Whats a good synth for beginners?

I 2nd the other posters who said basically try a bunch of free (but mostly pirated) software synthesizers first, get a better footing on exactly what it is you like about certain synths, what features stand out to you most. It might end up that you are just bored as shit with subtractive synthesizers and want something a little more complex like an Additive or FM, in that case plunking down $500 on a subtractive synth before anything else would be short sighted

edit: In my own experience, getting a meaty library for Reaktor 4 or 5, and just loading up and firing away at all the different synths is a great way to try a bunch of stuff to see what you prefer.

read Rob Hordijk's Synthesis Tutorial and implement his demonstations using the Nord Modular G2 demo

  On 3/7/2011 at 7:34 PM, sneaksta303 said:

  On 3/7/2011 at 5:52 PM, sheatheman said:

That's true. I use reason. I actually bought it, a few years back. It's great. Though the synths are slightly irregular.

 

what does "irregular" mean in this case?

the most basic synth is the subtractor, and while an understanding of subtractive synthesis isn't necessary to use it, it is extra information that a beginner won't know what to do with. then you have the malstrom which is a mix of granular and wavetable, whatever, and then thor who's virtual patch bay can scare off confident synth users.

  On 3/8/2011 at 12:19 AM, sheatheman said:

  On 3/7/2011 at 7:34 PM, sneaksta303 said:

  On 3/7/2011 at 5:52 PM, sheatheman said:

That's true. I use reason. I actually bought it, a few years back. It's great. Though the synths are slightly irregular.

 

what does "irregular" mean in this case?

 

the most basic synth is the subtractor, and while an understanding of subtractive synthesis isn't necessary to use it, it is extra information that a beginner won't know what to do with. then you have the malstrom which is a mix of granular and wavetable, whatever, and then thor who's virtual patch bay can scare off confident synth users.

that first part doesn't make sense, i meant that the fact that it says SUBTRACTOR on it is extra information. i realize subtractive synthesis is basic synthesis, but most easier synths don't have it plastered on the front. i just think it has the potential for confusion

  On 3/8/2011 at 12:27 AM, sheatheman said:

  On 3/8/2011 at 12:19 AM, sheatheman said:

  On 3/7/2011 at 7:34 PM, sneaksta303 said:

  On 3/7/2011 at 5:52 PM, sheatheman said:

That's true. I use reason. I actually bought it, a few years back. It's great. Though the synths are slightly irregular.

 

what does "irregular" mean in this case?

 

the most basic synth is the subtractor, and while an understanding of subtractive synthesis isn't necessary to use it, it is extra information that a beginner won't know what to do with. then you have the malstrom which is a mix of granular and wavetable, whatever, and then thor who's virtual patch bay can scare off confident synth users.

 

that first part doesn't make sense, i meant that the fact that it says SUBTRACTOR on it is extra information. i realize subtractive synthesis is basic synthesis, but most easier synths don't have it plastered on the front. i just think it has the potential for confusion

None of what you are saying makes sense. The manual for Reason breaks down that stuff so that a child could understand it, and they are capable synths to boot.

  On 3/8/2011 at 12:44 AM, sneaksta303 said:

None of what you are saying makes sense. The manual for Reason breaks down that stuff so that a child could understand it, and they are capable synths to boot.

you are coming from a perspective of already understanding, but someone who knows zero about synths and midi isn't going to do well with reason without anything else. reason isn't made for beginners. if you have never used a daw before you aren't going to be able to just read the manual and figure it out in an hour, it takes weeks of learning. remember this guy is probably around 18 and has only played guitar and probably some other instruments.

i know how great reason is, i actually paid $400 for it which i'm sure puts me with only 10% of other people here.

well, i started with reason. it was my 1st "daw". yeah, it took a little bit to learn, but shit man, this "instant gratification" addiction is one of the things wrong with KIDS THESE DAYS FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

well i used rebirth 1st but that doesnt count

  On 3/8/2011 at 12:55 AM, sneaksta303 said:

well, i started with reason. it was my 1st "daw". yeah, it took a little bit to learn, but shit man, this "instant gratification" addiction is one of the things wrong with KIDS THESE DAYS FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

 

well i used rebirth 1st but that doesnt count

it's not about instant gratification, it's about accessing something in a way that will foster future growth and increase interest rather than discourage. instant gratification defeats itself anyways, because most worthwhile tracks take work and dedication, not something many kids born after 1993 have.

Don't worry about that type of stuff, I am new to synthesizers but the learning curve can't be too bad for me because I actually have a lot of experience working with music equipment, just not synthesizers yet.

  On 3/8/2011 at 1:14 AM, sergeantk said:

Don't worry about that type of stuff, I am new to synthesizers but the learning curve can't be too bad for me because I actually have a lot of experience working with music equipment, just not synthesizers yet.

do you have any tracks uploaded?

  On 3/8/2011 at 12:14 AM, Kcinsu said:

read Rob Hordijk's Synthesis Tutorial and implement his demonstations using the Nord Modular G2 demo

if anyone reads that tutorial, and doesn't learn a FUCK load of information on synthesis, then they have no hope. seriously, read that shit. and it's free!

I´d recommend the following route:

make music with rebirth until you get familiar with the concept of step-sequencing.And, I´ve heard, it´s free.

http://www.rebirthmuseum.com/

I started with that and it gave me tons of hours of joy.

After being familiar with the concepts of synthesis and step-sequencing, and patterns and stuff, go get some hardware. As you described, you´ll have to build a synth of your own some time in university, then why not starting parallel with that matter? Get to know and understand the concepts of discrete circuits and start with building DIY-Synths, after feeling comfortable in the electronics field(which is quite endless, but a rewarding hobby). Here a reading to get the pants wet...:

http://www.doepfer.de/DIY_Synth_e.htm

I´ve read tons of that stuff lately and I´ll sometimes definately build one myself. And mine will sound better than all of the others, because it´s knobs will go from 1-11 instead of 1-10 in the labelling. Yeah!

  On 3/8/2011 at 11:25 AM, tonfarben said:

I´d recommend the following route:

 

make music with rebirth until you get familiar with the concept of step-sequencing.And, I´ve heard, it´s free.

http://www.rebirthmuseum.com/

 

I started with that and it gave me tons of hours of joy.

 

After being familiar with the concepts of synthesis and step-sequencing, and patterns and stuff, go get some hardware. As you described, you´ll have to build a synth of your own some time in university, then why not starting parallel with that matter? Get to know and understand the concepts of discrete circuits and start with building DIY-Synths, after feeling comfortable in the electronics field(which is quite endless, but a rewarding hobby). Here a reading to get the pants wet...:

http://www.doepfer.de/DIY_Synth_e.htm

 

I´ve read tons of that stuff lately and I´ll sometimes definately build one myself. And mine will sound better than all of the others, because it´s knobs will go from 1-11 instead of 1-10 in the labelling. Yeah!

www.audiotool.com is a good synth for beginners. 4 reals yo.

native instruments massive

or just say screw it and start out on reaktor, so as you learn it in and out you can do basically everything

  On 3/7/2011 at 11:37 PM, chassis said:

Unless you need a shit ton of knobs, then I wouldnt bother getting a keyboard at all just a massive knob interface

lol

  On 3/21/2011 at 3:39 PM, aeser said:

native instruments massive

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JK4kYKxVP0&playnext=1&list=PL22773926FA49A855

should really just be called massive tutorial but i guess the guy wanted views...go figure

Head on over to http://www.access-music.de and check out the online synthesis tutorials they have in both video and pdf format. You need not be the owner of a Virus to appreciate the wealth of knowledge they freely put out there... though owning a Virus never hurt anyone. ;)

Massive is great if you want to make dubstep wonky or modern dance music, Reaktor is better if you want to make any type of music you can imagine

but reaktor is crap if you like mangling midi.

You should just learn a programming language like C++ or Python, then you can build exactly the software you want. Then later you can learn about electronics and micro-controllers and design and build any hardware you need exactly to your specifications. It's the only real way to do it.

i just clicked on this thread, why is c++ here?

look at what's on craigslist then type the name into google to see if it's interesting

then you can go to the seller's house and try it

synths:

korg ds-8

kawai sx 210

kawai sx 240

casiotone 610

yamaha cs 10

nice organs:

yamaha d65

yamaha e70

i go to yard sales, buy a casio for $5 and spill beer on it till it sounds gnarly, then the tape deck from radio shack, got to have that

DMT Synthesis

lol