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UPDATE... I am leaning towards the Arturia Minibrute (or SE version). But is there anything like it with a 3 octave keyboard?

So I'm moving away from guitar playing and am getting into keys/synths. I have a Nord Electro 2 to cover my EP/Organ needs. And I like it. I want to add a synth. Well, I want to add a lot of stuff, but I have about $1000 available to add a synth. I've done too much reading and video watching but lack the ability to go out and actually try many of these. My hope is to get a nice little keyboard synth that does low stuff really well. But I don't necessarily need/want a dedicated bass synth as I would like it to have a good "normal" range also (even if that is split by octave buttons). Moog is always a possiblity. I've played a Little Phatty and love the sounds that come out of the Minitaur. I don't know anything about the Sub Phatty or other options. There are just too many options out there for my brain to decide. DSI? Korg? Roland? Moog? As far as what kind of sounds I want to make... I guess a lot of what I'll be playing around with will be based around kinda a trip-hop feel. And I want to pick up a TGD Eurorack at some point too.

K, let the helping begin now! Your opinions on sounds, things to look at, things I may not have thought of yet. I'm newish to synths so just looking for good starting point recommendations.

there are a ton of synths u could get for $1000 or under. what kind of sounds / synthesis are u interested in? analog, digital, FM, etc? do u want mono or polyphonic? new or vintage?

i really like my elektron monomachine cuz it has a handful of different synth engines in it, a dope 6 track/voice sequencer and great sounds.
they also make an analog synth thing.

honestly, u'd be hard pressed to go wrong in the synth world.

MS20, mini/microbrute, prophet.

i'm not big on moog, but thats mostly because i can not afford.

u could also go the ipad + controller route and get a ton of awesome synth apps, plus have a handy pr0n watching device for your synth playing breaks

Dr. Sherman Sticks M.D. wrote:there are a ton of synths u could get for $1000 or under. what kind of sounds / synthesis are u interested in? analog, digital, FM, etc? do u want mono or polyphonic? new or vintage?

i really like my elektron monomachine cuz it has a handful of different synth engines in it, a dope 6 track/voice sequencer and great sounds.
they also make an analog synth thing.

honestly, u'd be hard pressed to go wrong in the synth world.

See, this is where my brain tries to explode on me. Unless there is some underlying benefit to using analog vs. digital I really have no preference. I like knobs a lot and am a 1 knob / effect kinda guy. Don't want something that requires me to dig too deep through menus to make changes. At least to begin, what I've got in my head is based around bass sounds. I'm thinking James Blake, Sylvan Esso, Radiohead ("In Rainbows" bass sounds). I'm not really interested in software based synths although having that for a future option wouldn't be bad. I suppose pretty much anything with Midi capabilities is going to be okay to use with soft synths down the line. I know that I'll probably be okay regardless of what I try out and, from what I've seen, the re-sell value seems to stay pretty solid if I end up not latching onto whatever I get at first. There is/was a nice Prophet 08 for sale on the local CL but he's asking $1500 for it so it might be out of my current price range. So yeah... there's my not-so-helpful reply.

Moog is releasimg an updated version of the sub phatty next month called the sub 37. Check it out, it looks sweet. It is a bit more than your quote, it is1499$ but you should be able to catch a sale. I got it for 20% off at Musicians Friend, so $1200.

If you're interested in Eurorack, why not start small with something like a Pittsburgh Modular System 10? Good luck with that whole "never having money again ever" part of the Eurorack bug. $1000 won't get you too far, but it's a start.

pigeonfarmboy wrote:Good luck with that whole "never having money again ever" part of the Eurorack bug.

I've got kids... I'm used to it. It's just a rare opportunity that I get to spend money on something for myself.

I Play Synth...
We All Play Synth...

Oberheim SEM Pro

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_wn1xSI9us[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmqqDx8eAb0[/youtube]

Or a Moog Sub Phatty.

IT ALL SOUNDS LIKE THE MORTAL KOMBAT THEME!

If you are wanting actual keys then maybe a Little Phatty Stage, you could score one for $800 or so if you look hard enough.
Personally, I have had issues with DSI's operating systems, so be careful there.
Getting a BoomStar and seperate midi keys could be tight. I am interested in the Waldorf Pulse 2.
Lots of choices.
My main concern with a Korg MS-20 is that it is hertz-oct CV rather than volt/oct CV which is way more common.

i don't even know what to suggest w/ that wide of an array of possibilities so i'm just saying what are probably my favorites.

analog monophonic - MS-20 (the original old one, have heard the new mini has a little noise issue)
analog polyphonic - juno-60
digital - OP-1

they're expensive but juno-60 and juno-106 are both awesome IMO. DCO but analog filters. and not menu divers, can be mono or poly and you can save sounds.
they both have great lowpass filters but they aren't who i turn to for basslines since i have an MS-20, minimoog, CS-5...

Deltaphoenix wrote:If you are wanting actual keys then maybe a Little Phatty Stage, you could score one for $800 or so if you look hard enough.

I'm leaning more any more towards a Little Phatty. It's a good solid starting point for this new found money-pit.

Deltaphoenix wrote:Personally, I have had issues with DSI's operating systems, so be careful there.

Good to know, thank you.

Deltaphoenix wrote:Getting a BoomStar and seperate midi keys could be tight. I am interested in the Waldorf Pulse 2.
Lots of choices.

See and this could be my downfall. It's like pedals for guitar playing... I could try them all. I know I'd probably be totally happy with a setup using modular units (am I using that term correctly?)... now which controller keyboard to get. Gaaahhh... I suck with decisions.

If you are looking for a first proper synth I think you'd want a hands on controls with little to no menu diving. That eliminates Waldorf for the most part, and some classic synths like Yamaha AN1x.
Since you already have Nord you might want to take a look at Nord Lead 2/2x, classic VA, somewhat limited but still praised for its sound and good UI. The new Nord Lead A1 is also drawing good review and I heard people saying it's the best UI in a synth and it sounds good too.
If you look into polyphonic VA synths you might also consider Roland JP8000, JD800.
For analog polyphonic synth in your price range I can think only of Roland Juno 106. It's getting more and more expensive though. Or you could get DSI Mopho x4 I guess.
Than there is an army of analog mono synths, Moog, Arturia, Novation, Korg, DSI etc. There is no best option here, it's all up to your preference. For $1000 you could get Novation Bass Station 2, Arturia Minibrute and all three Volca's for example (used of course).

Personally my choice would be Nord Lead 2, simple and powerful, modern and classic.

Shish wrote:If you are looking for a first proper synth I think you'd want a hands on controls with little to no menu diving. That eliminates Waldorf for the most part, and some classic synths like Yamaha AN1x.
Since you already have Nord you might want to take a look at Nord Lead 2/2x, classic VA, somewhat limited but still praised for its sound and good UI. The new Nord Lead A1 is also drawing good review and I heard people saying it's the best UI in a synth and it sounds good too.
If you look into polyphonic VA synths you might also consider Roland JP8000, JD800.
For analog polyphonic synth in your price range I can think only of Roland Juno 106. It's getting more and more expensive though. Or you could get DSI Mopho x4 I guess.
Than there is an army of analog mono synths, Moog, Arturia, Novation, Korg, DSI etc. There is no best option here, it's all up to your preference. For $1000 you could get Novation Bass Station 2, Arturia Minibrute and all three Volca's for example (used of course).

Personally my choice would be Nord Lead 2, simple and powerful, modern and classic.

Excellent response. Thank you. Now I need to not be at work any more so I can do some "research"