Provide alternatives to me buying a V-synth

Cryabetes · Post by **Cryabetes** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 2:22 pm

So my girlfriend gave me a challenge for a new years resolution: don't buy music equipment for a full year. It's currently day six and I've decided I'm going to reward myself with a new synthesizer if I can make it, but which to get? I mean, the new Moog Minitaur looks rad but my Korg EA-1 is really quite similar in function (and its sequencer makes it more impressive, honestly.) A MicroSampler or octatrack or machinedrum would be neat but I've got a sample-mangler (Korg ESX1) and a collection of drum machines. My Juno D is probably going to die in about two or three years (loose knobs and other general hardware breakdown) and so replacing it with another high-polyphony keyboard would be probably a smart idea.

So I've kind of come to the V-synth. I've got experience programming the Roland D110, which is in the same family as the D50 (modelled on the V). Any reasons I shouldn't buy the V? Any other options that give me a ton of programmability, flexibility, on-the-fly-tweakability, etc?

Numerator · Post by **Numerator** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 4:50 pm

...won't your girlfriend be mad?

Cryabetes · Post by **Cryabetes** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 5:24 pm

this is with the money I save from not buying synthesizers and stuff for a year. Plotting and planning, right?

and probably, yes, she'll end up upset with me. Ideally I'd be able to drunkenly buy it from my phone at 12:01 am at whatever new year party i'm at next year.

coffee grapes · Post by **coffee grapes** » Fri Jan 06, 2012 8:04 pm

Rubella Sun · Post by **Rubella Sun** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 2:05 am

Join demonoid and look up hatu..

Shut That Bird Up · Post by **Shut That Bird Up** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 2:42 am

Roland SH 101!

lostintegrity · Post by **lostintegrity** » Sat Jan 07, 2012 9:49 am

honestly, a good controller and software synthesis would be my answer... V synth is pretty damn expensive.

GH · Post by GH » Sat Jan 07, 2012 5:57 pm

If your going to upset the lady, I think you might as well do it good and proper, and get yourself a nice piece of hardware.

I've just bought another one myself

, however, I've come up with a new rule whereby I cannot buy anything new unless I sell something first. This is helping me get rid of stuff that I haven't used in ages.

coffee grapes · Post by **coffee grapes** » Sun Jan 08, 2012 7:55 am

Cryabetes · Post by **Cryabetes** » Sun Jan 08, 2012 5:13 pm

lostintegrity wrote:honestly, a good controller and software synthesis would be my answer... V synth is pretty damn expensive.

I don't like soft synths. I just prefer hardware....

coffee grapes wrote:but it's the price of a nice used car!? if i were you i'd buy a cheaper synth, and use the rest of the dough for something cool

no no they're the price of a crap used car, not a nice one. And I have a nice car already.

Also, what on earth is cooler than synthesizers?

coffee grapes · Post by **coffee grapes** » Sun Jan 08, 2012 5:16 pm

IanRedpoint · Post by **IanRedpoint** » Sun Jan 08, 2012 6:42 pm

Played on a Poly Evolver the other day, and that sounded pretty amazing (and expensive). Just about the coolest control panel too, if you're into programming your own sounds. Polyphony limited to 4 notes though.

I know everyone seems to have one, but I still like the Access Virus synths. They can do so much more than the trance sounds they have a reputation for. Perfectly good for more textural/ambient/analogue stuff too.

Never played with a V-Synth myself, but a close friend of mine has one which he loves. Almost all his other synths are vintage analogue so I trust his judgement. He considers it to be a modern masterpiece, equivalent to a Jupiter-8 in terms of design and quality.

machinea · Post by **machinea** » Tue Jan 10, 2012 11:16 pm

1st what all do you have in your studio?

There are going to be some interesting NAMM announcements coming up in two weeks so I'd also check that out and then wait for some releases and reviews.

for example the macbeth vortex pictured below. I also think the leipzig is incredible sounding. But those are both mono analogs.. you know I've been really impressed with the Dark Energy too

Here is the dark energy tracked doing all parts, again mono but pretty stupid cheap relatively speaking.

for poly duties I'm rather curious about the new vermona perfourmer coming out and hoping the accelerator gets an OS improvement.

Or you could save for a vintage synth you've really wanted. I love my Juno 60 and with the minerva upgrade its midi'd. But really I swear my kurzweil gets the most use. Its the most varied of all my synths.. and the pc361 is going for under 1,000 now.

doesn't the V synth also have some sampling capabilities? I'd sell your juno d before it bonks on you and put that money into the bank for something else.

Cryabetes · Post by **Cryabetes** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 1:56 am

machinea wrote:1st what all do you have in your studio?

There are going to be some interesting NAMM announcements coming up in two weeks so I'd also check that out and then wait for some releases and reviews.

for example the macbeth vortex pictured below. I also think the leipzig is incredible sounding. But those are both mono analogs.. you know I've been really impressed with the Dark Energy too

Here is the dark energy tracked doing all parts, again mono but pretty stupid cheap relatively speaking.

for poly duties I'm rather curious about the new vermona perfourmer coming out and hoping the accelerator gets an OS improvement.

Or you could save for a vintage synth you've really wanted. I love my Juno 60 and with the minerva upgrade its midi'd. But really I swear my kurzweil gets the most use. Its the most varied of all my synths.. and the pc361 is going for under 1,000 now.

doesn't the V synth also have some sampling capabilities? I'd sell your juno d before it bonks on you and put that money into the bank for something else.

The doepfer and whatever would be cool, but I need it to be a poly synth, and likely digital or V/A (patches, yeah?). Like I said, this isn't until next year that i'd be buying it so I can do some hard core shopping around.

and I can't sell the Juno D without quitting the band that I really like that I'm in. Hopefully it won't come to that but iunno. I don't have a decent poly to replace it. I mean, I could try with the D110 but fuck I hate programming that thing.

And yeah the V-synth seems a very real possibility for replacement, although its sampling capabilities are recording based- no loading samples :/

I wonder when they'll get around to making digitally controlled analog synths like they are digitally controlled analog pedals.

machinea · Post by **machinea** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 4:59 am

The 2 most interesting digital poly's right now to me (other than the Solaris which is amazing but super expensive and takes forever to get .. people on the waiting list 3 years are now just getting their synth) are the PC361k and the Accelerator. But I've heard the V Synth is no slouch. It has some interesting audio mangling capacities. The Kurzweil sounds better in my opinion but it has a much more difficult interface. The K version allows you to put in samples and mangle them from there but no direct sampling. The VA engine is dispersed throughout the synth and I must say sounds incredible. Fortunately there is an editor for it because I don't find the interface intuitive. Also the effects unit on board is the best effects unit on any synth ever imo. it basically has the KSP8 built into it.

The Accelerator is still in earlier OS stages obviously having just been released but has audio ins which allows for external audio processing. The few people I've talked to who have it have said there are some bugs but so far its one of the best sounding things they've ever heard. Unsurprising if you've ever heard a spectralis in person which I have and then had to own one.

However a lot of people swear by the vsynth a consider it the last good thing roland ever did (obviously there are people who would move that back a bit to the jp8000 or back even further the JD series)

Cryabetes · Post by **Cryabetes** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 1:52 pm

Think I could just get a KSP8+controller and use the 16 effects to manipulate whitenoise into the tones I want?

machinea · Post by **machinea** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 2:53 pm

I don't know that it has that kind of shaping ability tbh. The eventide H8000 does but that is obviously a much more sophisticated unit and several thousands more.

Cryabetes · Post by **Cryabetes** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 3:17 pm

looks like 36 assignable LFOs and Envelopes. Dang. That might be the way to go.

machinea · Post by **machinea** » Wed Jan 11, 2012 4:29 pm

Cryabetes wrote:looks like 36 assignable LFOs and Envelopes. Dang. That might be the way to go.

Well there you have it!

I've only ever used the effects on the K2661 which isn't as developed as the ksp8. I think the kurzweil reverbs sound incredible.. better than most on the eventide.. although the eventide has more stuff overall. Both great. sure wouldn't be opposed to having the KSP8 on top of the eventide.