Synth advice

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Tue May 22, 2012 9:40 pm

I'm considering buying a little synth for shits and giggles and wondered if anyone has had experience of the following

Akai MiniAK
Korg Microkorg
M-Audio Venom

Ta

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Tue May 22, 2012 9:48 pm

I've played around with the Microkorg and wasn't impressed. Try to track down a used Alesis Micron. In my mind it blows away the Microkorg.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Tue May 22, 2012 9:54 pm

The akai is supposed to be an updated micron, that's one of the reasons it's on the list and also the price

honeyiscool · Post by **honeyiscool** » Tue May 22, 2012 10:00 pm

I don't really trust Akai. Maybe I'm being too harsh but I found MPK49 to be the most fragile and unplayable piece of shit keyboard I've ever played.

plaidbeer · Post by **plaidbeer** » Tue May 22, 2012 10:01 pm

What's your budget and what sort of sounds are you wanting?

I fiddled around with a microKorg XL last week at a Guitar Center and was pleasantly surprised. Versatile little synth:

[youtube][/youtube]

For that kind of money, though (if you're buying the ones you listed brand new), you can get a full-sized synth from Casio (the XW-P1).

Fran · Post by **Fran** » Tue May 22, 2012 10:44 pm

Isn't the Micron monophonic?
If you want to play chords you want something polyphonic Chris. Personally i think the Microkorg is ace and miss mine, they have been used by the likes of Prodigy and The Killers as well so they obviously deliver the goods. Small keys though. The arpeggiator is a load of fun.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Tue May 22, 2012 10:47 pm

Yes a lot of the issues of the Microkorg & Akai makes me wonder whether the venom might be the best option.

plaidbeer · Post by **plaidbeer** » Tue May 22, 2012 11:03 pm

The Micron isn't monophonic. It's 8-note polyphonic.

Yes, the microKorg has mini keys, but the XL's keys are slightly larger and are easier to play. An added plus is that it has samples of acoustic instruments which also sets it apart from the original microKorg.

othomas2 · Post by **othomas2** » Tue May 22, 2012 11:11 pm

Might be worth checking out the Roland Gaia too....

aen · Post by **aen** » Wed May 23, 2012 1:41 am

I hate to be that guy, but what about soft synths? Its a great way to do it. Then when you get really hooked on synthesis you can make better hardware choices for your particular pallette.

plaidbeer · Post by **plaidbeer** » Wed May 23, 2012 4:02 am

aen wrote:I hate to be that guy, but what about soft synths? Its a great way to do it. Then when you get really hooked on synthesis you can make better hardware choices for your particular pallette.

Not a bad suggestion at all. I use an impOSCar as my primary source of synth sounds and control it from my Novation ReMOTE SL61.

singlepup · Post by **singlepup** » Wed May 23, 2012 5:31 am

I agree, I control Reason via an M-audio device and it sounds good to me. No shortage of sounds, either.

Mages · Post by **Mages** » Wed May 23, 2012 6:04 am

well if you're interested in soft synths... a nice easy soft synth (plug-in) to start with is this juno clone

http://kunz.corrupt.ch/products/tal-u-no-62

it's free and sounds awesome. once you've figured that one out you can move on to their NoiseMaker synth.

also, Native Instruments let's you download limited versions of their soft synth plug-ins for free; kontakt (their rompler), reaktor (multi synth platform), and GuitarRig (their amp modeling plugin)
http://www.native-instruments.com/#/en/ ... egory=1339

here's some plugin host software: http://bedroomproducersblog.com/2011/05 ... lications/

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Wed May 23, 2012 8:08 am

othomas2 wrote:Might be worth checking out the Roland Gaia too....

twice my budget unfortunately

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Wed May 23, 2012 8:10 am

aen wrote:I hate to be that guy, but what about soft synths? Its a great way to do it. Then when you get really hooked on synthesis you can make better hardware choices for your particular pallette.

i might test this out but my only computer these days is a really old ibook. I will take a look later what I can get working on there and the cost of an adapter

moogmusic · Post by **moogmusic** » Wed May 23, 2012 8:57 am

Just play with the Google homepage.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Wed May 23, 2012 9:20 am

moogmusic wrote:Just play with the Google homepage.

doesnt work with my browsers unfortunately

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Wed May 23, 2012 11:18 am

I have a MicroKORG. As a guitarist and not a synth player I love it. It does exactly what I need it to do. However, on price and spec the Micron (and the MiniAK) beat it hands down. But the MicroKORG is still good and they do sound different. AND it has lovely wooden sides. Which is a big deal for me.

wwrrss · Post by **wwrrss** » Wed May 23, 2012 11:23 am

I hate MicroKORGs but for a stupid reason, In my first band my drummer didn't have his own kit, he just had breakables, and the first time he came into enough money to buy a drum kit he bought a MicroKORG instead.

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Wed May 23, 2012 2:31 pm

wwrrss wrote:I hate MicroKORGs but for a stupid reason, In my first band my drummer didn't have his own kit, he just had breakables, and the first time he came into enough money to buy a drum kit he bought a MicroKORG instead.

You're right. That is a stupid reason. The MicroKORG is good but it's hardly intelligent enough to reason with a man or manipulate them into buying it. Unless he discovered a secret menu which switches on SkyNet remotely. Which, when you think about it, would be quite cunningly desguised as a retro digital synth with wooden side panels.