First Hardware Synth

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D-Jhepz

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As the day of pay draws ever nearer I have decided I am going to get a hardware synth.

Due to limitations I have only 2 to pick from:

1. M-Audio Venom

MAudioVenom_03.jpg


http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/apr11/articles/m-audio-venom.htm

2. Novation Ultranova

NovationUltranova_01.jpg


http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/feb11/articles/novation-ultranova.htm

Anyone have any experience with either of these? They both look rude the 2nd being slightly more expensive but that dont bother me.
 
The user interface on the Venom can only access some of the parameters. The Ultranova has a vocoder and can do wavetable synthesis (where the Venom lacks one and only has static sample based waveforms).
 
If you can afford the ultranova you can get a second hand Moog Slim Phatty which is full analog rather than being digital.

Other analog options are Doepfer Dark Energy and Arturia Minibrute.

Of course, a digital hardware synth will still sound different to software but full analog will push that further still. I had some cheaper digital synths but haven't had much use of them since getting the Moog.
 
I say go UltraNova. It's quite an awesome bit of kit and the software works extremely well. The keys are tops and you can really get some great sounds out of it once you wrap your head around it.
 
You should go to a music store, checkout the hardware synths and choose the one you are happy with.
Everybody has his own claim to a synth.

For me the 2 most important claims to hardware synths are sound quality and workflow (one knob per function). Therefore I would choose the minibrute. The only drawbacks are the limited midi-cc-functions and the knob- / keyboard-quality.
 
Techsoul(ger) said:
You should go to a music store, checkout the hardware synths and choose the one you are happy with.
Everybody has his own claim to a synth.

For me the 2 most important claims to hardware synths are sound quality and workflow (one knob per function). Therefore I would choose the minibrute. The only drawbacks are the limited midi-cc-functions and the knob- / keyboard-quality.
Click to expand...

^ this. out of th synths mentioned i've tried out the minibrute, ultranova and slim phatty at guitar center many times. even though I have a lot of respect for moog, I wouldn't get one because the other 2 make more sense for me due to the soundsI want to make. so it really depends on what type of sounds you're after imo. that's why I'd recommend trying them out firsthand rather than judging by people's opinions. at least try to look up vids on youtube showcasing their abilities and read their manuals to see what they're capable of. fwiw in my case I'd put my vote on the minibrute because its a little beast for what it is.
 
I wouldn't get the M Audio Venom for drum and bass, I had one, and it was pretty good, but sounded very 'techno' When ever I made sounds on it they always ended up sounding like something off a techno tune.
 
the ti snow has comb filters and you can easily edit everything on software. try a comb filter with a square wave.

Not on massive that is, on razor its sick
 
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