Beginner's Synth?

[Ryazand]

I want to get a beginner synth that will, hopefully, not have too much of a learning curve. After months of pondering and hard decisions, I narrowed it down to 2 synths: a Moog Little Phatty Stage II and a microKORG.

I'm not going to gig or anything, just fiddle with it, learn synthesis, make some music, etc. Portability is not an issue. My budget is around $1400 US (2200 here in Australia).

Would anyone care to point out pros and cons in the two synthesizers above?

Many thanks.

[Yoozer]

Rather consider a Nord Lead 2; not only are you not going to run out of voices (monophonic is going to be a bit useless unless you already have a setup to record things with and the MK's 4 voices are rather anemic) - it also has dedicated knobs, and unlike a Juno-106, it's not going away for completely crazy prices.

Also, if you insist on your choices (and want the MicroKorg), buy it secondhand. The price you then have to pay is far more reasonable for what's essentially a nearly 10-year old synthesis engine.

[Dane_Xoth]

Also, if you insist on your choices (and want the MicroKorg), buy it secondhand. The price you then have to pay is far more reasonable for what's essentially a nearly 10-year old synthesis engine.

I would suggest the MS2000 over the Micro. The 'knob per function' interface is far better for those learning. IMHO
It's practically the same synth engine. The 2K has a Mod sequencer.

[Ryazand]

Also, if you insist on your choices (and want the MicroKorg), buy it secondhand. The price you then have to pay is far more reasonable for what's essentially a nearly 10-year old synthesis engine.

Would the microKORG XL be better in that case? Doesn't it use the RADIAS engine?

[Stab Frenzy]

The Microkorg XL wouldn't have a learning curve because you couldn't really learn synthesis on it, it's even less easily editable than the OG Microkorg.

For AU$2200 you could get some much better stuff than a Microkorg for a first synth; Nord Leads, Ions, MS2000s, DSI MEKs, Korg R3s, second hand V-Synths, SH-201s can all be had for under that. All of those would be better than the Microkorg.

Are you in Melbourne? If so check out Awave in Camberwell, they have a lot of interesting synths there and you can try them all out with headphones, see if there's one you really click with.

[Ryazand]

For AU$2200 you could get some much better stuff than a Microkorg for a first synth; Nord Leads, Ions, MS2000s, DSI MEKs, Korg R3s, second hand V-Synths, SH-201s can all be had for under that. All of those would be better than the Microkorg.

Are you in Melbourne? If so check out Awave in Camberwell, they have a lot of interesting synths there and you can try them all out with headphones, see if there's one you really click with.

Thanks, I'll check out the Ions and MEKs (never heard of a MEK before, though).
The MS2000 looks great, and seems like a complete nightmare to learn with (look at all those knobs!) but the demos I've seen/heard are incredible, and what's more I've never touched one.
I was tempted to get a SH-201 but got turned off by the thin sounds and bad filtering. Might want to look at it again, though, because I'm constantly getting the feeling I missed out on something.

I'm actually in Sydney - which is a hellhole when it comes to finding a store that stocks a reasonable range of synths.

[Stab Frenzy]

What makes you think the SH-201 is thin? I think it gets a bad rap but it's actually pretty good.

Re: the MS2000 and having all the knobs, it actually makes it easier to learn on, not harder. The Microkorg has the same number of parameters to change but you have to turn a dial to select what the 5 knobs are effecting, whereas on the MS2000 it's all laid out in front of you.

If you like the sound of the MS2000 in demos then it might be the perfect first synth for you.

For learning more knobs is much better.

[Johnny Lenin]

The SH-201 isn't a GREAT synth, but it's a good one. There's a certain amount of noticeable aliasing and it tends to sound a bit harsh to my ears [rather than thin], though this can be mitigated with the onboard reverb. It's main drawbacks are a fairly cheap-feeling build quality [but it's light!] and limited use memory locations [only 32 editable patch locations]. Other than that, it's a really well laid-out and quite effective instrument. I really appreciated the two syncable LFOs and the arpeggiator. It even has a kind of sequencer feature. If you can get one cheap -- and I've seen them go for US$350 -- it's a great place to start.

[JSRockit]

I want to get a beginner synth that will, hopefully, not have too much of a learning curve. After months of pondering and hard decisions, I narrowed it down to 2 synths: a Moog Little Phatty Stage II and a microKORG.

I'm not going to gig or anything, just fiddle with it, learn synthesis, make some music, etc. Portability is not an issue. My budget is around $1400 US (2200 here in Australia).

Would anyone care to point out pros and cons in the two synthesizers above?

Many thanks.

The LP is perfect for learning on... and will sound better than most VAs.

[redchapterjubilee]

The LP is perfect for learning on... and will sound better than most VAs.

+ 1

The synth I really began to learn subtractive synthesis on was the Moog MG-1, but really learned more about what I was doing on the Moog Source, which is basically the old school Little Phatty but with one knob. The Little Phatty has everything laid out right in front of you and only once so far in the past two weeks since I bought mine have I had to menu dive to set up a preset. Everything is right in front of you. And yeah, it sounds great AND these days the prices are coming down on them used. I got mine $750 postpaid from Ebay. That's insane.

[synthesizerist]

If the other Moog's have anywhere near as good of a manual as the Micromoog, I think it's a great way to learn synthesis. The Micromoog manual had excercises and everything! And the 1 osc, 1 filter, etc. design made it easy as I can imagine to see how each part impacts the sound. (for instance, the mono/poly would NOT be a good synth to learn on IMO because of all the features) But it's the only Moog I've owned, so I can't comment directly on the others. I think polyphony shouldn't be a concern if learning synthesis is your goal. Plus I think everyone should have at least one mono- the limitations and training your mind to play it differently lead to very different results. And I agree that having knobs is a great help to the learning process.

[shaft9000]

w/ a budget of 1400 USD you can find both an MS2000 and an LP for less than that, if you take your time and be patient. you might even be able to squeeze a CP-251(amazing!!) into the picture for that money.

that is a VERY powerful combo, too....take it from a guy who's used both synths for (really) many hundreds of hours together in the same rig. You would have wonderful flexibilty in bass sounds, creamy-smooth Moog leads, some polyphony, those cool as phuck DWGS waves from DSS-1, a nice arp you can MIDI the LP with, a very good vocoder in MS2000, and the unbeatable ladder filter in the Moog that you can run other things through.

imho these two synths both have the quickest learning curve besides a straight-up old 70's analog (mini, Cat etc).
Set 'em up right through appropriate amplification and you'll ears will be in heaven. With consistent practice your sound design / programming skills will improve quickly.
the only other ones that are nearly as easy to work with are the nord lead and JP-8000. I am admittedly unfairly biased against sh-201; i just do not like that synth in nearly every way.
V-Synth interface is not for beginner imho, and Ion has a ton of potentially confusing features/options.

Shoot, why not go for a Juno 6/60 + LP combo? THAT is beginner's analog heaven right there, let me tell you... :angel4: :tongue3: :colors: :compress: :flower: :faroah: :rr:

[Hugo76]

You definately need knobs - the more the merrier - if you want to learn synth programming. I would also recommend getting a polyphonic one. If you find an Access Virus for a decent price, I'd say it would make for a brilliant first synth.

[Ryazand]

Thanks to everyone for your responses! I'll hop by the store tomorrow and try my hand at the SH-201 again. There's a MS2000 selling on eBay for a much lower price than I anticipated ($475 AU), so I'll be looking at that too.

EDIT: Agh. I missed out on the MS2000.

[thombo]

i am not trying to hijack this thread, but i am it as a synth newb looking for my 1st synth as well... i was considering those mentioned and the alesis micron, novation xiosynth & x-station.
i am hoping that this may help Ryazand as well.