KVR Audio

Iggmeister · Post by **Iggmeister** » Sun Jan 22, 2017 2:13 am

Hi all

This past couple of years I have been getting into home production. Purchase wise I have bought 'essentials' such as a DAW, Monitors, headphones, controller, interface etc and some VST's, and havent had much spare cash for anything else.

I'm now going to purchase my first hardware synth over the next few days - but i must say i've been doing a lot of research and its quite daunting.

The music I make (and want to make) is predominantly house, influenced by the likes of Moomin, Smallville, Christopher Rau, iron Curtis etc etc

i seem to have whittled my choices down to the Bass Station 2, Korg MicroKorg XL+, Roland JDXI or Roland Aira System 1.

Does anyone have any of these, would recommend any or al? and am especially interested if you feel these are good synths for the type of music i wish to make. Also, if you have any alternative suggestions i'd love to hear them - thanks so much. Budget will be £400 ish.

Also, if you have suggestions for a good analogue drum machine, reasonably priced, let me know - toying with getting the Korg Volca Beats.

Igg

EDGEK8D · Post by **EDGEK8D** » Sun Jan 22, 2017 2:49 am

Well, starting out, and to get something completely different to what you already have in the software/ITB department, I'd go with an analog monosynth for sure. Everybody should have one.

Of those you listed, I'd go with the Bass Station II. First, its all analog. Second, despite being analog, it has full modern MIDI spec, and will respond to MIDI CC, so you can automate it within your DAW. For me that is a huge bonus. I use Logic Pro Xc which allows me to randomize and automate ranges of velocity levels, send extra LFO or envelope signals, and its really quite powerful.

If its raw analog you want, also look at Dreadbox Erebus or Hades. The Erebus has an analog delay which is sweet. Dreadbox synths sound undeniably analog and are reasonably priced.

Other less flashy options (no MIDI CC, but regular MIDI) SE Boomstar, Vermona Monolancet, Korg Mini/Monologue, and of course Arturia Micro/Minibrute. Dave Smith stuff and Moog stuff also allow for CC automation, so a Mopho or Slim Phatty could be an option.

These are common synths. Buy 2nd hand local and you can save a lot of money. Then if you don't like it, turn around and sell it at no loss, and get something else. Its trial and error sometimes. Don't agonize too long. There were times I *knew* I had to have X synth, and then didn't gel with it, other times I wasn't sure but totally loved it.

Good luck

EDGEK8D · Post by **EDGEK8D** » Sun Jan 22, 2017 2:53 am

Also, as far as inexpensive analog drum machines go, the Arturia Drumbrute looks amazing! Haven't used one but want to just because it looks so fun, and i can't believe what it does and how it sounds for the price. We will see if Arturia holds up their end of the bargain with firmware updates and bug fixed.

Iggmeister · Post by **Iggmeister** » Sun Jan 22, 2017 3:09 am

Thanks edgek8d, appreciate that

The Drumbrute looks amazing!!

Seriously tempted now lol.

I'll check out those other synths you mentioned, most i hadnt even heard of so really appreciate that - ty

idfpower · Post by **idfpower** » Sun Jan 22, 2017 10:10 am

Why not a MiniNova? Very small footprint, strong synth engine & polished sound, plenty of good presets out of the box 256 + 128 user) + 8 animation buttons to modify the presets on the fly (that alone is worth it), the best vocoder out of all the micro synths, etc.

As for hardware drum machine...unless you're playing live shows a lot, stick to software - way more options, and plenty of freeware vst. Most ppl combine the sounds from different machines and often layer them on top of each other anyway. No point in going hardware for a kick and snare - most of them (if not all) got sampled anyway, so you can get those precise sounds if you really need to.

Iggmeister · Post by **Iggmeister** » Sun Jan 22, 2017 12:07 pm

Hi Idf

Yeah the Mininova is one I was seriously considering also - the ones i mentioned in the first post had just edged it - but thats based on me reading reviews and watching youtube videos - with a very limited knowledge of hardware synths. I'm going to check out those animation buttons you mentioned, they sound interesting.

As for the analogue drum machine - i seem to struggle to get the sound I want on hats and kicks using software - I may be wrong but i thought Analogue would give me a better sound that say a sampled 909 etc?

Thanks for your input mate, appreciate it.

idfpower · Post by **idfpower** » Sun Jan 22, 2017 12:55 pm

Well, the way I see it, nowadays it's all about sound processing. You won't hear any raw drum sounds or straight out of the box synth presets. So maybe a better approach would be to just sit and watch a bunch of production technique & tricks videos on YouTube and see how others manage to build a really solid drum kit or a nice lead or whatnot. Like I said, layering is a common trick. And once you really start tweaking it, the sound source becomes less relevant. That's why IMO it doesn't matter if the sound source came from hardware or software. Watch a bunch of studio/production videos with well known artists - I bet you will be surprised what they've been using as sound sources - 'cause that's all that is to it: a starting point - the rest is the artist's vision & style + lots of sound processing. At the end of the day nobody cares if you're using a full analogue OTB rig or just mousing in FL Studio. And there are lots of videos that explain how to build specific music genre sounds. Good luck!

rod_zero · Post by **rod_zero** » Sun Jan 22, 2017 6:16 pm

Get one with tons of controls, skip microkorg and mininova, that is what makes HW fun.

Korg Monologue, Bass station 2 or the system 1 are all great options.

janke · Post by **janke** » Sun Jan 22, 2017 9:21 pm

Access virus snow not so expensive ,sounds great and tousens of sounds use without computer ore with daw

foosnark · Post by **foosnark** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 3:25 am

A MicroBrute has been one of my best value and best sounding synth buys ever... and I was thinking that for months before I even started with Eurorack gear, which it interacts with very nicely. It's the only analog synth I have continued to keep around, in fact. But there are a lot of great choices for inexpensive analog synths now.

RichieWitch · Post by **RichieWitch** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 4:59 pm

If you've got a local Guitar Center or some place similar, get down there with a pair of headphones and audition these synths. I really thought I wanted a Roland JD-XA until I played one. I ended up spending time with every synth they carry and found what I was looking for in the Prophet-6, a synth I had not even considered up to that point.

If you're anywhere in Southern California, go to Perfect Circuit Audio in Burbank. They had every synth I had ever heard of on display, plugged in, and ready to be played. It's synth paradise!! LOL

Let your ears decide.

Wormhelmet · Post by **Wormhelmet** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 5:07 pm

RichieWitch wrote:If you've got a local Guitar Center or some place similar, get down there with a pair of headphones and audition these synths. I really thought I wanted a Roland JD-XA until I played one. I ended up spending time with every synth they carry and found what I was looking for in the Prophet-6, a synth I had not even considered up to that point.

If you're anywhere in Southern California, go to Perfect Circuit Audio in Burbank. They had every synth I had ever heard of on display, plugged in, and ready to be played. It's synth paradise!! LOL

Let your ears decide.

Perfect Circuit - yes!
Guitar Center - No!

Haha. GC has crap selection in their stores. They'll have a jdxi and maybe a prophet 6 module that has been tweaked with by a hundred unskilled hands, and maybe a lone microbrute thats been sitting there for 3 years. Not much else. Don't forget they'll have 5 salespeople trying to tackle you on a useless extended warranty they make you do all the work for anyway and have to send back to the manufacturer which couod have been done on the nanufacturer warranty.

Don't forget Noise Bug in Pamona if in SoCal. Great store and many boutique items.

RichieWitch · Post by **RichieWitch** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 5:29 pm

Wormhelmet wrote:Haha. GC has crap selection in their stores. They'll have a jdxi and maybe a prophet 6 module that has been tweaked with by a hundred unskilled hands, and maybe a lone microbrute thats been sitting there for 3 years. Not much else. Don't forget they'll have 5 salespeople trying to tackle you on a useless extended warranty they make you do all the work for anyway and have to send back to the manufacturer which couod have been done on the nanufacturer warranty.

Hehe, yeah, I happened to be in LA for the holidays and went to the flagship GC store on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. So they had quite a few synths but not everything I wanted to try. Then I drove over to Perfect Circuit. They had everything GC did and everything else that GC didn't. Got to try the JD-XA, the Vermona drum machine, the new Korg ARP Odyssey, a Make Noise 0-Coast, every Dave Smith synth I'd ever heard of--it was crazy. All that and tables full of small Eurorack setups to patch up and play with. That place is amazing.

Iggmeister · Post by **Iggmeister** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 5:37 pm

Thanks guys, I'm in the UK, Glasgow, so those stores may be out of reach

I would love a Prophet 6 or a Virus, but both sadly out of price range for now.

Yeah Microbrute is another I'm looking at.

I do have a great store nearby with loads and loads set up - i think it is going to be a case of going in and spending some time with them and deciding with my ears like you guys said.

Thnx

Wormhelmet · Post by **Wormhelmet** » Mon Jan 23, 2017 5:48 pm

Hopefully your local music store with good variety of instruments gives discounts on floor models too. Perfect Circuit does that. They shoot a video demo of one of their synths and you get a discounted price on it. Sweetwater Music also does this. Picked up my Ti2 for $230 off for being a demo unit.

Guitar Center you could point out the extra knob you thought was there but was actually a 3 year booger collection added to by 300 kids that have run around the store unsupervised and playing with floor models should get a discount and they won't budge on the MSRP of a brand new one.

My First Synth