Feel free to rant and rave in here, but please no slander or offensive remarks !

Moderators: lazyben, static14, texasvinyl

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By inksb
#119848
I have been messing around with soft synths on my computer for the last few months, using Arturia and Ableton plus a midi keyboard I picked up used for cheap. I have never really used a real synth in my life but since I listen to synth music so damn much I wanted to try my hand at creating it. My musical knowledge is pretty minimal, I've played guitar since high school but never very seriously other than a small stint in a Mississippi hill stomp blues band in my mid 20's.

In messing around with the soft synth shit I realized I was kind of struggling to get a handle on what everything was and why it effected the sound it the way it did. So I decided to look into actually buying a hard synth. I immediately gravitated to the MOOG Grandmother due to being a MOOG and looking kind of cool. Only problem was I dont' have a spare $1000 laying around to just drop on something like that. So I kept looking and watching videos and finding things I liked, I almost bought a Korg MS-20 mini. I really liked the idea of being able to make patches on the unit and it felt kind of modular. I got outbid on ebay and I could not find a used one for weeks. I then stumbled onto the Korg Minilogue XD, an analog synth with some added digital features. I loved what I heard but not wanting to spend $700 on one I went hunting for a used one, which I discovered was kind of tough since it's a pretty new to the market piece of equipment. Well I lucked out and found one on ebay at $525 and it was in the town over from me so I messaged the seller and made a private sale for cash. So I sold my kayak I haven't used in a year and bought it.

This thing is amazing. It it's overwhelming how many features it has but I'm having a blast playing with it and need to actually get a work station set up with my laptop, some monitors and an audio interface. Baby steps though. For now I have some of it cobbled together in my living room which bothers my wife but she doesn't want me to use her "work" desk that has a 12 year old iMac that hasn't been turned on in 2 years (she kills me sometimes, lol).

Sorry for the long rant, no one around me in real life gives a shit about stuff like this :)

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By NathanLurker
#119850
Cool, inksb ! I sometimes do a bit of window shopping for synths and I had checked a few videos on the minilogue. It looks interesting to me. Never bought one, but I kinda fantasize about doing lo fi electro ambiant tapes.
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By monsterworship
#119852
I had a Roland Juno 106 for the later part of the 90's that I parted with in the early 2000's :(

A few years ago I wanted to junk around so I got a Roland JDXI and then followed up quickly and got a Novation - MoroderNova Limited Edition Synthesizer. Which came with some fun Moroder presets decked out in moustaches & glasses.
I mean how many times can you play the Chase Theme from Midnight Express).

Haven't touched them for a few years. hahah but i like the idea of sometimes just pulling them out and playing around for a day.
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By ScoJo
#119853
monsterworship wrote: Thu Aug 01, 2019 6:22 pm I had a Roland Juno 106 for the later part of the 90's that I parted with in the early 2000's :(

A few years ago I wanted to junk around so I got a Roland JDXI and then followed up quickly and got a Novation - MoroderNova Limited Edition Synthesizer. Which came with some fun Moroder presets decked out in moustaches & glasses.
I mean how many times can you play the Chase Theme from Midnight Express).

Haven't touched them for a few years. hahah but i like the idea of sometimes just pulling them out and playing around for a day.
I used to do a DJ party trick occasionally - a set of nothing but Moroder / Giorgio / Moroder-produced tracks, wearing the full GM stache, mirror shades and apropos attire, I had a record box fitted with a super bright LED light which switched on when I lifted the lid, emitting a neon glow when I ceremonially opened it to kick off the set.

The above is 100% bona fide. I don't have a single pic to prove it though :(
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By maxlevel
#119872
@scojo with today’s tech you could put this idea into a lunchbox, with a 1W speaker playing a tiny playlist as you remove a sandwich
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By ScoJo
#119878
Id be a fool and a communist not to.

I am currently DJing (with my tablet, ugh) at top of a hill/in the grounds of a gothic castle, before an open air screening of BEETLEJUICE. 1500 people in deckchairs, playing nothing but calypso, garage rock n roll (that the cramps taught us) and drive in horror trailers/concession bumpers. I'll try and take a pic when its darker :)
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By inksb
#119879
Sounds like a lot of fun ScoJo. I wish stuff like that happened near me. It's hard to get me out at night these days but a screening of Beetlejuice and some ridiculous DJing sounds like the right recipe.
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By Mateo Sanboval
#119891
Fuck it up, ScoJ.
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By NathanLurker
#136543
Resurecting this thread 'cause I just pre-ordered a Moog Werkstatt-01 at a local hardware music store, and can't wait to get it to do fuck all but beeps and bops with it and now I think I need to Spin my Dark Star LP and possibly watch the movie (never seen it) and maybe watch Alien too, there's a lot of beeps and boops in there.

beep boop.
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By Jimmy_Mike
#136545
NathanLurker wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 10:23 pm Resurecting this thread 'cause I just pre-ordered a Moog Werkstatt-01 at a local hardware music store, and can't wait to get it to do fuck all but beeps and bops with it and now I think I need to Spin my Dark Star LP and possibly watch the movie (never seen it) and maybe watch Alien too, there's a lot of beeps and boops in there.

beep boop.
@inksb - Looks like he's a wiggler. Woot woot.
User avatar
By inksb
#136546
NathanLurker wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 10:23 pm Resurecting this thread 'cause I just pre-ordered a Moog Werkstatt-01 at a local hardware music store, and can't wait to get it to do fuck all but beeps and bops with it and now I think I need to Spin my Dark Star LP and possibly watch the movie (never seen it) and maybe watch Alien too, there's a lot of beeps and boops in there.

beep boop.
That's awesome! The Werkstatt sounds so good. I wanted to buy one but just couldn't justify picking one up since I already have a Mother 32. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it once you get it up and running. Since this original post I have gone through a lot of synth additions to my setup. Here's mostly up to date photo.

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I've added a modular synth (it's been my focus for the better part of a year) and an Elektron Digitone. Plus I now have a mixer/interface and two monitors. Lol. It's a lot of fun even if I'm a shit musician. I have fun and that's all I really care about.
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By inksb
#136548
Jimmy_Mike wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 10:31 pm
NathanLurker wrote: Tue Feb 16, 2021 10:23 pm Resurecting this thread 'cause I just pre-ordered a Moog Werkstatt-01 at a local hardware music store, and can't wait to get it to do fuck all but beeps and bops with it and now I think I need to Spin my Dark Star LP and possibly watch the movie (never seen it) and maybe watch Alien too, there's a lot of beeps and boops in there.

beep boop.
@inksb - Looks like he's a wiggler. Woot woot.
I pre-ordered Mutable Instruments Beads today (new version of Clouds), getting rid of my Monsoon. Really excited about this, the few videos uploaded sound incredible.
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By Jimmy_Mike
#136550
And here is mine. Inksb and I are gonna form a STBC synth collective. Only bleeps and boops.

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By NathanLurker
#136552
inksb wrote:Lol. It's a lot of fun even if I'm a shit musician. I have fun and that's all I really care about.
SAME ! I just want to turn knobs and play loops and feel like I'm in a spacecraft !


Thanks for showing me your setups, inksb, Jimmy_Mike, I feel like in a year I might have something similar to those, because, I just entered that kind of thing where you don't 'just' step one foot in right ? that first synth is a gateway drug, right ? I'll need a rack at some point for modular synths ....right ?

I chose the werkstatt so I can learn hardware basics, hands on by pressing buttons, LFOs, enveloppes and that stuff. I thought the Moog was a good entry point. I'll then get myself a keystep pro I think, so I can sequence and play some note throught it on the Werkstatt

Probably that's gonna be my setup for learning.
User avatar
By Jimmy_Mike
#136553
I'd recommend finding a sensei on Youtube that fits your learning style. There are a couple Brits that I love - mylarmelodies and moltenmodular. Down to earth chaps, lots of modesty and self deprecation. I find the overly technical/electrician explanations too much, those dudes are mostly German. :)
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By inksb
#136554
Everything that jimmy said.

Keystep Pro would be a nice addition to the Werkstatt and will pair well with many modular, semi-modular or midi controllable synths. And yes it's very much a "gateway drug". If I had known about the Make Noise 0-Coast I would have bought that early on too but I didn't discover it til after I dove head first into it. I think the Moog's are great at teaching the basics because they are well laid out and less cryptic than a lot of more ridiculous modular stuff.

If you want to play around with modular stuff but don't want to take the financial plunge VCV Rack is a free program for PC/MAC and it allows you to get a grasp on eurorack with out spending a ton of money. I learned a lot from it and of course I watched a million youtube videos too.