Synth Dudes: M-Audio Venom?

[Gunner Recall]

So a new synth caught my eye while I was in my study (a bathroom stocked with MF/Sweetwater mags), the venom.
What do you synth nerds think of it?

This video doesn't show off too many sounds but it seems to be the most honest review so far:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILVT5WTmq0E[/youtube]

I don't mind it being performance geared, I usually have my laptop in front of me so being tied to the software isn't a big deal.
I'm a bit of a synth noob looking to get into the game, not looking to spend much more than $500 and I never liked the microkorg.

[Gunner Recall]

whatevs ILF...I'll go get my ololol wubwubwubwub on by myself

Any morpho/ultra nova/gaia users maybe want to chime in?

[sonidero]

I tend to shy away from M-Audio and going by your standards I'd say you can't go wrong with any of the Dave Smith Instruments and a controller if needed... The microkorg (crap) and the other synths you mentioned are analog modeling where as the DSI's are analog and digital... What kinda sounds, music, noise do you want to make.?.

[Gunner Recall]

Dubpostprogmetal

[sonidero]

You'll want something that can make the most amount of varied noise which is analog as opposed to a rompler that plays tuba's and strings, and glockenspiels... Look for cheap analog with or without keys... An Evolver and a controller could be had cheap and you could still use your laptop to play "regular" sounds and beats... Check out DSI stuff for sure...

[MannequinRaces]

I would take a good hard look at the Moog Slim Phatty: http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PhattySlim/ It's $800 so a bit higher than your $500 target and you would still need a MIDI controller if you wanted some keys but... this thing is awesome! Be sure to check out the video in the link above.

[dorfmeister]

Not analog but a used first generation Elektron Monomachine is a unique little synth with lots of options and a great sequencer and can be gotten for about $700.



A keyboard controller can be attached though they did make a version with a keyboard. I remember those halcyon days of fishing and programming beats out on the dock.

[Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D.]

^dude monomachine is fuckin killer! i would def recommend that as well.

for $500 there are alot of older-ish synths u can get on ebay. i would spend some time searching that and vintagesynth.com

honestly tho, i feel like u can do a lot w/ any synth as long as u spend the time to make cool sounds and the editing capability is there