p120dUdE Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 Hey Guys, What is your current favorite synth? What do you like about it? What are the features you like the most? Regards, p120dUdE My Gear: Yamaha P120 Professional Stage Piano, Yamaha CS1x Synthesizer, Yamaha MSP5 Monitors, Behringer Eurorack UB802 Mixer Music I Play: Classical, Jazz, Blues, Classic Rock, Rock The Yamaha P120 Pro. Stage Piano is absolutely superb, fantastic, awesome! It rocks! Chris M. West Brook Music Studio, New England USA Yamaha P120 Specialist My Synth Group Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clusterchord Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 What is your current favorite synth? A6 What do you like about it?What are the features you like the most? versatile, powerful organic analog sound, user interface, two filters, programability, easy to mix with (cuts thru), oh, i could go on and on.. http://www.babic.com - music for film/theatre, audio-post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeon Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 What is your current favorite synth?Waldorf Microwave XTk What do you like about it?The sound, the sound and did I mention, the sound? What are the features you like the most?unashamedly digital-sounding, and I mean that in the best of ways...sounds range from soft and ethereal to brutal and harsh, and are always unmistakeably synthetic...excellent for ever-evolving pads and sounds that radically shift their spectral content over time...sound can have a pleasing granularity due to the resolution of the wavetables...a number of different filter topologies, including some powerful waveshaper options...morphable LFO shapes...very extensive modulation matrix...mod matrix includes arithmetic/logic/CV-shaping operators...surface is laden with endless rotary encoders...wavetables and function curves for the waveshaping filters by means of user-programmable algorthmic wavetable functions, additive functions, and even image-to-wavetable processes...analog input for external sound processing...fun arpeggiator...the non-programmable Juno-style chorus sounds great...a true programmers synth...all patch slots are flash RAM...I find the design and color to be very aesthetically pleasing...or better said, I love the looks!...and I love the sound. Go tell someone you love that you love them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steadyb Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 Hardware - Andromeda Software - ES2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Analogaddict Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 Dave Smith Evolver , for being anything from rather sweet to absolutely insane... /J nas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tusker Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 Nord Modular (Classic) - Just the sheer range of what is possible. The sweet spots (at this point): - Open architecture (of course) - Real time control (especially bit and sample rate modulation, envelopes) - Ability to completely scale and shape midi controller information - Logic operations Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reverend Rhythm Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 My current favorite is the Arturia Minimoog V. Hey, it makes me happy. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoLights Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 My brand new Motif ES8. The sounds - that great Yamaha keybed - capabilities that'll take me years to explore. I am totally awed. _______________________________________________ Kurzweil PC4; Yamaha P515; EV ZXA1s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 If by "current" you mean "currently in production", I'd nominate a close tie between the Minimoog Voyager and the Studio Electronics SE-1x. (They do sound very similar, of course. ) The reason? While the features could be better on both, they make up for that in sheer sound and playability. My SE-1 never fails to make all heads turn at once when it shows its voice at soundchecks. Programming it is a breeze; I made a bank of 100 sounds from scratch in just a few days of work. You develop a very direct relationship with this kind of instrument. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nordude Posted June 20, 2004 Share Posted June 20, 2004 Have to vote for the Nord Electro 2 as well. I discover new cool Hammond settings almost every day, and I like the Wurly and the Rhodes pianos as well. Don't have a (virtual) analog though. There always something to wish, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burningbusch Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Originally posted by marino: If by "current" you mean "currently in production", I'd nominate a close tie between the Minimoog Voyager and the Studio Electronics SE-1x. (They do sound very similar, of course. ) The reason? While the features could be better on both, they make up for that in sheer sound and playability. My SE-1 never fails to make all heads turn at once when it shows its voice at soundchecks. Programming it is a breeze; I made a bank of 100 sounds from scratch in just a few days of work. You develop a very direct relationship with this kind of instrument.Studio Electronics makes some great sounding synths. They aren't that well known because they're a boutique manufacturer that doesn't care much about distribution. I still haven't heard a polyphonic synth that sounds better, just the pure sound, than the Omega 8. Currently, I'm digging the V-Synth. Lots of human voice, Zawinul-type sounds. Busch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Nord Modular G2. This has to be the best sounding VA yet. It drove me to sell my unused equipment on Ebay to finance a future purchase. Too bad the price of the rack went up over $200 before it ever hit the market. Must be a result of the dollar/euro conversion. Robert This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yannis D Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Can I say Nord Electro or am I too old fashioned?? Be grateful for what you've got - a Nord, a laptop and two hands Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magpel Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 DSI Evolver, because: 1. Good essential sound quality, esp the analog oscs and filters. Simply put, turning a knob on Evolver is usually a more rewarding experience that it is on my other synths. 2. The "cute little" 16x4 step sequencer makes you play by its own somewhat limited rules, but it never fails to produce interesting, useful results, and I have NEVER been a user of arpegiators or step sequencers before, except a brief fliration with ReBirth. 3. A Mod powerhouse for a mono synth. I love it. Check out the Sweet Clementines CD at bandcamp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjm Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 Korg Triton .... I know, I have absolutely no taste My latest piece: for orchestra (recorded at Blackheath Halls, London, March 2006, 2mins long) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kad Posted June 21, 2004 Share Posted June 21, 2004 As an overall workhorse: Kurzweil K2600XS Strictly analog: MiniMoog Voyager B3 emulation: Voce V5 Kirk Reality is like the sun - you can block it out for a time but it ain't goin' away... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamg Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 My favorite softsynth is ABSYNTH 2. I haven't gotten into hardware synths yet, but I have played around with them at the store. They just don't seem to scream original like Absynth does. Does anyone think they've heard a better sound than ABSYNTH in that style? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan South Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 It depends on what I'm doing. No synth leads the pack in every category. Some favorites include: Pro-53 FM7 Korg Legacy MS2000 and PolySix Triton/Triton Rack JV-1080 East West Bosendorfer Virtual Instrument Emagic ESM/ESP/ES2 How's that for totally stepping aside the question? The Black Knight always triumphs! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthetic Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 Super Jupiter. Everything it does is interesting. I can play a C chord over and over on the simplest sound and it's interesting, where if I do that on a VA synth it's maddeningly boring. And it sits in a mix very well -- the Andromeda needs some work sometimes but the Jupiter just punches through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DafDuc Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 HW - still the Prophet-5 after all these years. Though I'm planning to fall in love with my "new" Arp Odyssey as soon as it shows up in the mail. SW - Probably the Pro-52. Am I in a rut? Not really - the extra bells and whistles - velocity, 32 voices, "analog" control - really put it over the top. That being said, I'm sure my Arturia Moog Mod V would blow it away, if my Cpu were up to the task. So maybe I'll have a different answer after I upgrade. I'm also fond of Malstrom, but since it can only live in Reason, it's kind of limited. Daf I played in an 8 piece horn band. We would often get bored. So...three words: "Tower of Polka." - Calumet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yamis Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 If you want to refer to it as a synth, my favorite right now is my Yamaha S80. Great action and sound. It inspires me to play. As result, I play about 2 hours each night before going to bed. My playing has improved tremendously because of this instrument. Yamis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pim Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 To me there is no synthesizer which is my ultimate favourite. All of them are so sweet... But, if I would be banned out of rainy Amsterdam to an island in the sun, I would take my Andromeda with me. Andromeda has it all: rich analogue sound, power, knobs, analogue style sequencer and arpeggiator. You can go really deep if you like to make your own programs. It's a beast. My Music I always wondered what happened after the fade out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clusterchord Posted July 8, 2004 Share Posted July 8, 2004 Originally posted by synthetic: Super Jupiter. Everything it does is interesting. I can play a C chord over and over on the simplest sound and it's interesting, where if I do that on a VA synth it's maddeningly boring. And it sits in a mix very well -- the Andromeda needs some work sometimes but the Jupiter just punches through.oh, yes. after A6 this is my favorite as well. beside the novelty factor (i've had it for couple of months now), it's such a pure sound, and it's so easy to get good sounds of it. i'm used to rolands voice arhitecture from before, so it feels like home.. the A6 filters and JP-8 filter on MKS80 are sooo complementary = analog bliss btw, what rev do you have, synthetic ? (mine is rev4.) after hearing some demos, i find i want a rev5 as well (one day perhaps..) PS if anyone would like to hear how rev4 and rev5 Super Jupiters sound, check the synth demo page on HC KSS http://www.babic.com - music for film/theatre, audio-post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusicWorkz Posted July 9, 2004 Share Posted July 9, 2004 No one board fulfills every need for me, but if i had to pick, my current fave is my Yamaha MOTIF loaded with custom patches. It is my go to board for drums samples, keyboards and leads. For pads, it is Atmosphere, the Triton Rack and Roland XP-30. For basses, it is my Novation A-Station and Roland Juno 6 thru a DOD Bass pedal. Yamaha (Motif XS7, Motif 6, TX81Z), Korg (R3, Triton-R), Roland (XP-30, D-50, Juno 6, P-330). Novation A Station, Arturia Analog Experience Factory 32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analogman1 Posted July 9, 2004 Share Posted July 9, 2004 Hey ClusterChord, I listened to the demos of the JD990. Sounds GREAT! I have the 2080, with the Vintage Synths board...but I've been told so many times that the JD-990 is the module for that board. In your estimation, how does that combination stack up against the Nord Lead 2, etc...(sonically, not controller wise? Do you think it pays to pick up a JD-990? Big T from NY Tom Nord Electro 5D, Modal Cobalt 8, Yamaha upright piano, numerous plug-ins... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clusterchord Posted July 10, 2004 Share Posted July 10, 2004 Originally posted by analogman1: Hey ClusterChord, I listened to the demos of the JD990. Sounds GREAT! I have the 2080, with the Vintage Synths board...but I've been told so many times that the JD-990 is the module for that board. In your estimation, how does that combination stack up against the Nord Lead 2, etc...(sonically, not controller wise? Do you think it pays to pick up a JD-990? Big T from NYthx for listening. those are a few patches out of many i made on JD. it is was so inspiring over the yrs. IMHO, if you look at digital Rolands as creative synths, and not necessary as romplers with tons of ROM, i'd say that JD990 is the best that Roland has ever made (out of all JD/JV/XV/XP/Fantom etc line). It definetely has the best filters. it is 44.1 k thru-out unlike most of aforementioned models. It has quite small ROM by todays standards, but a winning combination of waves , perfect as nucleus for new sounds. JD definitely has it's own trademark sound, something that can't be said for most of todays ROM-based digital synths.. Vintage board: I don't own it, but heard many times that it is a perfect match with JD. It surely will sound better than in a JV/XP line synth... well, the NL2+JD990.. that sounds like a nice® combo. NL3 even more. I mean, JD excells in other things - will give you "JD coluoured" analog emulation, but VA is better for that, RA even better (No emulation ) regards tom http://www.babic.com - music for film/theatre, audio-post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthguy Posted July 10, 2004 Share Posted July 10, 2004 Gee willikers, what a question... I've been making do with what I have, which a blasted car repair helped in that regard this year, argh! So I'll have to choose between my three go-to synths: Roland JD-990 with the Vintage Synth card. It gives me all the sounds of the past and then some, as it has nice multimode filters that sound juicy, a good complement of voice algorithms giving it some modular complexity, great effects, and oscillators that can hard sync any waveform! Roland XV-3080 with the Ultimate Keys card. Sparkling, pristine sound, and lame patches that force you to discover what it can really do! Which is quite a lot. Technically a better synth than the JD, but it can't top it because both have their own sound. Korg Triton with Vintage Archives card and MOSS board. Darn, this thing is useful and powerful. I love the sound it has, except for the rather cheezy reverb, it's only shortcoming. It has a ton of useful waveforms and sweet analog sounding filters, along with that MOSS synth, so it's a dream to create sounds on. I lean towards this as my favorite synth right now, because it does almost everything I need. This keyboard solo has obviously been tampered with! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny1982 Posted July 11, 2004 Share Posted July 11, 2004 Any Audigy or SbLive with a powerful PC... Unlimited sampling power... I have one Audigy and three SbLive's... That's a sampler with 256-voice polyphony by hardware for 115 euros, it can do anything, and if that's not enough I can use a soft synth too... edit: And, of course, a keyboard as a controller... I use my RD-700. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ISPdeRuiter Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 Kurzweil K2500 or K2600/2661. Still "current" after all these years... ISPdeRuiter Nevertheless at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthetic Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 Originally posted by clusterchord: the A6 filters and JP-8 filter on MKS80 are sooo complementary = analog bliss Yeah, I agree. I have both as well. btw, what rev do you have, synthetic ? (mine is rev4.) after hearing some demos, i find i want a rev5 as well (one day perhaps..) I have a Rev 5. But no programmer. My next big purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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