Please help me decide a hardware synthesizer

[bmanic]

Appreciate the further thoughts. How did you find the keybed on the MODX M6 by the way?

I liked it, but it's definitely going to split opinions. It's got that typical Yamaha "on/off" feel, meaning the keys have a non-linear feel to them. You get a bit of resistance at first, then suddenly it goes down quite easily and rapidly without much resistance. The opposite of "rubbery/mushy" feel. Sort of the opposite to the typical Roland synth keybed which is usually of the "mushy" kind where the key has virtually zero initial resistance and the progressively gets more as you press down the key.

I've always been very partial to the Yamaha keybeds though. I still think the DX7 mk2 keybed is one of the best ever made for fast and accurate playing.. and I've been called a weird masochist for that opinion.

[LoveEnigma18]

Where are you that synths are unavailable?

I wonder that too, I think both eBay and Reverb has return options and ratings on sellers and stuff.

I should not be so alarmed buying second hand. But depending on location shipping cost may be considerable.

India. It is difficult to find stuff second hand here and if I do, shipping and concern of its working, etc. matters. So, I am afraid to take a risk for the money.

Wavestate as said, serious amount of planning to make full use of it. Very much browsing for waveforms and stuff, instead of normal synth with oscillators and a few turning of knobs.

Minilogue is very cool, but I would consider Prologue to get more voices, both 8 and 16 versions exist.

Opsix is very cool too, really made FM usable and more than usable, very fun to tweak.
- but Korg went overboard in pricing with full keyboard, for two handed playing

Very much bang for buck is Behringer Deep Mind as well, lots of storage and good effects and everything. And is said to have Juno as roll model.
- there are even 6 voice versions which goes a long way
- and you can choose if keyboard or desktop versions as well
- serious options for modulations etc

Thanks for the suggestions. I am really interested in Korg Prologue, but it seems to be out of stock everywhere here, so I excluded it from the list. Looks like it is discontinued.

Opsix is indeed cool, but as you said, a bit too expensive for just being an FM synth. Love how it sounds though!

Not too keen personally about Behringer DeepMind.

[LoveEnigma18]

StudioLogic Sledge II Black

Given the 'styles' of music you express interest in making, these tutorials will give you a taste of this synths potential to meet those demands.

Thank you, this looks interesting. I will check it out.

[Shabdahbriah]

Do you still use Omnisphere? If so, it might be worth noting that Minilogue XD and Hydrasynths are the only ones from your list that hardware integrate with it.

The Sledge II is beautifully integrated with Omnisphere, also.

[LoveEnigma18]

Well, I don't know about the Fantom-06 but it depends on what you really want and what is your priority, because you can't have everything, I mean a great workstation + analogue synth. However, MODX is a great rompler + great FM synth. It has thousands of sounds and they are very usable. You can see the mixer of 8+8 channels (8 channels at once). You can transmit 8 channels simultaneously including the drums. So, if you base your workflow on the MODX, then you can choose channel 1 for drums (for example), ch2 for bass, ch3 for pads, ch4 lead, ...etc. You record in midi to your DAW everyone has its track, then you continue for there in your DAW. MODX also has three Midi outs (1, 2 and 3). So, the knobs and sliders can be used as midi controllers (for soft synths) and also can be configure as transport controller (play, stop ..etc) by choosing the functionality (a button switching between the three states).

The keybed is not great, but is ok. There is no aftertouch as well. But still overall, a great keyboard/synth with great sounds (higher than Triton for example for classic sounds). You can also upload into it some great Libraries of analogue sound and piano sounds (the same in the Montage). So, value for money, it is unbeatable really, so that I won't sell it because maybe one day I will use it if I switch to Linux for example

Thank you for the details. Good to know some positive aspects of MODX.

I am comparing it with Roland Fantom-06, let's see which one wins.

[LoveEnigma18]

Appreciate the further thoughts. How did you find the keybed on the MODX M6 by the way?

I liked it, but it's definitely going to split opinions. It's got that typical Yamaha "on/off" feel, meaning the keys have a non-linear feel to them. You get a bit of resistance at first, then suddenly it goes down quite easily and rapidly without much resistance. The opposite of "rubbery/mushy" feel. Sort of the opposite to the typical Roland synth keybed which is usually of the "mushy" kind where the key has virtually zero initial resistance and the progressively gets more as you press down the key.

I've always been very partial to the Yamaha keybeds though. I still think the DX7 mk2 keybed is one of the best ever made for fast and accurate playing.. and I've been called a weird masochist for that opinion.

Thanks for the descriptions of keys. Good enough to know you liked it. I think it isn't going to be too different for either synths and it would need some time getting used to.

I have a cheap old Yamaha PSR-E423 keyboard and I like its keys, so I am pretty sure the keys of MODX and Fantom-06 or pretty much anything these days would be better.

[LoveEnigma18]

Does anyone have an experience with Sequential Take 5?

Sounds amazing, but less keys and on the expensive side.

[Uncle E]

Good but my least favorite of the three small Sequential-Oberheim's.

[cryophonik]

I’d say it’s great and one of the best purchases in that price range, but it meets almost none of your criteria, aside from possibly price.

[LoveEnigma18]

Thanks guys. It doesn't quite meet even the price criteria as it is actually expensive here. I think I'd rather get Korg minilogue XD instead of it, which is almost one third its price here.

[db3]

The Sequential Fourm is a lot cheaper than the Take5, but I think it sounds better — if you are ok with 'slim' keys and no onboard effects, it's like a junior Prophet-5.

[LoveEnigma18]

Thanks, db3. Quite interesting that it has slim keys but they don't look slim and at this price point has polyphonic aftertouch. I am not sure about it now, but I will check it out and consider it for later.

[pdxindy]

cryophonik and zerocrossing:

Thank you, appreciate your suggestions. I understand that these are not proper/actual analog hardware synths, but I want a hardware synth not for the analog sound, but something I can enjoy playing on its own. I am OK with digital hardware synths.

Find a store with the Korg's and Roland's and go try them out. Spend a few hours playing and exploring the synths.

[LoveEnigma18]

cryophonik and zerocrossing:

Thank you, appreciate your suggestions. I understand that these are not proper/actual analog hardware synths, but I want a hardware synth not for the analog sound, but something I can enjoy playing on its own. I am OK with digital hardware synths.

Find a store with the Korg's and Roland's and go try them out. Spend a few hours playing and exploring the synths.

If I had that kind of luxury, I would have surely done that. Unfortunately, there are no local stores here that have such expensive synthesizers. At best, they will have cheaper keyboards for demo.

[LoveEnigma18]

While I may buy an analog/hybrid analog synth at some point (most likely minilogue XD or maybe Wavestate MK2), for now, I am currently torn between FANTOM-06 and MODX M6.

Considering I have some Roland Cloud instruments and sound packs already and plan to get ZENOLOGY PRO during the sale, there are two schools of thought I am going through:

1. Get FANTOM-06 and then expand its sound palette with various sound packs.

2. Get MODX M6 instead as I already have ZEN Core sounds that I can use in my DAW. MODX M6 looks a bit more modern and nice to me. The only problem right now is MODX M models are out of stock everywhere in my country, so while I am not in a hurry, not sure how much I would need to wait.