Which synths for House and Trance.

J

jospjn

Guest
Hello Guys,

I am kind of confused I am a newby and everyday I learn something new about Music.
I am starting bit by bit building a workstation and I want to concentrate both on hardware and software especially when using synths.
I have been reading weeks of reviews from synth owners about which synths are best to have and since I will be focusing on Trance and House and remixing I am focusing on 3 types all "analog" these are Nord Lead NL2X , MOOG little phatty and Roland SH-201 .


Can I ask your advice

Thanks
Jos.
 
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Don't forget the older Roland JP-8000 keyboard or JP-8080 rack. Imho after almostr 10 years since it came out it's still by far the best house & trance synth ever - and I bet lots and lots of people will agree with me.
Great basses, leads, fabulous strings, etc... Go to http://www.vengeance-sound.de/eng/indexes/indexSounds.html and listen to their JP-80x0 demo's to have an idea.
Have fun !!
 
THM said:
Don't forget the older Roland JP-8000 keyboard or JP-8080 rack. Imho after almostr 10 years since it came out it's still by far the best house & trance synth ever - and I bet lots and lots of people will agree with me.
Great basses, leads, fabulous strings, etc... Go to http://www.vengeance-sound.de/eng/indexes/indexSounds.html and listen to their JP-80x0 demo's to have an idea.
Have fun !!
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Hi,

Thanks for your feedback, how would you decide which one to choose if you take the SH-201 it is a splendid piece I've heard it's output and it's a splendid machine for beginners, on the other hand hand Nord is used by the best remixers and DJ/Producers like Armin van Buuren,and MOOG is a speechless kit especially for phat basses.

My question is how do you Conclude and say "OK I'll go for that,that and that"?

Cheers
Jos.
 
I wouldn't go for the Little Phatty if this is going to be your first synth since it's monophonic (can only play one note at a time). I tend to prefer Nord synths, but that's just because my first synth (and still my favorite) is a Nord Modular.
 
Yo I see you said software as well, try a vst called Vanguard...I think it was damn near made for that type of thing, especially with some of its presets, and the "trancegate" feature will probably really appeal to you.
 
The virus is pretty good too. Best thing to do is go to a music store and try 'em out.
 
jospjn said:
Hi,

Thanks for your feedback, how would you decide which one to choose if you take the SH-201 it is a splendid piece I've heard it's output and it's a splendid machine for beginners, on the other hand hand Nord is used by the best remixers and DJ/Producers like Armin van Buuren,and MOOG is a speechless kit especially for phat basses.

My question is how do you Conclude and say "OK I'll go for that,that and that"?

Cheers
Jos.
Click to expand...

To answer your question on how to decide:
you can never know for sure.. because what some people consider the best synth, is a piece of crap to others!

You have already done some research. That's the best way to start.
>> You could also download all the mp3 demos you can find (official ones/user created). They will give you an idea of what the synth is capable of.



If you want my opinion:
-forget the Little Phatty -as said, it's monophonic.. Since this is your first synth a polyphonic one will be more useful to you.

-forget the SH201.. it's a freaking toy!

-the Nord Lead is awesome.. IMO it has the best VA Oscillators.. except that there are no built-in effects (which is a disappointing factor to some.. not to me though because it means you can use any effect you want with it)

-listen to THM, he knows what he's talking about. The JP might be all you need.

-and if you're not gonna do advanced sound editing, consider the Virus (A, B, C or even the rack version). They have a huge sound library, nice effects, nice filters (2 of them).. but they're a little tougher to program (the advanced parameters are all hidden in menus.. long long menus, although this is somewhat addressed in the Virus C)

hope this helps..
 
As far as analog/modelling synths go.. Nord Leads, MS2000 or microKorg (i've known a few big trance hits written on these), Access Virus' (major players in the electronic music community altogether), even a Triton or KARMA with the moss board give advanced features for sound sculpting, JP-8000, etc, etc.

Really it's all down to what you like. Stop off at the closest music hardware store and ask to check out their selection. It's really the best way to get an in-person view on what you want. As for the SH201 I wouldn't rule it out so easily... I know a few dnb heads who are making big money using them, but then again I also know some people who've earned quite alot off of microKorgs (another synth hardware elitists ruled as a joke/toy synth). It's all how you use something.

Take what you like because in the end it's your equipment not someone elses. My biggest and best example is Liam Howlett of The Prodigy. For atleast half of The Prodigy's nearly 20 year long career now in the game Liam's setup has been widely acclaimed by his peers and synth elitists as a beginners set up. Cheap synths and hardware bits that are the laughing stock of music equipment for serious people, and look what they've done. Fast rising number 1 records, countless sold out shows, the list goes on. Not bad for 1 man with a setup thought to be a toytown joke. ;)
 
I totally agree, the best way is to try the synth, but depending on where he lives, it might be difficult to find a Nord2x on display; and the JP8080 / Virus C are discontinued.
He's gonna have to rely on demos..

If you knew me better, you'd know that I believe that one can make music with nothing but his voice.

Sure you can make music with the SH201, but compared to the Nord/JP/Virus, the SH is a toy that the original poster will outgrow in a couple of months! whereas the other suggested synths are amazing pieces of gear that will not lose their value a couple of years from now!
ie a second-hand JP8080 (9-year old VA) still sells for $500!!

that's what I think anyway..


PS. the microkorg is a repackaged MS-2000.
 
Bluedays said:
PS. the microkorg is a repackaged MS-2000.
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That it is. I used to own 2 of them :D , now I've only got one. I can't believe it still sells for $400 5 years later. But yea, I agree with you all the way. Some synths people will out grow, if he had the cash I'd recommend a poly evolver or virus ti, those both have some advantages to trance he'd probably be looking for. there's alot out there for sure, we could probably drop 20 or 30 synths for him to check out really hahaha
 
Hello Guys,

Thanks for your support and feedback I appreciate.

The problem with these things is that you get this thing from this model the other thing from the other model it's never a perfect one.

Re: older synths - The problem with some old synths is that you won't find them anywhere and it is a shame.I even blame companies like Roland for discontinuing products like that.I have looked for the JP8000 everywhere to check it's price but I couldn't find one in any store.(sometimes when I buy a piece of hardware I like it to be new,I am scared of second hand especially synths.)

Re:SH-201 I was looking at some of it's features and it's quite advanced and quite straight forward + it have some excellent sounds.
Re:Microkorg initially I was going for that one but I saw a lot of them for sale on ebay so that made me think that probably this is not the right model to choose + that the keys are small.

I got a lot of feedback answers saying no to the little phatty I am still a bit confused about this cause I think it's quite straight forward unlike the voyager.

Somebody mentioned the Vanguard to tell you the truth I have that software and I am thinking of getting the Nexus too but still I find that softwares don't give you that feeling of the hardware and the sounds vary alot so I decided not to go for them anymore.

Well guys thanks again for your support
Jos.
 
Well everything has been said yet but I still want to say that I fully agree with the opinions mentioned hereabove about the MOOG LP, the Nord, and the SH-201.
Forget about the MOOG LP: it's definitely not the best MOOG synth, and it's monophonic. A seriously annoying thing if this is your first synth; forget about making e.g. chord strings... (or you should record it in several takes).
The SH-201 is pretty popular right now, but it won't be a "stayer" - the JP-80x0 has that little *ooch* more that every decent synth should have...
The Clavia Nordlead series are great; not considering the JP-80x0 I'd definitely say go Nord... (but keep in mind that there are no onboard fx like Delay etc. on the Nordlead synths)
 
My advice is to get a synth that's easy to learn but still has everything you need to create a full range of sounds. <o></o>
Don't start out with complex synths the learning curve will be to steep and it can take months before you get it under control and start making music.<o></o>
<o></o>
Also don't buy a synth for the presets or effects it has onboard. They might sound awesome on a headset in the music store but most producers will agree that onboard effects are hardly ever used in a real track. The lack of controllability and the overall low sound quality makes them more or less useless.<o></o>
 
Access Virus C or TI... Pretty much the industry standard synth for trance right now. Has the best sounds and really good filters.
 
Techno stuff comes so easy for me, unfortunatly theres little money in it. I think its alittle easy to make techno...

Thats why i love hip-hop, its a challange
 
BenL said:
Techno stuff comes so easy for me, unfortunatly theres little money in it. I think its alittle easy to make techno...

Thats why i love hip-hop, its a challange
Click to expand...


Am i wrong?
 
Yep, you're wrong. I could make a crappy hip hop song as easily as you could make a crappy dance song. I don't really have a taste for hip hop because I haven't listened to a lot of it, so I couldn't tell you a well produced hip hop song from a poor one. Much in the same way you probably haven't listened to a lot of dance and can't tell a good dance song from a bad one.
 
Bluedays said:
To answer your question on how to decide:
you can never know for sure.. because what some people consider the best synth, is a piece of crap to others!

You have already done some research. That's the best way to start.
>> You could also download all the mp3 demos you can find (official ones/user created). They will give you an idea of what the synth is capable of.



If you want my opinion:
-forget the Little Phatty -as said, it's monophonic.. Since this is your first synth a polyphonic one will be more useful to you.

-forget the SH201.. it's a freaking toy!

-the Nord Lead is awesome.. IMO it has the best VA Oscillators.. except that there are no built-in effects (which is a disappointing factor to some.. not to me though because it means you can use any effect you want with it)

-listen to THM, he knows what he's talking about. The JP might be all you need.

-and if you're not gonna do advanced sound editing, consider the Virus (A, B, C or even the rack version). They have a huge sound library, nice effects, nice filters (2 of them).. but they're a little tougher to program (the advanced parameters are all hidden in menus.. long long menus, although this is somewhat addressed in the Virus C)

hope this helps..[/QUOT

Actually the Virus TI is great synth to start with (If you can afford it)
The computer interface really helps with programming, and since opp system 2.0 it's been stable ( at least mine is) Much more versatile then the A,B, or C but alot more bucks. Just an opinion though.
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