Where to start...

mechanicalrevolution · Joined: May 23, 2006 Posts: 1 Location: Minnesota

Alright, as you can see I am just a beginner in this area and am in need of some help..
I am looking for a good synthesizer to start out on, something preferably around the range of 200-500. What I would eventually like to do is create trance, house and industrial, along those lines. I am interested in using a pc to make my music, as it would be a good combination, i think..

So does anyone have any recommendations as to what software and equipment i should invest in to start a base of operations for myself? I am a quick learner when it comes to pc programs as I know a lot about computers.

Any help would be great. Thanks.

Alexander · Posted: Tue May 23, 2006 10:26 am Post subject:

Try some demos you should be able to find loads of them from software developers sites. Furthermore you said you were a quick learner, well, the question you asked has been asked a lot, so use the search engine (and google) and gather information about how people create music in styles you prefer and what tools they use and/or prefer!

opg · Posted: Wed May 24, 2006 7:26 am Post subject:

Did you mean a hardware synth or a software synth?
As you may know, there are tons of VSTi synths (you mentioned you would be using a PC), some free, others that cost just as much as a real synth.

The good thing about the VSTi synths (especially the demos ofthe expensive ones) is that they can give you a good feel of how a real hardware synth would be. Of course, the software synths are always emulating a fantastic classic analog synth that would only be available for thousands on eBay, unless you plan on rebuilding an almost-destroyed one.

But being that you are into trance/house/industrial, you may be inclined to check out analog modeling synths, like the Roland MKII (I think that's the model name), which also have sequencers and effects. That is in your price range. The "industrial" genre makes me think of Trent Reznor, who (at least several years ago) swared by his Nord Lead. As I was told by some of the converts from other forums who joined up here, the Nord section here was the reason why they joined. This, however, is not going to be in your price range.

State Machine · Posted: Mon May 29, 2006 7:44 am Post subject:

ALSO - A nice compact "hardware" analog modeling synthesizer is the ROLAND SH-32. Your can most likely find it 2nd hand in your price range. I own one myself and it was $500.00 new. I mention this unit because it has a very comprehensive arpeggiator that is very suitable to creating TRANCE music! Wonderful sound also. It would work nice with a laptop setup using LIVE or something like that. You can sequence LIVES virtual synths and samples and the ROLAND SH-32 .....

Hope this helped a bit in your decision .... Smile

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mosc · Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 7:21 am Post subject:

Glad to have you here.

I suggest getting started with soft synths as much as possible - and free ones at that. Only invest in hardware when you are really pretty sure you know what you need. There is a great deal of free software for Windows. Check out this topic http://electro-music.com/forum/topic-6817.html and others on that Windows as a Music Worktation forum.

The first piece of hardware I'd get is a nice little mixer so I could route signals around and into my sound card. Personally, I think the Behringer mixers are superb. With a little mixer and a mic, you can record your own samples and mangle sounds with the software. Then, if and when you decide on getting some hardware sound generators, you'll be able to patch them in through the mixer.

As an alternative, you don't even need a mixer if you use a multi-IO audio device like one of the Firewire products. I use the MOTU 828mkII. I don't use an anlog mixer anymore in my studio. Everything goes into the MOTU. It sounds cleaner and better than any mixer I've ever used. Going this route gets you a better sound device and a mixer all in one at a pretty resonable price.

There are lots of mixer choices, but IMHO, that's the first component you need for a sudio.

After all that, a great cheap synth for the types of music you like is the Clavia Nord Modular Micro. You can pick them up on EBay in your price range. But, before you get it, you can try out the Clavia Nord Modular G2 demo which is free and runs on the PC.

State Machine · Posted: Tue May 30, 2006 2:48 pm Post subject:

Mosc,

Sounds like some real good advice. Even better than mine Smile

Bill