My perfect Synth?

joeyfixit

New member
What I want to do with a new synth: gigs. Probably smallish clubs.

My equipment now: Alesis Micron, Fender Bassman amp, Korg SR-120 (analog drum machine). Tomorrow I'm shopping for a mixer so I can run A and C through B. Also various unrelated paraphernalia (banjo, bass, vocal pedal, etc).

What I want: an analogue or analogue-ish synth with KNOBS. This could be a separate unit or a rack to plug the Alesis into as a midi controller. I might settle for the right mono but I'd prefer poly (being able to toggle between the two would be gravy).

My price ceiling: about $750, US. Hopefully a bunch less. I'm already making monthly payments on the drum machine.

I know the Micron is supposed to be this wonder machine but I absolutely hate how time consuming it can be to program or change anything about it. Even wheeling through the presets usually seems like a huge pain a lot of the time.

By contrast, I absolutely love fiddling with my Korg drum machine. It has a decent range within its limits and it's intuitive. The layout makes sense; the most complex cluster on that panel is the box for fills, which is all of five knobs.

I'd like a variety, but in particular I want to make big buzzy Stereolab chords.

I think ideally this is a rack unit with a lot of knobs for adjustment that's a cheaper alternative to, say, the Nord Electro racks, something I can hook up to my Alesis and adjust on the fly. Alesis is just not good for fine tuning for muggles.

So far I'm most impressed with the setup on an Arturia Minibrute. I'm less jazzed with how small the keyboard is and the fact that it's only monophonic.
 
There are no contenders in sub-$750 price range for an analog poly synth.

You need to want something that actually exists.
 
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Look for a Virus KC...they can be found for around that price...or the desktop A,B,C are all available cheaper. Theyre digital but do VA very well (amongst other things). Plenty of knobs, not too much menu diving.

Gary Numan replaced nearly all is touring analogue synths with the virus...its solid
 
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