What do you look for first in a synth?

[dolivas]

I'm kinda odd so what I look for a svelt selection of waveforms and built-in effects such as chorus, vibrato, and reverb. It also would help if they have a good sequencer, the simpler the better that goes for the user interface as well...

but what about you? maybe you're a filter junkie, or the almighty cutoff/resonance slicer, or even if you're into synths badly do you look for the width PWM like its crack.

[mikegee]

call me simple hehe

tone
tone
tone

[Nubus]

For some reason I've like arpeggiators. I don't like arpeggios too much when people play them sloppily on other instruments but on synth when it responds to the human touch but jumps into machine like arpeggio I love it. I also like synths that can drop down to monophonic and stack the voices. And an easy to navigate layout is a must. One of the synths my friend owns has little nubs under a couple of controls and I think they are there so you never even have to look down at the controls after you get used to where they are. Stuff like that.

[GearJunkie]

keys.

[dagosto]

I like simple synths as well and am really into software one trick ponies. One thing I really like in the more sophisticated synths is a really comprehesive LFO. Lots of waveforms and flexible control routing. I have this one plug that has drawable LFO which I think is really cool.

[dolivas]

yep I look for arps as well the better the arp function the more I use it. I have a pet peeve about synths that use menus sorta like the DX7s or those 80s polyphonic synths with all those buttons on them the moment i see something like that the moment I know it was made for studiophiles that know about algorithms, equations etc. stuff that should be further away from your mind when your making a sound. it should just be twist a knob and something happens. Likewise whenever I see anything with FM synthesis on it I try to stay away from it, all I keep hearing in my mind if yuppie 80s disco music or aerobics songs.

[Bellringer]

I look for the ability to tweak sounds until they become mine. I also like to have user presets to save what I create. I also look for interesting controls like an I beam or Kaoss pad type controls.

[dagosto]

Originally Posted by dolivas

Likewise whenever I see anything with FM synthesis on it I try to stay away from it, all I keep hearing in my mind if yuppie 80s disco music or aerobics songs.

Dude!!! FM synthesis is the greatest!

Of course when you are claiming that FM synthesis can recreate any acoustic instument (Like it does in the DX7 instructional casstte tape I found at a thrift store) you are fooling yourself. Most music made with FM synths with that assumption does sound pretty crappy, I'll give you that.

I use the Dream Station that came with Sonar 1 extensively. It has a FM knob which I just can't keep my mouse off of. Maybe if you used that your opinion of FM synthesis would change.

[dolivas]

Originally Posted by dagosto

I like simple synths as well and am really into software one trick ponies. One thing I really like in the more sophisticated synths is a really comprehesive LFO. Lots of waveforms and flexible control routing. I have this one plug that has drawable LFO which I think is really cool.

one trick ponies thats what I have as well on most of my virtual instruments. I already know which one for which sound, Mtron- for mellotron sounds, CHeese Machine - for 70s synth string sounds, the ZR-3 for B3 organ sounds, Crazy Diamonds for spacey kraut-prog tremoloed pads, Ticky Clav for Hohner Clav sounds, and my beloved daHornet for bass sounds.

[dolivas]

Originally Posted by dagosto

Dude!!! FM synthesis is the greatest!

Of course when you are claiming that FM synthesis can recreate any acoustic instument (Like it does in the DX7 instructional casstte tape I found at a thrift store) you are fooling yourself. Most music made with FM synths with that assumption does sound pretty crappy, I'll give you that.

I use the Dream Station that came with Sonar 1 extensively. It has a FM knob which I just can't keep my mouse off of. Maybe if you used that your opinion of FM synthesis would change.

hehe bare in mind I don't completely hate FM synthesis it's just that in its original incantation its so mindnumbingly a pain to use. I havent used the Dream Station yet but lately I've started to us Rob Papen's Blue i believe its called which does have a great FM implemantation which is easy to use.

However, i might be a bit biased against FM since I do most of my synthesizing using Casio's PD, phase distortion, which is one step away from the complexity of early FM synthesis but one step above decoding the Rosetta Stone and figuring out pi up to 12 numbers.