Analogue synths

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Are there any hardware synth enthusiasts on the forums? What do you own and what kind of things do you make with it?

I am an experienced keyboardist and own this keyboard collection (together with several non keyboard insturments):

Roland Jupiter 6 w/ Europa - Great phat synth, with auto tune button that takes about 1-2 seconds to complete.

YAMAHA DX7IIFD - Not analog, but makes great sounds. TBH I am not great at making good sounds with it but I like FM synthesis and think it's REALLY underrated.

YAMAHA RX5 Digital Drum machine, YAMAHA KX5 Keytar Midi keyboard, Korg Rk-100s, Roland FA-06 and lastly YAMAHA SHS-10.

I have my own YT channel in which several original songs all arranged with real audio recordings of the Synths, a Vintage Fender Strat (I am the wrost guitarist eva... but editing in cubase helps...), in my latest song I recorded Bass, I consider myself not too shabby on the bass, also used Ukulele o' couple of my songs... I like playing it too.

The DX7 is a thing of beauty. I find FM synthesis a little sterile though. That said once you become skilled enough it's very very powerful. I would love to run a DX7 through some fx pedals and make mayhem! Ive heard some very convincing resyntheses of acoustic instruments using fm synthesis. These were on FM8 which features many of the DX7 patches. The digital/analog fader really introduces the aliasing and unpredictability of the original.

Ive been listening to the Roland Juno of late and im quite in love with it. Polyphonic synths are awe inspiring. Would you mind sharing a link to your Youtube Channel?

I have a Volca Bass which is great for the price but it is a little limited and the envelope is unfortunately chosen. It sounds amazing and is actually a 3 voice polyphonic synth though! I need to get a midi keyboard so I can play it properly.

My next purchase will be an fx pedal of some kind. The Moogerfooger is mouth watering and there dont seem to be many filter fx pedals out there so it has the market more or less cornered. I'd be happy with a simple overdrive pedal to run my synths through however. I dont mind VST plugins but they do need a little massaging to bring them to life. Running them through some driven tubes really stirs them up

Hi man, here it is ww(w).youtube.com/p1anoyc

YAMAHA is about to release "reface" DX which is basically a mini DX7 with 3 octave mini keys and 4 operator FM, screen and touch sliders.

I brought my DX7IIFD once to rehersal with my band and used it with Zoom CDR multistomp pedal, stereo ins and outs, Digital, can save presets, has chorus/reverbs/delays/rotary/flanger and even drive.

Great for keyboards small , compact and can be run even on batteries. Heck I put it on my DX7 it even has magnet "legs" so it doesn't scratch the synth. Absolutely brings it to life!

A topic I can relate to!

While not necessarily all synths (or even analogue), here are the keys that I either own, or have had in the past.

Realistic Moog MG1 (basically a Moog Rogue with a poly section), Nord Lead 2x (which I hated), Korg MS20, DX7 (owned by my studio, not me though), Roland Jupiter 6, Rhodes MKI 88-key stage model, Wurlitzer 200a, Yamaha CP70, Hammond C3 with Leslie 147 and Hammond tone cabinet, Yamaha Sk10 and sk15, Farfisa fast 2 fast 4 and fast 5, Nord Electro 2, 3 Wurlitzer MLMs (music learning modules, they sound like a Nintendo!), Roland SH2000 synth, and likely a bunch more that I can't think of off of the top of my head.

I also play the ukulele and the bass! Maybe we could start an experimental noise-rock band over the internet.

Hey, you know, I tried recording the JP6 with MIDI but somehow it gets messed up and when It reads the MIDI channel from Cubase it plays a bunch of wierd notes and stuff, definitely not as written (I was in poly whole keyboard mode trying to record a bunch of pads).... and get stuck so I have to restart. I think it might relate to EUROPA code or something, I have read the manual but still quite baffled as to how to configure MIDI (I did the same for the DX7 and it works so I know it's in the JP6's MIDI implementation).

Eventually I ended up playing the part myself, it came really good actually...

In Israel, where I live, alot of people didn't have money back then and music shops importing from abroad were at its start. So, that's the reason why the "new wave/synthpop" thing wasn't in the spotlight in the 80s like it was in UK.

Thing is, the DX7 was so affordable, just from hearing songs and watching clips that thing appeared in almost every clip and every gig!! I didn't have much trouble getting my hands on a DX7IIFD not to mention that it had e! MOD (the guys sold me the board didn't mention it so I guess they didn't know so that's a +1).

DX7 + effects = awesomeness.

And lol I wasn't even born in the 80s, I am '93.

Why not? Maybe also we can learn from one another in the proccess!

I just produced a song a day or two ago in my YT channel, a cover in Hebrew though Featuring both synths, Real GTR and Bass

Do you have anything I can listen to?

Sure! Here's a link to a solo album I did a few years ago: http://thefixhalifax.bandcamp.com

Do you have a link to your channel? I'd love to check out your song.

Hi i will listen 2morrow been and still on vacation with my gf.

All good. No rush.

I bought an Ensoniq EPS that I had for years. I had to sell it when I packed up my car and headed to Canada last year. How does one determine whether the system is analog or digital?

Oh dear that's my 3rd attempt writing a reply that doesn't send so please forgive my hustle...

Cat - listened to your album, you're really talented man, singing and playing all these instruments! love that 60s britpop/rock vibe going on during the whole album. Top notch mix and master as well!

Voleregard (took me 3 attempts to type your name lol)

An analog synthesizer produces sound in an "Analogous" way to how an acoustic instrument's (ex. guitar) string is plucked using our kinetic energy and vibrates through the air to our eardrum. Then = music.

However, the analog synthesizer uses electrical impluses generated by various circuits. sound is shaped via potentiometers, which are just a couple of resistors whose vaule can be increased or decreased thru applied controlled voltage.

In a digital system you're starting with an analog signal, which is then converted to a digital signal (basically numbers) giving you further options and control over the sound. Then it gets converted back into an analog signal which you can hear/use (it comes with the small cost of loss in sampling quality hence purists moaning, because in order to convert the signal you basically sample it)

A good example of a typical AD/DA converter is the audio interface.

Take an analog signal (a normal elect guitar or any mic), plug it into the interface where the preamp magnifies the signal and SHAZAM!! it gets converted into Cubase or Protools or whatever digital software that there is on your computer. Done? good. Now it gets converted back to your speakers or monitors so you can hear/use what you did.

P.S edit - your board isn't analog. It's digital. if you just wanted to skip the adiu

Chummy - Thanks for the compliment! It was a really fun project/obsession. I'm working on a followup and it'll be in the style of Deep Purple but with organ, distorted bass, vocals, and drums. No guitars. Gonna be sweet!

Voleregard - The EPS is a sampling keyboard, so it'd be digital (the only analog sampling keyboard I know of is the Mellotron, and I've never known anybody who owns one).

It's been summed up pretty well, but keyboards can be divided into a couple of different categories, depending on how they create sound.

Analog - Usually one or more tone generators or VCOs (voltage-controlled oscillator), depending on whether or not the keyboard is monophonic (one note can be played at a time) or polyphonic (multiple notes at a time). Essentially, the tone is created using electricity and then electrical components shape the sound. That electrical signal is sent down the instrument cable and is converted into acoustic energy by the amplifier, or into a digital signal by the A-D converter in your recording system's audio interface.

Digital - Works the same way as analog, but all of the components exist only on a circuit board, with each component doing something that is roughly equivalent to its analog counterpart. Basically, using 1s and 0s instead of electrical current to accomplish the same thing. People used to frown on digital synthesis because it sounded "sterile", in that it did not have the weaknesses of analog synthesis that we got used to hearing. For example, an analog synth may sound out of tune if the room is too cold, or the sound may change if the electricity supplied to the instrument is not clean.

Digitally-controlled Analog - This is a hybrid of the two, where the signal path is analog, but the advantages of digital are incorporated. You'll see this on newer Moog synths, where the signal path is analog but you can still store presets. Basically, the digital components are using 1s and 0s to turn the knobs on an analog synth.

Sampling - Works basically like a tape-recorder connected to each key. You load a sample set, and the samples are played when you press the keys.

Hope these additions were helpful to the above post.

I'd love to own an actual synthesizer some day, something with lots of knobs or sliders that I can mess around with. I've played around with softsynths, but I grew tired of them pretty quickly. I wish there was a course I could take so that I could learn the basics of subtractive or FM synthesis.

This is the only time I'll ever put these words in this order- don't take a course, just go for it. haha.

Seriously though, the joy of synthesis is experimentation. If I knew what all the knobs did I could quickly and effectively get a sound, record it, and be done. There's a huge amount of fun in playing with all the knobs and sliders to hear how they interact and create interesting noise. A soft synth is a great substitute for a real one if sound is all you're after, but when you've got actual tactile control under your fingers all the knobs/sliders are just as expressive and important as the piano keys themselves.

In summary, there is nothing cooler than a monosynth with the portamento slider turned up. I hate real-life sirens but man I love that sound when I'm the one making it.

I know a good way you can learn synthesis.

There is a software called syntorial online which basically teaches you subtractive synthesis better than any synthesis course (and I've been to one, got much more info from the software lol). why? because it is interactive and works in a reciprocal manner. The user learns how to program what he hears and implement it on the included subtractive synth plugin. It's like one on one tutor. It's ridicoulsly priced though. The guy made it deserves a kudos. If I knew how to program I'd definitely put together something like this for FM.... I am clueless as to computer programming though

By the by, the Reface DX synth currently available can really help you with FM synthesis. It's basically a reissue DX type synth, a bit less powerful but far more user friendly with better screen, touch slider thingies and oh the envelopes are not horrifying to approach. the board is compact, not full sized keys though if you're not a keyboardist you wouldn't mind a 3 octave affordable keyboard. Makes those vintage sounds according to what I've seen.