Synths and Synthesis MkII: All gear is shit, Hail Satan

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > No Music Discussion > Musician's Lounge > Synths and Synthesis MkII: All gear is shit, Hail Satan

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Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

WAFFLEHOUND posted:

Nah but I need someone to talk synths with~

I don't live there anymore but I do love me some synths :allears:

.

(Why did you move there, Hawaii makes Bay Area housing look reasonable but lacks any of the high-paying tech sector jobs that make up for it.)

# ¿ Mar 20, 2014 05:43

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 06:16

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Your Computer posted:

You're absolutely right, I just had a brainfart on the terminology.

I've tried looking around for synths there, but most sellers don't even ship here. For the few that do, shipping is at or above $100.
...In addition to customs

e: worth mentioning (again?) that I live in this synthless northern kingdom:

Maybe a kind US goon would proxy buy one for you on the cheap?

# ¿ Mar 20, 2014 21:01

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

tehschulman posted:

Who likes the Korg Poly 800?! I might, but then again I have a Roland JX-3P that does roughly the same sounds. If I'm thinking I should have both the I probably should get both. It is the synth thread way

But seriously, interested in people's experiences with the Poly 800.

I'll give you mine for the cost of shipping. No idea if it still works or not, it's been in the garage for years now.

P.S. it's a piece of poo poo, and as someone who's previously had a JX-3P, no, no it does not make roughly the same sound as one.

P.P.S. actually, there is one way my Poly-800 was useful: I took the knob off the pitch joystick on it and put it on my DW-8000 (a fantastic synth, get one of those instead) to replace the one it was missing.

Militant Lesbian fucked around with this message at 21:16 on Mar 24, 2014

# ¿ Mar 24, 2014 21:13

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Flanky posted:

So is finding a Virus TI second-hand a rare thing? I've never bought a hardware synth before, but I got bitten by the bug to get one a few months back and the feeling hasn't gone away. Can't seem to ever see any for sale on the websites of local music shops (I live near-ish to Tokyo, btw). It's probably a good sign that no one wants to sell them...

I highlighted your issue above. The company that makes the Virus, Access, is German - they're slightly uncommon even in the US, but in Japan they're going to be rarer than a unicorn, just like any electronics product from outside Japan. You'll probably be flooded with cheaper than normal vintage Rolands, Korgs, and Yamahas though.

# ¿ Mar 28, 2014 02:24

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

minidracula posted:

So it turns out in a weird way my first hardware synth purchase is going to be a C64 (already bought).

Nah, I probably can't really say that and stick to it with a straight face. I mean, yes, I bought a C64, but I can't in good conscience really consider it my first hardware synth.

You can if you immediately pull out the SID and put it in one of the many SID-synth enclosures out there, like a HardSID. :cool:

# ¿ Mar 29, 2014 06:31

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

You should get neither, and buy a Rhythm Wolf instead. :getin:

# ¿ Mar 30, 2014 05:43

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

WAFFLEHOUND posted:

I'm sorry the way I enjoy playing my synths is bad and wrong. t>

To be fair, I play my synths a ton and have never heard of Synthtopia either.

# ¿ Mar 31, 2014 17:16

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

I'd be interested in the case if it includes a power supply, but the rest is stuff I already have.

E: though I suppose I could find a use for another mixer module... But the thing I need the most right now is a second case/PSU.

# ¿ Apr 4, 2014 02:11

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

That's why she's into satan. In hell, the only synth you can have is a Microkorg.

# ¿ Apr 6, 2014 09:53

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

WAFFLEHOUND posted:

I would vote for this pug.

You should have chosen the name 'Wafflepug'.

# ¿ Apr 9, 2014 01:41

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

WAFFLEHOUND posted:

I sold the Tempest and got an A4 months ago.

Wrong move.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2014 03:46

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

WAFFLEHOUND posted:

Not at all, the Tempest was sitting unused and I spend tons of time loving around with the A4, and I still had $400 left over.

If you spent much time messing with your Tempest as you spend twiddling your A4 and agonizing whether its ethical to use vengeance samples (and posting about it), you'd have four albums worth of totally sick, better-than-vengeance-sample beats already done, and you wouldn't have this ethical issue weighing on your mind. :v:

# ¿ Apr 17, 2014 04:47

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Good drum sounds are always flat when dry. That's why you add gated reverb and some compression to them. :getin:

# ¿ Apr 17, 2014 05:17

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

The Cleaner posted:

Interesting how you assume more hardware will fix the problem.

That's been his approach since the beginning.

He doesn't want to put in the sweat and hours to get good, so he hopes flipping and buying more stuff will do the trick.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2014 10:20

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

WAFFLEHOUND posted:

Actually it's less that and more that I've been having problems with certain frequencies just not turning up on the KRKs that show up when I get a mix into my car. I've never actually looked into buying a sub because I know drat well that I don't need one, just that it would at some level make monitoring bass frequencies easier. To an extend I also miss the University of Texas EMS monitoring setup.

So where did this come from? Because this is probably the single most assholeish post I've ever read in this thread and you've been kind of on a passive aggressive fuckstick posting streak for a little bit. I think it's blisteringly obvious that you and I have different approaches to music, but you don't see me being a dick to people in this thread.

I've talked about it with Renderful a bunch, actually: I have very limited time to actually make music. I recognize that I am not nearly in the same league as most of the posters in this thread when it comes to composition. But I really love synthesis, and what time I get poking knobs and trying to arrange something is seriously the most relaxing time I get to myself which doesn't require me to go hiking for hours. I don't have any visions of myself as the next synth-music god who is going to be touring the world or even actively making something other people want to listen to. What I do hope to get out of this is that I'll thoroughly enjoy myself.

loving around with synths is the only hobby I have that costs money. In general I'm a startlingly cheap person who lives minimally enough that most of my possessions can fit in a single carload with room left to spare. There are synths that I want to play around with, and if I can get them at a price I can afford within the same pool of money I set aside at the beginning I'd allow myself to gently caress around with synths with, then I'll grab them when they're cheap. If I don't like it and I can sell it for more then I paid for it (which so far has net me ~1500 over where I started), then I'll do that.

The Tempest is a good example; I know some people can make incredible stuff with the Tempest (or literally any synth) but the people who are doing it have more patience for that particular piece of gear than I do, especially in light of how much money it cost. The decision to replace it with the A4 was one that made sense to me from a monetary perspective and from the perspective of "this can fill the same groovebox-y role but sounds better (to me) and is a lot cheaper)."

So I'm not you. gently caress, I'm not talented when it comes to composition at all. My only formal musical background is actually in synthesis, I really enjoy it, and at the end of the day the world of synths is a minefield of people like me and passive-aggressive pissing into the wind isn't going to change the fact that I'm hardly an outlier and that a good solid half of muffwiggler is in the same boat I'm in just with a much larger financial investment. Some people just like synths not as objects of pure fetishization with the intentions of making some magnum opus they can share with the world but because they're goddamn fun. Meanwhile, I'll take the little bits of time I'm able to fire up the synths and keep loving around bit by bit maybe not until I'm good, but until I'm having fun.

Now can we move the gently caress on? I'm fine eating however many Wavestation jokes get thrown my way and fully acknowledge that I deserve the hell out of the gear flipping jokes and I'm not going to bitch about that, but it's getting a bit lovely lately.

Sorry for coming across assholeish, I still <3 you dawg.

Though I wasn't being entirely serious, that post was actually intended more as a poke at your post worrying about spending so much time obsessing over kicks: it's ok to spend a lot of time focusing on getting something right; this is one of the more time consuming hobbies there is, and doing things well just plain takes a lot of sweating over knobs. The good news is, if you keep on grinding away and trying to get things perfect, eventually you'll have stuff so ingrained that you can dial up a perfect kick (or bass, or lead or whatever) that will sit beautifully in the mix - but getting to that point is a long road full of half finished mixes and abandoned stems.

Just remember, in the end, it's you, not whatever hardware you have, that determines what you make; you are ultimately the biggest limit on what you make, and the sooner that really sets in, the sooner you're free to really start pushing the limits and developing your own unique style.

Militant Lesbian fucked around with this message at 21:13 on Apr 17, 2014

# ¿ Apr 17, 2014 21:09

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

VoodooXT posted:

Whoa, somebody got pissed.

The irony about it is someone seems to think I'm berating people for not being rich (I haven't bought any new music gear in years, excepting the $50 copy of Geist I just ordered the other day, because I just can't afford to splurge on gear anymore) and have been participating in a huge derail in an AI thread where I (and others) have been mockingly belittled for not being able to afford a 'real' car (all in fun, of course).

I love it when the internet gets so mad they waste money on dumb poo poo like avs that don't even really make sense, instead of just closing the browser and doing something productive.

# ¿ Apr 17, 2014 22:18

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

WAFFLEHOUND posted:

For the record, it wasn't me. It's pretty funny though.

I know it wasn't you, you're not the passive-aggressive type.

Still hilarious though.

# ¿ Apr 18, 2014 01:13

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Skeletron posted:

How often do you guys go back to older pieces you've abandoned and think "That was loving cool...how the gently caress did I do that?", then listen to your new stuff and it all sounds like rubbish, and you just kind of wallow around in a big pool of self loathing and existential doubt for a while? I think I need to try something different. :|

I've been doing this for decades. Except half the time I listen to the old stuff and cringe because it's so bad compared to what I'm doing now.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2014 10:14

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Sizone posted:

Thanks for changing your spite avatar so it isn't a turd log.

I didn't change it, which means someone(s) was mad enough at the Internet to buy Lowtax two $10 Thai ladyboy hookers.

# ¿ Apr 22, 2014 12:23

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Your Computer posted:

It shouldn't be this hard to just use some soundfont files

It should be, because soundfonts are archaic (seriously, they're a format from 1994, when most people were still using DOS) as gently caress and pretty much bush league in terms of sample library formats - they were originally made for the SoundBlaster AWE cards, they're not even remotely a professional studio format, and there's not a lot of high quality soundfont packs out there; it's the sample library equivalent of General MIDI (and was largely developed to give ROMpler style GM support to SoundBlaster cards). The format was also never publically released by Creative Labs, so most players and SFZ creation apps are reverse engineered kludges that don't always get the format 100% correct. The reason it's popular at all is because you could make soundfonts for free using CL's software and use your SB AWE/SB Live as a poor-man's sampler - probably the only sampler you can afford if you're a kid in high school or college on a ramen budget, but not really something worth getting them if you can find it in some other format like Akai/E-MU/Kontakt. There's a reason all the big sample libraries use Kontakt these days - it's hands down the best sampler you can get.

Hate to say it, but it's gonna be rough as poo poo trying to get those to work with a modern 64bit DAW, but I wish you good luck in your attempts.

# ¿ May 4, 2014 01:18

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Radiapathy posted:

I think the Alpha Junos/MKS-50 are underrated. They're more than just hoover generators. The alpha dial makes the keyboards really easy to program (not FAST but easy), and when I listen through old tapes I made with my Juno-1 I clearly made a lot of use of inverted envelopes, which isn't a very common feature on HW/SW synths.

It isn't? My DW-8000, 106, and SH-32 all allow inverted envelopes. I think my JX-305 does as well; the only proper synth I have that doesn't have the option to invert the envelopes is my X-station (my X0Xbox doesn't count).

# ¿ May 6, 2014 22:19

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Any standard USB-MIDI interface will work, just depends on how many MIDI ports you want. If you want to also record your synths's sounds into your DAW, you'll need an audio interface as well:

http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3599662&perpage=40&pagenumber=2

# ¿ May 10, 2014 03:49

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Sizone posted:

Honesty dude, a cheapo laptop or a used ipad would be so much less trouble than a hardware sampler.

Quotin' this. So much less of a headache than trying to get a 20 year old ESI-2000 work when only a handful of ancient external SCSI CD drives would work well with it. Either get a modern flash-card sampler or use a laptop.

# ¿ May 10, 2014 06:18

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

WAFFLEHOUND posted:

I think your wallet fell out of your pocket when you leaned over to point at that scatter knob.

# ¿ Jun 14, 2014 03:25

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

WAFFLEHOUND posted:

That honestly sounds really cool. I think the only thing that could get me back into modular is something like a self-contained Polivoks rack where I don't have to buy it piece by piece. And it was priced like a box of donuts.

So http://www.analoguehaven.com/doepfer/darkenergyii/ ?

# ¿ Jun 14, 2014 22:07

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Panda Time posted:

There's probably some worthwhile 19" rack units out there, but they tend to be ridiculously expensive.

Suggestions??

http://www.tcelectronic.com/m-one-xl/

This is what I use as my main outboard 'verb. It's one of the nicest reverb units out there for under a grand, they usually run about $400-450 online.

# ¿ Jun 28, 2014 10:19

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

I always record my jams. :colbert:

http://soundcloud.com/civic-silver/late-night-doodle

Even if I only average three or four a year. :smith:

Having no free time sucks.

# ¿ Jul 11, 2014 12:40

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

ynohtna posted:

If you haven't made a track using your computers General MIDI 808 & 909 drum sets then you're missing out.

One of my favourite 'kits' is the TR-707 kit on my JX-305. Which hilariously does not sound anything like the actual TR-707 I have sitting on my desk. The kicks in it are far bassier, and the snares much punchier, but in the best 80's way.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2014 08:14

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Rageaholic Monkey posted:

I don't have a single degree. Technically I probably shouldn't even be able to operate a synth.

I don't have a degree because I dropped out of college to play with synths.

I don't know if that means I win the thread, or if it means I lose the thread. :gonk:

# ¿ Aug 1, 2014 05:52

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

CAT rear end now!!! posted:

Whatever, it's not like anyone's gonna talk about the finished pieces of music they recently made in this thread anyway

You say that and yet just four pages ago I posted this:

HotCanadianChick posted:

I always record my jams.
http://soundcloud.com/civic-silver/late-night-doodle

Even if I only average three or four a year. Having no free time sucks.

I know nobody in the thread bothered listening to it, but still.

Explain yourself, mister. :colbert:

Scatterfold posted:

haha I've said that I did so I'm gonna show the goods: https://soundcloud.com/scatterfold/sets/davoren-arc. Three tracks I've done in the last few weeks, all with the same kit. Very Opal Tapes-y I think; so minimal, warm house if that's your thing.

Machinedrum UW+; Blofeld; Wavestation; MC-202; TR-606 and Reaktor. Lots (too much? no) sidechain compression and a lot of tape compression too. It's a bit of a departure in terms of my style, but the one thing I've always used are found sounds and recordings of things irl so they're here too. And radio static. And porn.

I like this. And it doesn't make me seasick.

# ¿ Aug 2, 2014 22:04

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Dotcom Jillionaire posted:

Ok that fixes one problem. My TB-3 did not come with a manual/sheet of paper.

Is there a knob or button that will turn this into a good instrument?

You and waffle should check the last page of the 'how do I recreate this sound' thread, someone was asking about 303 clones and the TB3 came up. :3

# ¿ Aug 5, 2014 05:00

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

WAFFLEHOUND posted:

Just so you know I'm pretty certain the TT-303 is considered to have a more accurate sound than the x0xb0x.

That would be quite the trick to achieve, considering the X0Xbox quite literally uses the same exact circuits as a real 303 for it's sound generation circuits. Provided you can find the same transistors the original 303 used in it's filter (they've been out of production for decades now) and are willing to rip the BA662 amp chip out of an old Boss pedal, you can build a X0X with 100% identical schematics and components to a factory original 303.

# ¿ Aug 6, 2014 01:33

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Sizone posted:

Tempted to pick up an Asr-10r, edit patches and samples on it, then dump them to the asr-x.

minidracula posted:

Synths and Synthesis: Really, what you need to do is buy another ~~synth~~ sampler.

# ¿ Aug 7, 2014 10:52

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Dan Hollis posted:

An Elektron Rytm?

Don't be silly, he's buying a Buchla, of course.

# ¿ Aug 21, 2014 00:43

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Sjoewe posted:

Casio CZ-101, Korg Poly 61, Korg DW-6000/8000, DX27, can still be found on the low end of the segment and all can be great fun if you envest some time in learning how to program them.
There are also loads of VA-synths that get shat upon for wel eh, being VA-synths, but still kan sound pretty solid in their own right like a Novation (Super) Nova, A or K station.

I get more use out of my DW8000 and my X-station (same synth engine as the K-stations) than I do my modular or Juno 106...

# ¿ Aug 25, 2014 22:34

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

WAFFLEHOUND posted:

Music Easel.

I told you guys he was going to buy a Buchla, see? See?

Startyde posted:

Sizone's "make a loving song" Columbus Day Challenge(tm)

I'm highly tempted to do a half dozen entries for this, but I'd feel like I was cheating since for many years the only real synth I had was my JX-305 'groovesynth' (with no DAW beyond a copy of Cool Edit Pro to do my multitrack recording in) and I've got years worth of completed tracks and half finished sketches stored on both it's internal memory and the overpriced 4MB smartmedia card I bought for it.

In fact, all the stuff I still have sequenced in it is the biggest reason I don't want to sell it and replace it with an XV series rompler for my rompler needs- I still need to export all the tracks out of it and into a DAW, which will involve days worth of slowly playing back each pattern one at a time while recording all the MIDI into separate tracks and cleaning it all up.

Militant Lesbian fucked around with this message at 07:22 on Sep 4, 2014

# ¿ Sep 4, 2014 07:18

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

A Winner is Jew posted:

The iso only thing

You've been repeating this the past couple pages when referring to the Volca Sampler and I'm guessing you mean iOS (as in the iPhone Operating System) and not the International Organization for Standardization?

Otherwise I'm very confused. :ohdear:

# ¿ Oct 31, 2014 03:14

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

A Winner is Jew posted:

poo poo, yeah I meant iOS.

I deal with ISO on an almost daily basis since I work in the AEC industry and brain farted on it.

Yeah, it was confusing me since I thought maybe I'd missed something about a new standard that'd been developed for sample transfers or something...

# ¿ Oct 31, 2014 05:06

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

mrbradlymrmartin posted:

synthesists who claim sobriety fukken scare me

If someone can�t make sick beats and trippy riffs without chemical assistance, I question their skills, talent, and commitment.

Besides, everyone knows LSD >>> weed for making the best music.

# ¿ May 20, 2018 21:30

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# ¿ Apr 28, 2024 06:16

Militant Lesbian: Oct 3, 2002

Plavski posted:

If anyone tells you you're making music wrong tell them to gently caress off

This is how Justin Bieber happens, FYI.

# ¿ May 21, 2018 13:52

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > No Music Discussion > Musician's Lounge > Synths and Synthesis MkII: All gear is shit, Hail Satan

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