stew's synth emporium

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Fri Oct 28, 2016 5:39 am

Looks brilliant

BearBoy · Post by **BearBoy** » Sat Oct 29, 2016 3:07 pm

lorez wrote:Looks brilliant

Aye, it does.

I am trying to get all of my stuff set up permanently atm. I've found a mixer to connect my synths/drum machine to, which will then be connected to my interface. Just totting up how much I need to spend on cables (both audio and midi) to connect everything up

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Sun Oct 30, 2016 12:45 am

I had to do a big cable order when setting mine up too. It does really add up.

BearBoy · Post by **BearBoy** » Sun Oct 30, 2016 8:32 am

Yeah, it does. And it's hard to get excited about spending money on cables

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 10:45 am

I'm now at the stage where I'm having to consider how to wire everything up through the patchbay. Couple of complications like how to have the compressor and effects unit through the aux send on the mixer but maybe keeping one compressor channel available directly from the patchbay for specific uses... Doesn't help that I still don't quite have the workings of the patchbay (normalled, half-normalled etc) in my head yet. Feel like I really should have figured this stuff out years ago when my mind was still lithe and less easily distracted.

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 2:00 pm

Really enjoying this Synthscale thread.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Mon Oct 31, 2016 3:40 pm

I just run everything into the back of the patchbay, Some things just have the in from the instrument and others have an in and out connected on the back. Then the output signal from everything goes to my main in on the front for the sound interface. Anything else I want to have between the signals I just patch on the front. Without anything plugged in the signal will just flow to the out.

Plugging in and patching on the front breaks the connection and routes the sound through that patch (like if I wanted to put the signal from the Juno through another effect, Moog filter etc)

So I can have a synth going direct to out or patch at the front in between and have it going through any combination of other synths and effexts that are hooked up.

There's a decent description of how it all works HERE

It certailnly explains it easier than I'm doing here.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Tue Nov 01, 2016 3:49 pm

i kind of know how it works in theory, it's just finding a way of doing it that works for me, if that makes sense. trial and error!

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:06 pm

Stewart, any updates on this and what youÃ¢â‚¬â„¢re currently playing?

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Thu Jul 05, 2018 11:27 pm

well, this was taken a few months ago when i got the music room in our new house more or less together (click to enlarge):

it's not massively different just now (apart from being more of a mess) but i've added some bits and bobs, mainly a Roland Alpha Juno 1 (just got the controller this week, sooo much easier to program), Korg MS10 and a couple of solid state amps (a Peavey i found in a skip and a Marshall that cost Ã‚Â£25- mainly for thrashing at gigs tbh). i also got a weird 80s boss RE1000 digital 'multi echo' rack for Ã‚Â£50, it has this really nice 'warmth' knob that adds a thick modulation.

along with the Jen SX1000 the Alpha Juno is actually in the Damn Teeth live setup at the moment, i just brought it home to have a play around. this isn't going to be my permanent music room, i'll be moving next door when we start doing the place up and this room will get extended a bit and made into our main bedroom. i'll end up having a longer, narrower room with a wall that runs the full depth of the house, so it should actually be a lot better in terms of layout, less floorspace wasted.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Thu Jul 05, 2018 11:34 pm

also chris, dunno if you saw it but i stuck some comments about the SQ1 and the MS synths and a wee vid at the bottom of this thread: http://www.shortscale.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=66526

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Fri Jul 06, 2018 6:09 am

Thanks for the update and canÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t wait to see the new room set up when itÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s done. How are you finding the juno? What else do you have in the damn teeth rig?

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Fri Jul 06, 2018 10:38 am

The Alpha Juno? It's nice, I hadn't really explored it properly before getting that controller, as the interface is... not particularly easy to use (for me). It has the same "rubbery" sound as the 106 but some differences- the filter isn't the same, the envelopes are much more tweakable and the chorus is more in-depth. They're going up in price but you can still get them for a couple of hundred quid if you're patient. Reliable enough to gig with as well.

Current DT setup features our ubiquitous BassStation and a Casio CT-101 (good organ sound), and a Korg Minilogue.

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Fri Jul 06, 2018 8:02 pm

DidnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t realise you got a minilogue, how you finding it?

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Sat Jul 07, 2018 6:37 pm

ah it's not mine, it belongs to one of the other guys in the band. it's nice, but i hate those mini keys, there's just no need for them to be on that synth.

BearBoy · Post by **BearBoy** » Sat Jul 07, 2018 6:39 pm

WhatÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s the keyboard above the Alpha Juno Stewart?

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Sat Jul 07, 2018 6:55 pm

that's a yamaha YS100, i bought it just to see how i'd get on with FM, i thought for Ã‚Â£40 i couldn't really go wrong. turns it it's actually a really nice synth, reasonably easy to program and sounds great through an overdrive pedal. cool for horrible nerdy tones.

dezb1 · Post by **dezb1** » Sat Jul 07, 2018 10:24 pm

I only buy synths with mini keys as I like the shortscale synths.

stewart · Post by **stewart** » Sun Jul 08, 2018 2:03 pm

plus you get to feel like a giant when you're playing them

lorez · Post by **lorez** » Sun Jul 22, 2018 11:51 am

stewart wrote:ah it's not mine, it belongs to one of the other guys in the band. it's nice, but i hate those mini keys, there's just no need for them to be on that synth.

Contemplating buying a new synth and considering this with a bunch of others, although mostly longing for the behringer neutron