Am I done?

[DavidK]

Do I have enough keyboards? I think I do for the first time in history.

I bought a Korg microX, which is like a baby triton. A few months back I bought a Yamaha mini-mo, I also have a Roland JV1010 and an Alesis Nanosynth. I have softsynths like the Prophet and DX7, a lot that came with various software, some freebies etc. I even have a Kontakt player which I dont really like.

Is that enough? I wish I liked analog or VA better, they dont really do it for me. I like my romplers dag nabit. Half of the thrill of synths is plotting for the next one. If I cant do something with what I have already, I suck. I HONESTLY cant think of anything else I need, or even, gasp, want. Between the mini-mo and MicroX, I have about every sound known to man. Do I settle down?..............................






























Nah. I'll find something else to covet real soon.

[MadAudio]

Yer talking like they won't keep coming up with new synths. Are you stoopid?

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by MadAudio

Yer talking like they won't keep coming up with new synths. Are you stoopid?

I fear all this softsynth stuff, I fear change. I think they may have hit a plateau with the hardware synths. More features and polyphony but the sounds havent changed all that much in this century. I've never had an 88 key synth, maybe that is what I should strive for, though it doesnt have a lot of excitement since it will go near my, err, piano.

[mikeh]

I've been avoiding the softsynth route in part because that opens up waaaay too many other options (mo money) and in part because I'm a dinosaur who still prefers to use hardware.

How many keyboards are enough???? Some relevent questions - how much room do you have? What are you production needs? How much of a gear slut can you afford to be?

[Flamin Lip]

NAH! No collection is complete w/out a nice Rhodes or Wurlitzer!

[zed32]

snap out of it man!

[TexRoadkill]

Originally Posted by DavidK

I fear all this softsynth stuff, I fear change. I think they may have hit a plateau with the hardware synths. More features and polyphony but the sounds havent changed all that much in this century. I've never had an 88 key synth, maybe that is what I should strive for, though it doesnt have a lot of excitement since it will go near my, err, piano.

I hear ya. Softsynths blow. I love my Yamaha S90ES it's a great classical and classic rock keyboard. Lots of strings, organs and some damn good pianos. IMO it's got the best weighted action of any controller out there.

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by TexRoadkill

I hear ya. Softsynths blow. I love my Yamaha S90ES it's a great classical and classic rock keyboard.

Thats a nice keyboard. I like Yamaha's piano sounds the best of the big 3. My new Korg MicroX is an awesome synth, but the pianos blow so I will use my Yanaha for that.

[noisewreck]

Originally Posted by DavidK

More features and polyphony but the sounds havent changed all that much in this century.

I don't think that's a deficiency in the synths. It's a deficiency in most synthesists. Most of the end users don't go much beyond the presets. To me, most of the fun with synths is pushing and prodding them in directions that presets don't even hint at.

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by noisewreck

I don't think that's a deficiency in the synths. It's a deficiency in most synthesists. Most of the end users don't go much beyond the presets. To me, most of the fun with synths is pushing and prodding them in directions that presets don't even hint at.

I agree, thats why I think I they have reached a zenith. You have the tools, its up to you to take it to the level you want or need.

I have been playing synths all day, sometimes 3 at a time. What I think I am saying is: If I cant do it with what I have, I cant do it. I have thousands of presets, a zillion layering options, unlimited midi channels and audio tracks, millions of combinations. Not to mention all the processing options I have.

I think it was funner when I had a lot less. When I was 22 and had a DX7 and a two-track sequencer, I thought I was in heaven. Now I have everything I can possibly dream of, yet its not as cool. Hold me.

[the cool one]

I have a Memorymoog Plus I might sell you for $5000.

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by Starzz

I have a Memorymoog Plus I might sell you for $5000.

What a coincidence! I just happened to find $5000 in the sofa.

[the cool one]

Originally Posted by DavidK

What a coincidence! I just happened to find $5000 in the sofa.

You must be like me. I have so many synths that I don't know what to do with them. I just can't let them go. I love each and every one of the little darlins. I even buy those stupid SK-1's when I find them. There's about 30 of those. I can't even tell you what I have without going to look. It's insane. I know I have Rolands, Ensoniq's, Moogs, Oberheim (I love the OB8 sounds), Korgs, Alesis, Yamahas, even Casios and Realistics. I'm not a well man!

[Dogman]

Done with what?

Until JPW takes you off the grill, you aint done, baby.....

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by Starzz

You must be like me. I have so many synths that I don't know what to do with them. I just can't let them go. I love each and every one of the little darlins. I even buy those stupid SK-1's when I find them. There's about 30 of those. I can't even tell you what I have without going to look. It's insane. I know I have Rolands, Ensoniq's, Moogs, Oberheim (I love the OB8 sounds), Korgs, Alesis, Yamahas, even Casios and Realistics. I'm not a well man!

I'm not that crazy...............................................yet.

I've also never had a lot of money, so I have had to sell stuff over the years. If I had not my list would be similiar to yours. I have had a LOT over the years, Probably 20. Mini-moog, K2000, SK1 , proteus, Poly 800, DX21 and 7, realistic, Kawai, on and on. This new lil microX may be the best one yet soundwise, it just kicks ass. My DX21 may have been my favorite, my love of synths was all based on that. I pawned it in New Orleans when the symphony went bankrupt.

[the cool one]

Originally Posted by DavidK

I'm not that crazy...............................................yet.

I've also never had a lot of money, so I have had to sell stuff over the years. If I had not my list would be similiar to yours. I have had a LOT over the years, Probably 20. Mini-moog, K2000, SK1 , proteus, Poly 800, DX21 and 7, realistic, Kawai, on and on. This new lil microX may be the best one yet soundwise, it just kicks ass. My DX21 may have been my favorite, my love of synths was all based on that. I pawned it in New Orleans when the symphony went bankrupt.

Ya, I could get rid of all of them and get something new that would probably make all the sounds of everything I have now, and much more. Maybe I will, someday.

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by Starzz

Ya, I could get rid of all of them and get something new that would probably make all the sounds of everything I have now, and much more. Maybe I will, someday.

Keep them. Classic synths are collectors items, let alone a lot of fun. My mini-moog was a beast to deal with, always going out of tune. In the 80s it was considered crap, now its once again coveted.

[mikeh]

I don't have as many keyboards as many of the people on this site - but I do find myself thinking as DavidK suggests - if I can't get a sound with what I have, then it's me not the gear.

For actual keyboards I use a Privia 310 for my "weighted action" 88 (it feels decent and has a nice piano sound) I also have a XP30 a D50 and a Juno 106 (the Juno gives me the "real time" analog tweaking). I have a few modules - Kurzweil Pro 1200 (great sax and piano), XV5050, Proteus 1, MU80, Kawai K1r and an old Akai 2000 sampler (mostly for sound effects when needed).

Lately, most of what I've been producing is standard country/country pop - so I mainly use the Privia (piano) and the XP30 (pedal steel, fiddle and harmonica) and the XV5050 (organ and strings).

I've always wanted to get a Motif and I've been very tempted to buy a Nord - but since I'm not using half of what I already have (and since I'm producing mostly country - I spend more time on guitar than on keys)..........but I still lust after soooo many new keyboards. I just find myself thinking that I can probably create sounds to match most of those by layering what I already have.

I've had a dozen other keyboards DX7, DX21, Juno 60, etc. etc) - which I wish I would have kept - but at the time the only way I could get new gear was to trade some in.

I miss tweaking and creating sounds (I think I was much more creative when I only had a Juno 60 and a 4 track Fostex cassette recorder) - but these days it's more about dialing up a few set sounds and tracking quickly.......so any new purchases will have to wait.

[mixmkr]

... seems like you need some vintage Paia kits!!

yeah..someday soon, KORG, Yamaha, Roland... there will be something on the "must have" list I believe. This HipHop/industrial/preset mania will end soon.

[SonicAlbert]

No, you do not have enough synths! Synths are like money, you can never have enough!

But seriously, only you can determine if you have enough synths. If there are sounds you want to make but can't with your current setup, then you need to get some new synths. If you keep running out of polyphony, then you need more synths.

I have 17 synths and 17 hardware samplers. Plus a few software instruments. At the moment I really don't feel the need for more But if there was something I wanted to do musically and couldn't with what I have, I'd buy it.

Your gear purchases should be based on *need*, not an arbitrary sense of "do I have enough".

[jpmorris]

Originally Posted by noisewreck

I don't think that's a deficiency in the synths. It's a deficiency in most synthesists. Most of the end users don't go much beyond the presets. To me, most of the fun with synths is pushing and prodding them in directions that presets don't even hint at.

I'd agree. I've never fully explored the JV1010 or the MVS-1, I just use the presets on those. Same with the Triton for the most part, but in all those cases it's because I bought them for specific purposes (Mellotron, Orchestral sounds, Electric piano etc) so editing them wasn't uppermost in my mind.

That said, all my favourite sounds on the Cheetah MS6 were my own design.
And then we have the Waldorf synthesizers. These remove all temptation to just use the presets because the presets are crap. Ironically I've spent much of my time on Waldorf MicroWave trying to replicate some of the presets from the MVS-1 or the PPG Wave softsynth

Talking of the MicroWave or PPG, that is one thing which is very difficult to replace. If you want those freaky wavetable sweeps, you'll have to have a machine or a softsynth that uses wavetable scanning. No amount of effort is going to help you replicate them on something else...

[Somnium7]

Go for an analog modular synth now. There's plenty of makers these days. With a modular you can laugh at all your other synths with their preset routings and start making the sounds you could only dream about.

Of course then you'll find your new obsession will be modules. And that's fine, there's nothing wrong with continually expanding a synth with unlimited potential.

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by Somnium7

Go for an analog modular synth now. There's plenty of makers these days. With a modular you can laugh at all your other synths with their preset routings and start making the sounds you could only dream about.

Man, I just cant get into modular synths. Whats wrong with me? I never liked em, they just dont appeal to me. I like presets, I just need thousands of them. I guess its my orchestral background, I try to experiment with other sounds and I always go back to the orchestral-ish sound set every time.

[c7sus]

Go play a Voyager and get back to us.

7 banks of 128 presets including 128 blank patches. Edit via computer or the Voyager with the editing software.

If the Voyager seems a bit much the Little Phatty is about $1300US and has pretty kewl analog/digital control technology.

Either way there's no mistaking it's a Moog.

[Somnium7]

Originally Posted by DavidK

Man, I just cant get into modular synths. Whats wrong with me? I never liked em, they just dont appeal to me. I like presets, I just need thousands of them. I guess its my orchestral background, I try to experiment with other sounds and I always go back to the orchestral-ish sound set every time.

Ok I see. Here's a suggestion, get yourself a decent sampler (I prefer hardware) and then start collecting the plethora of finely crafted orchestral sample libraries out there. Here again you get a virtually limitless amount of flexibility and thousands of sounds but instead of buying a new hardware instrument you are investing in the sounds alone. Saves alot of space too.