The Most Important Synth Tips Ever

1. Use modulation

Step sequencers and time sync-ed LFO are the most important parts of the synth. They connect the sound to the music in a rhythmic way. Modulation expresses the sound over time. Modulation re-shapes the wave and makes it talk. Modulate the filter. Modulate the pitch with a FM or OSC sync. The modulation alone can make a groove or just using the mod wheel can make your synth talk to the listener. You can even start with modulation during the creation of your patches. Modulating pulsewidth gives the sound an interesting texture. Synth sounds are not all about envelopes. Envelopes often trigger exactly the same at each note press. This makes it no better than a rompler. You get a static sound with envelopes. With a rhythmic modulation, step sequencer modulation etc. you can make the sound alive. Modulation can often make a sound unrealistic, but that is the point of using an analog synthesizer. Making realistic sounds often is a failure. If you synthesize a sound thats already been heard before, you could still create a modulation of it that's never been done. Modulation is an important area to explore. It might not make any sense at first, as to what is changing what. Some synths are very poor choices and have limited modulations. Always pick a synth that makes LFOs and step sequences easy, and make sure they are time synced.

2. Create sounds by playing along with music

This is important to getting your sound EQed and to match your song style-wise. Customizing a synth sound to your music just makes it more fluid. A lot of times you can fix a synth sound by adjusting the amount of bass or brightness (filter). Many digital synths are way too bright and must be adjusted, and pulled back to be less aggressive. Filters used for bass often aren't too bright. You can often make a better bass sound on a synth thats not too good at bass, by bumping up the EQ. Overrall you should think of yourself as mixing the sound with other sounds.  If you create sounds by themselves, you'll listen to them again later and they will be too loud, or won't work in your songs.

3. Learn how to use EFX.

Not all synths have effects. The ones that do are pretty special. Sometimes a boring patch can find life with some basic effects like chorus and reverb. Effects can add to the modulation-factor. Effects give atmosphere. Effects can make the synth sound talk. The patch you are making is either a voice or an effect sound with some type of subconscious emotion that effects can further bring out. Different effects can remind the listener of different periods of music when those effects were popular. They can make the sound generic or take it to a new level.

4. Learn how to adjust timing of every parameter

Timing of the envelopes, LFOs, and even reverbs / phasers can drastically change a sound. The timing of each parameter can align harmonics into a new layer of combined sound. At the end, everything will just feel right. Not everything needs to be synced, but you can try to achieve a subconscious harmony of waves (or dissonance if you prefer).  You can sweeten and tighten up sounds by playing a musical sequence. You can load up old patches and just re-tweak everything to fit a different speed of playback.

5. You don't need an analog synth to make music

Analogs can be great, but not all of them fit with music production needs. They are missing many modern features. The external connections can slow you down. Their limited nature can hold you back music wise. The modern computer can do everything that an analog synth can. It will just sound slightly different. Most listeners will never be able to tell if you are using an analog synth or not, especially with todays effects and recording process. There are good reasons to use analog synths, but there are just far more options with digital music creation. The cost is a lot less. Buying an analog synth will not turn you into a genius. It may not even make your music any better. You may want one for performing or experimentation, but in the end its not 100% necessary. In the end an analog instrument will never match the functions of a digital synth without a great cost to the user.

 

In a more basic review:

Make your synth sounds TALK.

Adjust the timing of everything to harmonize the sound

Add effects to add atmosphere

Adjust the EQ to match the song

Use effects to make your synth sound TALK

Quiz Your Synthesizer Vocabulary on Memrise

To become a master synthesizer player or sound designer you must learn the lexicon that makes up sound. Take this online synthesizer course I made on Memrise:

http://www.memrise.com/course/176484/synthesizer-vocabulary/

There are 50 different terms that you can memorize. After you've really learned it over time you can apply your knowledge to almost any synth system.

What do you think of the Arturia Microbrute?

Cast your vote now!

Poll closed.

A Synthesizer Is Only Good If It Is Free And Open Source.

A synthesizer that cannot surpass itself in its operation oppresses the musician and music. Open source hardware, code, and 3rd party expansion systems, like Eurorack, are the only true way to progress and free the future for experimentation. Shareable software code and distributing schematics is the only way forward to freedom. Companies that do not allow the user to surpass function are holding the user back.

How many times, and how many years, have you waited for a company to update the firmware, only for them to release a brand new product?

It is true that you could buy a single module with many options and be happy with it. The notes and tones could be mathematically unlimited. However, it is still a static system that never changes, with a similar timbre. Its functions are always similar. The music making that comes from it will always take the same mechanical path.

Closed systems are Minimalist. Minimalism died when it could not free the user and take them to new heights. It held them back in a simple state that did not expand their thought. We dislike corporations that do not follow new ways of doing things and take risks. We dislike it when they keep secrets and only let them expand for a fee, and through them. Minimalism is for children. Minimalist, closed systems are a thing of the past.

When you create a project (like a new synthesizer) you are projecting your values and your lifeblood onto it. The only way to empower your user is to make a free and open system. It is time to revolutionize music again.

10 Tips For Better Basslines From Attack Magazine

This article link has a bunch of great tips, explanations, images, and mp3 examples of how to get better bass. Via Attack Magazine.

Free U-he Diva Presets For Download

NOW FREE!

48 Flabby analogue tones.

Motorcycle Engines w/ Nitrous

Japanese Koto

Jupiter 8

Mini Moog Leads

Analog Basses

Plucks & Arp sounds

Italo Disco.

TB-303s

Pads

Roland Inspired Inits.

Hardcore Distortions & new effects setups.

Ready to play.

All quality sounds will take you into new sonic territory!


This demo uses 8 instaces of Diva. No channel effects were used! Drums courtesy of Apple Loops.

Link: Download Diva Presets (99k)

Best Of The Synthy Ladies (20 Pics)

 

Most Collectible Synthesizers

Novation Nova White Special Edition



 

Novation Platinum SuperNova II 48 Voice Pro-X      (number made?) (Added Apr 16th, 2013)



 

DX7 Centennial Gold & Silver



Silver Yamaha Ex5        (non-US?)



Blackout Access Virus 15th Anniversary (only 15 made)

Waldorf XT Shadow Edition   (666 made)



Gold Moog Voyager   (5 Produced, at 15k new)



Nord Lead Ltd Edition Anniversary Model with black keys



UV Orange Future Retro Revolution





There are many limited edition Future Retro machines. Above is the 1 of 2 made silver Future Retro 777, new in box. It has a very rare hand-brushed/screenprinted front panel.

Waldorf Red Q+  (I'm assuming its rarer than the "Halloween Edition" which is on ebay a lot)



Access Virus Indigo Redback



Black Waldorf XT, only 2 made.



Waldorf Mean Green Machine



Red Alesis Andromeda   (around 200 made?)



Camo Korg X50



Many Korg Special editions are not rare..but some are cool. Moog has too many "special" color schemes to list.

And the rarest of the them all:

Video: Analogue Solutions Vostok by Arthur Joly

Listen to this modular jam! "That's so heavy it should be ilegal!"

On Vimeo

 

Roland V-Synth Tip: 2x The Number of Cosm Filters

Using the direct outputs (not the main) on the V-synth, you can bring the sound back into itself and filter it again with 2 more COSM filters. This method uses a second layer as a gate which finally passes it to the multiFX.

1. Connect your direct ouputs to your L & R inputs.
2. Have a sound source on Layer Split 1. Set the output to Direct Out in the EFX setup tab.
3. In layer 2, turn on OSC 1
4. Change the oscillator to EXT audio input.
5. Play Layer 1 and 2. The second layer will gate the first.
6. Turn on COSM filters for layer two and go wild. Make sure the second layer is passing effects to the multiFX block.

You now have a patch with 4 COSM filters! You could also pipe your main output into the a second layer, which diverts audio into the direct outs if you want to gate reverb or the master effects. BE CAREFUL OF FEEDBACK. If you don't think things through, the audio will go through an infinite loop.

Exploitive Products & Synthesizer Electronic Waste

You are a giant nerd. You can get any analog monosynth for 599, shipped to your home. What are you really thinking when buying it? You've been tricked by marketing. Avoid "exploitive products" where marketing trumps the actual uses of the product. It used to be that you could get something that produces an entire song, for cheap, and thats barely true today. Many instruments being sold are not enough to make a full song. You have to think about what you are buying and why now more than ever.

The Korg MS-20 is definitely a toy, an electronic buzzer. If you wanted one you would have already purchased one on ebay ten years ago. The marketing and actual use of of the product doesn't meet the price considering today's computing power. The purpose of the product is to exploit nerds in the same way rebooted movie franchises. They aren't as good as the original and trap certain types of susceptible people and their money.

Anything "analog" from modern instrument producers is definitely a trap. High prices on vintage synths are an ebay trap. You are paying their fees and a jacked up price.

You have to remember you are buying an over glorified buzzer. Most likely nobody will want to listen to your amateur noise. There is no art in copying another persons sound or producing more crap people have already heard. Do you want to pay $600 for "music" no one will listen to? What are you aspiring to be? Modern instruments are a better choice, and nothing analog today could be considered modern. The computer is a much better choice, especially for new creators.

Today's synthesizers are made in China for cheap and failing components will make the entire thing become garbage. They won't last as long as the originals made in the 70s, 80s, or 90s. The environment is taking a hit. You are part of the chain if you buy products from companies that are trying to exploit you.

Please be aware of people in china and the environment etc when you order an instrument. It should be something designed to last forever and give you infinite use. Cheap goods, even with a high price, will never satisfy you totally. It just might be that you are deriving little musical value from the instrument and everyone is paying a high price. Don't let the companies take advantage of you. When it comes to synths, stay digital, save the environment, and save your money. Don't be susceptible to the nerd economy.

Please re-use your stuff! Trade and find new uses for old things. Don't pay too much. No need to buy new.

Analog Synthesizers Don't Need Dynamic Compression.

Analog synthesizers don't need standard compression. You are lucky if your sound has any dynamics to compress in the first place. Dynamics usually have to be programmed into the sound. Dynamics are the result of amp envelopes, resonance modulation, and effects. Without these you don't have much range and material to compress. In a lot of tutorials, that were first geared toward mixing acoustic sounds, this knowledge might have been lost. Compression on synth sounds in EDM can be a waste of time.

Natural percussive sounds can have huge transients. This is a case where compression helps a lot. It can help on drum machines sometimes. But if you notice, when you put a synth in the mix, its super loud already and cuts through everything. It doesn't need to be louder. You could just bump up the mixer knob instead. Don't bother compressing and making it louder unless you really know what you are doing.

You should try compression on drums, so check out this article which helps explain mixing techniques for drums a bit better.

D16 Lush For Mac OS X Is Not Recommended

Update: Its an OK soft synth, but I'm just a bigger fan of U-he.

D16 Lush had all the components to be a good soft synth but it suffers from the same problems as other synth plugins: It is too bright sounding and my CPU can't handle it.

I have a new-ish Mac Mini i5, and it doesn't seem like I could get it going fast enough forD16 Lush. I don't know what mac computer I'd have to buy to run this. Some presets are okay, but most crackle and clip my speakers pretty quick. I have no problem running other soft synths.

The brightness of the presets is very common when programmers aren't really using their sounds in music. On a soft synth the brightness can be especially noticeable. I believe D16 Lush is brighter than my V-Synth over SPDIF. Its just one of those things I am too lazy to adjust. I think they could have made a slightly better preset bank. There are some good sounds that just need some tweaks.

The overall sound of D16 Lush is similar to generic Roland but it doesn't quite nail the analog part. It is just another soft-synth. If you want more flexibility with filters and such, DIVA is a much better option (although Diva has no super-saw).

I'd say this is an average soft synth, and I can see a lot of work went into this thing, but I can't recommend it. Maybe if they had put more filter types in and made it more competitive. Thumbs down.

Note: I reviewed the Mac OS X Demo.

How to Use Amp Distortion To Rebalance Brightness In Synth Patches

Amp distortion can help you set the brightness in your patches to reduce ear fatigue and enhance mixability when a sound is played back at high volume. If you have trouble setting the cutoff filter or mixing loud sounds, this tip can help.

Choose a guitar amp effect or overdrive that is set relatively flat. Use your nastiest, but best sounding amp model with medium or high gain. Send your sound through it. Certain frequencies become dramatically enhanced. Sharp brightness is heard in the high ends of the distortion. With this overemphasized you can find an exact cutoff point for the synthesizer's filter that won't cause ear fatigue when the distortion effect is removed. Just sweep the filter cutoff to the point that feels right to you while the sound is under distortion. You can adjust the envelopes as well. Next turn off the distortion effect and enjoy your non-fatiguing sound.

This trick works by simulating a cheap amplifier and speaker setup thats being played way too loud. You don't have to increase your monitors actual volume, use a power system, or suffer ear fatigue. With the right amount of gain and right model, you can rebalance your synth patch. There is a risk of watering down your sound however. This should not be done with every sound, but when you want a softer effect. It seems to work well with pads and leads.

29 Free Alesis Fusion FM Patches - "Alice FM"

Now free for a limited time. Alesis Fusion FM patches

Download the Pack here.

This is for existing Alesis Fusion owners.

You can learn more about the pack by reading information here.

Holy Smokes! Dave Smith Prophet 12 (Video) Sounds insane.

Possibly the best analog synth ever made?

More Info Here: http://davesmithinstruments.com/products/prophet12/index.php

Update: I'm not sure if I can recommend this one anymore. The digital oscillators really do not have much of a unique sound. They are pretty glitchy. The filter sounds really nice though. I'm kind of on the fence. For how much money it costs, I would not get it.

Korg Has MS-20 in the Works

Korg are officially reissuing in the MS-20 in a smaller, more compact size. It will be using mini-jacks (1/4″ instead of 1/8″) and have USB-MIDI and is of course fully analogue."  From WaveFormz

 

Moog Sub Phatty Announced

Moog anounced the Sub Phatty today for $999. It appears to be...another analog monosynth. What they did right was include all the knobs. Only 25 keys, but they look nice. I think this would be a good first synth if it pans out. I would rather have this than the Phatty. They are probably killing off the LP, that is, if they don't understand how to tier their products.