Need Advice On Synth

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Stevebol

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Hello.I need advice on buying a synth.I am trying to create ensemble string sounds(sort of)using sine waves,etc... I am looking for a synth that has multiple ADSR Volume Envelopes,10 to 20, that I can combine in one note with different vibrato speeds for each.I've tried the sampling thing but would like to try something different,more synthetic.I am not looking for a sampler.I haven't owned a synth since I bought a new Ensoniq ESQ-1 so here's a couple questions:

How many ADSR Envelopes can I assign to one note?

How many Vibrato's?

Do Sine Waves,Saw Waves sustain naturally or are they looped?

Do Synths like the Clavia Nord,Alesis Andromeda,Waldorf Q do these easily or not at all.

Are these Synths more than what I need?

Do they have sampling capabilities? (just in case)

I hope this thread makes sense.It's not easy to get a grasp on synth advancements in the last 15-20 years by reading product reviews and downloading manuals.
 
10 to 20 ADSR controls?

I've seen two (and that is usually for each oscillator or VA oscillator so it's not for individual notes, but the overall sound).

Unless my gear is so low tech that I'm that much out of the loop. My newest synth is my AN200. Perhaps some of the higher end models can do what you ask, but I don't know.

Carl
 
You can do this with a Nord Modular. But I'm not sure why you'd want to. :-) You don't have to have a separate ADSR just to be able to put an amplitude LFO modulation on each sine. And you would also more likely want to use a pitch modulation instead to get fat pads, and also use something else than sine waves, like the more overtone rich and string like sawtooths.

The only synthesizers I know of that have separate envelopes for each harmonic are the additative synths, which in practise means the Kawai K5 or K5000. They don't have separate LFO's for each harmonic, but the envelopes are looping and multistage, so you could create a similar effect to what you want.

The K5000 have 128 harmonics.
 
on a novation synth, you have three envelopes and 2 lfos... on a waldorf Q/microQ you have 4 envelopes and 3 lfos...

generally you should be able to make great strings using just two lfos, one very fast and another subtle to control the pitch... this gives the great fast vibrating sound along with the ups and downs that are natural for the violing as you can't make a smooth glide...
 
You can have 20 oscillators playing at the same time with their own envelope genetrators, LFO's, etc with any multitimbral synth.

In order to accomplish this on my XP30, all you would need to do is create 5 patches consisting of 4 tones each and then layer the 5 patches together in a Performance. Of course there is the 64 note polyphony limitation which in this case would cause serious problems. Most newer synths nowadays are providing 128 note polyphony which would help.

Another route would be to go down the soft-synth route on a PC. There you are pretty much only limited by the processing power of computer as to maximum polyphony.
 
webstop said:


Not anymore, but when it was in cases on casters - it was somewhat portable...
Click to expand...

arh, come on... all you need is a flight case and a very big keyboard player... i think the living muscle who lives next door could carry that without even flexing his arms...
 
synth decision...

I got through reading a few books about synths and trying a few,the Clavia Nord 3,Waldorf Micro Q(very good sound).I heard something about Composite Synthesis which would be sampling and programmable synth features combined but haven't seen a board that has it yet.I guess I'll keep looking around.There's a lot to learn.
 
check out the expander if you can... it'll even make you coffee...
 
Here' a reason!

Have you thought about software?
I got reason2 and not only could you have a separate adsr env for each sound, but a whole synth to go with it.

Not to mention the rest of the program that makes all the shit in your studio (except the controller) seem obsolete!

And if you want samplers, well, you could have a big chain of those too... And so on.
 
undecided

I have thought about going the soft-synth route,but I would like to be able to do something outside the computer.I don't have a keyboard right now.I guess I'll have to decide between The Waldorf Micro Q,Clavia Nord 3,Access Virus and similar synths.They all seem to be good products.
 
those are all excellent choices. I have the lead3 and reccomend it highly. And I would love to have an indigo2 virus, or the waldorf, especially the Q+! Get one of those, and combine it with reason2 and you'll have more bad ass synth sounds and capabilities than you could possibly comprehend for at least a year!
 
It sounds to me that what you are wanting to attempt is what's called "additive synthesis".

If that is the case, then there are some vintage units you might want to take a look at out there. Additive units aren't all that common anymore. Some additive synths include:

Kawai K5 (late '80s)
Kawai K5000 (mid '90s)
Kurzweil K150 (mid '80s)

Of these, the K5 is the easiest and least expensive to find, and support up to 126 digital oscillators. The main complaint I've heard about them is they're noisy. Prepal quotes them at $180 (keyboard) and $140 (module).
http://www.vintagesynth.org/kawai/kawaik5.shtml

The K5000 was its successor, and I've heard lots of really good things about it. Much newer, and much more expensive. Prepal give a range of $520 - $620 depending on the form factor and features.
http://www.vintagesynth.org/kawai/k5000.shtml

The Kurzweil K150 is probably the most powerful of the bunch, supporting 256 digital oscillators. It is BIG, we're talking a half-dozen rack units, and it needs Apple II software to do the really fancy stuff. Main criticism soundwise is lack of treble-response (peters out around 10-11kHz) and the sheer complexity of the beast. Plus, they're comparatively rare. Prepal doesn't have a price quote, but I saw one go on eBay recently for around $300.
http://www.vintagesynth.org/kurzweil/k150.shtml

I hope this helps.

-----
DAVID VESEL -- synthpop recording artist
http://www.ampcast.com/davidvesel
http://www.javamusic.com/davidvesel
davidvesel@pobox.com
 
Hmmm. As cool as those old kawai's and kurzweil are, you can't seriously say you would pick any one of those over a Lead3, MicroQ, or virus would you? I mean, I love most all synths but there's a big difference there.
 
Nord Modular

The only synth I know with unlimited ADSR envelopes is, I believe, the NORD MODULAR. It is neither the lead 3 or 2 but a Modular controller of some sort with software that goes with it, or something like that. Forgive me if I am not exactly correct about this, however, I do disctinctly recall seeing a comparison spec sheet, limited though it was, it very clearly showed that the Nord Modular had unlimited ADSR envelopes. Also, I thing there were unlimited filters as well. Check it out I guess.
 
normally you create ensemble sounds by layering.. and all of these synths and samplers have layering...
 
Not that I know what "unlimited" ADSR envelopes or "unlimited" filter mean, but yes, it's an excellent piece of equipment. Everyone needs one.
 
hehehe regebro... i ruined your post by posting myself... muahaha...

... to anyone who think the comment was malplaced, d000d is talking about the nord modular...
 
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