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It might be time for me to get a new synth. I've been rockin the microkorg for some time now, at least three years. And now one of the knobs for adjusting parameters isnt working right. The microkorg only registers about 3/4ths of the range of the knob.

So do I try to get it fixed. Do I get a new microkorg. Should I go for a computer synth setup of some kind. Analog would be cool but I don't have the budget to get one that would do everything the microkorg would do. Any opinions on those akai mpk's or the Roland Gaia?

Really I'd like something where I can have as much control over the syntheses as possible. Budget is 400-600.

If you don't need traditional synth sounds korg radias w/ micro to play the keys. Radias sounds a lot like the micro XL and you can also use the front panel to play it in a bind. If you do want more traditional analog sounds, alesis ion. Both are awesome. Gaia is okay, but limited, imo, save up for a roland v-synth 1 (~$700) if you like the sound because you get the synth engine plus a ridiculous amount of sound creation possibilities and control methods. Jexus on youtube has good non-boring demos, check him out.

Jexus is the best, this is my favorite vid of his:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WTWeGlH6M4

I really wanted the alesis Ion for quiet a whille, but I've kinda decided against it and most used gear when it comes to synths (mostly out of paranoia). I'd probably get the miniak if I really decided I wanted the Ion sound

After some watching/reading on the Radias, I don't think I can get behind the sound overall. I'd still need a keyboard, which I guess I could use the midi-out on my microkorg if I needed to. It sounds good, but it's just not what I'm looking for, plus I would probably spend all my time trying to get those sounds that Jexus made in those videos. It does look incredibly flexible though...

What I've noticed with a lot of modern synths (in the sub 1000 range) is that they offer very little hardware-wise but they offer lots of control in conjunction with a computer. So what about just a midi-controller and a software synth? I already have a laptop, so what kind of software synths and controllers do you folks use?

I'm very much a newb when it comes to software-based synths/recording so any help that way would be great.

If your looking for something analog to plug a midi keyboard into, the dave smith mopho is pretty nice.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/keyboard ... ynthesizer

It couldn't really provide all the sounds a microkorg could though.

As far as soft synths, all I use are freeware VSTs loaded into Ableton. They suit my needs fine though, and there's plenty of high quality ones all around.

^ even the ableton synths are pretty good.. i remember gettin some pretty badass sounds out of the 'operator' one.

Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D. wrote:^ even the ableton synths are pretty good.. i remember gettin some pretty badass sounds out of the 'operator' one.

They are good, but with all the ways to shape the sounds and the effects I usually lose sight of my goal pretty quickly. I use VSTs to specify what I need. Having a lot of options can't be a bad thing though.

a cool soft/hard option is the Maschine. that with your Korg Micro (or a real key sized controller for cheap, i have big clunky man hands and i can barely play keys anyways. micro keys are my BANE.) and you'd have a sequencer and a drum machine control surface. the Maschine ships with Kore Elements, which is sort of a Best Of of Komplete tones, that plus the Maschine library is a LOT of synth/drum stuff.

i just finally got Komplete installed and it's insane how much stuff is in there.

Well ableton is far more than I'd want to spend on a software synth without already having some kind of midi controller (the microkorg doesn't have any kind of computer interface built in, I could get a midi to USB converter but I don't think I'd have a lot of control over the program on the computer that way).

Where I have a mpc 1000 I dont really think I need much in the way of sequencing or beatmaking...

I definitely need polyphony, and I'd still need to be able to tweak the arpeggiator and midi settings on the microkorg (not really possible with the knob the way it is) to get the mopho even close to what I need to do. Otherwise it would be pretty cool.

I suppose I could download ableton via torrents but I've had enough computer trouble lately without downloading illegally.

I''m really tempted by both the ultranova and the venom. Both have USB audio interfaces, can be used as controllers if needed, the biggest difference is that with the venom you can't adjust all the parameters with just the keyboard controls. I cant quite decide if the ultranova would be worth the extra 2-3 hundo for that extra control, routing options and envelope generators.

Wait 'till Reason 6 comes out, then pick up that one. As far as VA goes, it's DAMN hard to beat a couple of Thors and Screams, and the new delay/distortions in 6 should improve that even further. For performance controls, once you're pretty proficient with Combinator, the sky's more or less the limit. It's well within your budget and it's far and away the most stable music software I've ever run.

Chumley wrote:Wait 'till Reason 6 comes out, then pick up that one. As far as VA goes, it's DAMN hard to beat a couple of Thors and Screams, and the new delay/distortions in 6 should improve that even further. For performance controls, once you're pretty proficient with Combinator, the sky's more or less the limit. It's well within your budget and it's far and away the most stable music software I've ever run.

Wow, I just watched the teaser over at Propellerhead, and R6 looks killer since absorbing Record, and adding the SSL style mixer, Space Echo themed delay, and other effects. I'd like to check it out myself.

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

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCvC0YbD_c4&feature=related[/youtube]

I've been considering one of these for a while, come in both a Keyboard and Module version. I like them quite a bit.

Well fuck me. That blofeld sounds amazing! I'd have to get the keyboard version probably unless I want to keep my microkorg. I was kinda planning on selling it for cheap to help pay for the new synth (175 shipped if anyone's interested). The keyboard version's way expensive though...

After looking at those different software synths I think I need one purely for recording purposes. If I didn't already have an mpc 1000 I'd definitely get a good midi controller and ableton studio. But where my music-making stuff is already all physically based I'll probably just get the super cheap version for recording tracks without the shitty bounce track function that I have to deal with on my yamaha 16g.

I hate/love shopping for synthesizers. They're expensive and complicated and still a little difficult for me to understand, so I have to really take a hard look at what I want and what the synth will do before I buy anything, because by the time I figure out what it can and can't do it'd be too late to return it for the refund. I'd like at least 3 oscillators, 3 lfos, 3 envelope generators, at least 6 note polyphony, the ability to plug in via USB to a computer, and an interface that won't be incomprehensible but still allow me access to all the parameters. And I need an envelope with an attack time, at slowest, takes 40 seconds to rise.

Right now I'm thinking I'll go with either the blofeld or the ultranova. The blofeld if I decide multi-timbrality is something I need, the ultanova if I think I need the xtra modulation.

Yeah man, I'm not a synth player, but thinking of getting this one to start out.

The Keyboard version is expensive, but this would possibly be my only synthy synth thing. I'm still on the fence as to which to buy.

EDIT:

modernage wrote:

Adoom wrote:[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCvC0YbD_c4[/youtube]

I've been considering one of these for a while, come in both a Keyboard and Module version. I like them quite a bit.

Thanks doc.