Best synthesizer for a home studio (professional analog sound)

[wurschtel]

Thanks a lot for those like!!!

What about the Arturia MatrixBrute? It looks quite awesome... lots of modulation and analog sound?
Is it worth the price?

What about background noise? It should be quite noticeable...

Is there a background noise with modular systems?

[v1o]

Just about anything by DSI feels and sounds very professional. Have a look at the Pro 6 or the REV2. If you want a mono groove box get the Pioneer Toriaz AS-1.

If you are on a budget get the Behringer DM-12, can be had for £600 if you shop around.

[sjm]

Behringer have a certain "reputation", that's for sure. I think they quite upped their game with their more recent gear, though.

I have a decent amount of Behringer gear and know enough people who have owned Behringer stuff. I can only talk about my personal anecdotal experiences. For what they are worth:

• A friend bought a Behringer mixer maybe 15 years ago. Didn't last long before there were issues.
• Behringer headphones bought around the same time lasted longer, but weren't brilliant and started disintegrating. The foam padding on the ears was first to go.
• The 19" rack stuff I have from them all works fine and is several years old. Most(all?) of it is quite a bit newer than the above gear.
• Their one guitar stomp box I have from them works fine and is also several years old.

So my anecdotal evidence supports what chk071 says; Behringer had a reputation for cheap and unreliable that may well have been deserved 15 or so years ago. None of the gear I have used that was bought back then lasted very long. The more recent purchases are all going strong; never had any issues. I was wary because of their reputation, but at the prices I picked the gear up for, I figured it would be no big loss.

I have played around with a DeepMind very briefly in a shop, it seemed to feel decent enough to me. I wouldn't (deep) mind one myself, despite not really having any need...

[thecontrolcentre]

Thanks a lot for those like!!!

What about the Arturia MatrixBrute? It looks quite awesome... lots of modulation and analog sound?
Is it worth the price?

It sounds awesome to me. I considered getting one before I spotted the Abyss (they are very different). I understand Arturia are increasing the price next month to over £2,000 so now is the time to grab one.

[wurschtel]

Thanks a lot for those like!!!

What about the Arturia MatrixBrute? It looks quite awesome... lots of modulation and analog sound?
Is it worth the price?

It sounds awesome to me. I considered getting one before I spotted the Abyss (they are very different). I understand Arturia are increasing the price next month to over £2,000 so now is the time to grab one.

Wow really? okay I need to go ahead and listen to both synthesizers

[thecontrolcentre]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEgo-kEmlTU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRoqZyNMa8E

[wurschtel]

there Are so many reviews out there that the biggest weakness of the “Arturia MatrixBrute” it’s harsch sound is... but in the video it sounds really great...

I’m still wondering if I should get a subsequent 37 over a matrix brute or a modular system...

My priorities are
- professional analog sound
- a lot of modulation options
- a nice integration in a daw

What I do not need:
- transportability
- a amazing sequencer

Maybe that helps..

[AdvancedFollower]

Behringer have a certain "reputation", that's for sure. I think they quite upped their game with their more recent gear, though.

I have a decent amount of Behringer gear and know enough people who have owned Behringer stuff. I can only talk about my personal anecdotal experiences. For what they are worth:

• A friend bought a Behringer mixer maybe 15 years ago. Didn't last long before there were issues.
• Behringer headphones bought around the same time lasted longer, but weren't brilliant and started disintegrating. The foam padding on the ears was first to go.
• The 19" rack stuff I have from them all works fine and is several years old. Most(all?) of it is quite a bit newer than the above gear.
• Their one guitar stomp box I have from them works fine and is also several years old.

So my anecdotal evidence supports what chk071 says; Behringer had a reputation for cheap and unreliable that may well have been deserved 15 or so years ago. None of the gear I have used that was bought back then lasted very long. The more recent purchases are all going strong; never had any issues. I was wary because of their reputation, but at the prices I picked the gear up for, I figured it would be no big loss.

I have played around with a DeepMind very briefly in a shop, it seemed to feel decent enough to me. I wouldn't (deep) mind one myself, despite not really having any need...

Just to add another anecdote, I'm still using my Behringer B2030A's from ~2005. You'd have expected them to blow a fuse by now (and I guess that could happen at any moment), but they still work and sound just fine. Also had a BCF2000 for several years before selling it, and a Behringer headphone amp that's probably at least 10 years old and still working fine. Not saying they haven't had quality problems, just that without actual statistics, it's hard to draw any conclusions from anecdotes.

I used to own some hardware in the past, but I sold everything when I had my "slump" from 2014 - 2018. I think "professional sound" is the wrong reason to buy hardware. There might be a difference in sound, but that's highly subjective and as others have stated, probably masked in a mix anyway. Many actual professionals (who make millions on their music) seem to get on just fine with only VST's, so it seems odd that bedroom producers would need fancy hardware to achieve the same result.

The main thing for me with hardware was that it was just more fun to play around with. So I'd say the interface is the most important thing in a hardware synth, and the only real selling point vs software. Didn't actually use my hardware synths much on actual tracks, but I had a *lot* of fun creating patches and learning about synthesis on stuff like the MS2000R, MFB Synth II and Gaia, while my Blofeld and Virus TI Snow felt more like awkwardly packaged VST's.

[wurschtel]

I used to own some hardware in the past, but I sold everything when I had my "slump" from 2014 - 2018. I think "professional sound" is the wrong reason to buy hardware. There might be a difference in sound, but that's highly subjective and as others have stated, probably masked in a mix anyway. Many actual professionals (who make millions on their music) seem to get on just fine with only VST's, so it seems odd that bedroom producers would need fancy hardware to achieve the same result.

The main thing for me with hardware was that it was just more fun to play around with. So I'd say the interface is the most important thing in a hardware synth, and the only real selling point vs software. Didn't actually use my hardware synths much on actual tracks, but I had a *lot* of fun creating patches and learning about synthesis on stuff like the MS2000R, MFB Synth II and Gaia, while my Blofeld and Virus TI Snow felt more like awkwardly packaged VST's.

Thanks a lot! That was quite helpful!!!
So in the end it’s a question of interface, fun and learning?

So then my questions is: how to learn all the things about synths best? With a modular or a “normal” hardware one?

Did you know that omnisphere 2.5 is supporting a ton of synthesizer interfaces as a controller? This could be really interesting in the future (given that the difference isn’t noticeable in a mix...) but who is making a track with omnisphere when he has a Moog around?
Ok omnisphere is capable of more sounds (Polyphonie, granular etc.) than a good old Moog... so I guess we have to see how it implements in the workflow...
but it although means, that it is not bad to have a “normal” hardware synth around with a nice and capable interface...

[spendthrift2]

Consider this article. http://www.kvraudio.com/interviews/ken- ... ment-19832

They don't discuss what type of synth to get. In my opinion though The Crystal Method are a prolific group, at least in dance music. And the way Ken Jordan tells it, analog AND digital seems to be the right fit for them; but at what cost?

I think the tech support for digital is better. Good luck!

[AdvancedFollower]

Thanks a lot! That was quite helpful!!!
So in the end it’s a question of interface, fun and learning?

So then my questions is: how to learn all the things about synths best? With a modular or a “normal” hardware one?
.

Yes, for me at least, experimenting in real-time with a dedicated knob or button for nearly every function (while following the Sound on Sound Synth Secrets series) was a hugely rewarding learning experience, whether on a digital synth like the MS2000R or an analog one like the Synth II.

I've never used a modular, but I imagine it would be even more rewarding, with all the possibilities for routing stuff. That said, many "fixed" synths have pretty flexible modulation matrices these days. One thing I'd say is that at least for me, polyphony wasn't as important as I'd have thought. Usually, the sounds I came up with used LFO's and envelopes in such a way that polyphony just made them sound muddy and messy anyway.

[wurschtel]

Thanks a lot! That was quite helpful!!!
So in the end it’s a question of interface, fun and learning?

So then my questions is: how to learn all the things about synths best? With a modular or a “normal” hardware one?
.

Yes, for me at least, experimenting in real-time with a dedicated knob or button for nearly every function (while following the Sound on Sound Synth Secrets series) was a hugely rewarding learning experience, whether on a digital synth like the MS2000R or an analog one like the Synth II.

I've never used a modular, but I imagine it would be even more rewarding, with all the possibilities for routing stuff. That said, many "fixed" synths have pretty flexible modulation matrices these days. One thing I'd say is that at least for me, polyphony wasn't as important as I'd have thought. Usually, the sounds I came up with used LFO's and envelopes in such a way that polyphony just made them sound muddy and messy anyway.

Thanks for the answer! Helps me a lot!

[thecontrolcentre]

Consider some of the cheaper semi-modular analog monosynths that seem to abound these days. The new Minibrute's look awesome, as does Roland SE-02. The Dreadbox stuff is interesting too. I have a Doepfer Dark Energy that I love. It depends what you're looking for in an "analog synth". Are presets important? Polyphony, etc ...

[rod_zero]

For a "professional" sound when it comes to synths mixing is way more important, lots of music is released produced totally with virtual instruments and it is impossible to point out the difference.

The hardware is just a luxury for those who like the physical interaction, good players who take advantage of their skills and people who like to tinker around modular cables.

If you want to sound pro invest time in learning mixing, maybe pay a professional to sit down there and look how he mixes. But there are tons of sources online for learning.

[akeia]

so I could spend around 2000 €

One can buy A LOT of excellent soft synths for that kind of money. The best from U-He(analog), Xils(analog), Korg(analog), Waldorf(wavetable) and AAS(physical modelling) and a good quality weighted keyboard controller with a bunch of knobs and ribbons in my opinion is the most "professional" solution.