Synthesizer Gear Porn ;-)

[dropforge]

Now that my wife has retired and we're both on a fixed income, the days of lusting and buying new synths and most gear is no longer an option. Unless of course I sell something to fund it, but I'm pretty happy with what I have. My D50, Ensoniq VFX-SD and Korg Wavestation were all bought new in the late 80's and are such a part of my studio, parting with them for any reason isn't going to happen.

I wish I hadn't sold my SD-1. I'm bending over...somebody just go ahead and kick my ass.

[Top Cat]

I wish I hadn't sold my SD-1. I'm bending over...somebody just go ahead and kick my ass.

Oh man, that's rough. When Ensoniq offered the upgrade board I jumped on it, and shipped it to off to Malvern for the SD-1 upgrade.
Over the years it's become one of my favorite synths. Just layering some of the patches and a few quick edits if you wish can yield some interesting patches.

[interbellum]

Funny clip by Gross Net for the track Of Late Capitalism, featuring a couple of synths....

[smcfee]

Move over Schmidt, there's a new god synth in town.

https://www.analoguesolutions.com/colossus

[Rarebird]

Move over Schmidt, there's a new god synth in town.

https://www.analoguesolutions.com/colossus

Makes my mouth water, but far above my budget.

[battema]

How about something a tad more reasonable, but also pretty remarkably stacked with features?

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...ng-synthesizer

First real new synth with polyphonic aftertouch AND a ribbon in forever. The controller features are enough to have me wide-eyed, but for those who just find the deep synth engine interesting there's also a cheaper desktop module version.

[Rarebird]

How about something a tad more reasonable, but also pretty remarkably stacked with features?

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...ng-synthesizer

First real new synth with polyphonic aftertouch AND a ribbon in forever. The controller features are enough to have me wide-eyed, but for those who just find the deep synth engine interesting there's also a cheaper desktop module version.

Interesting. I want it with editing and library software.

[battema]

ASM is a new company, but one of the dudes is from Arturia if memory serves...so, it's highly likely this will have strong software support as well.

[Rarebird]

ASM is a new company, but one of the dudes is from Arturia if memory serves...so, it's highly likely this will have strong software support as well.

It would be nice, because it is something I miss with my Waldorf Blofeld.

[battema]

I'm waffling on the Hydra to be honest. It's an AMAZING set of features, especially performance controls. But it's only 49 keys and apparently the ribbon doesn't work as well with my DDRM so while I could use it for the PolyAT and pseudo-MPE, I'd not have the ribbon. IF it sells well, I am hoping they'll consider a larger keybed (61 or 76 keys). If that happens, I'm all over that

[Buddhabreath]

Hello synth lovers. Sorry if this has been raised before. I'm primarily (like 95%) an acoustic player, however I've observed that there are a lot of synth pedals for electric guitar out there. Any thoughts on what to look at, experience with these pedals, recommendations etc.? I'd like to be able to spew out some fat, fuzzy and chirpy synth lines via guitar. Maybe there's some other (non-pedal) interface that is superior for the money? I know very little of the subject.

[battema]

Howdy - I don't have personal experience with this specific pedal, but I have three other Meris pedals and absolutely swear by them:

https://www.meris.us/product/enzo/

[Buddhabreath]

^^^
Thanks, that looks pretty freakin' cool!

[battema]

Meris pedals are amazeballs, IMHO. I have the Mercury7 and it is my absolute go-to for big shimmering reverbs. The Polymoon is the a blend of a cool delay, phaser/flanger, and even rudimentary reverb all at once. And the Ottobit is the best bitcrusher I've used so far (I used to have a Geiger Counter and while it was amazingly versatile, it was more of a "program in advance" device compared to the Ottobit).

So yeah...their devices generally deliver on the goods. Of course, there are plenty of others out there.

Happy hunting!

[hippypants]

That ASM Hydra looks incredible, and compared to a lot of synths, priced about right for the features.

The new Prog magazine has an interview with Peter Baumann, and Tony Banks, among Camel too. If the price of the magazine is too high, you can get an e-version, via pocketmags.com , which is what I do. Works well, saves paper.

I'd been looking at pedals for guitar too, what a rabbit hole. A lot of those modeling pedals combine a lot of different sounds into one unit, though you'll need a iPad, laptop, etc.

[Top Cat]

That ASM Hydra looks incredible, and compared to a lot of synths, priced about right for the features.

The new Prog magazine has an interview with Peter Baumann, and Tony Banks, among Camel too. If the price of the magazine is too high, you can get an e-version, via pocketmags.com , which is what I do. Works well, saves paper.

I'd been looking at pedals for guitar too, what a rabbit hole. A lot of those modeling pedals combine a lot of different sounds into one unit, though you'll need a iPad, laptop, etc.

I just picked up the BOSS GT-1 Guitar Effects Processor and find it very nice to use. Lots of good sounds, amp emulations, etc. You can also use the effects and an amp in combination.
They cost around $199.00USD
https://www.boss.info/us/products/gt-1/

[hippypants]

Sounds good. There's a lot of ways to go with that, and that's a good broad, self-contained pedal. I can see why these pedals sell well.

[BobM]

I gave up my keyboards over 2 decades ago but recently I've got the itch to start playing again. I would want a single keyboard that can do most anything, from piano to organ to synth and connect to a laptop for more expansion later on. I love the idea of the Nord Stage 3, but the price ... whew! I saw the Korg Kross 88 MB advertised recently and it looks nice, features, included sounds, weighted keyboard, price. https://www.korg.com/us/products/synthesizers/kross2_88mb/

What suggestions would you guys make for someone like me, used to be a good/great player who knew analogue synths back in the day but wants to keep this a hobby and has been out of touch with what's going on for a while?

Also would need a speaker to play it through and no idea what to get there.

Thanks

[Top Cat]

I gave up my keyboards over 2 decades ago but recently I've got the itch to start playing again. I would want a single keyboard that can do most anything, from piano to organ to synth and connect to a laptop for more expansion later on. I love the idea of the Nord Stage 3, but the price ... whew! I saw the Korg Kross 88 MB advertised recently and it looks nice, features, included sounds, weighted keyboard, price. https://www.korg.com/us/products/synthesizers/kross2_88mb/

What suggestions would you guys make for someone like me, used to be a good/great player who knew analogue synths back in the day but wants to keep this a hobby and has been out of touch with what's going on for a while?

Also would need a speaker to play it through and no idea what to get there.

Thanks

It's great you want to start playing again, and after you've been away for awhile, technology moves so fast, you can feel like you're on another planet when looking at today's new gear.

You didn't mention your budget, but since you mentioned the Korg Kross I'll use that as a ballpark figure starting point.
I have the Korg Kronos 2 61 keys synth workstation and I can tell you the Kronos line is fantastic. Great pianos, electric pianos, organs, orchrestral, acoustic, and analog modeling synthesizers.
The library is so large it has a hard-drive in it.
Here's a link, the new one's are expensive, but if you're open to used, you can find one for a lot less money. This link is for informational purposes only.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...er-workstation

Yamaha recently released the Yamaha MODX line of synths, which is a scaled down version of their flagship synthesizer the Montage. It's receiving great reviews from users.
Like the Kronos it contains a broad range of instruments from Piano to FM synthesis.
Here is a link with details from Sweetwater. They also come in the MODX 7 and 6 versions.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...ey-synthesizer

There is also a great thread about it here:https://www.gearslutz.com/board/elec...maha-modx.html
59 pages of discussion(however you have to weed through some of the trolling negative nellies over there).

[hippypants]

Also would need a speaker to play it through and no idea what to get there.

From reading about it on YT, it looks like you'd need a speaker, but speakers, amps are pretty cheap now, and you wouldn't need a large one.

The Korg Kross, would probably be a good one.

Here's a sound demo of the ASM Hydrasynth. The same guy also has a video talking about all the controls on it, which 99% of it flew over my head, but if you want to search that one out it's over there. The unit next to the ASM Hydrasynth is the model without the keyboard, but he said they do about the same things.

[BobM]

I love the sliders on the Nord so I can easily change organ tones while playing. The Kronos obviously has great piano and organ controls. I see sliders on the Yamaha, can they be used for that? Don;t know about the versatility of the Kross there though.

[battema]

You can also look at something that has a close coupling between hard+soft synth options, like an Arturia Keylab. The controller has lots of sliders and other hands-on controls, and is paired with different selections from their V-Collection which includes about 15 virtual instruments including piano, B3, CS-80, Jupiter, OB-X, DX7, Farsifa, Rhodes, Minimoog, Mellotron, and more.

As for speakers...if you go with the above, your computer's speakers would be the solution. Otherwise, there are a variety of solid/inexpensive monitors and amps around these days that would work.

[Top Cat]

You can also look at something that has a close coupling between hard+soft synth options, like an Arturia Keylab. The controller has lots of sliders and other hands-on controls, and is paired with different selections from their V-Collection which includes about 15 virtual instruments including piano, B3, CS-80, Jupiter, OB-X, DX7, Farsifa, Rhodes, Minimoog, Mellotron, and more.

As for speakers...if you go with the above, your computer's speakers would be the solution. Otherwise, there are a variety of solid/inexpensive monitors and amps around these days that would work.

Agree with John, the Arturia V collection is amazing, and the Keylab is amazing.

As for speakers, I use these for monitoring mixes and playback. Great sound and affordable. Highly recommended. I can't remember, but think they retail for around $299US.
https://www.ikmultimedia.com/products/iloudmm/

[Rarebird]

The Keylab 88 mkII looks attractive. Weighted keyboard, with aftertouch and you get Analog lab for free.

[Top Cat]

I forgot to suggest this keyboard as well, just released. Kurzweil PC4 88 at a great price. https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...er-workstation