What to learn synthesis from scratch on

Ok, my plan is to go right back to basics over the next few months, I want to start from scratch and learn about acoustics and synthesis from the ground up, starting with fundamental principles and progressing on from there...

I don't really fancy sitting in front of a pc clicking a mouse doing this though, I want a hardware synth and get knob twiddling :twisted:

Is a VA good for this or is it worth tryng to pick up a bit of true analogue gear and avoid digitising the signal at all?

And is second hand a good option or should I buy new.

Any of your thoughts on good synths in general I would really appreciate
My budget is around 400-500

cheers :)

to be perfectly honest i would start with synthedit first b4 spending the big money. synthesis is a right pain in the ass sometimes and hardware isnt as transparent or user friendly as the synthedit software.

im not saying stay away from harware at all (EVERYONE needs some hardware IMO) just that to learn from the ground up can be very very disheartning on it.

I have a soft ware based setup at the moment and I intend to keep my PC at the centre of that, I have no intention of moving my sampling or sequencing away from software for example

But as you say i'd like to have a hardware element and as far as I can see synthesis is the prime candidate.

I am studying a music course at the mo as well which has courses coming up on synthesis and acoustics...so i'm not doing it all on my own. Really i'm looking for a good synth to learn on at home while I study at college...and something which will then last as a central part of my techno setup for years afterwards :)

I know its not hardware, but do you use reason? Cos the 'subtractor', synth is pretty good for learning about Analogue synthesis. Or the'Korg legacy collection', gives you a poly6 and an MS20 to learn on.

Is it analogue or FM you're interested in?

what about the nord modular?

http://www.vintagesynth.com/clavia/nordmod.shtml

If you want a hardware synth to learn on, you could do a lot worse than a Novation, IMHO.

Not too expensive, very powerful.

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Originally Posted by rhythmtech

to be perfectly honest i would start with synthedit first b4 spending the big money. synthesis is a right pain in the ass sometimes and hardware isnt as transparent or user friendly as the synthedit software.

im not saying stay away from harware at all (EVERYONE needs some hardware IMO) just that to learn from the ground up can be very very disheartning on it.

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Synthedit is good but it isnt for beginners rtech...

BTW agree 100% on the hardware synths comment...

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Originally Posted by TechMouse

If you want a hardware synth to learn on, you could do a lot worse than a Novation, IMHO.

Not too expensive, very powerful.

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Bang on.

or how about an acces virus B second hand?

or a nord rack second hand?

All great synths

I have a synth for sale BTW.. 150 for a SH32 (shamless plug i know..)

i learnt on a virus b, but wouldnt recomend it for learning. its quite a complicated synth

I think something like a nord lead would be perfect for learning

the best thing to do is get a good synth (analogue or soft) and try to use that synth for everything, and know that synth inside out. better to have 1 synth you know inside out than 10 your sketchy with

I would recommend the Roland SH 201, its what I plan one buying to learn on.

http://www.roland.com/products/com/S...ages/top_L.jpg

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Originally Posted by dodgyedgy

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Originally Posted by TechMouse

If you want a hardware synth to learn on, you could do a lot worse than a Novation, IMHO.

Not too expensive, very powerful.

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Bang on.

or how about an acces virus B second hand?

or a nord rack second hand?

All great synths

I have a synth for sale BTW.. 150 for a SH32 (shamless plug i know..)

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why are you thinking of selling it ?

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Originally Posted by Ginjin

I would recommend the Roland SH 201, its what I plan one buying to learn on.

http://www.roland.com/products/com/S...ages/top_L.jpg

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yep, i have looked at that one a lot as well. but i might get an evolver or an mfb synth:

http://www.mfberlin.de/Produkte/Musi...synth_iie.html

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Originally Posted by loopdon

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Originally Posted by dodgyedgy

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Originally Posted by TechMouse

If you want a hardware synth to learn on, you could do a lot worse than a Novation, IMHO.

Not too expensive, very powerful.

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Bang on.

or how about an acces virus B second hand?

or a nord rack second hand?

All great synths

I have a synth for sale BTW.. 150 for a SH32 (shamless plug i know..)

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why are you thinking of selling it ?

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Not thinking LD.. AM selling it, got burgaled so i gots to sell it to pay back my wife for the money i borrowed from her savings to buy my iMAC. :(

150 is a bargain if anyone is interested. Besides i know the synth now and TBh out of all of the synths i've had i havnt owned an Access Virus B. I want one. i have 'THE LUST'

sad but true.

For learning you could do a hell of a lot worse than the subtractor synth in reason

And maybe buy this book - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quick-Guide-...F8&s=books

Then finally, start learning reaktor. The book pushes you down that path anyway

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Originally Posted by MorePunkThanFunk

the best thing to do is get a good synth (analogue or soft) and try to use that synth for everything, and know that synth inside out. better to have 1 synth you know inside out than 10 your sketchy with

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Exactly

My introduction to synthesis was the TS 404 Bassline synthesizer in an early version of fruityloops and I learnt that thing insideout.

virus b.. i learnt soooo much on that thing.. and if you join one of the unofficial forums too, you'll have no problems finding out the pronciples of synthesis.

this thingy :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0h-Rh...elated&search=

I would agree software's the safest bet for learning - the subtractor is a good basic synth to practice with. There is also a lot to be learned from something like synth edit or reaktor (tho as dodgy says it is a bit at the deep end) if you get a simple synth in it - reason being 'cos whilst you play you can also get a good idea of what's going on inside by taking the patches apart. I also agree about the novation stuff - i've learned a lot using the a-station - it's tricky cos all the knobs do more that one thing, but that's hardware for you and if you can keep track of it in that situation you got it bagged... And cheap which is good if you wanna practice on something without blowing the bank!

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Originally Posted by acidsaturation

I would agree software's the safest bet for learning - the subtractor is a good basic synth to practice with. There is also a lot to be learned from something like synth edit or reaktor (tho as dodgy says it is a bit at the deep end) if you get a simple synth in it - reason being 'cos whilst you play you can also get a good idea of what's going on inside by taking the patches apart. I also agree about the novation stuff - i've learned a lot using the a-station - it's tricky cos all the knobs do more that one thing, but that's hardware for you and if you can keep track of it in that situation you got it bagged... And cheap which is good if you wanna practice on something without blowing the bank!

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yeah i haven't jumped into anything yet...have been slowly coming round to the software way of thinking about this tbh (partly cos i've been having recurring dreams about owning a macbook...i've got "gear eyes" :rulove: bad at the moment :laughing: )

Probly make a snap impulse decision at some point but gonna try and resist for now ...

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Originally Posted by TechMouse

If you want a hardware synth to learn on, you could do a lot worse than a Novation, IMHO.

Not too expensive, very powerful.

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Good call mate. You can get Supernova's for 250 easy. If you want a nice sounding cheap Analouge synth to bugger about with you could do worse than the Waldorf Pulse. Lots of routing options and some rude sounds.

yeah dont get a hardware synth just to learn on.

internet plus any basic synth will learn you the basics.

once you have that down, get reaktor and go right into it.

THEN get a hardware synth. If at any point you decide its a pain in the arse you wont have lost any money (if you try before you buy the software)

had a lot of fun with my nord lead 3. I'm no analog synthesis wiz by any means but I use the fm init and sound init functions on it often. You can basically start either analog or fm and from there build your synth "from scratch"

Its a great way to avoid endless surfing through presets and it really helped me develop a better understanding of how to build original pads, bass, fx etc.

Going a bit off topic, I'm having a lot of fun learning my new microkorg... Got some pretty impressive options and making some lovely noises..