Synthesizer Gear Porn ;-)

[battema]

And one more thing: as the self-appointed voice of retro, hardware-based gear here on this thread, I have to say that the recent Rarebird/Battema comments about the clever use of the DAW options to do some very cool things have really opened my eyes to the very helpful possibilities in that realm. I very much see the allure and benefits of that world. Kudos to you both, as well as all the other 21st Century Musicians o this thread.

In my case, a DAW was a necessity as I didn't quite have access to much old school tech, and certainly didn't have the space for it in my little rental apartments! That also fueled some of the MIDI note control stuff; I couldn't afford a nicer control surface back then so being able to map the commands right onto my MIDI keyboard was far more efficient/affordable/space-friendly

But hey, happy to feel all trendy and hip and things (a rarity for a prog keyboardist in this 21st century for sure ), even for just a moment!

[pstrawser]

Don’t get me wrong…while I often cringe when I hear those live Genesis tracks with the CP-70, my total love for pretty much all keyboards means I would welcome one into my already-crowded studio.

And one more thing: as the self-appointed voice of retro, hardware-based gear here on this thread, I have to say that the recent Rarebird/Battema comments about the clever use of the DAW options to do some very cool things have really opened my eyes to the very helpful possibilities in that realm. I very much see the allure and benefits of that world. Kudos to you both, as well as all the other 21st Century Musicians o this thread.[/QUOTE]

I’d like to second that sentiment re: DAWs and all they can do. The old-school gear thing (as much as I obviously love it) has a ton of limitations and worshipping the old stuff can definitely be taken a bit far….and I know I’m VERY guilty here. The ability to save an infinite number of presets in my DAW/softsynths, the quality of the sounds, the control factor with MIDI/MPE, and having literally ANY sound at your fingertips is pretty amazing….something I can’t do with all my old stuff.

I fully admit to using software for about 90% of what I produce. It’s just too convenient to NOT use it. It’s a bit embarrassing, considering how much hardware I have.

Speaking of the CP70…..I LOVE mine, but I almost always use software when recording. It’s just easier on my workflow to use a plug-in. It’s always a matter of who’s using it, of course, and I love having both. But I know that if I had to get rid of all my old-school hardware stuff tomorrow, I know I’d be fine.

Except for my Hammond and Rhodes. You’ll have to bury those with me I think!

Also…..wondering if ya’ll have seen this interesting conversation with Mark Barton and Anthony Marinelli about ditching the old analog stuff. They both make some really good points on both sides:

https://youtu.be/kk-3vXOAtVo?si=zZXU55oQUh4Ye07m

I still need to explore more about how to be more creative with my DAW and software synths…..sometimes I feel like I’m using the same old sounds over and over…..

I’m curious: what are some of your favorite tips and tricks for getting the most out of your DAW/softsynths? Templates? Controllers?

[Rarebird]

Don’t get me wrong…while I often cringe when I hear those live Genesis tracks with the CP-70, my total love for pretty much all keyboards means I would welcome one into my already-crowded studio.

And one more thing: as the self-appointed voice of retro, hardware-based gear here on this thread, I have to say that the recent Rarebird/Battema comments about the clever use of the DAW options to do some very cool things have really opened my eyes to the very helpful possibilities in that realm. I very much see the allure and benefits of that world. Kudos to you both, as well as all the other 21st Century Musicians o this thread.

I’d like to second that sentiment re: DAWs and all they can do. The old-school gear thing (as much as I obviously love it) has a ton of limitations and worshipping the old stuff can definitely be taken a bit far….and I know I’m VERY guilty here. The ability to save an infinite number of presets in my DAW/softsynths, the quality of the sounds, the control factor with MIDI/MPE, and having literally ANY sound at your fingertips is pretty amazing….something I can’t do with all my old stuff.

I fully admit to using software for about 90% of what I produce. It’s just too convenient to NOT use it. It’s a bit embarrassing, considering how much hardware I have.

Speaking of the CP70…..I LOVE mine, but I almost always use software when recording. It’s just easier on my workflow to use a plug-in. It’s always a matter of who’s using it, of course, and I love having both. But I know that if I had to get rid of all my old-school hardware stuff tomorrow, I know I’d be fine.

Except for my Hammond and Rhodes. You’ll have to bury those with me I think!

Also…..wondering if ya’ll have seen this interesting conversation with Mark Barton and Anthony Marinelli about ditching the old analog stuff. They both make some really good points on both sides:

https://youtu.be/kk-3vXOAtVo?si=zZXU55oQUh4Ye07m

I still need to explore more about how to be more creative with my DAW and software synths…..sometimes I feel like I’m using the same old sounds over and over…..

I’m curious: what are some of your favorite tips and tricks for getting the most out of your DAW/softsynths? Templates? Controllers?

Funny thing is, this morning I dreamed about synthesizers (sounds weird perhaps), but in my dream I was in a conversation with someone about it and about hardware vs software. Well with hardware I would need a lot more room, even just for the synthesizers I have used as software. Besides, some models are hard to get and don't have midi. My list of used synthesizers (software) Cherry Audio Memorymode, Miniverse, SEM, Eightvoice, Mercury 4, GX-80, Arturia ARP2600, Modular Moog, Jup-8, SEM, CS-80, Mini. Some of these are available in new versions, but not all of them.

[battema]

I’m curious: what are some of your favorite tips and tricks for getting the most out of your DAW/softsynths? Templates? Controllers?

Hey Pat (et al)! For me personally: I like bending my DAW to my will, rather than the other way around It's still early and pre-coffee for me but I'm just going to rattle off some things.

Things I tend to focus on up-front are keyboard shortcuts, toolbars, views and other sundry defaults.

Views and Toolbars: I think most DAW default screens look busy as hell; I kind of prefer a more minimalist view so I don't feel like I'm playing "where's Waldo?" every time I'm looking for a particular feature. So I typically go through the toolbars for starters and turn off all the ones that I am rarely or never likely to use on a daily basis. I also tend to hide or remove things like console/mixer views and other things, leaving just a blank track view as my entry point.

Themes: I work with computers constantly throughout the day so eye strain is a real thing for me; in addition to using blue-light filtering glasses I always dive in and see if there is a dark mode or color theme for the DAW that will make it easiest for me to work in front of my DAW for extended periods (more critical during mixing/production time than playing time but still).

Shortcuts: This might just be me, but on any given day there are probably fewer than a dozen or so features in my DAW that I'm using heavily; with that in mind, I look for the best/easiest way to access those quickly. Can I set a default on clip editing so the right sort of view pops up? Are there computer keyboard shortcuts that let my fingers access a feature more quickly than a menu dive? Can those shortcuts be customized? Can I do something more snazzy like bind a shortcut to a MIDI key press or a button on one of my controllers?

Templates: Once I've got things in a place where I'm happy with the flow I definitely create custom default templates; typically there's one that is THE one that works 99% of the time, but I also do some custom setups for particular types of projects. Also, there are cool things like track templates that can also make things more efficient. For example, I had an older VST that only worked correctly when the audio output was in mono mode, otherwise it only output to the left channel. Once I had the VST and audio/MIDI tracks configured so that it worked as desired, I saved those as a template to make things easier in the future. I used to do FX chain templates as well, but these days I mostly just recreate them as I go.

YouTube tutorials and Google searches are also my best friend for particular features or techniques that aren't intuitive or obvious: just last week I watched some videos to remember how to setup sidechain compression in Reaper, simply because it's been a minute since I had to tackle that chore.

As to soft synths? YT and Google remain besties...I also tend to spend time doing nothing but going through the presets to find and tag any favorites. In some cases, I'll deconstruct the preset to get a better idea of how the sound was created. I did this with my Black Corp Xerxes to understand what made Jean Michel Jarre's Lazer Harp so unique (it was a unique oscillator relationship along with sync that the Elka Synthex did...the Xerxes is a Synthex clone).

Anyway, I should pretend to care about my day job at this point but I'm sure more convo will be forthcoming

[Rarebird]

Well as DAW I use Cubase and I only open the screens I need, which is mostly the score editor at first. With the mainscreen I've changed the backgroundcolour to blue, because I like that.

With softsynths I tend to create my own sounds, basicly from scratch. But well I have to admit I mostly use the analog stuff.

[dropforge]

A nice pic that's circulating on the Bookface. Everything you'd want by Roland forty years ago!

synthesizer_1983-rolandarsenal.jpg

[battema]

Saw that! Thought it was kind of cool

[dropforge]

Hell, I'll take a Jupiter-5-¼. Leave out the arpeg.

[Rarebird]

I want the modular on the background.

[pstrawser]

Hey Pat (et al)! For me personally: I like bending my DAW to my will, rather than the other way around It's still early and pre-coffee for me but I'm just going to rattle off some things.

Things I tend to focus on up-front are keyboard shortcuts, toolbars, views and other sundry defaults.

Views and Toolbars: I think most DAW default screens look busy as hell; I kind of prefer a more minimalist view so I don't feel like I'm playing "where's Waldo?" every time I'm looking for a particular feature. So I typically go through the toolbars for starters and turn off all the ones that I am rarely or never likely to use on a daily basis. I also tend to hide or remove things like console/mixer views and other things, leaving just a blank track view as my entry point.

Themes: I work with computers constantly throughout the day so eye strain is a real thing for me; in addition to using blue-light filtering glasses I always dive in and see if there is a dark mode or color theme for the DAW that will make it easiest for me to work in front of my DAW for extended periods (more critical during mixing/production time than playing time but still).

Shortcuts: This might just be me, but on any given day there are probably fewer than a dozen or so features in my DAW that I'm using heavily; with that in mind, I look for the best/easiest way to access those quickly. Can I set a default on clip editing so the right sort of view pops up? Are there computer keyboard shortcuts that let my fingers access a feature more quickly than a menu dive? Can those shortcuts be customized? Can I do something more snazzy like bind a shortcut to a MIDI key press or a button on one of my controllers?

Templates: Once I've got things in a place where I'm happy with the flow I definitely create custom default templates; typically there's one that is THE one that works 99% of the time, but I also do some custom setups for particular types of projects. Also, there are cool things like track templates that can also make things more efficient. For example, I had an older VST that only worked correctly when the audio output was in mono mode, otherwise it only output to the left channel. Once I had the VST and audio/MIDI tracks configured so that it worked as desired, I saved those as a template to make things easier in the future. I used to do FX chain templates as well, but these days I mostly just recreate them as I go.

YouTube tutorials and Google searches are also my best friend for particular features or techniques that aren't intuitive or obvious: just last week I watched some videos to remember how to setup sidechain compression in Reaper, simply because it's been a minute since I had to tackle that chore.

As to soft synths? YT and Google remain besties...I also tend to spend time doing nothing but going through the presets to find and tag any favorites. In some cases, I'll deconstruct the preset to get a better idea of how the sound was created. I did this with my Black Corp Xerxes to understand what made Jean Michel Jarre's Lazer Harp so unique (it was a unique oscillator relationship along with sync that the Elka Synthex did...the Xerxes is a Synthex clone).

Anyway, I should pretend to care about my day job at this point but I'm sure more convo will be forthcoming

Meh.....caring about the day job is highly overrated!

All great suggestions! Thx John!

I'm with you on the DAW templates. Those are pretty indispensable for me now, along with shortcuts. I've also gotten into the habit of composing everything as a MIDI track in the DAW to begin with, and then sending that out to hardware (or software) synths later, and usually layering a ton of stuff on top of each other.

There's also a cool feature in Logic called capture recording, where the DAW "remembers" everything you play whenever you're playing the session back. It's almost like recording in reverse. It's a small and simple distinction from hitting a Big Red Button, but there's something to that function. Maybe it's psychological, but it helps me to work pretty face inside the environment. It's probably my favorite tool.

[battema]

Awesome, Pat

Also, just since we slightly let things peter out here, there's a pretty good "what's good with TD?" thread on the main page that might have a few good 'uns for you

[Gizmotron]

A nice pic that's circulating on the Bookface. Everything you'd want by Roland forty years ago!

synthesizer_1983-rolandarsenal.jpg

Yes, cool indeed.

Reminds me of the other night when I was watching an old Santana gig; his keyboardist had a Jupiter 8. And when Herbie Hancock sits in with the band a second Jupiter 8 is in front of him.

[pstrawser]

Awesome, Pat

Also, just since we slightly let things peter out here, there's a pretty good "what's good with TD?" thread on the main page that might have a few good 'uns for you

Thx John! I'll be digging into this! Checked out Poland a couple of weeks ago.....very cool stuff!

Also.....back on the RMI topic (briefly), I went back and dug up an old Kontakt library from Soniccounture that has a pretty groovy emulator called Rocksichord. It sounds great through the built-in Leslie effect! And best of all.....it's FREE! Check it out:

https://www.soniccouture.com/en/free-stuff/

[battema]

Oooooh, coolness! Always happy to peek at a new free library

Speaking of RMI and other oldie goodies, check this out

[interbellum]

Great key-library! Thanks.

[pstrawser]

Oooooh, coolness! Always happy to peek at a new free library

Speaking of RMI and other oldie goodies, check this out

Oooooh I love this! SO MANY CRAZY TOYS!!

[battema]

Right?? I just had a big ol' grin on my face the whole time it played

[Rarebird]

Oooooh, coolness! Always happy to peek at a new free library

Speaking of RMI and other oldie goodies, check this out

Nice. I suppose for that key library you need Kontakt?

[pstrawser]

Nice. I suppose for that key library you need Kontakt?

Yeah it looks like it. There used to be a free Kontakt Player version….not sure if that’s still a thing, or if it would work with this particular library.

[battema]

Sure is!

https://www.native-instruments.com/e...takt-7-player/

Based on a quick check, this indeed works with the current player

[Gizmotron]

Oooooh, coolness! Always happy to peek at a new free library

Speaking of RMI and other oldie goodies, check this out

Huge fun!

Loved the CZ-101 and the Evolver, as well as all the rare instruments. But what brand and model was the make-up mirror?? Lol

[Jimmy Giant]

A long time ago I bought a Kontakt set of 2 instruments but i don't recall from where. I think it was an individual. They were an RMI and a Pro Soloist sample set. Sounded good enough at the time.
I'll have to try them again when I get set back up. Basement still not in order after the repair.

[dropforge]

[battema]

WOW

[Rarebird]

I would love that and it would defenitly not stop me from making music.

Currently reading a book on Dutch composers and getting regrets I never studied composition, what I wanted, But well to get accepted on the academy of music you had to play an instrument.