New to synths + micron or microkorg?

[multiplydivide]

I've played guitar for nearly 8 years now but more recently have been interested in more electronic music or the music i liked before but in the synth parts of songs instead of the guitar parts. I have around £240 which i think is about the equivalent of $500 to spend on a synth . I've been looking at the alesis micron and the microkorg, at the moment im leaning towards the micron, even though it apparently the microkorg has a better vocoder. But on most the posts i've read people have said the micron gives a better sound.

I was also wondering whether for someone who knows next to nothing about synths i would be better of buying one and learning as i go, or learning about them and then buying one. Bearing in mind i have a really old computer so i don't know that programs like Reason would work and i have audacity but have no idea how to use it. I've read another post which has been really useful, it had a glossary of most of the terms but i was wondering more specifically about the micron and the microkorg. Any help would be appreciated.

[v-un-v]

Hi multiplydivide!

to electro-music.com!

I don't want to come down on you like a really big tonne of bricks here, or a 500-ton weight ala Monty Python... ( ) but have you tried googling this question, as it tends to come up a lot.

Here are some starters;

http://electro-music.com/forum/post-87248.html

http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-16394.html

All these things 'boil down' to opinions. Synths are a much of a muchness imo. They all make sound. Sometimes that becomes an obsession- as you can see here on em.com

I hope that helps.

[elektro80]

[v-un-v]

Ah but 500 ton has more 'squish factor'!

[elektro80]

The "problem" with many budget synths like the micron ( which is actually pretty cool ), the microkorg and others is that they have a very limited number of knobs and stuff and the user interface rarely reflects in an intuitive way common parameters as well as the synth engine inside. If you want to truly learn "synths" then you will be better off with an interface like what you find on the SH201, the MS2000, possibly the Radias and similar.
However, YMMV.

[elektro80]

[v-un-v]

Well the problem with recognisable parts is that then you instantly have a new dilemma where those parts now need identifying. Extra squishiness cuts down on the unnecessary extra paperwork. Paperwork is a growing concern in this country at present.

[v-un-v]

personally I'd go for a secondhand Nord Micromodular.

[elektro80]

[multiplydivide]

yeah i googled it when i first thought about getting a synth i was looking at the alesis micron and whatever forum i went on someone always seemed to mention the microkorg when someone was thinking of buying the micron. But thanks for the links i don't think i had read the second one before. A lot of people seem to suggest the radias which i think i might have already had a go on, unless it was the R3? Either way i don't think i could stretch more than £300.

Also the Nord Micromodular is (prepare for a badly worded sentence) not a keyboard synth and i was looking for a keyboard synth.
The other problem i had was although i can get either of them off the internet for about the same price i have yet to find a shop in Birmingham which sells the micron so i can test it before i think of buying it, im pretty sure they sell the microkorg in Sound Control even though when we went in they only had the R3/Radias. I was also wondering which would be best for the type of music i would want to play. (yet another badly worded sentence) You couldn't really shove them all into one genre so i I suppose listing a few bands i like is the best way to show what music i want to play.
Moby
Daft Punk
Metric
Tokyo Police Club
Mylo
Architecture in Helsinki
Kraftwerk
New Order

[v-un-v]

FUCK!! Your're in Brum???!!!


where??

[v-un-v]

Maybe Fuck is too harsh a word??

[multiplydivide]

yeah kings heath

[v-un-v]

[v-un-v]

[multiplydivide]

thats pretty close, i thought most people on here were american?
Ladypool road, i think i can picture it although for some reason i always get stratford road and ladypool road mixed up. Ladypool road is the one that Stoney Lane runs off?


And... do you know any good shops for synths other than sound control and fairdeal, there is a new music shop opening in Moseley but i think its just a guitar shop.

[v-un-v]

Well EM.com is an American site- so that kind of figures

But many of the good people here are from around the world and elsewhere (or should that be the other way round? )

Go and see Paul, Nic, Chad or Chris at Digital Village in St Paul's Square, Hockley. They love their 'toys'

Sound Control are, well, wankers to put it politely.

[v-un-v]

[multiplydivide]

i thought the same about fairdeal music, and i've only ever really talked to people in the guitar section of sound control but they were pretty wanker-ish.
and St Pauls Square, the one with the church and the actress and bishop is there or am i getting confused again?

[v-un-v]

Grant, Jim and Mike who work in the web site bit of unFairDeal are really nice geezers but downstairs, yes I think the same. I never go in there.

[v-un-v]

St Paul's square has a church in the middle of it, yes. (and a lot of conker trees )

Look it up on the web

[multiplydivide]

i checked on google maps, it looks like i've got the right one, there can only be one saint pauls square next to the bt tower. Thanks, i'll go in sometime next Week.