[net.music.synth] buying your first synthesizer.

bmh@unc.UUCP (Brad Hemminger) (07/02/85)

  I spent a few hours yesterday at a local computer music shop.  I was
looking around to see what's available for 1 or 2K.  My interests are
in a synthesizer that I can easily program from an IBM PC (via MIDI).  
Good sound and extra's like a velocity sensitive keyboards are nice but 
not necessary.  Being essentially a layman with respect to synthesizer's,
I would like to here some people's opinions on what's the best you can
do for under 2K (including MIDI card for PC and other necessary hookup
items).  To start the discussion off, I'll expound on the opinions I 
developed from my visit yesterday.  
  If you want to create *really* interesting sounds/music--especially 
in conjunction with a computer--you need the capability of several 
different voices at once.  To accomplish this you need either several
synthesizers or a multi-timbred synthesizer.  The best choice seemed
to be multi-timbred synthesizers.  This ruled out most all the synthesizers
I looked at.  The only ones that fit this catergory were Oberheim's
Matrix 12 (I wish I could blow 4K) and some of the Sequential Ciruits
machines (e.g. Multi-Trak and Six-Trak).  Of the later two the Multi-Trak 
features a larger keyboard and it's also velocity sensitive.  This
was my choice for my price range. 
  Other nice instruments like the AKAI AX80 (nice for the money--$1050)
are polyphonic but not multi-timbred.
  To round out my MIDI system I am considering getting the Roland MPU 401
(the salesman tells me it's becoming the industry standard for the IBM
PC MIDI interface [is this so?]), the corresponding card for the IBM PC,
and TEXTURE, the toolbox music editor by Roger Powell.
  Ok, let's hear some comments comparing my choices with your own!

Oh, the only digital (sampling) synthesizer I saw was the Mirage.  It
looked nice, but I think I would add it on later, rather than get one
as a first synthesizer.  Has anyone seen any others?

lwb@watdcsu.UUCP (L.W. Borsato [DCS]) (07/12/85)

>   If you want to create *really* interesting sounds/music--especially 
> in conjunction with a computer--you need the capability of several 
> different voices at once.  To accomplish this you need either several
> synthesizers or a multi-timbred synthesizer.

Multi-timbred synthesizers are fairly new in the general consumer price
range. They're great if you want to create the sound of a full band at
once, but do you really need to do this on a first synthesizer ? I mean
all the interesting sounds are available, just not at the same time.
Right now the biggest producer of consumer multi-timbral instruments is
Sequential Circuits.

> Oh, the only digital (sampling) synthesizer I saw was the Mirage.  It
> looked nice, but I think I would add it on later, rather than get one
> as a first synthesizer.  Has anyone seen any others?

The only other stuff in the 1-2K range for sampling is computer software.
After that the jump is rather steep to the thousands of dollars for items
such as the Emulator or even the Synclavier.
I would recommend something like the Yamaha DX7/DX9 (which uses the same
generation technology as the Synclavier) or the Roland JX3P/JX8P for a first
synthesizer, as they are relatively inexpensive and still have a lot of
nice features.


-- 


A memo from the desk of :

                       Larry W. Borsato


Just one step away from total mental collapse ... but fine otherwise.

{decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra|clyde}!watmath!watdcsu!lborsato

peterb@pbear.UUCP (07/15/85)

> {decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra|clyde}!watmath!watdcsu!lborsato
> I would recommend something like the Yamaha DX7/DX9 (which uses the same
> generation technology as the Synclavier) or the Roland JX3P/JX8P for a
> first synthesizer, as they are relatively inexpensive and still have a lot
> of nice features.

The only problem with a DX-7/DX-9 as a FIRST synth is the requirement to
shift thinking from the time domain into the frequency domain. This is the
major hurdle for FM synths. It would make a fine second synth, but stick to a
basic synth that is simple to create sounds with. From experience, I know
that good sounds from the DX-7 come out from the "what if" approach with no
intended direction. I.E.: when I once tied to make a deep bell sound, I have
tripped over a fantastic buzz-saw.

Peter Barada
{ihnp4!inmet|{harvard|cca}!ima}!pbear!peterb