monophonic starter as it was put together as a learning tool as well, with voice card expanding possibilities. So I felt it was worth mentioning. Import fees make this a less obvious choice though, as there's plenty of brands on your soil to choose from.
www.sweetwater.com

Erica Synths Bullfrog Semi-modular Analog Synthesizer

Semi-modular Analog Subtractive Synthesizer with VCO, VCF, VCA/Delay, 2 x Looping Envelope Generator, Sample & Hold, PWM, Clock Divider, and 6 Voice Cards
www.sweetwater.com www.sweetwater.com

All this is a bit of a conversation starter; I'll gladly delve deeper into this with you. Also, I like to meet the synth folks here, so I keep an eye out on this thread! Also, also, look on Reverb for good deals. Many synth folks are OCD about their gear's look.
:)
 
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I don’t plan on reselling anything. I like the idea of polyphonic, but I do understand that it comes at higher price points. I don’t have a midi keyboard, but I can get one, so that’s not as much of an issue…

I’m looking for something that gets my feet wet: not too hard to use, options, fun, comes with a cape…
 
Behringer is on a clone binge, but did some original work as well. This is a truly affordable semi-modular beast that will have you go on creating new things for ages. The "problem" with (semi-) modular is that patch cords are your, well.. Patches. Though the depth of creating your own sound feels limitless, there's no recall. The Pro800 does allow you to save your patches. Don't mind people say the tone is a bit thin... You can patch pedals inside and outside the chain. It's gonna be very daunting at first though!

Had to look it up: The Neutron also doesn't run on eurorack's hot levels, so it's way more pedal friendly than the eurorack stuff I mentioned above.

www.sweetwater.com

Behringer Neutron Semi-Modular Analog Synth

80HP Eurorack-sized Analog Monosynth Module with 2 Oscillators, 56 Patch Points, Lowpass/Highpass VCF, Filter and Amp Envelopes, LFO, and CV I/O
www.sweetwater.com www.sweetwater.com

Plus, it allows for plenty of mods, so you can really make it your own

 
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I've been playing piano/keyboards since I was 8 in 1964 (guitar/flute/harmonica since 67). And even tho I was a computer programmer for a career, I didn't want to deal with handshaking soup induced lag, so I went with a full featured, more expensive model.

It is incredibly awesome, has built in sounds plus you can add/build your own, run programs, etc. Has all the awesome Hammond Organ sounds, and one of my fav's is the pipe organ sound. Like right out of a Boris Karloff horror flick..... Plug this sucker into my 1000w per channel power amp with my JBL JRX125's (dual 15" woofer/mids with a horn) sound reinforcement speakers and it's downright breathtaking..... and EASY to use.

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I bought my first synth a few years ago. It’s a Roland JP08, a reissue of the Jupiter with digital emulation and 4 voices. You can buy a little keyboard attachment for it or get an external midi keyboard. The controls are tiny but you can map them via midi (in case you want to adjust the filter or something). That scratched the synth itch for me and I haven’t had the urge to buy more since.
 
IMHO, a used Micro Korg is a great first synth. Depending on where you live you can get them for a few hundred on CL or offer up.
 
If you're looking for real cheap the korg volca series is a good starting point. They even have a modular synth.
 
Back in the '80s I had a Roland Juno 106. I guess it wasn't cheap at the time but it was a lot more affordable than most - especially things like a Jupiter 8. Very easy to use and some lovely fat analog sounds. Recently I was shocked to see how much they fetch used - whoever heard of "vintage synths"?? I had assumed they'd be dirt cheap, being ancient tech by today's standards.

After that I tried a Yamaha DX-something. Way more difficult to edit sounds on. But the DX-7 was pretty much the sound of the '80s.

I would definitely recommend getting something with a decent keyboard and polyphonic.
 
Bio77 said:
IMHO, a used Micro Korg is a great first synth. Depending on where you live you can get them for a few hundred on CL or offer up.
Click to expand...
It has a cool, crummy digital sound for sure... But the controls are a pain. It's basically this engine, in a small package...

I maintain that a one knob per function (or close to it), is the way to go, to grasp how everything interacts. The MicroKorg is more of program then play synth, instead of an explorer.

Korg MS2000.jpg
 
HamishR said:
Back in the '80s I had a Roland Juno 106. I guess it wasn't cheap at the time but it was a lot more affordable than most - especially things like a Jupiter 8. Very easy to use and some lovely fat analog sounds. Recently I was shocked to see how much they fetch used - whoever heard of "vintage synths"?? I had assumed they'd be dirt cheap, being ancient tech by today's standards.

After that I tried a Yamaha DX-something. Way more difficult to edit sounds on. But the DX-7 was pretty much the sound of the '80s.

I would definitely recommend getting something with a decent keyboard and polyphonic.
Click to expand...
Yeah, 80s synths have become collectors items. They're not played. They're put into "studios" and photographed for some online traction. Makes them look more like museums than a place where music is being made, but whatever. I am still not sure which is worse, the elitist guitar or synth community; they're both insufferable in their own ways. Anyway, yeah... 80s.... Old analog, you know the drill. The digital era of the 90s is now slowly becoming popular (well, more like 80s workship is making place for 90s worship as a whole, for a while). so those will be hunted down, with ridiculous inflated prices as a result. Just have some Youtuber with some reach play one and, tadaa!
 
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tegendemuur said:
It has a cool, crummy digital sound for sure... But the controls are a pain. It's basically this engine, in a small package...

I maintain that a one knob per function (or close to it), is the way to go, to grasp how everything interacts. The MicroKorg is more of program then play synth, instead of an explorer.

View attachment 77947
Click to expand...
MS2K are still fun. Unless you have to find a replacement screen ...
 
Korg Volcas are a great intro into the synth world. Fun, cheap, and easy to use. Good reviews. Still being made after 10+ years. I have four of them now. (I recently acquired the FM from a fellow forum member)
The Volca Keys helped me to understand the basics of synth music making. And what controls do what. Envelopes and oscillators etc…

I only use them occasionally. But they are FUN and INSPIRING. I hope you enjoy your synth quest.
 
kristopher said:
Korg Volcas are a great intro into the synth world. Fun, cheap, and easy to use. Good reviews. Still being made after 10+ years. I have four of them now. (I recently acquired the FM from a fellow forum member)
The Volca Keys helped me to understand the basics of synth music making. And what controls do what. Envelopes and oscillators etc…

I only use them occasionally. But they are FUN and INSPIRING. I hope you enjoy your synth quest.
Click to expand...
This is currently winning the race. Looking into my amplification options…and whether I should buy/rent a fog machine and disco ball…
 
Coda said:
This is currently winning the race. Looking into my amplification options…and whether I should buy/rent a fog machine and disco ball…
Click to expand...
I might get on the volca train at some point. I'd like to have a simple cheap drum machine to play with, but I can never decide on the volca beats vs the volca drum, and then I just get forget about it and move on.

As far as amplification, if you're looking for a cheap option, and not looking to throw your own raves, 2.1 computer speaker rigs work great, and seem to show up cheap/ in the trash near me fairly often.
 
Erik S said:
I might get on the volca train at some point. I'd like to have a simple cheap drum machine to play with, but I can never decide on the volca beats vs the volca drum, and then I just get forget about it and move on.

As far as amplification, if you're looking for a cheap option, and not looking to throw your own raves, 2.1 computer speaker rigs work great, and seem to show up cheap/ in the trash near me fairly often.
Click to expand...
I have a Rumble Bass Amp that has RCA inputs that bypass the preamp. After looking over the user manual, it should work fine…
 
I may get ridiculed for mentioning these, but really, the Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators are stupid fun and are pretty powerful all things considered.

https://reverb.com/item/81252951-te...9.iDcCh2hp3Kilvey15cUulpYxQsk7Gp6epF6ETUlbXy4

Other options that are a little more $$ are the Moog Werkstatt or Mavis kits. Both are monophonic but still get that Moog sound. I have a Mother 32 and although I would like a second oscillator, it def scratches that synth itch even w/o using the patch bay
 
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Diynot said:
I may get ridiculed for mentioning these, but really, the Teenage Engineering Pocket Operators are stupid fun and are pretty powerful all things considered.

https://reverb.com/item/81252951-te...9.iDcCh2hp3Kilvey15cUulpYxQsk7Gp6epF6ETUlbXy4

Other options that are a little more $$ are the Moog Werkstatt or Mavis kits. Both are monophonic but still get that Moog sound. I have a Mother 32 and although I would like a second oscillator, but it def scratches that synth itch even w/o using the patch bay
Click to expand...
You're recommending the right stuff by TE. No bashing from me! :) - I'd go as far as saying that all their stuff has it's value. There's so many brands that overprice their products for the sake of catering to a very specific demographic. Nothing wrong with that. The amount of options for making electronic music (or just noodling around) is staggering, and at every budget there's amazing things to be found.
 
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I started putting together a dotcom rig about 20 years ago. At that time, they had an entry level offer where you made 12 monthly payments. On the first month you get the enclosure with an installed power supply. Then you get another module after every monthly payment.

It looks like that’s long gone, probably replaced with things like a square payment plan. It was fun getting a new module every month.

I’ve had excellent customer service. My MIDI module needed calibration, and they did it for just the cost of shipping both ways. That was 15 years after I bought it!

synthesizers.com

IMG_0920.jpeg
 
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