Hey VSE community, been a fan of the site for about a month or so but finally decided to post. Basically I decided I wanted to start producing about 8 months ago and at that time I knew absolutely nothing. Since then I've came a long way but I know I still have a s**t ton to learn.
Synths intrigue me and I definitely want to get a good grasp on them. I recently learned the basic fundamentals of analog synthesis but now I'm looking to drop my case of presetitus except I'm just overwhelmed when it comes to making a cool sound from scratch. Right now I just have Logic Pro so I've been messing around of the es2 but I'm not getting the best results. Long story short here are a few questions I have.
Once you learn one synth do you learn them all to a certain extent?
What is a good beginner vst synth that I could fool around on?
Do you recommend picking up a piece of hardware to learn the basics instead of hopping right into soft synths? and if so what piece?
Anyone have any book recommendations that are helpful or is the best way to learn synths just to hop right in and try things out?
I know its a lot of questions but I'm a very curious guy and I'm determined to learn how to custom my sounds.
Thanks a lot!
Overwhelmed by Synths.. Where do I start?
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garranimal
- Synth Explorer
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Re: Overwhelmed by Synths.. Where do I start?
Your plea for assistance reminds me of a time I was starting in synths. I sure wish I had the internet back then, but realize it probably adds to the overwhelming factor.
Once you learn one synth do you learn them all to a certain extent?
There are a few different kinds of synthesis but subtractive synthesis is the most common. Concepts you learn in subtractive will translate to others.
What is a good beginner vst synth that I could fool around on?
I think TAL UNO is a pretty good rendition of the Juno-60 and will help you grasp the basics. Not to mention a slew of Minimoog VSTs available out there. Superwave P8 is pretty awesome for JP-8000 sounds.
Do you recommend picking up a piece of hardware to learn the basics instead of hopping right into soft synths?
Actually I think VSTs and plugs are the gateway drug for folks before they commit to buying a piece of hardware. This approach can be well and good. If you do get a piece of hardware make it something affordable + reliable with decent features like maybe a microkorg, alpha juno 1, korg poly 800 or anything along those lines.
Anyone have any book recommendations that are helpful or is the best way to learn synths just to hop right in and try things out?
While there are some good books around I like the hands on approach much more. If you do get a piece of hardware I highly recommend reading the manual front to back. Use the internet to fill the gaps that you don't quite understand. This will get you up to speed quickly.
Once you learn one synth do you learn them all to a certain extent?
There are a few different kinds of synthesis but subtractive synthesis is the most common. Concepts you learn in subtractive will translate to others.
What is a good beginner vst synth that I could fool around on?
I think TAL UNO is a pretty good rendition of the Juno-60 and will help you grasp the basics. Not to mention a slew of Minimoog VSTs available out there. Superwave P8 is pretty awesome for JP-8000 sounds.
Do you recommend picking up a piece of hardware to learn the basics instead of hopping right into soft synths?
Actually I think VSTs and plugs are the gateway drug for folks before they commit to buying a piece of hardware. This approach can be well and good. If you do get a piece of hardware make it something affordable + reliable with decent features like maybe a microkorg, alpha juno 1, korg poly 800 or anything along those lines.
Anyone have any book recommendations that are helpful or is the best way to learn synths just to hop right in and try things out?
While there are some good books around I like the hands on approach much more. If you do get a piece of hardware I highly recommend reading the manual front to back. Use the internet to fill the gaps that you don't quite understand. This will get you up to speed quickly.
Re: Overwhelmed by Synths.. Where do I start?
Thanks a lot for the response. I'm gonna download the demo. Design of that bat as soon as I get home. The plugin and the Juno series are both subtractive synthesis correct?
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Stab Frenzy
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Re: Overwhelmed by Synths.. Where do I start?
You already own one of the best plugins available for learning on, the ES-1. I would use that rather than anything else, along with these articles: http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/allsynthsecrets.htm Start at the bottom and work your way up.
This video also explains the basics of the ES-1 pretty well:
I personally think that the best way to learn is hands-on with a synth that has no presets so each knob or slider is pointing exactly at what its value is, unlike what happens with a synth with memory where recalling a saved patch leads to the knob positions not representing the actual parameter values. Getting hands on lets you explore the synth more intuitively as well, as you can use both hands at once and you don't have the added step of brain-hand-mouse-control like you do using a software synth which makes your connection to the control more immediate.
As far as hardware synths that would help you learn I'd recommend the Doepfer Dark Energy, Arturia Minibrute, Roland Juno-6 as great for beginners.
This video also explains the basics of the ES-1 pretty well:
I personally think that the best way to learn is hands-on with a synth that has no presets so each knob or slider is pointing exactly at what its value is, unlike what happens with a synth with memory where recalling a saved patch leads to the knob positions not representing the actual parameter values. Getting hands on lets you explore the synth more intuitively as well, as you can use both hands at once and you don't have the added step of brain-hand-mouse-control like you do using a software synth which makes your connection to the control more immediate.
As far as hardware synths that would help you learn I'd recommend the Doepfer Dark Energy, Arturia Minibrute, Roland Juno-6 as great for beginners.
Re: Overwhelmed by Synths.. Where do I start?
Welcome to the magic world of synths!
I myself am not an expert yet, but I passed that first stage and so I try to answer some of your questions.
Once you learn one synth do you learn them all to a certain extent?
Not all, but some. Synths can differ a lot on their interface, some have a knob per function (which are great to learn and play on), some - especially many modern synths - have a lot of menu diving (which is less great for learning synthesis on, but will be cheaper). Once you learn one of those synths with many knobs, the following might be more or less valid for most synths: The more knobs a synth has, the easier it will be to use it without reading the manual. Bit after bit, you will get to learn the core elements of a synth like the Oscillators and how to use them, the Filter, the Envelopes, the LFO, etc. It took me a long time to get behind how to use LFO, it's one of the less instant / intuitive things on a synth. But now that I learned it on one synth, I can as well make much more out of synths that I never played on.
What is a good beginner vst synth that I could fool around on?
+1 for the TAL U-no-lx
Do you recommend picking up a piece of hardware to learn the basics instead of hopping right into soft synths? and if so what piece?
That's a bit an individual thing, but I'd find it ok to learn basics on a softsynth and then get a hardware piece to *feel it*. I support the theory that you should feel an instrument to learn it, and as good as softsynths are today, you will never feel them.
No book recommendation from my side, I learned the most by just playing around on a Korg MS2000 (sold it again because it fulfilled its purpose of helping me learn synthesis), that would be one recommendation at least to look at, the recommendations made so far are all very good as well, you might also want to look at the MFB desktop synths and the Eowave Domino. The latter is very basic though, and I can't comment on the sound yet.
Anyway, enjoy this beginning of a new era for you, I know my best how irritating it all can be at the start, but when you love synths, you'll make it. Loving an instrument is the key for getting deeper into it.
Enjoy!
I myself am not an expert yet, but I passed that first stage and so I try to answer some of your questions.
Once you learn one synth do you learn them all to a certain extent?
Not all, but some. Synths can differ a lot on their interface, some have a knob per function (which are great to learn and play on), some - especially many modern synths - have a lot of menu diving (which is less great for learning synthesis on, but will be cheaper). Once you learn one of those synths with many knobs, the following might be more or less valid for most synths: The more knobs a synth has, the easier it will be to use it without reading the manual. Bit after bit, you will get to learn the core elements of a synth like the Oscillators and how to use them, the Filter, the Envelopes, the LFO, etc. It took me a long time to get behind how to use LFO, it's one of the less instant / intuitive things on a synth. But now that I learned it on one synth, I can as well make much more out of synths that I never played on.
What is a good beginner vst synth that I could fool around on?
+1 for the TAL U-no-lx
Do you recommend picking up a piece of hardware to learn the basics instead of hopping right into soft synths? and if so what piece?
That's a bit an individual thing, but I'd find it ok to learn basics on a softsynth and then get a hardware piece to *feel it*. I support the theory that you should feel an instrument to learn it, and as good as softsynths are today, you will never feel them.
No book recommendation from my side, I learned the most by just playing around on a Korg MS2000 (sold it again because it fulfilled its purpose of helping me learn synthesis), that would be one recommendation at least to look at, the recommendations made so far are all very good as well, you might also want to look at the MFB desktop synths and the Eowave Domino. The latter is very basic though, and I can't comment on the sound yet.
Anyway, enjoy this beginning of a new era for you, I know my best how irritating it all can be at the start, but when you love synths, you'll make it. Loving an instrument is the key for getting deeper into it.
Enjoy!