Any Advice on an Entry-Level Synth?

[FlyingV]

Hi All -

Newbie here with very limited experience playing synths. My boyfriend's 40th birthday is soon approaching and I was hoping for some input on a good synth (analog or analog-modeling, maybe?) that would be relatively inexpensive and a good place to start. We played music together a few times in the past - him, keyboard; me, guitar - and he has lately expressed more interest in doing so again. I was hoping ya'll might have some good suggestions for me. I was thinking a Microkorg might be a good option, as that's what is used in my current band, but maybe there's something else out there that's less expensive? (I know that in the scheme of things, those aren't very pricey, but $300 is a lot to me as I just had to replace my car unexpectedly.) Thanks a lot!

[Hugo76]

Hi FlyingV,

How about a second hand MicroKorg, or MicroKorg XL?

[space6oy]

welcome to the forum - i moved your thread over here to the buyer's guide section where it belongs.

microkorgs and microns are probably the most common first synths out there. mine was a yamaha CS-5, but that was back when i could buy it for under $300. maybe just go with a gift card to a music gear store, maybe he'd want to chip in and spend a bit more on something like an arturia minibrute...

[c-level]

Roland SH201

way more fun, way more interactive way more knobs! can get em around 200 used if your lucky

[orlando56]

Alesis Micron? Haven't played one, but I hear they're pretty good.

[DesolationBlvd]

I would take the Micron over the microKorg. The Ion (its big brother) is one of the best virtual analog engines I have heard.

Actual analogs for $300 or less:

Roland
Alpha Juno 1 or 2
JX-3P
JX-8P

Korg
Poly-61
Poly-800
(DW-8000, but that's stretching the definition of "analog")

Am I missing any?

[space6oy]

might still be able to land a bass station for around $300.

i'm the opposite, had a micron & never will again, have had microkorgs more times than i've kept track of...

[FlyingV]

Thanks everyone! I will research all of these suggestions. Are there any particular places I should look other than local Craigslist and eBay?

[KBD_TRACKER]

I would not recommend the micron as an entry level synth.
Don't get me wrong i love that synth, but the sheer number of functions (giant modulation matrix , multiple sync, linear and non linear FM, lots of filter emulations, etc.) combined with a minimal interface leads to digging in menus , submenus, sub submenus etc. making it a difficult machine for a beginner. This in turn could lead to an overly and needlessly complex and/or frustrating experience of synthesis when beginning.
The micron is cheap due to this limited user interface (hardware is a primary cost factor in synths), not because it is a simple or limited machine.

maybe a used MS2000, or ion both very capable and with a great user interface
and as suggested a used juno 6, or poly 800

and maybe look also into the monotribe ("inexpensive" even new) ... analog, just a ribbon keyboard, but lots of great sounds.

[silikon]

him, keyboard; me, guitar

Without knowing what sort of stuff you're looking to play, for the first I would actually advise against anything vintage for the time being; with vintage gear comes headaches past what a casual player might consider acceptable. Repair fees, etc... Not at all fun if this is your first and only synth.

Some ideas that spring to mind that are rather flexible, and can be had relatively inexpensively;

Alesis ION
Novation KS4 or KS5

...while they usually fetch between 100-300 dollars more than your stated $300, you'd probably get much more mileage out of them versus a microkorg. Watch eBay, craigslist, HERE...

[nvining]

... how about something like the Roland JP-8000? They're a bit desireable right now but you can get them pretty cheap still. Lots of fun accessible twisty-things on it.

[Jinsai]

Nord Lead 2.
Good intro to basic synth architecture, well-designed, and if you find an old one you can get it for cheap.

I think any synth with lots of menu diving (JX-3P, DX-7, etc.) is a poor choice because the interface will get in the way. You want something with knobs on it for your first keyboard.

If you're really cost-conscious, I'd say just get some free softsynths. You pay a big premium for having actual hardware and knobs.

[space6oy]

Nord Lead 2.

for $300? (i've never been into nord gear but would be surprised if they go for that little...)

[thehighesttree]

Just get the MicroKorg: it's under $300, it's new, it's got MIDI, it's fully-featured and covers a lot of synth territory. A lot of the suggestions here are for products which, although powerful in their own regard, lack many of the features you'd get in an "all-in-one" like the MicroKorg. It's also very accessible, yet with a powerful synth engine should he wish to learn more and move beyond the presets (which I feel are the reason this gets so much hate here). You even have audio-in and a vocoder to screw with! It's a surprisingly powerful instrument and a great first synth...even if he ends up hating it you can sell it at nearly its entire value. The only major downside, as someone mentioned, is that it doesn't have a face full of knobs and faders, making it less fun to edit, and therefore more at risk of sounding the same as everything else (they're really popular synths). The keys suck and polyphony is also pretty weak with only 4 notes able to be played simultaniously, but these might not even matter as long as he's more about playing riffs and crazy sounds than being a virtuoso on the keys.

It's a no-brainer, IMO.

[matia]

if you want something analog and classy check out the Minitaur. You'd need to get a little keyboard controller and it's a bass synth only, but you can get the classic and full Moog sound out of it. It's the most affordable moog and it sounds absolutely cracking