That 70's sound!

[Bill Zoot]

Hello there fabulous people of electro-music.com...I am reltively new to the world of synthesisers and am looking to make my first purchase very soon...I am looking to get a reasonably priced synthesiser (under 1000 pounds or cheaper if possible) but am looking for something specific - THAT 70'S SOUND!!!
I know those original sounds are hard to recreate these days but I was wondering if anybody had any advice as to which partcular model of synthesiser would be best for me - any help would be great

Thank you all kindly

P.S. it would be useful if it was a midi controller as well but I would think most probably are these days although im not sure

[elektro80]

I deleted your dupe posting.




70s sound?

Which of the 70s sounds?

Back then, if we are talking about synths that
1. could buy for money
2. and you could hear on reasonably accessible recordings you culd buy in a shop

...then you must either buy vintage gear or buy something that recreates that sound. You can go for either analog or digital gear. The Creamware hardware synths ( digital ) are very good. The Arturia software synths are pretty decent too.

[Bill Zoot]

hey...sorry for the double-post just wanted to maximise my chances of getting an answer...

what I want is either an actual synth from the 70's - but these are obviously rare and expensive - or one that creates sounds that are similar to those synths - more likely. It is obviously hard to explain exactly what sound i like coz you cant explain a sound (i will however check those sounds you told me about) but i want a synth that does not sound too computery which is most that ive heard recently - it needs to sound like an instrument in its own right - more natural and less perfect - a bit raw sounding (know that doesnt really help!) anyway I will get back to you about those sounds so thanks for your help

Bill

[elektro80]

Depending on which style of synth music you want to recreate, you might have to consider outboard gear, patching styles and playing styles.

If you want max beef for the money, then you should consider software synths. Spending a K I am sure you can get a software based synth rig which will be all 70s, including electric pianos, mellotron, a B3, minimoogs and ARPs.

[elektro80]

Well, the standard gear of the 70s would be monosynths like the Odyssey, CatII, the Minimoog and ..you know. Keep in mind that playing style has a lot to with the actual sound too.

The Creamware clones of the prophet, the minimoog an the B3 are pretty damned good.

A K will at best give you a very daft monosynth which will be in need for serious maintenance anyway. What gear do you have already?

[Bill Zoot]

I have very little already by way on synths but I have a brand new computer and an MPC 2000xl which I what I use to make music with....do you know anything about the Dave Smith evolver? - it is under 900 pounds and has got good reviews and many of the sample sounds it has on the website seem pretty nice

[elektro80]

The Evolver is very good.

[paul e.]

the 70's sound is cool

suburbs are evil

find any old analog synth...the real kind

a yamaha CS-15 for example...affordable used

softsynths are cheap and cheerful but ....nawww....

most are just pretend and will dissapoint when push-comes-to-shove

pick up any old analog synth....anything is better than 99% of softy synths
_________________

[elektro80]

Frankly, the Creamware Minimoog clone called Minimax is far a better "analog" synth than the Yamaha. The Minimax will be damned close to an old Minimoog ( and I know - I have owned several ), it is polyphonic and comes with.. .. midi

[ian-s]

It seems a common assumption, that any real analogue synthesiser is superior to any digital emulation.
They made a lot of great synthesisers in the 70’s, a lot of which I would like to own now. They also made a lot of crap.
I would not bother with anything that only had one VCO for example.
Maybe we should do a hot and not hot list of 70’s synthesisers

Not Hot
Roland - SH1000, SH1, SH101, MC202, any Juno
Yamaha - Any mono synth except CS30
Korg – All the MS range, Monopoly, 70’s Microkorg, Any DW
ARP – Axxe, Prosoloist, Omni
Moog – Poly, Minute, Micro, Multi, Sonic Six
Octave – Kitten

Hot
Roland – Almost everything else
Yamaha – CS80/60
Korg – 700 (the dual oscillator version)
ARP – Odyssey, 2600
Moog – Mini, Memory, Source
Octave – Cat SRM
EMS – Synthi AKS

[paul e.]

i could not disagree with that list more


they are all excellent items ...worthy...i have had mind-blowing experiences with some of those 'not hot' synths

a bit silly?

the point is not how cool or well-specified it is, or is not..

it is the fact that a physical synth is something you can touch

you play it....not click about with a mouse

so yes, i do think even a one OSC analog syynth has more funk and appeals to the 'musician' in me, and is thus 'better' than any softsynth

they sound better to me...why ?

hey i love old tube amps and stuff that may or may not have MIDI....i like the vibe

and to me that is more important for being a good tool to conjur up a sound that emotionally moves me and others, than any other 'spec'

that is what makes it 'superior' to me

as far as 'analog' sound...no, i really don;t think it can be accurately emulated....not really really

because, not every aspect of a thing, such as this 'vibe' and tangible qualities like physical touch can be modelled by an algorithm

aspects like this actually might be some of what people mean when people say they love analog...


i think there was much more 'vibe' and 'feel' in the 1970's

[paul e.]

[mosc]

Well put, Paul.

I played a CS80 a few times. The feel of that keyboard is unique. It's a sensual experience to play that. It has to influence the music you play. Maybe it is partially because of the individual note aftertouch. I have heard some very good emulations of the CS80 sound, but there is something much more to playing the real instrument. It makes your heart beat faster just to touch it.

[mosc]

[ian-s]

[paul e.]

heheh....yeah i hear you....i also take your point[s]

one should not get 'religious' about Analog ....

all instruments have their moment/contexts in which to shine or to be turned inside-out


even a GM synth ???? hehe

yes, probably

if it is bent in the right way ?

[paul e.]

sh-101 ??

occhhh...some of the most amazing techno was made with that....!

mainly because it is 'not hot' is what made it so hot for that

but yeah we agree in the main , anyway

[DrJustice]

Hi Bill Zoot!

I do agree that when you play an old Real Analogue (RA), especially in isolation, it does indeed have that undefinable quality to its sound that is not easy to get from a digital synth.

However, the difference between an RA sound and a good Virtual Analogue (VA) impression of the same sound is very small. One notable difference is the larger dynamic range, lower noise floor and better frequency response of digital synths, making many (preset...) sounds snappier and crisper than is typical of RAs. Some of an RAs deficiencies (not necessarily bad ones) such as limited dynamics, instabilities, drift, distortion, noise etc. can usually be modelled quite satisfactorily in a capable enough VA. Sometimes you have to work a bit to get the really good RA'ish sounds, but it's possible. The same goes for the better software synths (VAs are in effect softsynths too!), but without the physical experience of the instrument (not to be underestimated IMO).

When you start putting together music with several voices and perhaps some effects processing and other types of instruments, I think those minute differences between an RA-sound and a similar VA-sound sound tend to be masked. The whole can sound just about as 'organic' in the end. The more and/or diverse stuff you blend together the less it 'matters' if it is not all RAs - that's how I perceive it, at least.

There are many several Virtual Analogue (VA) synths available these days that are not lacking in 'personality', and do as you say, "...sound like an instrument in its own right". These are of course immensely more flexible than the old analogues, meaning that they can do perfectly good 70's synth sounds - one VA can cover ground like a mountain of different RAs, so to speak.

For a thousand pounds you should be able to pick up a nice VA with keyboard and a knobby interface and still have some cash to spend on outboard effects; FX were also part of the 70s sound. Or you can spend it on softsynths (there are freebies around as well) and a keyboard and knobby controller. Or a Nord Modular (G1) perhaps? Bear in mind that it isn't uncommon to acquire a more diverse set of instruments if you get bitten by the electro-music bug, including increasingly strange and nostalgic pieces of retro-sound-tech - you are hereby warned

For myself, I'll always have a couple of RAs on the side to keep me warm and cozy when the cold of the winter or the contemporary digital soundscape chill my bones

Just my 2 øre.

DJ
--

[jksuperstar]

Those Korg MS2000 go for very cheap these days! (for a VA with a comprehensive interface).

Oh yeah, forgot how cool the Alesis ION is, though the interface is probably not what your looking for.

[bigtex]

[ian-s]

I owned (and liked a lot) the Octave Cat. Well made and thought out synthesiser, would have been better if it wasn't for the lame pitch bend slider It was a third the price of an ARP when new.
I never tried the Kitten, it made the B list just because feature wise, it is very similar to a SH1.
I'm sure there are many happy MS10/20/50 and Monopoly owners out there and I don't wish to offend anyone.
Just my point of view, I got paid to demo a lot of these synthesisers in the late 70's.
The Monopoly looks great and is crammed with features but the actual sound falls short, to my ears at least. It didn't sell well also, which ironically increases it's current value.

[elektro80]

[v-un-v]

All you people are forgetting 2 very important stages to getting that 70's sound.


1. Tape saturation and saturation caused by overloading the gain on the mixing desk (sorry- can't be done with cheap modern mixers- like the mackie, I've tried).

2. Amplification and the speaker/ cab combination. Miked up bass cones are good for this. Bill Laswell used this technique to great effect on his bass guitar for that fuller sounds. I believe that he also covered his bass bins in great chunky layers of foam to get the biggest fattest sound possible. A trick I imagine was borrowed from Jamaican Raggae engineers and artists in the 60's and 70's.

Not to this day have I heard a plug in that sounds as good as the above set up (although some incredibly expensive pro-tools plug may exist?- but some how I doubt it).

[v-un-v]

[elektro80]