Speakers

This will sound stupid. A couple of years back I was very into music and wanted to start playing. I was so naive about synthesizers then and only saw them as simple keyboards, and wanted any of them so long as they had a piano preset. I wasn't even aware of the concept that piano sounds on synths were programmed and just simulations(right wording?)of the real thing. Anyway, the reason I'm mentioning all of this is to justify what happened when i bought a synth,a yamaha sy-99. I had no idea what FM synthesis meant back then either :(

I was shocked that no sound came out of it at all when hitting anything. I knew after a bit that you needed speakers, something which for some reason never crossed my mind once. But you can see by the above info that I was just clueless on anything to begin with, since synths shouldn't be bought for the sole purpose of playing piano :confused:

Anyway, I'm looking into geting one again after spending a couple of years wising up to what synths even are. What is the best setup for speakers so I can get good sound? Do most of you typically have huge speakers, or smal ones that may be like something you use on a desktop computer? I'm still not familiarized at all with what a typical hardware setup is, and this being one important aspect, I figure you guys could help me. I only hope it's not anything that requires shelling out as much for the speakers as I would for the synth itself.

You are going to have to define what you mean by "good". Home listening, amplification, and recording all have different speaker setups, mostly based on the frequency response of the given system.

What are you getting into this for? Do you want to record your compositions? Play shows for people? Listen to your synth at home while you play along CDs?

And yes, unfortunately, you will have to shell out some cash for some good speakers. I can't tell you if the speakers will run more than your synth, as I'm not familiar with what an Sy-99 fetches. But I can tell you that you should be prepared to spend a few hundred dollars.

Before we get any further, refer to the above questions so I can better help you.

If you're looking for studio monitors, go with M-Audio or KRK. Those are pretty cheap and sound really good for their price range.

If you're not looking to record or mix or anything, I don't think it really even matters what speakers you use. You can use a keyboard amp if you want.

At the moment the main purpose is to hear the sounds that I make on the synth. It would be nice to record eventually but since I'm still starting out it's not a priority and can be dealt with later.

I have a really old fender amp from the 70s in another room. Are guitar amps possible to hook up to synths?

It only just crossed my mind I have that thing still.

Yeah, you can hook the synth up to the guitar amp. It might not be the ideal amp for a synth, but it will work more than dandy for providing some sound.

correct answer:

  Diao said:

Yeah, you can hook the synth up to the guitar amp. It might not be the ideal amp for a synth, but it will work more than dandy for providing some sound.

incorrect answer: NO! feeding a synth signal into a guitar amp is extremely dangerous! it's like mixing 1% and 2% milk, you will expose yourself to seriously harmful radiations.

what pilcat???

like,

only not, lol.

Thanks for the help. I can be assured there's no radiation I take it :P I never had even heard of studio moniters before this thread. This will be a whole other journey once I think I'm good enough to record something I imagine. At least for now I have soft synths for that. :)

When you do decide to pick up a set of studio monitors, I strongly recommend the Behringer Truths. They are modestly priced for their quality, I think new ones go for $340ish. I have a set of the B2031As, and I have not heard anything that compares in sound reproduction until you get up into the $800 range.

Don't take that as a standard for all Behringer products though, as most of their equipment fucking sucks. But for some strange reason their studio monitors are absolutely excellent.

okay, starting from scratch - what type of music or sounds will you be aiming to make? why do you want to buy a synthesizer? there is little point purchasing one if you have no intention of recording it or the means to do so - you may as well just whistle. are you in a band? do you want to create tracks with beats or maybe just cool ambient soundscapes?

as well as all that, don't worry one iota about being "good enough" to record something - who's going to hear it apart from you? recording what you come up with is i good way to improve and develop your sound as you listen back to it and realise where to make changes or add parts etc...

sorry my post is in 3 parts - i'm on my mobile phone... from what little you've said about your intentions, it seems like you would do well starting off with an inexpensive polyphonic synth, a small mixer, some budget (but good quality) active monitors and a multitrack recorder of some type.

just use whatever you got on hand however it sounds best. if you find yourself feeling limited or annoyed by what you have, upgrade. the rest is just details.

What my goal is right now is to get accustomed to using the real thing rather than just soft synths, and develop actual programming skills. I honestly am on this pc enough, so being on it all day just staring at pictures of knobs starts hurting my eyes and posture. I'd much prefer to be at the real thing and get a feel for that, though I do intend to continue soft synth use :p

I'm not really concerned about recording yet. That's much more hardware than I can afford and I think I need to develop a sound on a synth first i.e know how to make stuff besides presets before I start getting into making music with it. I already am using the pc for that and will continue to do so until I really think I've hit something with the real hardware. I do have questions about recording actually, since I'm clueless in that area as well, but I best save that for another dedicated topic :)

do you have a budget in mind? sound like you want a synth with lots of tweakable hands on parameters and knobs etc - ie, not something which requires you to flick through on screen menus to change things. an analogue synthesizer would obviously be perfect in this regard, but they are usually pretty pricey.

At the moment I have my mind set on an oberheim matrix synth, which some may know actually doesn't have any knobs. I'm very willing to learn though through just using the buttons and crap. I have the option to hook it up to the pc and mess with the parameters through here anyways if I get desperate. I chose this synth soley based on its sound. I actually like a couple of other synths and just by coincidence they seem to use DCO's as well, so it must be my type :p

I have one question for people, and it's something that's very noob-ish again. Since I want to use my guitar amp for the audio, what do I need to connect the synth to the amp exactly? What kind of cord?

I'll worry about real speakers/moniters when I've reached a programming level I'm satisfied with and actually want to start mixing stuff for mastering. :)

Why don't you just use headphones for now?

No way. Never again. I'm not looking forward to severe tinnitus as I grow older and older. It's not an option for me.

I don't get it. An SY-99 should have a volume slider.

  Bramsworth said:

At the moment I have my mind set on an oberheim matrix synth, which some may know actually doesn't have any knobs. I'm very willing to learn though through just using the buttons and crap. I have the option to hook it up to the pc and mess with the parameters through here anyways if I get desperate. I chose this synth soley based on its sound. I actually like a couple of other synths and just by coincidence they seem to use DCO's as well, so it must be my type :p

take it from me, my friend. one of the first synths i bought was a prophet VS. it has analog filters, digital oscillators. it sounds fantastic. it has a lot of buttons.... and one lonely data slider, that you do EVERYTHING with. let me tell you, just having that one data slider is annoying as shit. you have to remember what all the params are and spend years scrolling through menus. just hook it up to a PC, hmmm? make sure the synth has a MIDI interface that interacts easily with modern technology, because the prophet VS -- bless it's soul, doesn't really. i mean, you can, it's just annoyingly difficult and cumbersome.

get a synth with knobs, sliders. real-time controls. the prophet VS sounds fantastic, but day-to-day use it's like these

if you want something simple w/ good midi, get an MS2000.

if you want analog old-skool, get an sh101.

  Bramsworth said:

I'll worry about real speakers/moniters when I've reached a programming level I'm satisfied with and actually want to start mixing stuff for mastering. :)

yes, absolutely A+ attitude~

am I blind or was their no suggestion that he can just use headphones to practice and do demo recordings with, no need for a multitrack unti, just use your computer to record with in a daw, even if you have a shitty sound card, get used to using it to record and structure, manipulate, craft your niche

Except as I said above, I'll never use headphones again :)

I don't have the sy-99 anymore. It was broken when it came due to horrible shipping(a thin bicycle box with that popcorn stuff just protecting it -_-). I sent it back only to find out the guy who sold it is an asshole and there's even a website dedicated to him and stories of people he ripped off. Just google fltreasures.

A good ~$750 down the drain that I never have seen again :(

wow jesus christ that's shitty

  Bramsworth said:

Except as I said above, I'll never use headphones again :)

 

I don't have the sy-99 anymore. It was broken when it came due to horrible shipping(a thin bicycle box with that popcorn stuff just protecting it -_-). I sent it back only to find out the guy who sold it is an asshole and there's even a website dedicated to him and stories of people he ripped off. Just google fltreasures.

 

A good ~$750 down the drain that I never have seen again :(

1. acquire one (1) slice of american cheese, one (1) stamped envelope addressed to jerkface

2. unwrap plastic from cheese slice, place cheese slice in envelope, seal envelope, put it in the mail

3. repeat every few weeks as necessary

or,

B) go to his house and threaten to kick his ass. he's probably some dick kid and he'll cave fast