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Can someone explain synths to me?

I hope this doesn't come off as me being passive aggressive or anything, but honestly wikipedia will probably be more concise than any one of us. If you want to learn more about modular synths, I would hit up MuffWiggler since that's pretty much their main deal and there's a loooot of information over there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer
http://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/index. ... 7beb096b00

kbithecrowing wrote:I hope this doesn't come off as me being passive aggressive or anything, but honestly wikipedia will probably be more concise than any one of us. If you want to learn more about modular synths, I would hit up MuffWiggler since that's pretty much their main deal and there's a loooot of information over there.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synthesizer
http://www.muffwiggler.com/forum/index. ... 7beb096b00

Basically that.

There's also these:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/may99/a ... nthsec.htm (this one is incredibly long but informative. Seriously, there's like 60 some odd articles about synth basics)
viewtopic.php?f=149&t=32010

Analog synths use components to create sonics. Synths you buy usually have a vca and vco. Usually a filter and lfo. Vca is volume and vco is pitch, but it's way more than that.

Digital have fewer components and use chips to create the sounds allowing smaller spaces for the chassis and cheaper prices since its. It as many parts. It can achieve the same sounds, depending on the models...and can also produce some weird artifacts since chips can be fooled. Those are usually fun.

Modular are the very foundation of synth. Usually a synth is well though out as far as the order of filter, vco, vca, lfo and a lot of other things. With modular you can control the order and have an lfo control multiple things at once. Some synths allow you to do this but modular is way more custom. Also, you usually just have a noise source and don't use a keyboard for modular and focus more on the sonic textures, instead of the notes...although, both are possible.

But I could be wrong, I barely know how.

Tl;dr people linked you in a good direction.

Beep boop bweeeeoooooo

Seten wrote: How exactly does an analog synth work?

What is a modular synth?

Are all modular synths analog?

How exactly does a digital synth work?

Basically anything you think one just getting into synths should know.

(also, is the pocket piano an analog or digital synth?)

1. You're gonna have to get more specific, that's a whole lot of very big and very technical questions

2. You buy all the components of a synth (oscillator, amplifier, envelope generator, ect.) separately, and use patch cables to hook them together instead of them being internally connected. This allows for greater customization and routing options than most normal synths

3.No, you can buy digital modules. I actually have a digital ADSR in my rack right now.

4.All an analog synth does at the basic level is generate and fuck with voltages. A digital synth is basically a program that simulates what analog synths do inside of a computer or chip and then uses digital to analogue conversion to get the resulting voltage into a form that audio equipment uses.

5.It's an expensive hobby
(digital)

vidret wrote:i'll drop what i know:

the pocket piano is arduino-based afaik, therefore digital. and super awesome. the pocket piano alone has increase my music playing by several hours per week. grab the one in the b/s/t NOW!

Really? I had no idea it's Arduino based. I have some Arduino's laying around......

Yep it be.
Critter and Guitari actually used to offer a kit, but they pulled it and the source code from their site. There's plenty of other arduino synths though.

Thanks everyone! I'll check out those links tomorrow, I'm really not sure why I didnt check Wikipedia first.


Based on my limited knowledge, opinion towards analog and digital is weird. I Much prefer analog in any situation, not for the sound quality or anything like that, just because it feels more real and genuine. When it's coming from a computer it feels like your just playing back something that has been prerecordinf, even if it's just a single note. Analog just seems... Cooler, I don't know. Don't get me wrong, I've got nothing against electronic music and such. In fact, I have a midi keyboard and make some songs that way. But that way I see as something different. I think there's 2 components to music, physical ability and creative songwriting. When your making midi songs, it's just the creative part (obviously you need some skill to play the keys, but any mistakes can be easily rectified in the DAW) which is great, nothing wrong with that, it's just a different thing. As far as using like a digital keyboard live vs an analog one, it seems like it shouldn't matter, if the notes coming out sound the same and you play them in the same way, who the hell cares how the sound was generated? For some reason, I do.

If the pocket piano was analog, I would be on it in a second. Since it's digital, I'll probably still get it (especially since most of my use with it would be noodling around and then I couldn't care less if it's analog or digital, I'm just doing the songwriting part at that stage) but I won't feel as good using it.

All of that is just in my vastly under informed opinion. Sorry if that made no sense, I'm real tired.

By the way, I posted that to explain my main reason for posting the thread in the first place.

Honestly, and no offence to you, but I feel like anyone who discounts something just because it's not analogue is going to really miss out on some brilliant things
And I'm not talking about things like phone apps or DAWs or anything, but stuff like the Pocket Piano or some brilliant modules like the Mutable Instruments Braids or Qu-bit Nebulae

There's also a lot of reasons why analog fell out of vogue. An all analogue synth that can do half the shit a Pocket Piano can is a fucking engineering nightmare; the thing would look like an IBM super computer, cost just about as much, and need it's own power plant to run. If you get into modular you'll also know the eternal suffering that is keeping analog oscillators in tune with each other for extended periods.

Analog is every bit as fake as digital. It's not as if electricity actually sounds like anything. Plus, it's self defeating to worry about your synthesizer being, you know, synthetic.

a modular synth is a piece of gear that more or less emulates crack, both on the mind and the bank account.

tuj wrote:a modular synth is a piece of gear that more or less emulates crack, both on the mind and the bank account.

Truth