Digital synth love

[Guest The Bro]

Thanks for the heads up on the CZ-101. :-)

[LimpyLoo]

You need to put batteries in the 101 so that when you unplug it you don't lose your patches and stuff.

 

 

6 x r20 alkaline batteries

[ryancolecreate]

6 x D cell you mean!

 

When you take them out you have 15 seconds to replace them or you lose your patches. :D

[awepittance]

my friend fried his sh-101 by using a DC instead of AC adapter with the same current/voltage rating, just a word of warning for anybody who loses the official adaptor, it seems far more susceptible compared to other Roland gear to being fried

[LimpyLoo]

we're talking about the cz-101

 

and you should change the batteries when the machine is on and plugged in

[awepittance]

oh whoops, i forgot this was the digital synth thread. fun fact: Cevin Key was using a Roland V-synth (digital) during the entire skinny puppy tour that just ended

[jeyemusik]

oh whoops, i forgot this was the digital synth thread. fun fact: Cevin Key was using a Roland V-synth (digital) during the entire skinny puppy tour that just ended

Has he no been using the Vsynth for the last few tours? Now, if he was doing something more significant with it than servicing nostalgia for old boys like me then maybe we'd be in business....

[awepittance]

im not sure, i only noticed it this time around. Only saw it from the back but it was unmistakable. and yeah i think he's mostly using it for it's old-school roland emulations (super saw, juno patches, etc)

[poblequadrat]

analog synths are usually fun to tweak away, as mentioned.. also they have the classic synth sound..

culturally they are more closely situated towards things like guitars & pedals, have more of a pop-cultural history... whereas digital synths have more of a nerdy image..

 

so analog stuff definitely has its place & obviously won't go away.

digital stuff, where the signal processing is done by algorithms which can be modified at will by re-programmering, imo has more of a arbitrary-ness to it.... this is inherent in all computery stuff, and while not everyone understands this notion, it certainly finds its way into cultural perception.... this results in beliefs of real-ness of analog vs. virtual-ness of digital, and is often irrationally mashed up like potato in the head.

 

Honestly I don't know where that classic synth sound thing comes from. I mean, yeah, Kraftwerk, YMO and Tangerine Dream, sure, but for example the classic Detroit sound was pretty much 100% digital (and very tinny sounding too), and I think you can argue that for many people that's what the most basic image of electronic music is, that or 90's videogame music. Or Front 242-type stuff, again very digital.

 

I still have to change the battery on my DX21...

[awepittance]

don't forget about this awesome beast (slightly crippled version of a Roland JD-990) probably the only digital synth in existence that has this many controls, designed to be used like a classic analog. pretty much an insta-ambient synth, i def still have my eye on one

[popiax]

Ohh damn that seems sweet.^^

I totally have a thing for the ensoniq fizmo lately. I just think they're like so ridiculous but they seem like you could get some really bizarre sounds out of them. I'm totally torn cause you have to use software to get in depth editing which I am not a fan of also you gotta make sure it has a voltage fix because the original regulators let in too much power and like fry the synth...lol
I am just so in love with it tho :( :( :(

[BCM]

i've always wanted a jd-800

[gmanyo]

Ohh damn that seems sweet.^^

 

I totally have a thing for the ensoniq fizmo lately. I just think they're like so ridiculous but they seem like you could get some really bizarre sounds out of them. I'm totally torn cause you have to use software to get in depth editing which I am not a fan of also you gotta make sure it has a voltage fix because the original regulators let in too much power and like fry the synth...lol

I am just so in love with it tho :( :( :(

 

 

fizmo is digital?

[Grain Bastard]

 

Ohh damn that seems sweet.^^

I totally have a thing for the ensoniq fizmo lately. I just think they're like so ridiculous but they seem like you could get some really bizarre sounds out of them. I'm totally torn cause you have to use software to get in depth editing which I am not a fan of also you gotta make sure it has a voltage fix because the original regulators let in too much power and like fry the synth...lol

I am just so in love with it tho :( :( :(

 

fizmo is digital?

Yes, very digital. 48 voice digital!!!!

[popiax]

Transwave lollin

[Guest The Bro]

how many people have a roland jv-1080 or something similar? i have a jv-1080 and a xv5050, i think they're benchmark pieces of gear. if i had to sell one, it'd be the xv because the sound is more easily replicated in software than the jv. i should get around to buying some expansion cards before they skyrocket in value. is there any chance roland might decide to reissue some of the cards? would that be possible in any way?

I have a JV1080. Must use it more tho as it has some lovely pads!!!

[modey]

I think I might step into the world of digital synths soon. I've been thinking of getting a Microbrute or something but I've recently started considering something a bit more diverse. Unfortunately it seems most digital synths are more expensive than the analog synths I want. Unless I go for a tx81z or something (which I'll probably get at some point), but I want something that is pretty hands-on. Any suggestions?

[modey]

Yeah I might just go with the tx and try to learn how to make some nice presets on it. I mostly want something for my industrial band so an FM synth is probably the way to go.

[Guest Jonah]

the radias is under rated i think. it's missing some of the physical modeling stuff from the z1, but it has external inputs so you can do fun stuff like using envelope follower to trigger other parts that step a sequencer that puts out MIDI and use feedback and comb filters and routing through the internal bus and you can make your own physical modeling anyway. :)

 

really strange hi-fi airy sound. i'm guessing it's an anti aliasing thing. for the most part you couldn't really pass if off for analog, but it doesn't sound generic either. it is quite good at doing really hazy pads though. of the 4 parts you can use 1 for drum sounds. i like to do a lot of noise and resonant filter sounds, samples are just ok (they're more interesting to use in regular patches, i think). of the rom sounds you have a shepard tone!

 

this is the only demo worth watching:

 

[MisterE]

im just now checking out a tx81z i got like 10yrs ago for 25$, for prob the 2nd time i've checked it out since i've had it (well i did use it on one track ages ago). using the ctrl vsti editor. the thing has a pretty great sound sorta. nice and chunky digital, or smooth, glassy, depending. even with the editor it seems like its going to be tricky to use predictably...

 

i have a kawai k1 ii which i've struggled to get great sounds out of but it's synthesis engine seems kinda weird and pretty limited.

 

i've always wanted a wavestation. seem awesome for evolving pads/sounds, but i guess theyve been used to death for that so that sound is gonna be pretty... familiar. still sound great tho imo

[MisterE]

those metallic squink sounds were actually kinda cool in that radius vid. the only newer digital synth i'm vaguely interested in is the m-audio venom:[youtubehd]6F1nCjgSpfM[/youtubehd]

 

seems pretty rad to me. but i've seen mentions of buggy issues with it (have i already mentioned and maybe even linked to this thing in this thread?! gettin old)

[Guest Jonah]

@MisterE yeah, i think the venom sounds cool. i liked their pro aliasing philosophy. :) i woulda picked one up it's just that you can't edit it from the hardware. software editors are okay, but i like nerding out with the synth itself and it didn't seem like a cool enough synth, like say the nord g1, that i wanted to keep a old computer around if the software stops getting updated to run on modern systems.

[awepittance]

the Korg radius is indeed pretty awesome, they used to have one at guitar center around here

[ryancolecreate]

Just got a Shruthi-1 with the polivoks filter. So nice!!!

 

I'll hopefully be making some jam vids some time in the imaginable future. Really nice compact little setup w/ the shruthi, preen, esx and numerology for the brain. + some guitar pedals and off to acid heaven!

[Guest realtrance]

Just a quick chime-in here to recommend the Ultranova. Purely digital, really innovative and intuitive interface, very convenient, gorgeous Novation sound, huge range.

 

I used to rave about Massive after it came out and everyone was criticizing it like crazy. What Ultranova shares with Massive (one hardware, one software) is a really interesting and flexible modulation and routing matrix, something I've come to believe is the core of what makes an electronic instrument interesting.

 

The particular thing about the Ultranova is also that the routing/mixing of the effects section is literally almost as good as the ones in more recent Roland synths (from V-Synth to Jupiter-80; from XV-5080 onwards, actually). Sure, you can do far more complex things in software these days, but it's the immediacy of being able to focus on aspects of routing and mod matrix in a performance, real-time, keyboard-ergonomic way that gives you a chance to do really musical and interesting things.

 

I started on digital, added some analogue over the years and have remained endlessly amused and irritated by the combination of mysticism, religious fervor and sheer ignorance out there. :) Both are good but digital really requires a more advanced skill-set, and understanding of the principles and architecture and science of electronic synthesis as well as music and tonality, to make the best use of.

 

A lot of people enjoy analogue because it requires a lot less of all that, and so is easier to just play around with intuitively, which is essential to some musicians' creativity and enjoyment. They find thinking about digital things simply intrusive and destructive of their practices and efforts.

 

 

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