First Synth for an Industrial Musician
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- Drill
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First Synth for an Industrial Musician
Ok, so I have an Idea of what I want in a synth, here are the specs for a posible selection
under $400usd
preferably analog, but can be digital, knobs and sliders and switches are a must(i love those little things)
preferably Mono-phonic, chords get me too carried away
at least 2 ocsillators, noise function a must
i hate digital interfaces, though they are more prevalent these days
must be portable, at the very least.
http://www.myspace.com/cranialdrill
this is the type of stuff I create, though I also create lite electro though I have none to present.
any help would be apreciated.
thank you for your time.
Drill
under $400usd
preferably analog, but can be digital, knobs and sliders and switches are a must(i love those little things)
preferably Mono-phonic, chords get me too carried away
at least 2 ocsillators, noise function a must
i hate digital interfaces, though they are more prevalent these days
must be portable, at the very least.
http://www.myspace.com/cranialdrill
this is the type of stuff I create, though I also create lite electro though I have none to present.
any help would be apreciated.
thank you for your time.
Drill
Last edited by Drill on Sat Nov 14, 2009 12:29 pm, edited 2 times in total.
- balma
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Re: First Synth for an Industrial Musician
Man:
analog, and under $400, you are pretty limiting the possibilities.
Definitly AKAI AX 80 and AX60 are synths with a strong, harsh sound very recomendable for industrial music.
But they are ZERO portable. AX 60 is my heaviest synth. But also, it has the heaviest sound.
There is a demo from Jexus on youtube where you can hear that rusty sound.
I have one, they were on $350 6 years ago. I don't know its actual price, but have a long time without seeing one on EBAY.
You MUST add at leas $100-200 more, to have a wider spectrum of possibilities, since the AX series is becoming rare on the last years.
I don't know the DSI Mophito, but is under $400, is analog and portable.
analog, and under $400, you are pretty limiting the possibilities.
Definitly AKAI AX 80 and AX60 are synths with a strong, harsh sound very recomendable for industrial music.
But they are ZERO portable. AX 60 is my heaviest synth. But also, it has the heaviest sound.
There is a demo from Jexus on youtube where you can hear that rusty sound.
I have one, they were on $350 6 years ago. I don't know its actual price, but have a long time without seeing one on EBAY.
You MUST add at leas $100-200 more, to have a wider spectrum of possibilities, since the AX series is becoming rare on the last years.
I don't know the DSI Mophito, but is under $400, is analog and portable.
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- Z
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Re: First Synth for an Industrial Musician
Although there are no plethera of sliders, the Ensoniq ESQ-1 & SQ-80 have three oscillators per voice, analog filters and capable of some nice analog and gritty digital sounds.
+1 on the Akai AX60 - my 1st "pro" synth which I regret selling. I wouldn't mind getting another if i can find one under $250. They're certainly worth more these days, I'm just limited on space, so I would have to make room if I found a deal.
+1 on the Akai AX60 - my 1st "pro" synth which I regret selling. I wouldn't mind getting another if i can find one under $250. They're certainly worth more these days, I'm just limited on space, so I would have to make room if I found a deal.
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Re: First Synth for an Industrial Musician
definitely the ESQ or SQ80
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Re: First Synth for an Industrial Musician
I've never heard a filter like the AX60's. It has a character that i have only ever been able to describe as 'industrial'.
+1 on the DSI Mopho (or the Evolver) if you want something nice.
I would also recommend the Novation A-Station, but you will need a controller keyboard. (Yu may beable to find an X-station for budget which has the synth, keys AND a USB audio + MIDI interface)
If you are looking for sonically mangled drone loops check out the Yamaha A-series samplers. Lots of different filter types and distortion effects.
+1 on the DSI Mopho (or the Evolver) if you want something nice.
I would also recommend the Novation A-Station, but you will need a controller keyboard. (Yu may beable to find an X-station for budget which has the synth, keys AND a USB audio + MIDI interface)
If you are looking for sonically mangled drone loops check out the Yamaha A-series samplers. Lots of different filter types and distortion effects.
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Re: First Synth for an Industrial Musician
you could also be able to find a waldorf microwave I for that money. it's only analog filters, but it sounds great and can be really aggressive / harsh. you would need a programmer or software editor to truly benefit from it.
but my tip is to save some money and get a korg ms10 or better yet 20
but my tip is to save some money and get a korg ms10 or better yet 20
Re: First Synth for an Industrial Musician
My idea of industrial may be dated but analog monosynth doesn't strike me as the first choice for an industrial synth. If that’s what your after though I think the evolver would make a great industrial synth and will run you about $400. As others have mentioned the ESQ-1/SQ-80 is a classic industrial standard, used heavily by skinny puppy way back when. It is hybrid digital/analog. Also the Akai isn’t a bad choice, my AX80 has tight oscillators and can be both very punch and aggressive for a vintage poly, good bass machine. Also, Casio CZ synths strike me as useful for industrial and can be had cheap. I imagine if you looked around you could probably pick up a CZ and an esq-1 within your budget. You might also consider a gritty old sampler.
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Re: First Synth for an Industrial Musician
second that. you could find an sq80 for 300 or under if you look. i got mine for that much. very versatile. can get some nice metallic/fm industrial sounds and also nice analog sounds. has a nice analog filter.Ashe37 wrote:definitely the ESQ or SQ80
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- Dogpupkus
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Re: First Synth for an Industrial Musician
Korg Poly-61 !
This is a bit bias, because I just picked one up... but I found out that the Korg Poly-61 can get Very nasty. It sounds pretty awesome, and I definintaly see it in a Industrial Genre'd Environment.
It has 2 DCO's so its oscillators are stable.
I see them on eBay all the time going for $120-200. The Korg Poly-61M even has MIDI. The regular Poly-61 does not, but don't let that stop you from making some sweet and Industrial sounding programs. It's got a nice Arpeggiator too. Editing can get a bit tedious, but Ive found out its easy to get used to. Save your patches, and bam.
+2 to the Korg Poly-61
+1 to the Ensoniq ESQ-1
+1 to The Akai AX60, but you just gotta look hard for them anymore. I love mine.
Not super portable, but whatever. That's my 2 cents.
This is a bit bias, because I just picked one up... but I found out that the Korg Poly-61 can get Very nasty. It sounds pretty awesome, and I definintaly see it in a Industrial Genre'd Environment.
It has 2 DCO's so its oscillators are stable.
I see them on eBay all the time going for $120-200. The Korg Poly-61M even has MIDI. The regular Poly-61 does not, but don't let that stop you from making some sweet and Industrial sounding programs. It's got a nice Arpeggiator too. Editing can get a bit tedious, but Ive found out its easy to get used to. Save your patches, and bam.
+2 to the Korg Poly-61
+1 to the Ensoniq ESQ-1
+1 to The Akai AX60, but you just gotta look hard for them anymore. I love mine.
Not super portable, but whatever. That's my 2 cents.

- Drill
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Re: First Synth for an Industrial Musician
pflosi wrote:you could also be able to find a waldorf microwave I for that money. it's only analog filters, but it sounds great and can be really aggressive / harsh. you would need a programmer or software editor to truly benefit from it.
but my tip is to save some money and get a korg ms10 or better yet 20
I was thinking about saving up for an ms 10, mainly because I have messed with one before and got amazing sounds from it, if only I had a fuzz box and chorus at the time, I would have had my sound for sure.
but yes, i will look into a waldorf.
and to the folks that keep recomending synths that skinny puppy used, if I was going for that sound, I would pick them up, but I am going for that late seventies early eighties boyd/EG/SPK sound, the more noise but structured sound.
so thank you for your input but I just can't do those synths, the digital interface makes me go crazy, I HATE PRESSING THE SAME BUTTON FOR 6 STAIGHT HOURS JUST TO GET THE ATTACK EXACTLY WHERE I WANT IT!!!!
that being said, I was going to buy a kit for a mfos soundlab, to get started, but now i am reconsidering that.
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Re: First Synth for an Industrial Musician
why an ms10 or wait for an ms20. if you're doing this noise electronics stuff (listened to your page, sounds awesome
) why not go with a yamaha cs15? same price as an ms10 with tons of flexibility and different sounds. and i see you like synthesizers that fart. i had a cs15 and always considered it quite "farty." 


- Cerebral Infect
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Re: First Synth for an Industrial Musician
For under 400$....
Infamous microkorg. The less notorious X-Station would give yuo the most bang for the bucks in terms of polyphony, features, sliders, effects. I know you wanted a single voice synth, but at that price, kind off limit the possibility. You could dwelve in the FM or PM real with old Yamaha DX-?, SY-? or Casio synths.
Infamous microkorg. The less notorious X-Station would give yuo the most bang for the bucks in terms of polyphony, features, sliders, effects. I know you wanted a single voice synth, but at that price, kind off limit the possibility. You could dwelve in the FM or PM real with old Yamaha DX-?, SY-? or Casio synths.
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- Drill
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Re: First Synth for an Industrial Musician
haydenvan wrote:why an ms10 or wait for an ms20. if you're doing this noise electronics stuff (listened to your page, sounds awesome) why not go with a yamaha cs15? same price as an ms10 with tons of flexibility and different sounds. and i see you like synthesizers that fart. i had a cs15 and always considered it quite "farty."
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I have been looking into a CS15, but I have not come by one, I am going to see if can get an MFOS Soundlab from a friend for the x-mas, and save my money and look for a cs-15, because I have seen and heard the capabilities of it, I think It's what I am looking for.
Re: First Synth for an Industrial Musician
You could consider the DOEPFER Dark Energy.
It's fully analog, with controllers and knobs for every features. It's a very simple synth, fun to use. It can sound really aggressive and raw. It has only a single oscillator but the dual LFO, the Frequency and Pulse Width modulation makes it really expressive.

With a distortion pedal it could be a perfect set up for your industrial tracks.
It cost a bit more than $400, but I think it worth it. It's a very cool little monster.
It's fully analog, with controllers and knobs for every features. It's a very simple synth, fun to use. It can sound really aggressive and raw. It has only a single oscillator but the dual LFO, the Frequency and Pulse Width modulation makes it really expressive.

With a distortion pedal it could be a perfect set up for your industrial tracks.
It cost a bit more than $400, but I think it worth it. It's a very cool little monster.
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Re: First Synth for an Industrial Musician
I would save up more dough and get a Synthi AKS like SPK used.