Ableton Forum

I've focused most of my time and energy on songwriting and music production, and as a result spending time/energy on becoming a master (or, lets be realistic, just proficient) patch designer has taken a far backseat to the rest. But I'm starting to feel ready to move from 'synth patch tweaker' to 'synth patch maker/designer.' I understand all the basics of synthesis, mostly in the subtractive realm but also some others. That is to say, I'm not a NOOB or beginner, but someone who knows the tools and concepts behind it all but hasn't gone in depth with actually learning how to build anything from scratch worth using. I want to start simple, with VA subtractive, but move on from there into more complex things like FM.

So the question is, what do you recommend as the best synth for really starting to build your own patches? I find absynth way too complex, for example, to be a contender at this point. Feel free to mention anything not in the poll (it's mostly made up of stuff I already own), and please recognize that i'm a MAC user so they've got to be AU (god I miss synth1.....sigh)

thanks,
-M

A hardware synth FTW. Knobs will allow you to learn much faster.

Virus
Nord Lead

Tod

ChiDJ wrote:A hardware synth FTW. Knobs will allow you to learn much faster.

Virus
Nord Lead

Tod

I had a Novation KS Rack, confused me. Brought massive, and learnt the basic ins and out of synthesis in a night. Much easier seeing things happen and a reaction on a screen then twiddling a real nob and not knowing exactly what it does. The manual really helped with Massive too. Was an exponential learning curve from there.
But everyone has a different way of learning.

juno

ChiDJ wrote:A hardware synth FTW. Knobs will allow you to learn much faster.

Virus
Nord Lead

Tod

I'm all software, save my apc40 and my controller keyboard. And that 'aint gonna change.

-M

I suggest Reaktor.

I voted Sylenth. Even though there are synths up there I use more often, Sylenth is perfect for learning sythesis with because it covers the basics with a GUI that is easy to navigate without any bells or whistles to confuse or distract from the core. once you get good with Sylenth you can graduate to more complicated synths

My vote would be Sylenth or Analog. Both are relatively simple subtractive synths with all the basic modulation features. Then start reading these:

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

Tarekith wrote:My vote would be Sylenth or Analog. Both are relatively simple subtractive synths with all the basic modulation features. Then start reading these:

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

cosign, that SOS series was a fantastic read.

something like a ROland SH 201 hardware synth (although it's an 'emulated' analog) is the easiest way.

Failing this - any of Arturia's classic synth emulations (mini-moog would be a good place to start, but the Prophet V (because it also includes the VS wavetable synth) and JP8V (has more buttons and some extra features) are OK albeit a little more complex) because they program just like the analog subtractive hardware they emulate and the GUI looks just like a minimized version of the same hardware.

Massive is also quite easy to get to grips with, although it is technically a wavetable synth with some subtractive capability. Sylenth is also quite easy to get into. Zebra - offers more features and functionality, so it's not quite the best one to learn on for my money, although because it goes deep it is better than many on this list for overall sound design/capability.

go modular!

Reason?

mholloway wrote:

ChiDJ wrote:A hardware synth FTW. Knobs will allow you to learn much faster.

Virus
Nord Lead

Tod

I'm all software, save my apc40 and my controller keyboard. And that 'aint gonna change.

-M

To Each his own...But, you can only "mouse" one knob at a time and, even with a dedicated controller, it's just not the same. Enjoy the ride square pusher.

I actually think that Operator is pretty good for learning synthesis. It is well documented, there are video tutorials by the person who designed it, and its features can be pared down to very 'vanilla' elements, but also has some more advanced features when you want to add them in.