Looking to buy a new synthesizer

I'm sorry but this is super generic. What kind of synth are you looking for? Analog? Digital? Polyphonic? Monophonic? Keys or no keys? What kind of budget? Used? New?
 
Also: there are many, many hardware synths that are amazing in lots of ways but the presets are shit. In other words, I wouldn't really even buy a hardware synth for its presets (there are exceptions, and this is of course a philosophy thing as well as I'm the kind of guy who doesn't even listen to the presets before overwriting them)...
 
lol presets can be a nice starting place though, ...maybe? :P but in all seriousness, I think picking a synth is like picking an electric guitar. You gotta find yours, there are so many...
 
I'm sorry but this is super generic. What kind of synth are you looking for? Analog? Digital? Polyphonic? Monophonic? Keys or no keys? What kind of budget? Used? New?

Im just looking for suggestions really. Yes I do need keys btw. My budget is about 500
 
lol presets can be a nice starting place though, ...maybe? :P but in all seriousness, I think picking a synth is like picking an electric guitar. You gotta find yours, there are so many...

I wouldnt know which synth fits me well because to keep it real this is the first time ive ever tried to get one
 
I wouldnt know which synth fits me well because to keep it real this is the first time ive ever tried to get one

What kind of budget do you have? Are there certain sounds that you like & expect to be able to create?

I'd also consider trying out some software synths since there are plenty of great ones free, just so you can get a feel on what you might want.
 
What kind of budget do you have? Are there certain sounds that you like & expect to be able to create?

I'd also consider trying out some software synths since there are plenty of great ones free, just so you can get a feel on what you might want.

I like the production sounds used by people like zaytoven and london if your familiar with both of their work
 
They're both mostly using some pretty basic sounds, synthesis-wise - basically just about everything I'm hearing could be done with free software synths, easily.

That said, software synths can often lack the fun factor of having a piece of dedicated hardware in front of you. What kind of budget do you have for this? Do you actually want to learn how to build your own sounds or is "presets and some tweaks" just fine for you?
 
My budget is about 400 and I actually do want to build my own sounds, but doesnt that come from tweaking original sounds/presets
 
My budget is about 400 and I actually do want to build my own sounds, but doesnt that come from tweaking original sounds/presets

Please learn how to tweak original sounds/presets before building your own sounds, did you register to the site I PMed you?
 
My budget is about 400 and I actually do want to build my own sounds, but doesnt that come from tweaking original sounds/presets

You can either modify existing sounds or start from a "blank" patch.

For $400 (assuming you're talking about USD), you could get something like a Korg MicroKorg or a Novation MiniNova. Roland's JD-Xi, System-1 and the Korg Minilogue are about $500. There are plenty of affordable rack/desktop synths (modules w/o a keyboard) as well, like Roland's Boutique series (which are all recreations of vintage classics). And of course there are lots of monophonic (can play one note at a time) synths as well. Monophonic isn't nearly as restricting as it first sounds, but I assumed you want to do chords and stuff, so limited my suggestions to polyphonic ones.
 
Check out the little Waldorf synths.
Most overlooked synthmaker out there, king of the wavetable though. Amazing filters, huge fat sound, always jam packed with features.
For 400 you could get a Blofeld, which I have.. bloody awesome little box. Or get the smaller modules... the Rocket coupled with the Pole Filter would be a lot of fun.
The downside would be that you don't get keys, a Waldorf with keys is a... euh.. different price range entirely. But that also means those modules give you a lot of synth for very little money.

If you're looking for a more classic vibe, Arturia is popular for good reason.
 
Check out the little Waldorf synths.
Most overlooked synthmaker out there, king of the wavetable though. Amazing filters, huge fat sound, always jam packed with features.
For 400 you could get a Blofeld, which I have.. bloody awesome little box. Or get the smaller modules... the Rocket coupled with the Pole Filter would be a lot of fun.

I was going to say something about the matrix interface and its trickiness to a synth newbie, but then realized I myself suggested the MicroKorg and the MiniNova, which both rely on a similar setup :D I usually tend to recommend more knobby synths, but if you want cheap, poly & presets in the same package, there aren't that many good option. The Blofeld's great - or well, I haven't actually played it, but it's basically the modern iteration of all things Waldorf and I kind of know what it's like :)
 
Yeah, I won't lie.. it's not ideal, but it's a trade off.
It's also what allows a crazy amount of modulation and options to be set, everything can be modulated by everything, basically.. which makes it great if you really want to get into making your own patches from scratch and learn about synthesis. And it has a very distinct sound. Or sounds rather.. because it can do a lot. And less knobs means it's cheaper to build.

It's not bad to work with either. I wrapped my head around it pretty quickly, after a while you kinda know where everything is and can get to it fast. There are much worse interfaces out there..
The screen is mainly there for visual feedback, like showing your envelopes, LFO's and precise values you're working with.
 
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