Vintage Synth Explorer Forums

So I am getting to grips with my software synthesisers and having a great time. I've got NI Massive and Reason.

Now I really want a good quality synth with a keyboard to control them but also something that will add to/complement my sound collection.

I'm really into bands like tangerine dream, Ashra, Porcupine Tree and want something.

I've been looking at the Roland V synth + a VA (possibly Virus or Supernova) and the Kurzweil K2600 a lot. I just need some advice as to what I should be aiming for! It seems the v synth can do more sound mangling but the sounds of the kurzweil are better. What would suit me better?

Budget = around £800

Thanks.

Should probably add that I'm also learning to play the piano, but it's not the most important factor at the moment

This might be a long-shot, but I'm a big fan of the Novation X-Station synths. They've got a fine keyboard, great as a controller, but also, the synth sounds remind me, weird and specific as this may be, of the sounds from Harmonia's "Deluxe" album. The sounds are very warm, though there's a fairly square-wave vibe, even on the most sawtoothed patches. Still, I love how this thing sounds and feels, and as I've never read a post from someone looking for Kraut-specific synths, thought I ought to chime in!

Grumblepig wrote:...weird and specific as this may be, of the sounds from Harmonia's "Deluxe" album.

The Virus TI is absolutely incredible. If you're relatively comfortable with the layout of softsynths like Massive, the Virus will provide you with just what you need; an easily tweakable live performance device that encompasses a wide range of synthesizer styles. It's integrated computer interface is wonderful.

I primarily play psych rock/experimental stuff in a plethora of bands and my best advice would be to grab a Nord Electrovand an analog synth. You can get a VA, but make sure it's knobby. I still think you will want that analog smoothness, like self oscillating a filter and sweeping the cutoff and a square wave LFO at the same time with tons of delay = bliss. One of the PRIMARY things that make you a good psych player is constantly controlling and changing your tone. With the Electro, you have all the organs of the genre with virtual drawbars, the psych factor comes from outboard effects; EHX Memory Man/Boy, TimeFactor, El Capistan, EVENTIDE SPACE ! Delays and more delays. Flangers. Wahs, etc.
Another great and trippy synth is the Blofeld. It can get really psychedelic.

I will also add that the only analog poly's that have satisfied me for psychedelia are the Andromeda, Prophet 5 and Juno 60. The Juno is a great choice as the chorus on it is super swirly and... that arpeggiator. In fact, screw everything else, get a Juno 60 and at least two knobby pedals like the Strymon El Capistan and the Eventide Space to run it through and you are set for a long time. f**k. I need a JU-60 again.

Ok so I will save up a little more for a Nord electro as that interests me greatly

I think I'm going to take your advice on getting a VA synth first and a few fx pedals.

I have narrowed it down to:

Alesis Ion
Blofeld
Access virus indigo

Any advice?

Thanks for the help so far

Her's my advice: read some reviews and see which synth is most appealing and has the most to offer for you:
Here are some reviews;
for the Blofeld: http: http://www.keyboardmag.com/article/wald ... y-08/35407
For the ion: http: http://www.sweetwater.com/feature/technotes/issue2-ion/
For the virus indigo: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/oct02/a ... ndigo2.asp
Also, check out some audio/video demos(this is a demo of the blofeld: ), look for some user feedback on each of these(here's some on the virus: http://www.harmonycentral.com/products/91534 ), and if possible, try them out in your local music store. As well as that, see what people are saying about the companys that make the synth(product quality, tech support, excreta). About the reviews and user feed back; remember that they are each a different person's opinion. And by all means, do as much research as you can(I've only provided a few things for you to look at).

Thanks for the help!

I'm leaning more towards the Virus because of the GUI and all the knobs being instantly accessible.

The Blofeld also sounds amazing and I'm wondering if the limited amount of controls would be a hinderance?

Glad we could be of service! I have a xiosynth which uses a programing matrix similar to the Blofeld, and I've never had any feeling that I was horribly deprived of hands on control. As I looked at the specs for the blofeld, I noted that there is an expansion that will alow you to import you're own samples. That is somthong that the virus can't do. It does seem that the virus has more parameters availible at a time. One thing that struck me about the Blofeld while reading the reviews and watching the demos, is the gorgeous backlit display. Yet, I doubt the virus would have such a huge following if it wasn't a great synth. The choice is, of course, still completely up to you...

For the ambient side of your request - I haven't used one however I was browsing vintage synth and I came across the ensoniq fizmo. Watched some videos on YouTube and it seems like a phenominal machine for such sounds.