In the spirit of beginner guitar forum
after spending hours and hours in the lib
i finally have enough to buy my own synth.

Now, orgers what do you recommend for a person who wants a synth for the first time .something to not pricey either.
I thought the roland SH 201 is pretty good, but what do you orgers think?

if you own a mac, get a midi synth. A cheap one is fine so long as the keyboard is touch sensitive.

The things you can do in 'Garage Band' with that thing will be amazing, considering how cheap the package is compared to alternatives.

Here's shit I threw together (and I don't have a clue how to play, produce, etc. etc.) in garage band: http://www.myspace.com/imago777



If you don't own a mac, then I have no clue. Probably DeRon could help? What's his new username anymore? Or Fauxie. Fauxie's musically inclined.

baroque said:

start with a software synth first to get a series of lessons on envelopes

cheers!
~svn seven

depends on it's intended use... the one you mentioned looks cool though... lotsa knobs

i use a korg triton... i like the sounds except for the piano sounds ...they're severely lacking.... but it doesn't matter so much because i often use it to play the sofware instruments in logic pro through midi (i use a mac)... as well as using some of the sounds i dig with it

i've owned a few rolands over the years... juno 2... d 50

as imago said.... midi opens up a whole new world with what sounds are available and what you can do

do you have recording sofware? do you want to use it in live situations?
[Edited 5/13/09 9:04am]

Imago said:

I have a mac! cool..i am so going to guitar center after work. thank you.

baroque said:

the only draw back is the synth has to be plugged into the mac to play any sound. And it's playing the sound through your computer.

But this really hasn't bothered me.
And the sounds you can get with garage band 'packs' extend the common sounds quite a bit.


Plus, with a mac, you just plug it in and it works. It can be a real nightmare on a Pc using Sonar. (I like Sonar though)

you can find a midi synth for $100 bucks or less that is touch sensitive.
Garage band will run you another $80 bucks or so, if you don't pirate it.

I like that garage band idea. You don't need to buy a synth with stock sounds if you're a beginner.

Cinnie said:

yeah, why buy a synthesizer with keys and envelope settings when you can just buy software?

cheers!
~svn seven

7e7e7 said:

well, maybe later on you might want to mess with that stuff, or need a synth to plug in and play live, but for practicing... yeah, a controller with weighted keys is all one would need.

Can't beat having an actual vintage synth, imho.

I just sold my Roland SH-101 five months ago. It was in perfect condition and I loved it to bits. Sorry to see it go, but I just wasn't using it anymore. Got 400 GBP for it cash in hand so can't complain. I only paid 300 when I got it about 10 years ago.

Imago said:

Yeah.

Have you responded to my YouTube friend request yet?

'Musically inclined'.