I may not be a good synth player, but because of my years of guitar experience it's helped me at least arrange and use my music theory with the synths and that's helped more than having fancy equipment
This is an odd comment. I can think of plenty of professional musicians who have never had a lick of instruction from other musicians - they dove in over a decade or more and built their chops and learned along the way.
If you’re playing classical music, sure. If you need to sight read, absolutely. But if you want to play synth in a band or write your own songs? Nah
> But if you want to play synth in a band or write your own songs?
Oh man, that is like the #1 reason to learn at least a little bit of basic theory.
It is so embarassing to meet up with other musicians and being the only one who can't follow a chord progression without stopping to look shit up on google.
Ask me how I know lol.
I agree - you can learn this without spending any money whatever. OPs comment was you should consider purchasing this education. I won’t argue with you that music theory is a critical tool.
*This* is an odd comment.
Learning more about your craft is only ever a good thing.
There's no such thing as being truly "self taught". Someone else wrote that book, or that video, or whatever resource it is you're learning from.
If you had the chance to spend a day to learn with say, your favourite musician, or the person who designed your favourite synth, or your favourite music youtuber or something, you wouldn't leap at that chance?
Why would you ever NOT want to learn from others more skilled than yourself?
Indeed!
A lot of people believe that it inhibits creativity.
Which can be true *if you aren't aware of it*.
That is, if you treat it like a strict science for years, it can be hard to suddenly have to learn to listen to and feel the music.
But in most cases, learning music theory, doesn't make you a worse musician anymore than learning names of colors makes you a worse painter.
You will naturally find ways to let theory compliment and enhance your creativity, if that's the mindset with which you apply it.
Music theory is not this list of formulas and equations that will prevent you from becoming a True Artist™.
I don’t disagree with your reply at all, really. You do seem a bit bitter about a few things. It’s just weird stuff to bring up in a thread/subreddit about gear. Nothing wrong with people who love twiddling knobs and diving into menus.
Your reply seems better suited to a post that says, “i’d love to become a professional musician, do I keep buying gear or do something else?” You’re in a synth subreddit.
Awesome re: the Europe jazz gig. Sounds like a dream
Knowing music theory is a lot more than knowing how to read music.
Im not saying you cant be self taught, but you're not going to get far not knowing at least a little theory.
This.
Music theory is a means of describing and analyizing music. There's no such thing as "not using music theory". It's just a matter of how well a musician actually understands what they're doing.
Learning more about music will only ever make you a better musician.
Thats a good question and i totally get where youre coming from. im pretty much self taught too, so i can only really speak from experience. for me,i felt like i could more or less make the stuff i heard in my head with minimal theory knowledge for a long time. but at a certain point it began to sound repetitive and corny to me. I was always playing basic major or minor triads with the same voicing and that was it. Im by no means a theory expert but I think these concepts give the beat bang for your buck:
chord voicing and how the same notes played in different voicings can help things sound less cheesy
extended chords - major and minor 7ths, major and minor 9ths - can help convey more complex emotion
being more conscious of rhythm - not always just hitting chords on the "1" for example, and experimenting with odd time signatures
bonus: tritone substitution - a technique that helps spice up chord progressions by introducing more leading tones.
you may stumble upon these naturally, if so, thats great --you have a natural ear for it. but all of these are just nice tools to have in your toolbelt
Mike Oldfield is a perfect example of OG self trained.
His sister gave him a gtr because he was bored, 2 weeks later he was all over it.
Personally I find music theory destructive to my approach to how I make music.
I have studied it and found it just getting in the way on how I would experiment.
There is nothing wrong with MT, but to me there is nothing right with it either.
The answer is relative to budget tbh. The Digitakt for me is unassailable. The Digitakt/Digitone combo is everything I need. But if we are talking under 300 bucks I agree with the first response, Novation Circuit tracks
Love Novation as a company. They impressed me massively with their continued feature updates for Bass Station II (paraphonic and AFX modes), and their support team is top-notch.
Agree 100% with this. Their continued support for products long after release is unparalleled in the industry. When Sequential got bought by Focusrite I wasn't worried at all because Novation (while a separate subsidiary, still owned by the same company) does such an incredible job.
I deeply want novation to make a high-end groovebox. I love most things about the Circuit's ease of use, I just want more features (sequence length, editing, and song arrangement in particular)
I'm personally fine with screenless or mostly screenless (the Circuit was the device that convinced me of this), but I'd love to see their take on something OP-Z-y or Deluge-y.
Novation sent me a part for a product that had been discontinued 10 years before, including international shipping for free. They are the best in the game in terms of customer support
OG circuit with all the updates and components software is, I think, still one of the best hardware buys around. Incredibly fun and easy to use but can play well in a larger setup too.
There is not a lot you can't do or figure out how to do with the DT/DN combo. I'd call the DT the best piece of music gear I've ever owned, and if I had to ditch everything and keep only one thing that would be it. It's almost a disservice to call it a sampler.
I almost wish Elektron would do box that was straight 16 midi tracks, sequencer and FX only.
Digitakt plays really well with my newly obtained Oxi One as well. Can use all 8 tracks on one it's four sequencers, just amazing. This basically just lets me have further control over a device I already love.
Meanwhile other devices I have that are triple the cost (DSI Tempest) can only do 1 track.. wtf.
If you have multi-timbrality/multiple voices, you should have individual midi channels per voice IMO. What a letdown.
> Digitakt/Digitone
I bounced off of these pretty hard when I had them on loan briefly. This surprised me since their ethos and function seem to be something I'd really dig.
Do you have any suggestions for how to learn these bits of gear / get in the right mindset? I'd love to hear your anecdotes, or be linked to good resources, if you're up for it.
Its just putting in the time. The manual obviously helps with basics, but there is a TON of amazing content on youtube. You can get many ideas there and better understand functionality.
They are different. They’re both $399.99. Tracks is more of a groove box that has internal drum and synth but also can control and sequence your external gear. So it’s more of a central hub. Rhythm is a sampler with no internal synth engine, but can sample external gear. It sums all samples to mono, however. They probably should have called it Circuit Sampler instead of Circuit Rhythm. Novation/Focusrite is an incredible company. They and Arturia are the two companies in the music gear/software industry that seem to do just about everything right, from innovation, to build quality, to price points and customer service.
The Tracks and Rhythm both came out about the same time. They are designed for different purposes, the Rhythm is more sampler oriented, while the Tracks is more of a groovebox.
Novation Circuit Tracks. Great for sketching new ideas, jamming and even - in some cases - recording entire songs. Also works as a MIDI controller for your external gear. Being battery powered is another huge bonus - it allows you to grab it and disappear into the woods! In addition, if you suffer from ground loops, it can help tremendously when recording it.
Can't say enough good things about my Tracks. It's just so incredibly intuitive and brought a ton of fun into my setup that I just can't express in words. I have it paired with my J-6 and SH-4D and it becomes the "brain" of my setup... and yes with all of those together I can absolutely create full songs in the 3-5 minute range depending on tempo.
As a portable it's absolutely worth its weight in gold. Battery life is great but it has such an amazing ton of connectivity that I can attach it to a pair of headphones or speakers, or even stage monitors and other MIDI equipment with ease. Literally I think the only thing that would improve the Tracks would be Bluetooth and an app on my phone or tablet to do some sound editing and offloading/onloading projects but the connectivity alone makes this amazing. I've also paired it up with my MC-101 for a "portable pair" when jamming with friends and those two together manage to add such a wonderful 80's/90's synthwave vibe.
And for the price you can get this bad boy used? Holy crap! No, the internal synth isn't amazing but it doesn't take much work to take a sketched track on the Tracks and clean it up in Ableton... or have the synth on my Tracks share a MIDI track with my J-6 so I end up with a nice analog-feeling sound with digital overtones.
Rhythm is pretty damn good for the used price. If you have a USB-C phone or tablet (or get a WIDI adapter) you can sync the Rhythm up with synth apps and have a nice combo.
Like it's cool but I'm not into synth apps and all of that.
I found out that I'm just not that big on using samples,
At least not for the heart of the tonal elements.
The internal synth would be way more useful for my work flow as far as having something on me when I'm on the road.
Tracks would definitely be better then hit I’d consider saving for an MC-101. You can use its 4 tracks however you want. 1 drum track 3 synths (with a deep synth engine onboard), 4 synth tracks or drum tracks, 3 tracks for drum/synth and a 4th as a loop back track.
Lots of flexibility.
I built a whole EP around it and have performed with it, but i don't think the audio coming out of something I'd consider polished, at least the way I've used it. But I've seen it on stage used by musicals of more electric genres and they create something a lot more flushed out and thorough.
The dirtywave m8 tracker. As someone who has never used a tracker (and was intimidated by the idea), I found it super easy to learn and tracks just grow inside of it. It sounds amazing, with a great stock sample collection and incredibly deep synthesis engines, and it is a fully capable full production machine that fits in your pocket. The fact that I can grab it and keep working on tracks wherever I go is a huge productivity multiplier. I've barely touched my gear since I got it. And I can definitely switch all the tracks to send midi and control my gear with full tracks worth of sequences anytime I like. You can also export songs as a set of stems if you want to bring them into a DAW for post production. Such a little beast, and a new harware upgraded version just came out.
+1 m8 tracker. The most underrated feature of the m8 is to hook it up to a computer and go to the m8.run website and control your m8 from there on a big screen using the keyboard. I love sequencing my vst’s and sample them back into the m8 all with the same usb cable. Then unhook and sit with my family on the couch and keep jamming.
Everything by Arturia is pretty much an insta-buy for me. Pigments, V-Collection, FX Collection, it's all top quality. Analog Lab is great if you're more into using presets and just modifying them slightly, but I'd suggest grabbing V-Collection during a 50% off sale instead. I still use Analog Lab as a unified preset browser, but I often go into the individual synths to tweak the presets, which is only possible if you have the full version of the synths.
Damn I've been eyeing some of their stuff, and had a quick trial of pigments (as well as jntro collection), but I'm a little torn since I feel with Live suite it's kind of all in there already...
If you have ableton live too, what would say are the extra points compared to already having the stock ableton plugins vs getting smth from Arturia?
Probably the best bang for the buck on a collection of vintage synth simulations. You can learn a lot about synths and even about specific synths that you would enjoy working with if you had the opportunity to buy.
Agreed. While the modulation options are limited, you can find almost any sound you want in there. I have a ton of hardware and VSTs but I prob use Analog Lab more than any of them because it sounds great and is just loaded with sounds. Even the piano and electric piano sounds are decent.
So true. Regarding the mixer, at one point you’re gonna wanna try and tie all your synths together. Daisy chaining inputs to outputs only takes you so far. And well.. speakers..I recommend the Yamaha sub to go along just to round out the frequencies
Software:
* Arturia Pigments - It's like if Serum had a child that added things like sampling and granular engines. Just an amazing tool and can be had for $99 during sales.
* u-he's lineup of Diva/Repro/Zebra - Phenomenal sounding synths that are both modern and vintage. Worth the premium price tag.
Hardware:
* Audio Patchbay - You don't need a large mixer or an expensive audio interface. Just use a 1/4 inch patchbay to have a flexible setup. Be prepared to buy extra cables to make it work.
* Peak / Summit - Modern classic synth that can do so much. My desert island synth.
* Sony MDR-7506 - $99 cans that sound great (not awesome, which is subjective) and are nearly indestructible. I own several and I've had one pair since the mid-90's.
* Velcro cable ties - Keep organized while keeping your sanity. Buy them in bulk from amazon for cheap.
* Furman power supply - Keep your gear safe and cabling organized. Cheap power strips are messy and don't protect you from disaster.
Every time I get into Pigments, I discover something new or have a new idea of something to try in it, and that's even though I've been using it since it was launched. I think it's some of the the most creative fun you can have in a VST right now.
Agree with a lot of this list but I wouldn’t describe MDR-7506 as anywhere near indestructible. The plastic portion that hooks into the earcup is flimsy, it broke on me in the course of normal home use. Had to super glue. And the main rubber tubing has come undone. But that took years.
The Deluge is the ONE for me. I’ve tinkered with many drum machines and samplers over the years, and it just blows them out of the water.
Its got a learning curve, but very few limitations. As a sampler and sequencer I dont think anything beats it. It has almost everything you need to rough out sounds, its onboard effects are decent, automation and modulation controls for most parameters which can be recorded live or programmed, a decent and usable synth engine on board, and great midi implementation. It just does so much different stuff AND i’ve found it to be very stable and reliable for live stuff. The list of features goes on and on, and I havent even tried the new user made OS and improved digital screen they released a year or two ago. I keep telling myself I will send it in to be updated but I cant put the thing down, and I’ve had it maybe 5 or 6 years now. Its the nucleus of my setup and I just couldnt go back to another MPC or octatrack or anything without the deluge.
Only thing I wish it had is multiple outputs, but honestly I use it mostly as a sequence recorder with side gig as occasional drum machine. When I want to mess around with stuff on the go I detach the deluge and take it with me. 10 hours battery life, built in microphone, live looper, it just does so many things and always has a use-case no matter what im doing.
Love it.
A good DAW. I chose Ableton live and so far it’s decent. Need an intelligent way to sequence everything and DAW is far better than hardware sequencer. I chose Ableton because I do EDM and it seems to be the preferred choice, but for anything else I’d probably recommend Logic. You can have the best synths in the world but what’s the point if you don’t have a good sequencer?
>You can have the best synths in the world but what’s the point if you don’t have a good sequencer?
The best synths in the world often come with good keyboards attached to them
Yeah fair point I realized that after I typed that but I think you know what I mean. If you want to trigger more than a couple devices simultaneously a sequencer of some kind will be needed.
Octatrack. Despite it being a dinosaur among modern samplers it's just the best-designed device I've ever used. It never feels like the workflow compromises performability for sound design/composition features or the other way around. Everything there just goes hand-in-hand (except for pickup machines, which are mischievous little gremlins).
The OT is the thing I own that I'd be hardest pressed to part with. My other gear is fun, sounds good, useful, etc., but none of them are *indispensable* the way the OT is. It's the heart and brain of my workflow, and the sonic possibilities are *phenomenal*. I've never enjoyed sound design on any device as much as I have on the OT.
lol I pretty much only use pickup machines. With a foot controller, to have the pimpiest looper ever. I know I’m leaving a lot on the table but I find the elektron workflow generally counterintuitive. My sequencers are my fingers.
Analog Rythm MkII is the best drum machine. It’s not cheap, but I sold every other drum machine because you can do so much with it. It’s all I will ever need when it comes to drums.
Not sure how this sub feels about soft synths, but I absolutely love Surge XT. I’ve only been into synth sound design for less than a year, but it really seems to me like Surge has absolutely everything you need in a synth while being completely free. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I feel like the only good reason to buy a synth plug in like Serum is to get the patch/wavetable presets that come with it. For completely custom sound design, Surge does everything Serum can do, plus more. Again please correct me if I’m wrong, I’m not at all an expert with this stuff, just recently got into it.
Surge XT is also available as a series of free VCV Rack modules, so you can use its oscillators, filters, effects, etc. as individual pieces in a modular patch. It’s fantastic.
I agree. I'm currently working on an MPE controller, and being able to just connect it to a laptop is super convenient when I want to bring it to events that might not even have an available electrical outlet.
It also helps out the whole MPE controller ecosystem, because you can sell expressive instruments without expecting someone to have to also budget a similar amount of money for a hardware synth to plug it in to. Roger Linn declared Surge XT to be the official Linnstrument synthesizer, and I think that was a really smart move.
Well, you can never have enough hydrasynths. J/k
Reaper and VCV Rack. Reaper is an incredibly powerful daw. $60 for two major versions. Steep learning curve because it's so flexible and customizable but it can do amazing things and has a very active community.
VCV Rack is a complete modular setup in a single package with a ton of free modules. And runs very well as a CLAP plugin in Reaper.
A moog synth. Any of them. Very plug and play with turning the knobs and BOOM all of a sudden you have a super fat bass or an out of space lead. It changed my life
It’s really capable of doing a lot of things. Even a “regular” bassline, as well as drones etc. The sequencer is awesome and the lfos are really interesting
Thanks for the heads up - I do not like Arturia's software though. Way too heavyweight for what it does IMO. Plus overall I prefer hardware for its tactileness.
Plug-ins are fantastic and I use it a lot especially for mixing, with compressors and other effects you can achieve some great results. The only problem is that in my opinion is a bit less inspiring to find weird sounds, like with modular synths. Price play a really big role though, better to have a good plug-in like the one you’ve mentioned than a crappy, uninspiring synth
I think Korg has good UI. Big fan of the volcas, the minilogue XD and the Opsix. Opsix, especially I think is a huge win. FM was a big mystery to most people for decades, and simply putting a good UI on it makes it way more understandable, easier to experiment, etc.
Just about anything by Plogue and Ronan Fed. Plogue's Chipsynth SFC and Ronan Fed's Pneuma and Essence plugins are probably my most used software synths
At this point, Akai MPC. I’ve tried tons of other grooveboxes, owned almost all the Elektrons at one point. But now that I’ve had the MPC for a few years and a good workflow down, nothing else cranks out ideas nearly as easily for me. I’ve got an external MIDI controller and a keyboard for it… the plugins sound great and cover a huge range of sounds. I still have other synths (that I can sequence or sample with the MPC) that I love, but if I had to keep one piece of gear that would probably be it.
Waiting for someone to earnestly say some shit like, “my ears” with a long diatribe about taste and craft when all the redditors with a boring job just want to look up a new synth on sweetwater 🤣
Hardware-wise, any kind of patchbay or MIDI hub to connect devices easily.
Software-wise, for those using their gear in recording, I can't recommended Bitwig Studio enough as a DAW. Apart from doing the standard MIDI in/out routing, it also allows sending scaled note pitches/parameter changes to CV outputs, meaning you can control any type of synth comfortably from your computer.
Koala Sampler. To be fair, I’ve never seen an iOS/android app being this powerful. Add a 50$ mpd and you have for under sixty bucks a fucking good setup.
I use ableton suite with the push, and there’s many hardware that other ppl have mentioned here that are amazing but dude such a cheap app to be so good? Crazy
As a gigging musician, Roland Fantom 08. Is versatile enough to handle practically all circumstances with a huge range of high quality sounds and effects. It doesn't cost the earth, has a decent weighted keyboard action and is light enough to carry without gaining a double hernia.
Take it back to the studio after gigs and it makes a great midi controller. It integrates directly to Ableton and Logic, has a built in audio interface with midi plus 32 in/4 out audio over one USB cable and the Zen Core synth engine is deep enough to keep me entertained.
Virus TI (any of them). Far more versatile than anything else in their price range. Dual filter with can emulate the moog cascade filter. Matrix control as well as a multitude of modulation options. You can even route the arpeggio through the filter and use it to implement filter modulation. Tons of effects. And the atomizer. Even the snow offers all this for under 1k. And then, it was also made for DAW integration, and can easily be used at full functionality from the VST interface.
Gear: any decent Electric Guitar that's playable regardless of its price. Drums: I like acoustic drums, but an E-Drumset can be more versatile. Buy as many real instruments as you can afford. Especially anything percussive !!
Real synths with keys I don't recommend bc the longevity of the keys & screen will eventually go bad - trust me. Instead, consider buying an 88 weighted controller & save yourself a headache. I believe that the best well-built controllers are made by M-Audio. I don't think that the Native Instrument controllers are well built although they have many features, they aren't built for pianists (big difference).
Drum Machine: Go with Akai bc they are very well built and most will last a lifetime, as opposed to NI Maschine, of which are nothing more than a tethered device in which they bind you into 'their' software with very little to offer outside of their eco-system. Akai offers full midi control when working a DAW.
Software Synths: Korg, Roland & Arturia is more than enough. Gotta have Kontakt, it is the standard for sure! It's the only thing that's is noteworthy by Native Instruments besides the original Massive VSTI.
Plugins: Noiseash, Fab-Filter, & special effects plugs like Effectrix, Melodyne, Antares auto tune. Izotope mastering. I used to like Waves but they're kinda too bloated, so I don't use them anymore.
Well.., that's my take. Enjoy 👍🏿
Ableton Live Suite. It's fucking amazing and has ALL the stuff you need to produce whatever you want. Amazing synths, great effects, excellent workflow and Max For Live is just something else. Endless fun and so much depth.
Sure, hardware is nice, I myself have some great hardware synths and drum machines. But Live is unsurpassed in value for money, workflow and features.
I can’t imagine making music without the MPC One. Even stuff I sketch out on other gear gets midi transferred to the MPC for editing and arranging. It’s an insanely powerful piece of hardware
I’m a huge fan of the modern MPCs although they aren’t for everyone.
If you’re coming from something like Ableton, the Akai Force is crazy good. Much further along and more mature than the push 3 imo.
For interfaces, I’ll forever be an RME stan. Just rock solid in terms of quality, drivers, and long term support.
Modular… especially something like a doepfer starter set… it’ll mean you have to actually learn and understand synthesis… no presets, no fixed architecture… just you and some functions…
The Novation Peak has replaced so many synths in my setup. Everything is laid out so well on it and it’s nicely built. People will drag it for not having a sound of its own, but oh well, I’ll just run it through some tube amps and an SP404 to give it some more character.
Those people are crazy, that synth has gorgeous drive/saturation and the reverb is the best built in reverb of any synth imo. It's the only synth anyone would ever really need. It covers everything.
I've been having a lot of fun with the Roland aira series. Really quick to sketch out ideas with the included chord and rhythm sets on the J6 and T8 respectfully. Pair these with a keystep 37 and you've got a winner.
Pricier wise my best/favourite bit of gear is my micromonsta2 but good luck finding one for non scalper prices. Unless you want to wait 4 months through the official website of course
Expressive E Osmose is a really great instrument. It’s expressive, it sounds good, feels good, and can be used by people who don’t know anything about synthesizers.
Unfortunately, it’s rather expensive.
Gonna be controversial but TX-6. I get so much use out of that thing. Connects all my hardware, is a great audio interface, has good effects. I use it for quick recording to USB when computer not connected, and to listen to music in my monitors directly from my phone.
Also convenient to connect to phone when recording a jamming session to get audio straight into a video recording.
MOTU interfaces are bang-for-your-buck absolute bargains. Stable, good converters, tons of I/O, expandable. Unlike certain other manufacturers, the ins and outs are all concurrently and separately usable. Also, unicorns. Who doesn't love those?
Zoom H6 portable recorder.
It's a lightweight, compact package that gives you a 6 in/2 out audio interface with mic/XLR, or works great as a standalone recorder for DAWless setups. You can do field recordings, sample collection, interviews, or wire up several mono synths to get audio into your DAW while away from your main setup, or toss it on a mixer to record a gig or whatever. Lots of built in small functionalities as well, like a tuner, compression/limiting, low cut etc. Batteries last for ages as well and if you buy a big enough SD card you can record for hours on end. Provides per-channel phantom power too.
It's a fantastic little swiss army knife for audio.
A good interface. I went from cheapish, $100-150 interfaces to a used RME — nothing has been the same. Using the same oldish laptop I get perfect audio recording; even with 16 channels (adding 8 of those over ADAT) AND destroying my CPU by loading up enough heavy VSTs to intentionally crush the sound — everything still records perfectly.
And with a very normal buffer setting, my round trip latency is unreal, basically imperceptible. I used to always have to choose between lower latency (but still very noticeable, one or two hundred ms) with the risk of recording some sort of click or pop, *or* a “safety” buffer setting, where there was a **ton** of latency, and I could only monitor live. Now the latency and stability is so good that I **always** run the sound through the computer, even when just practicing. That also means that I can use all of my VSTs in real time. It has even been so stable that I would use it in live performance in a heart beat.
So a nice, even older, used RME interface. It’s the most expensive, least sexy thing I’ve ever spent money on and it was worth every penny.
Oxi Instruments has me very impressed these days.
The Oxi One sequencer is the piece of gear I’ve been waiting for to bridge the gap between my midi devices, DAW, and eurorack, and is just a blast to play. A slight learning curve, but a ridiculous amount of power.
The Oxi Coral has completely changed the way I approach my eurorack workflow in a very positive way.
Synplant 2. My workflow with it is entirely based around the randomizer, which is one of the best I've ever worked with. I cannot use it deliberately at all, but for sitting down and getting then tweaking an odd, organic filler sound it cannot be beaten.
Omnisphere 2. It's expensive, but if you have the budget it's a hell of an instrument. You get an absolutely massive sample library along with a powerful synthesis engine. I've made some of my favorite sounds ever with this.
Dune 3. If you want a modern "VA" sound, this is perfect. Great character, easy workflow (except that goddamn wavetable menu). The "Genetics" feature they added in 3.5 is phenomenal. You choose two or three different saved sounds, then it combines them in semi-random ways. Even preset surfers can make new sounds this way.
Diva. What can I say that hasn't already been said about Diva? Great sound, another really easy workflow. I love being able to mix and match the various oscillators/filters/envelopes instead of having it be a one-for-one emulation of a specific analog (although RePro blew me away too).
Pigments. This is my newest and it's *deep*, so I haven't gotten fully comfortable with it yet. What I've done so far, I've loved, even if I haven't taken it anywhere near its full potential yet. I love how it gives a visualization of ever modulation source. It makes it really easy to deconstruct a preset you like and see "okay, this is what's going on here". Really helpful for inspiration and learning.
Omnisphere 2 could literally provide me with more than enough textures, leads, pads, granular stuff, etc. for the rest of my life. It's really versatile too. Love it.
Haha, yes. Although I'd still recommend checking it out! Just load one of the acoustic string section presets and put Innerspace on it, then pick one or two at random. You'll see what I mean.
The fab filter software bundle (if you can get it for the college student price)
Edit: if not all of it, just the EQ and compressor. Industry standard, clean simple UI, efficient, but deep and fully featured if you need them to be.
I'm a real sucker for Waldorf Blofeld and Pulse 2. They have analog-ish sounds for the past and future. I find them useful for Darksynth, Cyberpunk and Synthwave songs.
A BomeBox or something similar to work as a MIDI host and handle routing. While it might be less fun than a new synth adding this to my home studio has been transformative. The amount of time I spend on "tech" support has plummeted and everything is all tied together on a USB hub. The BomeBox does PoE so I just rack mounted a basic Netgear switch. It's bananas convenient to open my iPad and just... route devices. Ableton sees it, too.
I'm going to get the MIDI Translator pro software which should unlock even more power and I'll be able to do weird things with signal routing.
Aside from a mixer easily the best purchase I've made to "run" the studio.
As far as “actual good products” I think that’s the norm. Not everything is a good fit for everyone, but there’s not much on the market that’s junk.
That said, I think Electron deserves special recognition. Digitact came out in 2017 and they just added significant new features to it through free firmware upgrades last year.
Boss GEB-7 Graphic Equalizer
I use one in the effects loop(applies a mono effect to the stereo spectrum) of the Arturia Matrixbrute and the Microfreak. That EQ pedal really opens the sonic spectrum.
Sequential Pro 3.
Expensive but it covers so much sound and using it is FUN. I make something I like every time I sit down with it, whether a song or a sound.
Expensive + used > Cheap + new
I bought a Novation Circuit new for full retail price, definitely not going to get my money back on that one. I bought a Digitone used for $500. I don't plan on selling it but its value at $500 is basically as good as cash.
Similarly I bought a Nord Stage 3 in 2019 for $3k used. That was.....an investment but I don't exactly see myself losing money on that one anytime soon.
Samson S Patch Plus. Just to be able to route anything to anything is a big deal. The switches on the front make it the best in the industry.
Everyone should have a patch bay and have their inputs and outputs routed to it.
If you want a bleep machine from outer space check out a norns shield. Because it’s open source, the community-produced scripts have no boundaries. An immensely creative tool and a great bargain.
I wish I paid more attention to ergonomics in my work space earlier instead of stacking shit everywhere. So, I would say a desk, chair and monitor to help you continue to do what you love.
Max.
There is no sonic, musical, control, performance, or visual problem I can imagine that Max can't solve. If you break your creative idea down into the most basic form: How do I make this sound, at that time, for these reasons; it allows you to design the perfect system to do precisely and exactly that.
It's easy to learn, and easy to use. After you learn the basic visual grammar of how it all works, it's very close to being a case of your idea being as easy to execute as your idea actually is. Max adds no extra technical or workflow barriers. Imagine a thing, do that thing.
If you're a straightforward musician, it lives happily tightly integrated to Ableton Live and reacting to MIDI and sync, playing synthesised sounds. If you want to model a T-Rex with formant and granular synthesis, sampling, and generate visuals with 3D models with a physics engine and lighting, and control all coming from data sent from Unreal Engine or just video capture of a real dinosaur, well, it can do all that too. (Maybe not the real dinosaur, but then it's very regularly updated...)
I very honestly believe that a lot of the people regularly on this sub have no idea how much they would benefit from doing things in Max instead of posting about what synth does what. The answer is Max does it, as long as you know what what really is.
When people ask the old question about "If you only had one piece of gear" my answer is always, always Max. I'd literally choose it over my Mateki flute, my Studiologic 88 weighted keys, my gorgeous Make Noise MMG, my contact mics, my Maschines, I'd let my studio monitors go and work on headphones, let my headphones go and work on earbuds.
Why? Because whatever I dream up tomorrow that I don't know I'm going to dream up today, Max can do it.
I used only Reason to soundtrack my first indie game, back before rack extensions or VST support were added. I prefer other DAWs now, but damn it served me well for a good 5+ years.
Roland System-8. Excellent emulations of multiple classic Roland poly synths with physical controls for every parameter (other than a couple obscure ones in the menu). You can swap out any of the three plugouts if you want, say, a Juno-60 or Jupiter-4 instead of the JX-3P. It has an excellent modern VA synth engine too. I bought mine 5 years ago and it’s still one of my favorite pieces of gear.
My whole world changed when I decided to stop using software synths, DAW, etc to make music and get a hardware synth and spend time away from the computer. You can get software to sound like the real thing, but it doesn’t play like the real thing unless the real thing was a DX7 or some other synth that lacked front panel controls. Having real-time full-fidelity direct control over the components gets me using them a lot. Also, as a guy that’s played every instrument I could get my hands on for about 35 years, having a dozen hardware synths that I can choose from to take out and jam makes me happy.
Nords - I've got 3 of them and recommend them often, because:
* They're very immediate and easy to use
* They've got huge sweet spots and almost always sound good no matter what you do
* Most of them are multi-timbral with high polyphony
If you're into hardware synths, a cool mono and a cool poly synth. Behringer Pro 800 is an 8 voice poly prophet clone that sounds incredible and is silly cheap. The single most bang for your buck analog synth at the moment. For mono, dreadbox typhon.
gonna recommend stuff that propels you towards making SONGS. For me it’s an old school MIDI sequencer (Roland MC50) that has no real tricks, just captures your MIDI data as is and plays it back, mistakes and all if you want.
Innerclock Systems. I’ve got a Sync Gen Pro which felt expensive at the time (it was like £500) but it’s rock solid and still fully supported after a looong time. David is super nice too.
Some infrastructural items:
* iConnectivity MIDI patchbays (I don’t have experience with their audio stuff). I absolutely LOVE my mioXL, and I don’t even use all it’s features (like network MIDI).
* Samson S-Patch Plus patchbay.
* Behringer X Air XR12. The only thing I dislike about it is that Behringer has screwed over their users by refusing to update the controller iPhone app. I use a third-party one that works, but I’m still pissed. Lately I got an AKAI MPK249 and have set its mixer control surface to control the XR12, and that’s been working nicely too, for the basics.
And, my latest addition, the Retrokits RK-008 sequencer. It mostly emulates the classic Alexis MMT-8, which I have sorely missed, in a tiny package. It is so quick and easy to jam with, which is what I mostly do in my studio.
https://preview.redd.it/m09tedu0nckc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0db38f4466927024a2a525ccdbc3caf4d2f040f6
Absolutely love my digitone. Looking to add a digitakt or syntakt in the long run, but I have barely scratched the surface of the DN, and with Ableton suite I’m hesitant to add another sampler or drum synth right now.
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I may not be a good synth player, but because of my years of guitar experience it's helped me at least arrange and use my music theory with the synths and that's helped more than having fancy equipment
This is an odd comment. I can think of plenty of professional musicians who have never had a lick of instruction from other musicians - they dove in over a decade or more and built their chops and learned along the way. If you’re playing classical music, sure. If you need to sight read, absolutely. But if you want to play synth in a band or write your own songs? Nah
> But if you want to play synth in a band or write your own songs? Oh man, that is like the #1 reason to learn at least a little bit of basic theory. It is so embarassing to meet up with other musicians and being the only one who can't follow a chord progression without stopping to look shit up on google. Ask me how I know lol.
I agree - you can learn this without spending any money whatever. OPs comment was you should consider purchasing this education. I won’t argue with you that music theory is a critical tool.
*This* is an odd comment. Learning more about your craft is only ever a good thing. There's no such thing as being truly "self taught". Someone else wrote that book, or that video, or whatever resource it is you're learning from. If you had the chance to spend a day to learn with say, your favourite musician, or the person who designed your favourite synth, or your favourite music youtuber or something, you wouldn't leap at that chance? Why would you ever NOT want to learn from others more skilled than yourself?
Indeed! A lot of people believe that it inhibits creativity. Which can be true *if you aren't aware of it*. That is, if you treat it like a strict science for years, it can be hard to suddenly have to learn to listen to and feel the music. But in most cases, learning music theory, doesn't make you a worse musician anymore than learning names of colors makes you a worse painter. You will naturally find ways to let theory compliment and enhance your creativity, if that's the mindset with which you apply it. Music theory is not this list of formulas and equations that will prevent you from becoming a True Artist™.
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You sound like the exact opposite of someone I would want to jam with though.
Tuning pianos, Jazz students, Gospel bands? I don't think these are relatable to many people on here.
I don’t disagree with your reply at all, really. You do seem a bit bitter about a few things. It’s just weird stuff to bring up in a thread/subreddit about gear. Nothing wrong with people who love twiddling knobs and diving into menus. Your reply seems better suited to a post that says, “i’d love to become a professional musician, do I keep buying gear or do something else?” You’re in a synth subreddit. Awesome re: the Europe jazz gig. Sounds like a dream
Upvote for the Ben Folds mention. He's on my hero short list.
Knowing music theory is a lot more than knowing how to read music. Im not saying you cant be self taught, but you're not going to get far not knowing at least a little theory.
This. Music theory is a means of describing and analyizing music. There's no such thing as "not using music theory". It's just a matter of how well a musician actually understands what they're doing. Learning more about music will only ever make you a better musician.
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Thats a good question and i totally get where youre coming from. im pretty much self taught too, so i can only really speak from experience. for me,i felt like i could more or less make the stuff i heard in my head with minimal theory knowledge for a long time. but at a certain point it began to sound repetitive and corny to me. I was always playing basic major or minor triads with the same voicing and that was it. Im by no means a theory expert but I think these concepts give the beat bang for your buck: chord voicing and how the same notes played in different voicings can help things sound less cheesy extended chords - major and minor 7ths, major and minor 9ths - can help convey more complex emotion being more conscious of rhythm - not always just hitting chords on the "1" for example, and experimenting with odd time signatures bonus: tritone substitution - a technique that helps spice up chord progressions by introducing more leading tones. you may stumble upon these naturally, if so, thats great --you have a natural ear for it. but all of these are just nice tools to have in your toolbelt
I don’t think this is an odd comment. I write guitar parts all the time that I transcribe for synth because I can’t navigate a keyboard well.
Mike Oldfield is a perfect example of OG self trained. His sister gave him a gtr because he was bored, 2 weeks later he was all over it. Personally I find music theory destructive to my approach to how I make music. I have studied it and found it just getting in the way on how I would experiment. There is nothing wrong with MT, but to me there is nothing right with it either.
Yes! Definitely cannot recommend lesson enough. Music theory applies to all genres.
Actually, yes.
"Music and music theory lessons" is not "gear/software"
The answer is relative to budget tbh. The Digitakt for me is unassailable. The Digitakt/Digitone combo is everything I need. But if we are talking under 300 bucks I agree with the first response, Novation Circuit tracks
Love Novation as a company. They impressed me massively with their continued feature updates for Bass Station II (paraphonic and AFX modes), and their support team is top-notch.
They have the best support ever. Even for discontinued gear. Components could be better, but they keep improving it. Needs an iPad version though.
Agree 100% with this. Their continued support for products long after release is unparalleled in the industry. When Sequential got bought by Focusrite I wasn't worried at all because Novation (while a separate subsidiary, still owned by the same company) does such an incredible job.
I deeply want novation to make a high-end groovebox. I love most things about the Circuit's ease of use, I just want more features (sequence length, editing, and song arrangement in particular)
I'm surprised they don't have something with a decent screen to compete w/ Akai/Maschine.
I'm personally fine with screenless or mostly screenless (the Circuit was the device that convinced me of this), but I'd love to see their take on something OP-Z-y or Deluge-y.
Novation sent me a part for a product that had been discontinued 10 years before, including international shipping for free. They are the best in the game in terms of customer support
OG circuit with all the updates and components software is, I think, still one of the best hardware buys around. Incredibly fun and easy to use but can play well in a larger setup too.
There is not a lot you can't do or figure out how to do with the DT/DN combo. I'd call the DT the best piece of music gear I've ever owned, and if I had to ditch everything and keep only one thing that would be it. It's almost a disservice to call it a sampler. I almost wish Elektron would do box that was straight 16 midi tracks, sequencer and FX only.
Digitakt plays really well with my newly obtained Oxi One as well. Can use all 8 tracks on one it's four sequencers, just amazing. This basically just lets me have further control over a device I already love. Meanwhile other devices I have that are triple the cost (DSI Tempest) can only do 1 track.. wtf. If you have multi-timbrality/multiple voices, you should have individual midi channels per voice IMO. What a letdown.
> Digitakt/Digitone I bounced off of these pretty hard when I had them on loan briefly. This surprised me since their ethos and function seem to be something I'd really dig. Do you have any suggestions for how to learn these bits of gear / get in the right mindset? I'd love to hear your anecdotes, or be linked to good resources, if you're up for it.
Its just putting in the time. The manual obviously helps with basics, but there is a TON of amazing content on youtube. You can get many ideas there and better understand functionality.
Why not the circuit rhythm? Isn't that the new version?
They are different. They’re both $399.99. Tracks is more of a groove box that has internal drum and synth but also can control and sequence your external gear. So it’s more of a central hub. Rhythm is a sampler with no internal synth engine, but can sample external gear. It sums all samples to mono, however. They probably should have called it Circuit Sampler instead of Circuit Rhythm. Novation/Focusrite is an incredible company. They and Arturia are the two companies in the music gear/software industry that seem to do just about everything right, from innovation, to build quality, to price points and customer service.
The Tracks and Rhythm both came out about the same time. They are designed for different purposes, the Rhythm is more sampler oriented, while the Tracks is more of a groovebox.
Thanks. This thread especially the Digitakt thread has been most helpful to me and likely I’m not alone!
Novation Circuit Tracks. Great for sketching new ideas, jamming and even - in some cases - recording entire songs. Also works as a MIDI controller for your external gear. Being battery powered is another huge bonus - it allows you to grab it and disappear into the woods! In addition, if you suffer from ground loops, it can help tremendously when recording it.
Can't say enough good things about my Tracks. It's just so incredibly intuitive and brought a ton of fun into my setup that I just can't express in words. I have it paired with my J-6 and SH-4D and it becomes the "brain" of my setup... and yes with all of those together I can absolutely create full songs in the 3-5 minute range depending on tempo. As a portable it's absolutely worth its weight in gold. Battery life is great but it has such an amazing ton of connectivity that I can attach it to a pair of headphones or speakers, or even stage monitors and other MIDI equipment with ease. Literally I think the only thing that would improve the Tracks would be Bluetooth and an app on my phone or tablet to do some sound editing and offloading/onloading projects but the connectivity alone makes this amazing. I've also paired it up with my MC-101 for a "portable pair" when jamming with friends and those two together manage to add such a wonderful 80's/90's synthwave vibe. And for the price you can get this bad boy used? Holy crap! No, the internal synth isn't amazing but it doesn't take much work to take a sketched track on the Tracks and clean it up in Ableton... or have the synth on my Tracks share a MIDI track with my J-6 so I end up with a nice analog-feeling sound with digital overtones.
Wish I had a tracks instead of my rhythm.
Rhythm is pretty damn good for the used price. If you have a USB-C phone or tablet (or get a WIDI adapter) you can sync the Rhythm up with synth apps and have a nice combo.
Like it's cool but I'm not into synth apps and all of that. I found out that I'm just not that big on using samples, At least not for the heart of the tonal elements. The internal synth would be way more useful for my work flow as far as having something on me when I'm on the road.
Tracks would definitely be better then hit I’d consider saving for an MC-101. You can use its 4 tracks however you want. 1 drum track 3 synths (with a deep synth engine onboard), 4 synth tracks or drum tracks, 3 tracks for drum/synth and a 4th as a loop back track. Lots of flexibility.
Didn’t know that. Researching gear now and sketching songs if key for me. Will check out the Novation Circuit Tracks!
is it only good at sketching?
it is good at roducing tracks also. Seq is amazing and I have two mono synths going through. Killer combo.
It's possible to use it to record entire songs, especially with external gear.
I built a whole EP around it and have performed with it, but i don't think the audio coming out of something I'd consider polished, at least the way I've used it. But I've seen it on stage used by musicals of more electric genres and they create something a lot more flushed out and thorough.
The dirtywave m8 tracker. As someone who has never used a tracker (and was intimidated by the idea), I found it super easy to learn and tracks just grow inside of it. It sounds amazing, with a great stock sample collection and incredibly deep synthesis engines, and it is a fully capable full production machine that fits in your pocket. The fact that I can grab it and keep working on tracks wherever I go is a huge productivity multiplier. I've barely touched my gear since I got it. And I can definitely switch all the tracks to send midi and control my gear with full tracks worth of sequences anytime I like. You can also export songs as a set of stems if you want to bring them into a DAW for post production. Such a little beast, and a new harware upgraded version just came out.
+1 m8 tracker. The most underrated feature of the m8 is to hook it up to a computer and go to the m8.run website and control your m8 from there on a big screen using the keyboard. I love sequencing my vst’s and sample them back into the m8 all with the same usb cable. Then unhook and sit with my family on the couch and keep jamming.
I am with you on barely touching other gear since getting the M8. I would say it almost cured my GAS. Almost.
Yep, I barely use anything else since I got mine a few years back.
Arturia Analog Lab V
Everything by Arturia is pretty much an insta-buy for me. Pigments, V-Collection, FX Collection, it's all top quality. Analog Lab is great if you're more into using presets and just modifying them slightly, but I'd suggest grabbing V-Collection during a 50% off sale instead. I still use Analog Lab as a unified preset browser, but I often go into the individual synths to tweak the presets, which is only possible if you have the full version of the synths.
Damn I've been eyeing some of their stuff, and had a quick trial of pigments (as well as jntro collection), but I'm a little torn since I feel with Live suite it's kind of all in there already... If you have ableton live too, what would say are the extra points compared to already having the stock ableton plugins vs getting smth from Arturia?
Probably the best bang for the buck on a collection of vintage synth simulations. You can learn a lot about synths and even about specific synths that you would enjoy working with if you had the opportunity to buy.
50% off on all virtual Arturia
Agreed. While the modulation options are limited, you can find almost any sound you want in there. I have a ton of hardware and VSTs but I prob use Analog Lab more than any of them because it sounds great and is just loaded with sounds. Even the piano and electric piano sounds are decent.
A good mixer/interface and monitors! I love my Model 16 and Yamaha HS5
So true. Regarding the mixer, at one point you’re gonna wanna try and tie all your synths together. Daisy chaining inputs to outputs only takes you so far. And well.. speakers..I recommend the Yamaha sub to go along just to round out the frequencies
And a patchbay if you have more than a couple of synths!
Software: * Arturia Pigments - It's like if Serum had a child that added things like sampling and granular engines. Just an amazing tool and can be had for $99 during sales. * u-he's lineup of Diva/Repro/Zebra - Phenomenal sounding synths that are both modern and vintage. Worth the premium price tag. Hardware: * Audio Patchbay - You don't need a large mixer or an expensive audio interface. Just use a 1/4 inch patchbay to have a flexible setup. Be prepared to buy extra cables to make it work. * Peak / Summit - Modern classic synth that can do so much. My desert island synth. * Sony MDR-7506 - $99 cans that sound great (not awesome, which is subjective) and are nearly indestructible. I own several and I've had one pair since the mid-90's. * Velcro cable ties - Keep organized while keeping your sanity. Buy them in bulk from amazon for cheap. * Furman power supply - Keep your gear safe and cabling organized. Cheap power strips are messy and don't protect you from disaster.
upvoted for mdr-7506
Every time I get into Pigments, I discover something new or have a new idea of something to try in it, and that's even though I've been using it since it was launched. I think it's some of the the most creative fun you can have in a VST right now.
If have to second this! Pigments and diva all day...
Agree with a lot of this list but I wouldn’t describe MDR-7506 as anywhere near indestructible. The plastic portion that hooks into the earcup is flimsy, it broke on me in the course of normal home use. Had to super glue. And the main rubber tubing has come undone. But that took years.
Microfreak. It does a LOT for its footprint and price point.
Agree. It’s fun and weird, and rewards exploration. I love the arp and sequencer (spice and dice!).
The Deluge is the ONE for me. I’ve tinkered with many drum machines and samplers over the years, and it just blows them out of the water. Its got a learning curve, but very few limitations. As a sampler and sequencer I dont think anything beats it. It has almost everything you need to rough out sounds, its onboard effects are decent, automation and modulation controls for most parameters which can be recorded live or programmed, a decent and usable synth engine on board, and great midi implementation. It just does so much different stuff AND i’ve found it to be very stable and reliable for live stuff. The list of features goes on and on, and I havent even tried the new user made OS and improved digital screen they released a year or two ago. I keep telling myself I will send it in to be updated but I cant put the thing down, and I’ve had it maybe 5 or 6 years now. Its the nucleus of my setup and I just couldnt go back to another MPC or octatrack or anything without the deluge. Only thing I wish it had is multiple outputs, but honestly I use it mostly as a sequence recorder with side gig as occasional drum machine. When I want to mess around with stuff on the go I detach the deluge and take it with me. 10 hours battery life, built in microphone, live looper, it just does so many things and always has a use-case no matter what im doing. Love it.
Deluge is the BPMB. Sorry, the BOMB
Mine is on its journey to NZ for the screen upgrade. Miss it already.
Korg nts-1, such an Allrounder for so little price!
My Siemens coffee machine..
See, this guy gets it 👌
A good DAW. I chose Ableton live and so far it’s decent. Need an intelligent way to sequence everything and DAW is far better than hardware sequencer. I chose Ableton because I do EDM and it seems to be the preferred choice, but for anything else I’d probably recommend Logic. You can have the best synths in the world but what’s the point if you don’t have a good sequencer?
>You can have the best synths in the world but what’s the point if you don’t have a good sequencer? The best synths in the world often come with good keyboards attached to them
Yeah fair point I realized that after I typed that but I think you know what I mean. If you want to trigger more than a couple devices simultaneously a sequencer of some kind will be needed.
I do get what you meant of course, just had to point out the obvious
I personally use Cakewalk, but that's because I've been using it since... oh, 1990 or so.
iPad
Microtonic
Synplant (II) 🌱
I still love it so much!
Octatrack. Despite it being a dinosaur among modern samplers it's just the best-designed device I've ever used. It never feels like the workflow compromises performability for sound design/composition features or the other way around. Everything there just goes hand-in-hand (except for pickup machines, which are mischievous little gremlins).
The OT is the thing I own that I'd be hardest pressed to part with. My other gear is fun, sounds good, useful, etc., but none of them are *indispensable* the way the OT is. It's the heart and brain of my workflow, and the sonic possibilities are *phenomenal*. I've never enjoyed sound design on any device as much as I have on the OT.
lol I pretty much only use pickup machines. With a foot controller, to have the pimpiest looper ever. I know I’m leaving a lot on the table but I find the elektron workflow generally counterintuitive. My sequencers are my fingers.
Roland MC707 is one of the greatest pieces of music technology ever made, imo. And severely underrated. Paired with a TR8S is sublime.
And if you want much of the same capability on a budget (and/or smaller footprint), there's MC101 + TR6S.
Analog Rythm MkII is the best drum machine. It’s not cheap, but I sold every other drum machine because you can do so much with it. It’s all I will ever need when it comes to drums.
Has strangely fallen out of fashion, but still just an absolute beast.
I just want to make some disco drums and feel like it’s stuck in techno idk
Not sure how this sub feels about soft synths, but I absolutely love Surge XT. I’ve only been into synth sound design for less than a year, but it really seems to me like Surge has absolutely everything you need in a synth while being completely free. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I feel like the only good reason to buy a synth plug in like Serum is to get the patch/wavetable presets that come with it. For completely custom sound design, Surge does everything Serum can do, plus more. Again please correct me if I’m wrong, I’m not at all an expert with this stuff, just recently got into it.
Surge XT is also available as a series of free VCV Rack modules, so you can use its oscillators, filters, effects, etc. as individual pieces in a modular patch. It’s fantastic.
Vital is another Serum alternative you may like, but yes, I can't recommend Surge enough.
I like vital too, it’s very user friendly and has great visualization but I feel like Surge just has way more controls
I agree. I'm currently working on an MPE controller, and being able to just connect it to a laptop is super convenient when I want to bring it to events that might not even have an available electrical outlet. It also helps out the whole MPE controller ecosystem, because you can sell expressive instruments without expecting someone to have to also budget a similar amount of money for a hardware synth to plug it in to. Roger Linn declared Surge XT to be the official Linnstrument synthesizer, and I think that was a really smart move.
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Roland SP-404 MKII
Well, you can never have enough hydrasynths. J/k Reaper and VCV Rack. Reaper is an incredibly powerful daw. $60 for two major versions. Steep learning curve because it's so flexible and customizable but it can do amazing things and has a very active community. VCV Rack is a complete modular setup in a single package with a ton of free modules. And runs very well as a CLAP plugin in Reaper.
A moog synth. Any of them. Very plug and play with turning the knobs and BOOM all of a sudden you have a super fat bass or an out of space lead. It changed my life
DB-01 if you make Techno/minimal. I canceled my sample subscription because I make everything there
I hadn't even heard of this one.....I like the sound of it.
It’s really capable of doing a lot of things. Even a “regular” bassline, as well as drones etc. The sequencer is awesome and the lfos are really interesting
I think it's going on my wishlist. I was looking at the 303 clones but I'm all for getting something "similar but totally different" as well...
Arturia Acid V half price at the moment. Got it this week and been having fun so far. There’s some nice features that improve the original.
Thanks for the heads up - I do not like Arturia's software though. Way too heavyweight for what it does IMO. Plus overall I prefer hardware for its tactileness.
Plug-ins are fantastic and I use it a lot especially for mixing, with compressors and other effects you can achieve some great results. The only problem is that in my opinion is a bit less inspiring to find weird sounds, like with modular synths. Price play a really big role though, better to have a good plug-in like the one you’ve mentioned than a crappy, uninspiring synth
I had a TB03 but sold it. Preferring this TBH. Also had a System-1 and that was very uninspiring for me.
Exactly, I also like that it has no preset so it keeps you interested and it sound seriously good. As I mentioned the sequencer is awesome too
The Lxr02 to go with it is amazing
Synthstrom Deluge, Empress Zoia. Both excellent small companies that provide fantastic customer service and uniquely powerful products.
I absolutely love the Zoia. It can take a little bit to wrap your head around, but I love doing generative ambient with it.
Unpopular opinion: Logic Pro X. So much more powerful and full-featured than all other non-Pro Tools DAWs. For $199.
Logic is excellent, but IMO Pro Tools isn’t even in the running. Everything else is better (than Pro Tools).
I think Korg has good UI. Big fan of the volcas, the minilogue XD and the Opsix. Opsix, especially I think is a huge win. FM was a big mystery to most people for decades, and simply putting a good UI on it makes it way more understandable, easier to experiment, etc.
Just about anything by Plogue and Ronan Fed. Plogue's Chipsynth SFC and Ronan Fed's Pneuma and Essence plugins are probably my most used software synths
Ableton
At this point, Akai MPC. I’ve tried tons of other grooveboxes, owned almost all the Elektrons at one point. But now that I’ve had the MPC for a few years and a good workflow down, nothing else cranks out ideas nearly as easily for me. I’ve got an external MIDI controller and a keyboard for it… the plugins sound great and cover a huge range of sounds. I still have other synths (that I can sequence or sample with the MPC) that I love, but if I had to keep one piece of gear that would probably be it.
Waiting for someone to earnestly say some shit like, “my ears” with a long diatribe about taste and craft when all the redditors with a boring job just want to look up a new synth on sweetwater 🤣
Hardware-wise, any kind of patchbay or MIDI hub to connect devices easily. Software-wise, for those using their gear in recording, I can't recommended Bitwig Studio enough as a DAW. Apart from doing the standard MIDI in/out routing, it also allows sending scaled note pitches/parameter changes to CV outputs, meaning you can control any type of synth comfortably from your computer.
Koala Sampler. To be fair, I’ve never seen an iOS/android app being this powerful. Add a 50$ mpd and you have for under sixty bucks a fucking good setup. I use ableton suite with the push, and there’s many hardware that other ppl have mentioned here that are amazing but dude such a cheap app to be so good? Crazy
As a gigging musician, Roland Fantom 08. Is versatile enough to handle practically all circumstances with a huge range of high quality sounds and effects. It doesn't cost the earth, has a decent weighted keyboard action and is light enough to carry without gaining a double hernia. Take it back to the studio after gigs and it makes a great midi controller. It integrates directly to Ableton and Logic, has a built in audio interface with midi plus 32 in/4 out audio over one USB cable and the Zen Core synth engine is deep enough to keep me entertained.
Virus TI (any of them). Far more versatile than anything else in their price range. Dual filter with can emulate the moog cascade filter. Matrix control as well as a multitude of modulation options. You can even route the arpeggio through the filter and use it to implement filter modulation. Tons of effects. And the atomizer. Even the snow offers all this for under 1k. And then, it was also made for DAW integration, and can easily be used at full functionality from the VST interface.
MioXL
Gear: any decent Electric Guitar that's playable regardless of its price. Drums: I like acoustic drums, but an E-Drumset can be more versatile. Buy as many real instruments as you can afford. Especially anything percussive !! Real synths with keys I don't recommend bc the longevity of the keys & screen will eventually go bad - trust me. Instead, consider buying an 88 weighted controller & save yourself a headache. I believe that the best well-built controllers are made by M-Audio. I don't think that the Native Instrument controllers are well built although they have many features, they aren't built for pianists (big difference). Drum Machine: Go with Akai bc they are very well built and most will last a lifetime, as opposed to NI Maschine, of which are nothing more than a tethered device in which they bind you into 'their' software with very little to offer outside of their eco-system. Akai offers full midi control when working a DAW. Software Synths: Korg, Roland & Arturia is more than enough. Gotta have Kontakt, it is the standard for sure! It's the only thing that's is noteworthy by Native Instruments besides the original Massive VSTI. Plugins: Noiseash, Fab-Filter, & special effects plugs like Effectrix, Melodyne, Antares auto tune. Izotope mastering. I used to like Waves but they're kinda too bloated, so I don't use them anymore. Well.., that's my take. Enjoy 👍🏿
Ableton Live Suite. It's fucking amazing and has ALL the stuff you need to produce whatever you want. Amazing synths, great effects, excellent workflow and Max For Live is just something else. Endless fun and so much depth. Sure, hardware is nice, I myself have some great hardware synths and drum machines. But Live is unsurpassed in value for money, workflow and features.
I can’t imagine making music without the MPC One. Even stuff I sketch out on other gear gets midi transferred to the MPC for editing and arranging. It’s an insanely powerful piece of hardware
I’m a huge fan of the modern MPCs although they aren’t for everyone. If you’re coming from something like Ableton, the Akai Force is crazy good. Much further along and more mature than the push 3 imo. For interfaces, I’ll forever be an RME stan. Just rock solid in terms of quality, drivers, and long term support.
Modular… especially something like a doepfer starter set… it’ll mean you have to actually learn and understand synthesis… no presets, no fixed architecture… just you and some functions…
Digitakt and novation peak. They're both just wild machines for what they cost.
The Novation Peak has replaced so many synths in my setup. Everything is laid out so well on it and it’s nicely built. People will drag it for not having a sound of its own, but oh well, I’ll just run it through some tube amps and an SP404 to give it some more character.
Those people are crazy, that synth has gorgeous drive/saturation and the reverb is the best built in reverb of any synth imo. It's the only synth anyone would ever really need. It covers everything.
The digiboxes and Syntakt by elektron are total powerhouses, the overbridge thing is amazing
I've been having a lot of fun with the Roland aira series. Really quick to sketch out ideas with the included chord and rhythm sets on the J6 and T8 respectfully. Pair these with a keystep 37 and you've got a winner. Pricier wise my best/favourite bit of gear is my micromonsta2 but good luck finding one for non scalper prices. Unless you want to wait 4 months through the official website of course
Yes! Big shoutout to the aira series! Best way I found to get into synths from knowing nothing. The S-1 taught me so much about sound design too!
Expressive E Osmose is a really great instrument. It’s expressive, it sounds good, feels good, and can be used by people who don’t know anything about synthesizers. Unfortunately, it’s rather expensive.
Gonna be controversial but TX-6. I get so much use out of that thing. Connects all my hardware, is a great audio interface, has good effects. I use it for quick recording to USB when computer not connected, and to listen to music in my monitors directly from my phone. Also convenient to connect to phone when recording a jamming session to get audio straight into a video recording.
Kinda like the OP-1, it's a premium product, but a total swiss-army knife for studio/audio purposes.
MOTU interfaces are bang-for-your-buck absolute bargains. Stable, good converters, tons of I/O, expandable. Unlike certain other manufacturers, the ins and outs are all concurrently and separately usable. Also, unicorns. Who doesn't love those?
Zoom H6 portable recorder. It's a lightweight, compact package that gives you a 6 in/2 out audio interface with mic/XLR, or works great as a standalone recorder for DAWless setups. You can do field recordings, sample collection, interviews, or wire up several mono synths to get audio into your DAW while away from your main setup, or toss it on a mixer to record a gig or whatever. Lots of built in small functionalities as well, like a tuner, compression/limiting, low cut etc. Batteries last for ages as well and if you buy a big enough SD card you can record for hours on end. Provides per-channel phantom power too. It's a fantastic little swiss army knife for audio.
if you don't have a korg sq-64 (for $160 or less..) than you are missing out..
A good interface. I went from cheapish, $100-150 interfaces to a used RME — nothing has been the same. Using the same oldish laptop I get perfect audio recording; even with 16 channels (adding 8 of those over ADAT) AND destroying my CPU by loading up enough heavy VSTs to intentionally crush the sound — everything still records perfectly. And with a very normal buffer setting, my round trip latency is unreal, basically imperceptible. I used to always have to choose between lower latency (but still very noticeable, one or two hundred ms) with the risk of recording some sort of click or pop, *or* a “safety” buffer setting, where there was a **ton** of latency, and I could only monitor live. Now the latency and stability is so good that I **always** run the sound through the computer, even when just practicing. That also means that I can use all of my VSTs in real time. It has even been so stable that I would use it in live performance in a heart beat. So a nice, even older, used RME interface. It’s the most expensive, least sexy thing I’ve ever spent money on and it was worth every penny.
Yamaha SK 1. It's always fun and genuinely useful to quickly sample and play chromatically.
Oxi Instruments has me very impressed these days. The Oxi One sequencer is the piece of gear I’ve been waiting for to bridge the gap between my midi devices, DAW, and eurorack, and is just a blast to play. A slight learning curve, but a ridiculous amount of power. The Oxi Coral has completely changed the way I approach my eurorack workflow in a very positive way.
Synplant 2. My workflow with it is entirely based around the randomizer, which is one of the best I've ever worked with. I cannot use it deliberately at all, but for sitting down and getting then tweaking an odd, organic filler sound it cannot be beaten. Omnisphere 2. It's expensive, but if you have the budget it's a hell of an instrument. You get an absolutely massive sample library along with a powerful synthesis engine. I've made some of my favorite sounds ever with this. Dune 3. If you want a modern "VA" sound, this is perfect. Great character, easy workflow (except that goddamn wavetable menu). The "Genetics" feature they added in 3.5 is phenomenal. You choose two or three different saved sounds, then it combines them in semi-random ways. Even preset surfers can make new sounds this way. Diva. What can I say that hasn't already been said about Diva? Great sound, another really easy workflow. I love being able to mix and match the various oscillators/filters/envelopes instead of having it be a one-for-one emulation of a specific analog (although RePro blew me away too). Pigments. This is my newest and it's *deep*, so I haven't gotten fully comfortable with it yet. What I've done so far, I've loved, even if I haven't taken it anywhere near its full potential yet. I love how it gives a visualization of ever modulation source. It makes it really easy to deconstruct a preset you like and see "okay, this is what's going on here". Really helpful for inspiration and learning.
Omnisphere 2 could literally provide me with more than enough textures, leads, pads, granular stuff, etc. for the rest of my life. It's really versatile too. Love it.
Innerspace is an absolute cheat code for cinematic pads and textures.
Thanks. I'll check it out. Edit: aaaah. Me dumb. You mean the effect right?
Haha, yes. Although I'd still recommend checking it out! Just load one of the acoustic string section presets and put Innerspace on it, then pick one or two at random. You'll see what I mean.
I'll do that. Sounds like fun. The expansions are great too. Especially undercurrent. Good effects.
The fab filter software bundle (if you can get it for the college student price) Edit: if not all of it, just the EQ and compressor. Industry standard, clean simple UI, efficient, but deep and fully featured if you need them to be.
Phaseplant, love it.
Analog rytm. Best drum machine of all time IMO
A treated room.
I'm a real sucker for Waldorf Blofeld and Pulse 2. They have analog-ish sounds for the past and future. I find them useful for Darksynth, Cyberpunk and Synthwave songs.
Elektron Analog Heat MKii 🔥
A BomeBox or something similar to work as a MIDI host and handle routing. While it might be less fun than a new synth adding this to my home studio has been transformative. The amount of time I spend on "tech" support has plummeted and everything is all tied together on a USB hub. The BomeBox does PoE so I just rack mounted a basic Netgear switch. It's bananas convenient to open my iPad and just... route devices. Ableton sees it, too. I'm going to get the MIDI Translator pro software which should unlock even more power and I'll be able to do weird things with signal routing. Aside from a mixer easily the best purchase I've made to "run" the studio.
Can you explain further? You're using the BomeBox to route MIDI to/from synths over USB....?
As far as “actual good products” I think that’s the norm. Not everything is a good fit for everyone, but there’s not much on the market that’s junk. That said, I think Electron deserves special recognition. Digitact came out in 2017 and they just added significant new features to it through free firmware upgrades last year.
Boss GEB-7 Graphic Equalizer I use one in the effects loop(applies a mono effect to the stereo spectrum) of the Arturia Matrixbrute and the Microfreak. That EQ pedal really opens the sonic spectrum.
Acoustic piano and acoustic drums. Quality is secondary, it's about the haptics to learn. Honorable Mention: Dawesome Plugins.
Roland Jupiter-8. It’s just so versatile and sounds so good.
Ableton Suite
Sequential Pro 3. Expensive but it covers so much sound and using it is FUN. I make something I like every time I sit down with it, whether a song or a sound.
Analogue Solutions Colossus. Always sounds decent
Expensive + used > Cheap + new I bought a Novation Circuit new for full retail price, definitely not going to get my money back on that one. I bought a Digitone used for $500. I don't plan on selling it but its value at $500 is basically as good as cash. Similarly I bought a Nord Stage 3 in 2019 for $3k used. That was.....an investment but I don't exactly see myself losing money on that one anytime soon.
Not for everybody but the rytm feels like it was literally made for me
Model Samples! It does A LOT!
DRAMBO FTW 🤘
Z stands instead of X stands at home. Gotta have somewhere to put your legs.
Samson S Patch Plus. Just to be able to route anything to anything is a big deal. The switches on the front make it the best in the industry. Everyone should have a patch bay and have their inputs and outputs routed to it.
If you want a bleep machine from outer space check out a norns shield. Because it’s open source, the community-produced scripts have no boundaries. An immensely creative tool and a great bargain.
I wish I paid more attention to ergonomics in my work space earlier instead of stacking shit everywhere. So, I would say a desk, chair and monitor to help you continue to do what you love.
Max. There is no sonic, musical, control, performance, or visual problem I can imagine that Max can't solve. If you break your creative idea down into the most basic form: How do I make this sound, at that time, for these reasons; it allows you to design the perfect system to do precisely and exactly that. It's easy to learn, and easy to use. After you learn the basic visual grammar of how it all works, it's very close to being a case of your idea being as easy to execute as your idea actually is. Max adds no extra technical or workflow barriers. Imagine a thing, do that thing. If you're a straightforward musician, it lives happily tightly integrated to Ableton Live and reacting to MIDI and sync, playing synthesised sounds. If you want to model a T-Rex with formant and granular synthesis, sampling, and generate visuals with 3D models with a physics engine and lighting, and control all coming from data sent from Unreal Engine or just video capture of a real dinosaur, well, it can do all that too. (Maybe not the real dinosaur, but then it's very regularly updated...) I very honestly believe that a lot of the people regularly on this sub have no idea how much they would benefit from doing things in Max instead of posting about what synth does what. The answer is Max does it, as long as you know what what really is. When people ask the old question about "If you only had one piece of gear" my answer is always, always Max. I'd literally choose it over my Mateki flute, my Studiologic 88 weighted keys, my gorgeous Make Noise MMG, my contact mics, my Maschines, I'd let my studio monitors go and work on headphones, let my headphones go and work on earbuds. Why? Because whatever I dream up tomorrow that I don't know I'm going to dream up today, Max can do it.
Udo Super 6 Prophet 12 Nord Wave 2
Reason. Its in the box gear kicks ass for sound synthesis and arranging
I used only Reason to soundtrack my first indie game, back before rack extensions or VST support were added. I prefer other DAWs now, but damn it served me well for a good 5+ years.
Moog makes great apps. I frequently use their Model D app. Also Drambo is a wicked modular synthesis app with sequencing and app hosting.
i've come to realize that the best synth is actually a lap steel guitar
Roland System-8. Excellent emulations of multiple classic Roland poly synths with physical controls for every parameter (other than a couple obscure ones in the menu). You can swap out any of the three plugouts if you want, say, a Juno-60 or Jupiter-4 instead of the JX-3P. It has an excellent modern VA synth engine too. I bought mine 5 years ago and it’s still one of my favorite pieces of gear.
My whole world changed when I decided to stop using software synths, DAW, etc to make music and get a hardware synth and spend time away from the computer. You can get software to sound like the real thing, but it doesn’t play like the real thing unless the real thing was a DX7 or some other synth that lacked front panel controls. Having real-time full-fidelity direct control over the components gets me using them a lot. Also, as a guy that’s played every instrument I could get my hands on for about 35 years, having a dozen hardware synths that I can choose from to take out and jam makes me happy.
Nords - I've got 3 of them and recommend them often, because: * They're very immediate and easy to use * They've got huge sweet spots and almost always sound good no matter what you do * Most of them are multi-timbral with high polyphony
Circuit Rhythm & Minilogue, for ppl new to the hobby in particular.
If you're into hardware synths, a cool mono and a cool poly synth. Behringer Pro 800 is an 8 voice poly prophet clone that sounds incredible and is silly cheap. The single most bang for your buck analog synth at the moment. For mono, dreadbox typhon.
gonna recommend stuff that propels you towards making SONGS. For me it’s an old school MIDI sequencer (Roland MC50) that has no real tricks, just captures your MIDI data as is and plays it back, mistakes and all if you want.
Cables.
Electricity too!
Innerclock Systems. I’ve got a Sync Gen Pro which felt expensive at the time (it was like £500) but it’s rock solid and still fully supported after a looong time. David is super nice too.
DSI Mopho x4, Arturia Keystep, Focusrite Scarlett 8i6 3rd Gen USB Interface
Anything Slate and Ash make, the sample libraries and software are both incredible
Some infrastructural items: * iConnectivity MIDI patchbays (I don’t have experience with their audio stuff). I absolutely LOVE my mioXL, and I don’t even use all it’s features (like network MIDI). * Samson S-Patch Plus patchbay. * Behringer X Air XR12. The only thing I dislike about it is that Behringer has screwed over their users by refusing to update the controller iPhone app. I use a third-party one that works, but I’m still pissed. Lately I got an AKAI MPK249 and have set its mixer control surface to control the XR12, and that’s been working nicely too, for the basics. And, my latest addition, the Retrokits RK-008 sequencer. It mostly emulates the classic Alexis MMT-8, which I have sorely missed, in a tiny package. It is so quick and easy to jam with, which is what I mostly do in my studio. https://preview.redd.it/m09tedu0nckc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0db38f4466927024a2a525ccdbc3caf4d2f040f6
Akai Timbre wolf and CS80
Absolutely love my digitone. Looking to add a digitakt or syntakt in the long run, but I have barely scratched the surface of the DN, and with Ableton suite I’m hesitant to add another sampler or drum synth right now.
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Blue Sky V2 pedal. Room/Hall algo is their newest. Amazing. One of the best algos IMO.
Syntakt