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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ส.ค. 2024
- Watch This Before You Buy Your First Synthesizer!
Today I want to talk about something that is very near and dear to my heart. When first starting out in the world of electronic music, you'll be very tempted to buy your first synthesizer. However, it is incredibly important to conceive an "end goal" for that piece of gear before you buy it. Are you only purchasing to learn about synthesis? Or do you have plans after you get to know the synth better. What other gear are you going to need to accomplish that goal? Endlessly twiddling knobs is great fun, but it's almost undeniable that you'll eventually want to use those sounds for something more. Figuring out how you're going to do that before you buy is a great practice to get into! Enjoy the video :)
GEAR IN THIS VIDEO
Arturia Microfreak: amzn.to/3mtn0t3
Korg NTS-1: amzn.to/3mzy9c5
Zoom Livetrak L-12 (audio recorder): amzn.to/3gwi6aX
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Before buying a first synthesizer, I recommend spending some time dabbling with (freeware) software synths! This will help you not only familiarize yourself with how sound synthesis works and what the various controls do to shape the sound, but also narrow down the type of sounds and features you will want from a hardware synth.
Yes definitely, I can't remember if I mentioned it in the video or not but I sort of met for this video to take place after that step haha.
I have to add that it would be good to get some ideas about the music that you want to create, of course, this is more or less a subjective matter, but it does not hurt to know the ins and outs for grooves, Melodie progressions, rhythms, and overall sound palette and of course digest some of the music theory behind it before making the choice. Listen to music that is similar, and try to recreate basic stuff and put your twist on it using a cheap daw and free plugins. You might find that you won´t need any hardware and want to make music and not get caught up in hardware yet... overall you get a better understanding of what you want in your arsenal and what it needs to be able to do... and since you are already using a daw and are able to record midi and sound on different tracks you will be able to later add and modify your songs with the hardware you acquire, which will give you instant gratification and make using hardware even more satisfying... I have met some younger "musicians" who got the misconception that in order to a and b they will have to get certain synths etc.. right from the start, only to find out that their setup does not help their musical process as they have no clue and were only starting to tinker around in a loop...
Nope, get to know the DAWless world first. Gives you a better grasp of what you are doing instead of virtual experience.
DAW facilitates an experience to use a computer, not to play music. Hitting an actual key and turning an actual knob feels cornishly more organic. It's not the same even with a MIDI controller since the majority of the work is done with a mouse and a keyboard.
He's spot on. But if you want to write a song, have those hall effects, and have tons of polyphony, and on a budget - check out the Roland JD-XI, it's got an Analog synth, 128 Voice polyphony digital synth (with more analog control!), A lot of filters, echo. spatialization, stereo, lfo's etc... and a sequencer so easy to use it's almost silly. It was listed as one of the most underrated cheap synths of our time, and you get a Vocoder to boost!
It supposedly has a decent drum machine as well, right?
From what I gather, it is extremely capable and is a value champ.
@@devilboner In fact its got several decent drum machines, I think it has 4 of the Roland classic ones TR series. I got the JD-XI myself despite having high end synths like Yamaha Montage etc, because I saw a review of it in "Bad Gear" where audiopilz tests highly criticized audio gear to see if there's anything to the rumors etc. Turns out he ended up loving it, and I bought it after that, and made 5 tracks with it in just 5 days after that. It's crazy capable.
The only valid complaint is that there wasn't enought budget in it to implement a decent long lasting keyboard, sure it has Touch Sensitivity, but the major complaint was that these often come lose when people abuse it too much. But most people keep it as a Roland Supernatural Sound Engine Module like that found in much more expensive synths, it has a whopping 129 polyphony, and a lot o the popular Juno sounds in it with a lot of tweakability.
Thanks for the advice!
Short answer: don't get the Microfreak first. You need just three waveforns, two oscillators, LFO and ADSR envelope with Cuttoff Filter to get in the sound design. Microfreak sequencer is the weakest link of the instrument. The steps not being visible is a weakness.
This video didn't actually give you any tips on the first synth. I for example wanted to start without DAW, so I knew that I needed to have a mixing device with the option to record. So get a mixer with the option to stick a USB device in it, that gives you room to pick up your first synth. If you are just starting to play, you most likely don't have DAW experience either. Sound capturing devices apparently work too, but I didn't want to go there. I wanted to have a studio feeling and learn something from live mixing as well while I learned to use the synth.
Make sure the sound it makes is the type of sound that you want for your music.
I bought a Roland system 1m for pad sounds, but now use a hydra synth for those. Because I wasn’t able to get the sound I wanted out of the m1.
Also a great point!
Great advice. I see so many videos of people demonstrating and reviewing devices with the output going through all manner of external effects. It gives potential buyers the wrong idea about how the device actually sounds.
Exactly!
Great points! And, you're right -- often overlooked!
Thanks for watching!
I really think that anyone who wants to get into synthesizers should start with a cheap midi controller a DAW and a couple of VSTs. There’s even decent free DAWs and free VSTs that can get you started if you are on a very limited budget. Nowadays anyone can get into electronic music with very little money, no one really NEED a hardware synth to do something. Don’t get me wrong, I love my synths but the reality is that I could sell them all tomorrow and still be able to do everything that I can do with them only by using a cheap midi keyboard, my computer, my DAW and the VSTs I have. I think that once we can make songs using a DAW and VSTs , we are in a much better position to properly choose the type of synth that we really like.
I definitely agree with all your points, my video was more addressing those who already know they want a hardware synth.
Any vst recs?
I spent whole two days learning on the topic and it was very complicated. Is it enough to just have a cool sequencer? Apparently not. Just a synth? Not so much. This video explains it all in less than 9 minutes...
Glad to help!
Very true indeed! I also think that most devices have a learning curve, it takes quite a while to find out how you can get *your* music out of it, instead of just filter sweep examples and sounds that the preset makers liked but you don’t like. With the OP-Z I had to learn how to deal with the limited steps. With the Deluge I had to learn to use midi a lot (because I didn’t like the internal synth engine sounds) and I had to learn the internal synth engine (because it turned out, I did like how it sounded but only if I made my own style of patches).
Very good points indeed, thanks for watching!
Nice video as usual! As a total beginner, I'm interested in experimenting with relaxing/space/ambient sounds. I started by buying a volca keys and an nts-1 (couldn't resist the cool effects). I'm now considering an arturia keystep. My intent is to keep it completely dawless as recording is not a priority for me right now. Just hoping to learn with this starting kit and maybe expanding later if I learn and enjoy it. Cheers and thanks for the superb content! It's been REALLY helpful.
That's a pretty hard combination to beat if you're just looking to do ambient!
Thank you sir!! I've been looking for my first synthesizer and this video really helped me to understand what to do firstly.
Glad I could help, thanks for watching!
Very good points! And this is even true for people with some software synth experience. I already made a couple albums with vsts before I got my first hardware synth and I still managed to make the mistake of not having a real goal or plan? My first synth was an AE modular, so it had a tremendous learning curve and what came out of it was largely unmusical for a while because I was lacking some vital modules for the things I wanted to do. And of course I only realised this after learning a lot more and realising that I went into this without a real plan 🤦♀Now I have a plan, but where I actually want to go involves Eurorack DIY stuff that includes SMD soldering and that’s a whole other rabbit hole! Then thanks to the chip shortage everything got delayed so much that I got fed up and decided to finish another Album with vsts before continuing. No buyers regret though, it’s still a really cool synth, but that rabbit hole was so much deeper and more convoluted than I expected 😅
Thank you so much for watching!
Good advice. Should help some folks out. Wish they'd been a public Internet when I was starting out.
Thanks so much for watching!
Damn, the actual synths i have took relatively small share of total budget, cause you need audio interface (+midi), some kind of keyboard/sequencer, a mixer, a kind of rhythm generating device - sampler or drum machine and at last it is good to have reverb, delay and distortion effects. And a ton of cables of course to connect gear to each other.
On this background couple of volcas were a minor expense :)
Exactly, there is so much more gear that is required behind the scenes to make the synthesizers shine, or even just work normally haha. Thanks for watching!
Preach 👏 well said bro. Been there myself .
Love your videos Bro 👊💪👏🔥🔥🔥
Thank you so much!
Man this is so true, I've had the same experience buying a Monologue. Coming from a guitar background it feels very limiting on its own. Monosynth without effects there is barely any lush sound to be had. On the other hand it was not very expensive and I do enjoy using it with a Delay and Looper to create some drones, it's good for learning and practicing some keys. I've been thinking of paring it with a drum machine, maybe a Model Cycles, next month do add a lot more to my creations. Thx for the video.
I've had my Monologue for almost 2 years now, and it is fairly limited, especially on it's own. It was my first synth purchase since my rompler days back in the 90s and early 2000s, and it was also my first anologue. The price played a big part in making my choice. Despite it's limitations, it does work very well in a set up of a few synths though, and I love it for dirty acid sounds and leads. I appreciate it more now that I have a few more pieces of gear, as it's easy to use over midi, and of course has the sync feature. Also, it sounds ace running through the NTS-1. I like syncing the NTS-1 arpeggiator to the Monologue sequencer whilst running the Monologue through the audio in on the NTS-1. That's great fun!
I'd love to hear a guitar jam with a cycles providing the drums!
I bought a Novation K station 15 years ago, it had a great manual and I learnt synthesis theory with it but had to sell it before learning to play and I’ve been dreaming of the perfect synth with sliders and knobs since then.
MY ENDGAME IS to play live with a band, a friend gave me an old broken Korg trinity and fixed it in a couple days, learned a dozen songs and had my first gig in three weeks, it sounded great.
I still want an analog synth to create sounds but now I’m sure it won’t be so versatile live, and it’d be time-limiting while in the Trinity I can do splits and combos with effects, so, for me, maybe it’s better to make an upgrade than spending on a cool looking synth just to impress instead of serving my music purpose.
Noticed this on a lot of videos. It can be difficult to find videos of the gear one would like to research that are not put through some sort of reverb or run through other effects/gear.
Yeah exactly, thanks for watching!
What do you think about learning an instrument/basic music theory before your first synth?
A basic understanding definitely helps. If the first instrument you go for is a synthesizer with built-in keys, you can kill two birds with one stone and learn a lot of basics just with one or two octaves to play with. Honestly the hardest part of it all is forcing yourself to sit down and learn for a couple hours haha
One thing I haven’t really seen covered with how I want to use my first physical hardware synth (been a songwriter on GarageBand for 8 years or so)
How do the cords/cables work? And what speakers are good for synths? Is it as simple as electric guitar? Plug it in and play? I haven’t really seen the topic of speakers and cable connections discussed.
Great content, however the hand gestures for every syllable is a bit of a headache.
Thanks! I've been trying to get better at it in my more recent videos, I've just always been a big hand talker lol.
Good as gold, mate.
I pressed 👍 but have no idea who tf pressed the opposite.
especially I love his concept from at 5:17.
Haha I appreciate it!
This is a really great video! I just got my first synthesizer which happens to be the microfreak. I've had access to lots of synthesizers in the past and really enjoyed playing around with them, so I decided that I really wanted my own... But yeah, I got kind of stuck. I'm not too terribly bothered by it because honestly I just like to dick around for the most part. However, it would be really nice to play live music. So I think I will start doing more research on how I can play a synth based song in real time.
Thanks!
Thank you so much!!!
Thank you! Great video!
Good advice👍
Thank you!
That’s why I was thinking about a mc 707 as a first synth. Because I will have everything to make complete songs. Only the menu diving I am not a big fan of.
Thanks for watching!
Too late, I have already bought the 1st synth - the OB-6.
Microfreak was my fitst synth but as beginner may be behringer ms-101 is better for starting.
Microfreak is too deep for beginners. Making music should be enjoyable and fun not challenging.
i think i might get a microfreak as my first, but im also looking at the circuit tracks so i can make full song immediately and then get a dedicated synth later
@@isaachorgan if its going to be your first musical gear than leave the synth last.
Grove box and samplers should be first buy than synth.
However i woul go for behringer ms-101 as a beginner rather than microfreak.
Microfreak is more advance and if you are beginner you may not enjoy it.
@@jammingpositivevibration I have a fair bit of theoretical knowledge about sound design from using software synths, but I agree that a groovebox would be better to start.
Micro freak has a lot of great presets that you can reverse engineer quite easily. I found that it can be an excellent teacher for synthesis!
@@isaachorgan that's better, get circuit tracks first
Yes hello thank you for video. I want to make electronic musik. I have no experience in musik. When you say "think about other gear you need", what should i buy? The gear in the bio? I will follow advice thank you
It really depends on what kind of music you want to make? Do you want to use a computer or no? What sort of sounds do you like. There are a lot of factors.
@@FreeBeat Yes thank you for the reply. I want to make EDM music, using a computer and some program. I have just bought a keyboard. Maybe smarter to learn before i move on to synthesiser ? (more expensiv). I have a lot of free time to practice computer software and instruments, so any suggestions on how i should spend my time learning. i will follow advice thank you sir
Thanks for all the choices..............Ha
what's the difference between a cycling env and an lfo (other than different method of shaping the waveform)
I'm not an expert but for me on a LFO you might have less choice over how to modulate your sound. You only choose the shape of the LFO (square, tri, sin,...) and the frequency where on the cycling envelope you can set for exemple a really long decay and a short attack with some sustain. And modify only those parameters live.
@@markuop yeah thats what i thought it might be. thanks!
Nailed it!
Wise words, .... "Where are you going to ride this bicycle" City roads? Trails? Steep climbs?
Very good advice! Which other video do you mean, where you describe something like "wasting" your money?
I can't remember it exactly, I think it was right before I got the MPC one.
What's the best for full focus new wave?
Honestly I'm not sure, hopefully someone else can help out!
What is an example of “full-focus new wave?”
Freebeat words are 1000% the truth
Thanks so much!
It has costed me a lot but still not solved it all, how should I connect it all to have a good workflow ready to go at all times? Got Microfreak, 101. Mv1. Keystep37, Logic, SSL2 and a couple of mics …and Logic, Roland Mv1 and my SM7b best buy so far
Honestly I'm the wrong person to ask when it comes to connecting lots of different gear. It's honestly not something I enjoy haha.
How have you been connecting these things so far?
How many inputs are on your mixer and/or audio interface?
Which 101 do you have: MS-1, MC-101, SH-01a, SH-101, etc?
You can email me to go into more detail…
@@crnkmnky I mainly use Logic, My mic, and the Mv1 at the moment, so not really a good solution for how to connect all to be used when I feel creative to be honest, I should probably sell a few things
@@magnuseriksson8081 They can definitely be done with the right combination of cables and desk/shelf, but if the music you’re making on a simplified setup is more satisfying, go for it!
Well said. Would love to see a behind the scenes video on what goes into doing a live stream or just making a quick tutorial. I spent lots of money and frustration on a drawer full of dongles trying to make videos on my android phone while having decent audio. Apparently people do it all the time but no matter what I've tried my audio gets distorted. My phone is simply incapable of recording decent direct audio. So i finally got a laptop but now I'm stuck within the confines of my laptop web cam. It never ends. I wish i didn't have to treat audio and visual as seperate projects and sync them later. I have no idea how to do that either. People keep saying audacity but I've not had much luck.
I have several different behind the scenes videos here on the channel already, although I might make a new one soon.
@@FreeBeat oh nice I'll have to check them out. I've only been watching for maybe 6 months and haven't had a chance to go back yet.
@@night_speed I relate to some of this! 😭 I’ve accumulated a nice pile of (mostly) affordable gear for different types of setups: digital 8-track recorder, Android phone, iOS tablet, Windows/Linux PC, MacBook… I still don’t really know what I want to make, or how to have a good workflow for that.
And the *video?!* I went and bought a powerful, refurbished workstation PC because my current laptop was choking on HD video editing and OBS streaming. I haven’t had the heart (or steady internet connection) to try streaming again. I’ll get there eventually…
I'm watching this after buying like my 21st synthesizer... :-|
Well maybe I've given you something to think about before number 22 😂
We all stumble upon it. That's why we get GAS
Absolutely!
Good content for sure but the hands waving around gets old and annoying to put it nicely. Consider changing your format. Thanks for the information.
This video is over 2 years old lol. I like to think I've gotten better since then.
Sorry - I can't watch this because of the over-exaggerated gesticulation. Incredibly distracting.
Not a problem at all, this video is almost 3 years old, and I'll admit my hands are all over the place lol.