Help me put my first virtual synth setup together!

[Worthless_n00b]

Okay, first things first; I did in fact perform an advanced search through 6 forums with subforums included, and returned only 4 posts. Why? Because what I'm looking to do is pretty specific.
Bona fides:
Drums and percussion since '81.
Drum machines, triggers, and MIDI since '90
Original compositions since '92.
DAW use since Sonar 4 Producer.

Current Setup:
S1 6 Pro w/ Atmos
M-Audio AIR 192/6
Mackie CRX-8's (VERY sensitive to EQ tweaks for a non-traditional monitor)
Software of possible note; MPC beats ( came with the A/D, haven't even tried it ), and various Nembrini guitar and bass junk.

OKAY. Moving on. What I need is twofold:
1) I want to use a smaller keyboard/controller to record drum samples and synth work separately. Everything I write is arranged and stored in my brain, so it's simply a matter of applying hands, fingers, and feet until I get what I want. I tend to approach things in a very old school kind of way if you haven't figured that out already.
2) I want a synth program that will allow me to program harmonies ( they don't have to be multi-patch ) that I can assign to the root notes of my choosing. This allows me to use a smaller controller without having to record multiple audio runs to achieve 3 and 4-part synth harmonies. Style-wise, I'm basically doing a lot of "Oooh" and "Aaah" ice the cake type-stuff with the occasional angry, distort-o-pad sound.
TO START. Obviously, the goal is to get more adventurous with this stuff as time goes by, but that's not the main focus today.

Lastly, I DO NOT NEED the latest and greatest gear. We're talking about plastic, rubber, and databits here, not a '58 Goldtop.

Alright KVR Synthmasters; tell me how easy and inexpensive this will be!

Thanks!
-J. aka "Worthless_n00b"

[ROTMetro]

VPS Avenger for soft synth.

Your comment on hardware plus all your talk about drumming are too contradictory to recommend a controller. You sound like you want something with good drum pads, but don't want to consider something with good drum pads because it's all just plastic and quality doesn't matter to you. Enjoy your search I guess.

[zerocrossing]

1) I want to use a smaller keyboard/controller to record drum samples and synth work separately. Everything I write is arranged and stored in my brain, so it's simply a matter of applying hands, fingers, and feet until I get what I want. I tend to approach things in a very old school kind of way if you haven't figured that out already.

That's a question that has a very large amount of possible answers. I would assume that because you're a drummer/percussionist, you don't care about keys... but do you? There are various controllers that offer keys and pads. When you say smaller, what do you even mean? A 61 key MIDI keyboard is smaller than an 88 key one. I guess what I'm saying is that you need to be more specific about your needs before you can get any sort of recommendation that makes sense.

https://www.sweetwater.com/c645--Electr ... _Multipads

2) I want a synth program that will allow me to program harmonies ( they don't have to be multi-patch ) that I can assign to the root notes of my choosing. This allows me to use a smaller controller without having to record multiple audio runs to achieve 3 and 4-part synth harmonies. Style-wise, I'm basically doing a lot of "Oooh" and "Aaah" ice the cake type-stuff with the occasional angry, distort-o-pad sound.
TO START. Obviously, the goal is to get more adventurous with this stuff as time goes by, but that's not the main focus today.

Most percussion type programs can be set up so that each pad can trigger any MIDI number, so the synth you choose is irrelevant, in this respect. Even a traditional MIDI keyboard can use your DAW's MIDI mapping tools to trigger arbitrary notes. I don't know your DAW, but do some research. My DAW of choice, Bitwig, has something called a Transpose Map device that will let me do whatever I want.

This will let you pick a synthesizer based on sound and features, and since we don't quite know what you like or want, it's hard to recommend something. Maybe start out with something free for a bit, until you get more of a handle on things. There are quite a few great plugins that are free. This should get you going.

https://www.sweetwater.com/c645--Electr ... _Multipads

[eLawnMust]

I use a Korg Microkontrol as instead of 2 or 4 octaves it has 3 octaves but the keys are SMALL, not fullsized & yeah has drumpads but don't use them at all-