Analogue Synth Reccomendations

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Machinesworking
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Re: Analogue Synth Reccomendations

Post by Machinesworking » Wed Jan 02, 2013 9:40 am

artpunk wrote:
Machinesworking wrote:My vote is for the Minataur.
Sounds freaking amazing, and comes with it's own built in controller. :wink:
I love the Minitaur as well, but the OP should be made aware that Minitaur's active pitch range tops out at C4/Midi note 72.
Important if the OP wants to play leads above that range. :D
True, rereading the "pad/lead sounds" part I think he's only going to get leads.
Analogue synths that do pads are awesome, and expensive.
Don't get me wrong here, I love analog poly synths, but digital pad sounds are freaking amazing, nothing to cry about.
I get HUGE pads layering analog and digital synths, and you could come dammed close if you used decent quality analog samples and a good pad machine like Absynth, Zebra etc.
Bass and lead are where analog can't be beat IMO.

joeyfivecents
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Re: Analogue Synth Reccomendations

Post by joeyfivecents » Thu Jan 03, 2013 4:09 am

I use a microKorg to do exactly what you're describing and it works flawlessly. I think it costs round $400. I also send midi sync from live (via my Saffire Pro 40) so I can use its arpeggiator. Get it. You won't regret it.
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#1thelark
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Minibrute opinions

Post by #1thelark » Wed Jan 16, 2013 8:25 am

I just played around with the minibrute for a longer time...
How do you like it in terms of versatility? It definitely can play some harsh sounds, but is it really more than a dubstep-bassline synth?
I'm still undecided...
Are there other analog keyboard-synths that offer that many controls plus more voices/osc?

#1thelark
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Re: Analogue Synth Reccomendations

Post by #1thelark » Thu Jan 17, 2013 5:57 pm

Bump... Anyone with minibrute-experience?

aioffermann
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Re: Analogue Synth Reccomendations

Post by aioffermann » Thu Jan 17, 2013 7:58 pm

Mopho or Tetra (Mopho X4) is probably the best choice, or anything from Elektron is my vote. Honestly, with analog stuff, just save and get some good stuff.

hps909
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Re: Analogue Synth Reccomendations

Post by hps909 » Thu Jan 17, 2013 9:16 pm

XSIMan wrote:Try U-he DIVA & ACE first if I had to go hardware it would be the Jupiter 8. You can't tell DIVA and a Jupiter 8 apart.
Obviously haven't played a Jupiter 8 ... Close but no cigar... Mopho is obvious choice in that near price range
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robleighton22
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Re: Analogue Synth Reccomendations

Post by robleighton22 » Thu Jan 17, 2013 11:09 pm

had a tetra and sold it. sounded weak in my opinon - also bought a vermona perfourmer - which is lush. i assume the vermona lancet sounds the same, around £300, def consider. no menu diving - just actual knobs, makes life so much easier. have no presets for me is actually a lot easier to be more creative. depends what you are looking for, but the fact you have to use the software for the mopho/tetra (and the fact the pots are rubbish) is a downer, and it is very aggressive sounding. i think if you're going analogue you want it to sound warm and juicy - so thumbs up for vermona on that one. the minataur sounds amazing btw, but it is limited if you want to use it for higher octaves...when i get a chance im def picking one up tho. would perfectly work as a bass synth.

aioffermann
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Re: Analogue Synth Reccomendations

Post by aioffermann » Thu Jan 17, 2013 11:23 pm

robleighton22 wrote:had a tetra and sold it. sounded weak in my opinon - also bought a vermona perfourmer - which is lush. i assume the vermona lancet sounds the same, around £300, def consider. no menu diving - just actual knobs, makes life so much easier. have no presets for me is actually a lot easier to be more creative. depends what you are looking for, but the fact you have to use the software for the mopho/tetra (and the fact the pots are rubbish) is a downer, and it is very aggressive sounding. i think if you're going analogue you want it to sound warm and juicy - so thumbs up for vermona on that one. the minataur sounds amazing btw, but it is limited if you want to use it for higher octaves...when i get a chance im def picking one up tho. would perfectly work as a bass synth.
With the right settings Tetra can be pretty good for warm dubby chords, although I'm not gonna lie the Vermona stuff straight up looks higher quality. I don't know what you mean about software for the Tetra/Mopho... I don't use any of that. Just assigned midi controls to tweak parameters.

Sounds like you've tried both. Tetra's pretty much the only real live polysynth I've used other than the Yamaha SK15 which sounds great but has no MIDI implementation. Out of curiosity I'd love to hear you compare/contrast Tetra vs Perfourmer more than just sound quality.

PS hows the midi implementation on the Perfourmer? The biggest draw of DSI for me is the quality of midi implementation.

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Re: Analogue Synth Reccomendations

Post by djadonis206 » Fri Jan 18, 2013 2:25 am

Elektron A4 all the way!
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#1thelark
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Re: Analogue Synth Reccomendations

Post by #1thelark » Fri Jan 18, 2013 12:45 pm

Elektron looks and sounds nice, but the minibrute-interface with all its faders and knobs is better...
There aren't many analog synths around that have so many faders and stuff, right?
I love the sound of the Elektron A4 but having to look at that ugly little lcd and fiddling around with those tinytiny knobs is really bad (reminds me of fruityloops ;-))... is it possible to control the A4 from an external midicontroller?

EDIT: Just hat a look at the Midichart of the A4... NRPN... I guess there's no such controller available to send those messages? Even Live wouldn't be able to control it, I guess??

synnack
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Re: Analogue Synth Reccomendations

Post by synnack » Fri Jan 18, 2013 1:56 pm

fellis wrote:cheers for the words, I'm not looking to spend a lot at allmaybe $200-$300 so super basic. Just want something to physically prgram rather than turning knobs on a screen all the time!

I'm a huge fan of analog synths (*cough* https://www.ableton.com/en/pages/artists/clint_sand/) but this is an odd reason to buy them when you can just buy USB knob controllers and get physical knobs for cheap?
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djadonis206
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Re: Analogue Synth Reccomendations

Post by djadonis206 » Fri Jan 18, 2013 4:16 pm

#1thelark wrote:Elektron looks and sounds nice, but the minibrute-interface with all its faders and knobs is better...
There aren't many analog synths around that have so many faders and stuff, right?
I love the sound of the Elektron A4 but having to look at that ugly little lcd and fiddling around with those tinytiny knobs is really bad (reminds me of fruityloops ;-))... is it possible to control the A4 from an external midicontroller?

EDIT: Just hat a look at the Midichart of the A4... NRPN... I guess there's no such controller available to send those messages? Even Live wouldn't be able to control it, I guess??
I think the A4 can be controlled with a midi controller. Or, you can set up macros in the performance page on the A4. Unfortantely, the macros can't be p-locked. Aside from the great sound, it's the sequencers and p-locks that set the Elektrons apart from everything else.

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ikeaboy
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Re: Analogue Synth Reccomendations

Post by ikeaboy » Fri Jan 18, 2013 4:25 pm

synnack wrote:
fellis wrote:cheers for the words, I'm not looking to spend a lot at allmaybe $200-$300 so super basic. Just want something to physically prgram rather than turning knobs on a screen all the time!

I'm a huge fan of analog synths (*cough* https://www.ableton.com/en/pages/artists/clint_sand/) but this is an odd reason to buy them when you can just buy USB knob controllers and get physical knobs for cheap?
Hi Clint, you know I always wanted a clip to change colour when played and to my credit instead of just asking if you make it available i searched max4live like a big boy and I found it! Hurrah! More strength to you!


Edit: Bloody autocorrect combined with crap spelling and brain deadedness
Last edited by ikeaboy on Sun Jan 20, 2013 8:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.

robleighton22
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Re: Analogue Synth Reccomendations

Post by robleighton22 » Sun Jan 20, 2013 2:16 pm

aioffermann wrote:With the right settings Tetra can be pretty good for warm dubby chords, although I'm not gonna lie the Vermona stuff straight up looks higher quality. I don't know what you mean about software for the Tetra/Mopho... I don't use any of that. Just assigned midi controls to tweak parameters.

Sounds like you've tried both. Tetra's pretty much the only real live polysynth I've used other than the Yamaha SK15 which sounds great but has no MIDI implementation. Out of curiosity I'd love to hear you compare/contrast Tetra vs Perfourmer more than just sound quality.

PS hows the midi implementation on the Perfourmer? The biggest draw of DSI for me is the quality of midi implementation.
I agree you can def make some nice sounds with the tetra, but I just felt it was more aggressive and warm. The way I compared it to the vermona initially was just comparing the raw waves - and the difference is enormous. The vermona's square is nice and round, saw is warm and fuzzy, sine is smooth, etc. The tetra is more buzzy analog sounding. Of course, you still program it to sound tamer - I just feel that some of my soft synths sound smoother straight up (if i didn't have the vermona as well, then I probably wouldn't have sold the tetra). For the sort of music I make, I want smooth sounds and filters, not rough and aggressive....some types of music the tetra would be perfect.

In terms of midi capabilities, the vermona perfourmer is more simple...again why i like it. it only transmits midi notes, and you can assign modulation on the wheels. but it is multi-timbral - which is the whole point of it. so i often have one track using synth 1, another using synth 2, and maybe one using synth 3+4....you can use any combination and it is simple to configure as every control is assigned to knob. the tetra is more fiddly (but can kind of work in a similar way). Obviously, the tetra can be assigned to other midi controllers - but I actually found it a pain to setup my midi controller with it. maybe if i had more patience then it wouldnt be an issue. the actual synths are more simple than the tetra (there are modulation capabilities, and you can get pretty complex with them...but it is no where near as deep as the tetra....personally i'm not into building really complex sounds, so that doesn't bother me). just wish there were more new analog poly synths - even simple ones like the juno. def gap in the market.

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