Ha! I agree-perhaps a video for the "intermediate" or "advanced" synth lover? I'd love to hear your opinions on the mid to high range synthesizers (those that cost around $1,000 and those that are up in the upper stratosphere in the $2,000+ range)
2 Behringer Neutrons for the price of 1 Moog Mother 32. Each Neutron has 2 amazing analog oscillators, plus more patching options than the Mother. They also have a sturdy build quality, despite some antiquated prejudices to the contrary. Of course, in an ideal world, you'd have both. After all, the Neutron and the Mother have distinctively unique overall sounds. That said, throw in an Arturia Keystep with 1 Neutron and you have a semimodular synth with an even more powerful sequencer than the Mother for $200 less.
In this current market you can easily have a poly and a mono with full size keys for under 1000.00 easily. On any given day you can pick from several great poly synths to choose from and add a 300 dollar mono and another full size controller, (all for under 1000.00)
For a beginner and a first synth, definitely the Minilogue XD. You'll learn about sequencing, polyphony, effects, wavetables, plus it has stereo AND a sustain pedal input for your expressive keyboard playing desires. I don't see it worth however upgrading to an XD if you already have the Minilogue. While the XD has its bonuses, the original still has its own character and direct access features.
That was my thinking so picked one up last month. It immediately inspired my songwriting to shift direction (which was precisely the purpose), and I'm really impressed with the sounds it offers as well as the many features and versatility.
I've had a Minilogue for around 3 years now and it's definitely worth all the $500 I paid for it. But I really want the xd honestly. Might sell my original and buy an xd one day.
embazle I have the minilogue xd and it was actually my first synth. Totally agree, but now I’m having trouble deciding on my next purchase. Is a drum machine worth it or do I deal with abletons drums and buy something like an OP-1 to allow me to make music portably.
Colin Kohlbeck before getting my Minilogue, I picked up a Roland Tr-8 drum machine. Since then I’ve acquired a few mini beat machines like a volca Beats, bass, kick, and keys. I had a Novation circuit but then sold it and went for an Elektron Digitakt. I wanted to get to a place where i was simplifying my performance and my workflow. While the Digitakt has its initial complexities, I’m finding it to be the most enjoyable and most powerful arsenal in my electronic gear. I went all in with a digitakt and have no regrets. Since you have a poly synth, having a great sampling/drum box groove machine like a digitakt will get you ahead of the musical circumference. The rest of the gear has its small parts and purpose which I’m glad for but the digitakt is core, Roland tr-8 is solid analog sound but it’s simple. Really depends how you approach it, that’s my story anyway:-)
After MANY MANY reviews, opinions, etc. I went with the minilogue XD and haven't looked back. I'm a classically trained pianist and love my Roland RD-800 (for very different reasons). However, I've also been a synth music fan for at least 30 of my 40+ years of life. The XD brings me right back to my youth. Simply amazing. I'm learning so much about creating patches and haven't had this much musical fun in a very long time.
i blame the heat: the mother 32 ofc has 1 oscillator and not 2. You can create a second one using the LFO (I think I have a video on that somewhere! And hey, you can create a sub osc for the Minibrute 2 also! So much flexibility with those patch bays). Also if you like to point out all small errors I make be sure to join our community: community.bobeats.tv
I already had a lot of experience with software synths so I wanted something that would give me something that I couldn't get with software. I went with a Behringer Neutron (used for $200) and have really enjoyed it. Definitely makes me understand the Eurorack itch.
I liek the Arturia Microbrute as a first synth. Super cheap and having no presets forces you to create and understand synthesis. And it has a tiny modular system to introduce you to modular.
DODO LFE my microbrute was $187 new on Amazon. It came with a free VST, Analog collection as well. I use it to add brute factor to other equipment. I put that shit on everything.
My first synth was a Wasp. Found it in a skip in the 80s. Followed by an OSCar. DX7, Roland D50 and finally the M1. Loved them all for totally different reasons
Lee Paterson I'm not really a synth guy i am a drummer, from what I've seen you could choose the Korg Minilogue XD, something with polyphonic specs... at the moment i will go for the Korg MS20 mini and the minilogue
my list: 1. arturia mini brute 2. roland jx-03 - 4 note poly 3. roland jd-xi - 2 synth engines - digital and analogue, drum,s section 4 part sequencer 4. roland jp-08 - jupiter 8 boutique 5. korg volca keys 6. MFB nanowerg 7. korg electribe SD (metal; case one not the 'new' one) 8. roland system 1 - with sh2 plugout 9. roland FA-06 - 16 track seq - great sounds. 10. blofeld desktop around £300 - roland jx-03 below £500 - i'd go for the roland jd-xi below £1000 - roland fa-06 there are ones i have...one's i'm looking at on day - roland tb-3, roland sh-01a, behringer odessey
The first generation 'wood side' micro Korg has the same engine as it's bigger brother the MS2000, it is a great sounding synth for the price, I've owned seven of them over the years and I finally decided to keep one over how incredibly easy they are to program, not to mention they act as a direct midi controller front end for the Korg Legacy Vst collection and control it seamlessly, including patch bank changing.
They feel and sound really cheap imo, and a lot of changing parameters requires menu diving, at least that's what I've noticed from my short time playing with different friends' microkorgs.
i debated myself for weeks between the deepmind 12 and the novation mininova, finally choosing the mininova, i think most likely deepmnd 12 will be next. i agree with your assesment.
I'm fairly drawn to the deepmind 12 just for the shear bang for the buck. And I need/want a polysynth in my setup. However... there are other very compelling options too, such as some of the polys mentioned in this video, or maybe a second hand synth like the Elektron Analog 4.
I remember people complaining about menu-diving on the Deepmind. This is the one issue I have with some of the initial reviewers - so many complained about the menu-diving and the sound from the fans. These are both non-issues.
I'd add to your list. Couple of VA synths with a great interface - Roland Gaia ($650), Studiologic Sledge ($900). Also the Behringer Model D ($300) is a no brainer, 3 oscillators with an LFO, and the possibility of the 3rd oscillator doubling up as a second LFO... sigh... it's bloody delicious
My first synth, which I got just a few months ago was the Korg Monologue which I love. It was a good first synth to learn on and I'm kind of glad I didn't get anything more complicated for my first. Since then, apart from my midi controllers, I got a Korg Sample as unlike the others in the Volca family it had a very unusual collection of sounds which could even be swapped out. Also I'm repeating what I said in reply to someone else who had a Monologue as a starter, I recently saw a live show where the person on synths in the band had 4 very different synths including a rather pricey moog, but she still had her monologue up there. When I talked to her after the show she loves it so much she still takes it on tour and is vital to several of the bands tracks.
@@nathanbrutocao6078 This was my first one too and I just spotted one being used at a live show here. They had 4 synths total including an impressive moog but she still had her monologue in her mix while she worked her magic.
Another great video Bo! As I started buying synths, it was your enthusiasm for the Circuit that eventually led me to the Circuit Monostation and I love it! Paraphonic analog goodness, multimode filter, mod matrix, distortion. Plays so well with other gear thru note out and clock plus you get the groovebox genius format of the Circuit. And now you can buy them for $330?!? Like woa!
Bo - You make some wonderful recommendations. Many of these synths are great because they can still have a UNIQUE place in one's setup even after adding other gear. However, there is something to be said for an instrument that may function more as a jack of all trades. For example, I will recommend an instrument that I do not have, but I think it is an EXCELLENT instrument for a beginner. I think that the Roland JD-Xi is an excellent beginner synth and here's why: 1) It has a 4-track pattern sequencer. This means that a beginner can create entire songs with this one synth. 2) One of those tracks is dedicated to drums - and it has some great drum sounds. 3) One track has an actual analog monophonic synth engine with some great streamlined control for experimenting and programming analog sounds. 4) The other two tracks utilize a polyphonic digital "supernatural" Roland engine for wonderful pads and instruments that benefit from polyphony. 5) This instrument has decent effects that allow this to be more than a scratchpad for ideas. As a beginner the JD-Xi can allow you to flesh out your tracks significantly and even allow you to perform them. 6) Unlike the Digitone, the JD-Xi includes a keyboard that encourages the user to play. 7) The JD-Xi even has a microphone and a vocoder. In 1989 I bought a Korg M1. It is not as versatile or capable as the JD-Xi, but it had a sequencer, drums, good patches, and effects. It enabled me to write entire compositions. As time went on, I supplemented the M1 with other instruments that diversified my sonic palette. But as a beginner, having a workstation meant that I could create entire songs instead of just playing a cool synth. I offer the Roland JD-Xi as an option for those beginners who wish to hit the ground with a whole mini studio in a box. It may not be the best drum machine or the best analog monosynth or the best digital polyphonic out there. However, for the price, it actually does all of these really well with a pattern sequencer and effects. For a beginner, I would seriously suggest this as a great starting point. Peace.
Ted Stahl, I agree, I spent a fortune on a Yamaha PSR4600 thirty odd years ago! But you could make your own drum patterns, Baselines and leads. It even had chord progression. Recently returned to keyboards and bought a Roland GoKeys (fun and cool sounds) but not editable just presets. Dabbled with the TR8 and got a TB3, sold the GoKeys and TR8, (kept TB3) got Volca keys, FM and Sample. (Sample was my fave). Sold the Volca and finally got the JDXI after nearly buying a MicroKorg and MiniNova! Got gear lust again and bought a Circuit (thanks to Bo!). Now at peace with my setup! Until an FA06 becomes affordable!!
I’m a big fan of the Novation Ultranova! It is feature-rich, has a built in vocoder, touch encoders with assignable parameters, an extremely flexible modulation section, multiple filters, oscillators, envelopes, a crap ton of waveforms (over 30), and a built-in effects section. The keybed is nice, and it has assignable aftertouch, and 18 voice polyphony! It can be had new for around $500 USD but I’ve seen them used for $250. The only drawback, for me, and it’s minor, is that it’s mostly menu-driven. Also, the Mininova is built on the same engine as the Ultranova, and retains much of its functionality, for a less price (it has smaller keys, though)
To day I have the Novation Peak, it's expansif but the sound are realy nice ! If you like novation it's for you ! (Nova and novation product, I bought a lot, and evry time I sell for buy another synth... Miss, and buy again. The liste of another novation I've had ( Nova dextup, Super Nova rack, Bass station 1& 2 et super nova keybord.) To day I have only the Peak... It's realy good synth, but i prefer my DSI rev² :p sorry Novation It's a realy top synth, a Mininova in (second hand) are sold aboat 200$. But also for this price you can look The Waldorf Blofeld and the MicroMonsta of Audiothingies
I got the dx reface. I have nearly zero experience with a physical synth. It's really cool and easy to program. It's kinda like op-1 because of its good screen. The keys are amazing on it too.
Arturia MicroFreak - 10 in one oscillator, mod matrix and basic type of synthesis included (filter and an envelope generator) - what do you want more from a 'beginner' synthesizer? + Your kid might like it ;)
My first synth is the Deluge, just got it in March. It's more jambox than synthesizer, I guess, and I know Bo hasn't had a chance to review it yet, but I'm very happy with it. It doesn't have "limits", just whatever the CPU can handle. It also feels like it will continue to meet my needs as I learn more, so I won't need to replace or augment it later with more hardware. Definitely recommend a MIDI keyboard to go with it, but it's totally usable without one.
Please no more cables on the keyboard :-) I would recommend (beginners like me) to get something with actual keys, or getting a midi keyboard to connect to it. This opens a world of expansiveness. Currently I an using a Novation Circuit a midi keyboard an iPad and a laptop
To me it always seemed less like a synth and more like a rompler, I think it's called, where you don't really adjust all the parameters and make new sounds, but rather go through presets and change certain pre-assigned macros. Maybe I'll look at it again.
@@mikeexits I started off with presets, but soon realized that most were just not really a good demonstration of how good the synth can sound with a little work. I got mine a few weeks ago and have just been working through the presets, initializing and writing over since then. BTW, the digital oscillators and delay are pretty fun to mess with.
@@Joe-po4mj Cool, sounds interesting! Glad you like it. :) I love my Minilogue, can't wait for my Korg Volca Sample, FM, Modular, and Novation Circuit, personally.
mutli voice polyphony is what you want. imagine getting your first synth and realising you can only play one note at a time. id be screwing haha. deepmind 12 is a good bet
Great Video BO! and also all of them are great synths! I think one of the first synth to buy is the Roland JD-XI ... for beginners it's pretty much a all in one synth. you got a drum section , a vocoder, arpeggiator, a mic 1 analoge Synthsection for leads and bass and it's really easy to use! :) I think it's a good synthesizer for beginners.
Omfg my eyes opened wide when I heard the sound of the Bass Station. That’s exactly what I LOVE it sound so good I wish I could design sounds like this
When I jumped into synths, I bought a used Ultranova for $300. Great keybed, super deep engine, bus powered and doubles as an audio interface with multiple inputs. I still use it all the time. I paired it with a JU06 for the warm sounds, it would also go well with a Volca Bass
I think you way undersold the microfreak. I actually solde my minilogue XD when I bought the freak. You didnt mention the modulation patch bay its a huge feature at a small price I am a piano player and took me a little while to get use to the keyboard but it has poly after touch routable and it can play super fast plus i can plug in an other midi board if i want. The 4 voice paraphony is not an issue bacause of the envelope and other mod options which do the same thing to your ear. Took me a while to get to grips with, its super deep. The gorgeous SEM filter, and Ive made a ton of fat 80s synth sounds on it too. Lots oscillatiors same as from Plaits the modular people so thats a biggy and now a vocoder as well. Such alot of synth for a small price.I dont miss my minilogue XD at all I can get so much more sounds out of the freak and I did install a ton of User oscillators on the XD they are good
@@BoBeats It took me a long time to find what this synth did, I'm no big synth guy played in bands for 30 years had synths like CS60 but mainly used basic presets with little tweaks the Freak blew my mind and still does that matrix lol I know you like matrix in synths. I just ordered a Circuit that'll be a new one for me. I own a Wavestate and a stage piano as I love electric piano sounds . Appreciate your work you feel like one of us a normal person who loves the stuff we all do plus coffee
Bo is a slippery fellow. He knows he should have started and ended this video with the Arturia Microfreak and thanked everybody for watching! P.S. Bo Beats should be kidnapped and have his head shaven for not mentioning the Korg ARP Odyssey. :p
Great list. It's always a good thing to remember, that quite many synths practically need good effects to go with them in order to get most out of them. And a decent keyboard won't hurt either, if the device itself doesn't have its own keyboard. Those can easily even double the amount of cash you need, on top of your actual synth purchase. If you want to absolutely skip the effects part in the start of your gearing up the studio, I'd go for Reface DX, CS, Digitone or Minilogue Xd from Bo's list. All of those have decent built in effects and you can run more than one of them at the same time. Then again, an another good thing to remember is, that with external physical effects you can use them with all your future synth purchases as well, so there's that. :) PS. huge props for giving love for Reface DX. Such an underrated device. Same could be said about CS, I guess.
my thumbs up is working! btw i got my first synths last week and they show in this list. the mini brute s2 and the micro freak, i also bought the drumbrute impact but i am not quite sure it was a good idea, seems poor in sound design.
casio cz 5000, each envelope filter has 7 steps , 8 track sequencer, 8 timbres, monster sound very complex. You can build entire songs, no monosynth BS.
Thank you, Bo, for some interesting suggestions and mini-demos. This is good not only for beginners but also for those who have some synthesizers already and are looking to fill in a few gaps in their growing hardware synth collection or to add a bit of spice to their sonic palette.
Both Korg Minilogues are awesome synths. The XD is a better synth overall, I love it. But it is a tradeoff, you gain some features XD and lose some as well. The original Minilogue is abigger bang for your buck these days. You can find it for under $500 brand new. You can get it for $350-$400 used. Just be aware for both of them you will need a separate amp. It's a great time to be into synthesizers. Add to that the huge array DAW plugin VSTi synths and you have so much sound available for so little money.
I have a white one. Went to see a band I really enjoy "KBA" and one of the keyboard players was using that for his mono analog and using an SV1 which still hits 1000 used but some at 700.
Personally I've found the 4 voice virtual analog 'Modal Skulpt' synth to be pretty much an ideal first hardware synth for me. Although it's virtual analog many have commented that it sounds truly analog. Technically it's not very my first harware synth as I've owned an Alesis QS7 since the 90s, but it's the first one that has made sound design truly accessible and intuitive for me - and it's even more intuitive still if you use it with the accompanying 'Modal App' which allows you to visualise what you're doing. The App runs on Windows, Mac, Android and iOS so you have a bunch of options here. At first I thought the Skulpt didn't have that much character to its sound, but it really does, it's just a bit more subtle than some other synths and something you have to take a bit of time to tune into. Another thing that makes it great for beginners is that although it's mostly about virtual analog subtractive synthesis and has all the usual features of a typical analog synth, it also gives you a little taste of FM by allowing you to modulate oscillator 1 with the output of oscillator 2. It even gives you a tiny hint of the possibilities of wavetables due to it's morphable basic waveforms, which allow you to sweep smoothly through the different variants using an envelope, LFO, or other modulation source. These 'little tasters' integrated into its synth engine are great because as well as making it more versatile, it can really help to give you a sense of which other synthesis possibilities you might want to explore next.
You left out the Access Virus A-B-C desktop virtual analog synthesizers that can all be had generally for under $1k now that are incredibly versatile synths not only for presets, but for sound design as well, how the Korg Minilogue xd made it on this list and not a single Access Virus did is kind of blasphemy, informative video, none the less.
I found a used Nord lead 2x for the same price as a new Minilogue xd and being a big Synth1 fan, It's what I was looking for but never knew much about Clavia synths. I don't really like the sound of Minilogues but when I heard the Nord, it was something else. 20 voices! and you can layer 4 parts.. what's not to like.
I have a Reface CP and it sounds amazing, the keys are a bit clicky and tiny but the sound is great. I am looking for a bit more of a synthy sounding synth so I might pick up the Reface CS too. Thought about a Roland JU-06, but cannot find one anywhere.
Just bought a Grandmother after ordering a MicroKorg. It was out of stock so bought a Behringer Poly D. I never opened it and decided to go with what I actually wanted. It arrives tomorrow.
Time to sip the coffee lol. You forgot the Behringer Deepmind 6 and 12 analog synths. Both are under a thousand Euro and are analog power houses they are very close sounding to the Roland Juno.106 but have a 4 part multi effects processor and have 2 oscilators and over a thousand editable patch memory. These synths are packed with goodies and sound great.
I am considering Novation Mininova. I am looping street musician and want to add some versatility... Any thoughts on that? Yes, reissued Korg Microkorg S looks cool, but costs almost 50% more and Mininova has greater polyphony and better vocoder...
@@theeltea True, but it is about what you want, not about what else you can get, it is the start of my synth journey :) later on I want to get the OB6, sub37, ms20, maybe a juno-6. But only time will tell :D
My first synth was a Korg Delta I bought new. Not very feature packed compared to synths today (or then really) but run it through fx and you can get pretty creative with it. And it was used by some popular artists in the 80s. I've got a few newer synths now.
For the first synth i bought a Roland jd xi. It isn't the best synth but it has 2 digital 1drum and 1 analog section with arpeggiator, sequencer, vokoder,and a bunch of presets of course. So it contains everithing that a brgginer needs.
Very interesting. I was just thinking of trying out some hardware synths this week. I’ll look closer at your video list. What spawned my interest was the new Behringer retro analog synths they have started releasing in 2020. Have you tried any? $119-400 for most of them. Recreations of many synths from the 60/70 & 80’s I think...
What about the deepmind 12? Seems a great bang for the buck, 12-note-polyphony and integrated digital effects, priced well below 1000 bucks. I'm a bit conflicted cause I want a polysynth in my setup, but I can get my hands on the Elektron Analog 4 mk1 keys second hand for roughly the same price as the deepmind. I've also been looking at the digitone. I already have the digitakt, only had it for a month now, but so far I like the workflow, I love the exploitation of trig conditions, parameter locking and the ability to manipulate parameters across multiple tracks on the digitakt. However, I don't know how useful these things would be when I already have the Digitakt which has 8 midi channels for controlling external devices. The digitakt should allow me to bring that elektron style sequencing to any midi controllable instrument. Vad tycker du Bo?
My first synth was a Deepmind 12 and I'm still using and learning new things about it. Recently I got a ASM Hydrasynth which is also great to just fiddle with and come up with sounds. It really depends on what you want to do and the options Bo mentions are all great. First decide what you want to do (i.e.: what sounds you want to create) and then determine your budget and if possible - go to a local music shop and see if they have it so you can have a try. If you have a good budget I would also recommend you see what other things you 'might' like to get into as sometimes spending just 100-200 £/€/$ extra will get you for example another synth with a sequencer or other feature/s. Do a lot of features and look at a lot of videos like this one! Also, find out if you want it to be portable (battery capable) and what size keys you want (portable and small vs big and 49 - 88 keys). In your setup you might want one synth to act as a controller for the others. I have my Deepmind controlling my MC-707 as well. My Hydrasynth has a smaller keyboard and can run on batteries (specifically bought it for this) you can get other synths like the boutique roland ones with the mini keyboard which is also super-portable.
@@TechnoStrannik Yes, There is a lot to learn at first but the synth has so many features. Between this and the Hydrasynth, I guess it depends what you are looking for. Both in my eyes are good first synth choices, but it really depends on what you are looking for and what sound you are looking for. I don't regret buying either. Hydrasynth will be more of a learning curve than the Deepmind, but still a good option too.
@@ten70four24 I'm still in search of my sound. But when I heard Deep Mind, I realized that in addition to searching for myself in different genres, I also want to do ambient music.
@@TechnoStrannik Yes I think this is a great choice for ambient - this is exactly the sound I am going for. Dreamy ambient type sounds but experimenting a lot :D
@@MattiasHolmgren the only downside would be that many say that the knobs feel too small and closely spaced. I have no problems with it. And I got quite bit hands
@@onkelberra3166 oh yeah I've seen it looks tiny but I really don't want to clutter up space in the studio. So it's probably OK. Hey, when I'm making YT vids I'm using this really small Keystation Mini 32 and it works...decently. You tend to glide between the keys but at least it's small. =)
The General Not a synth, unless you do the repeated single cycle sample game which is a bit of a monosynth hack. I have one and a DigiTone as well (a real synth) so not hating on Digitakt.
My top 5 list of picking your first analog drum machines or percussion synthesizers. 1.Moog Dfam 2. Arturia Drumbrute impact. 3. Korg volca drum. 4. Roland tr-09 or 08. 5. Korg volca beats.
just bought my first bit of hardware, the Circuit. Did a lot of research first and this just ticked most of my boxes in the end. Truly portable, samples, and they just keep making improvements to it. a great little jamming machine
for a first hardware synth I'd start to recommend only those with keyboard. Deepmind 6/12 or one of the minilogues seems like solid choices. The reface series too if you can live with the mini keys.
@@roberttingelof6169 This is exactly why I went with a DM12. I wanted full size keys as a first synth, and looking back now this was a good choice. I am able to use this keyboard on other synths if I choose without any hassle, they offer good weight and have other features, and the features of the DM12 are excellent as well. I was also considering a MicroKorg at the time of purchase, but I just could not get around the small keys it had.
I think the microbrute is a great synth for beginners, no menus, simple design, tiny patchbay, easy to learn the basics on, and pretty cheap used now. Kind of regret selling mine now I think of it...
My first synth was the Novation X-Station, it was a synthesizer with about 300 sounds, I later discovered I could download more sounds, it was great timing as when I was tired of hearing the presets, it really gave the synth a new life. What I liked ,loads of dials to shape the sound, latch mode which was great for Arp sounds and looping any chords you played. Extra bonuses where the fact that I could use the synth as an Audio Interface and connect microphones, or other audio gear...beyond all this I could also use the synth as a midi controller all this for $750 was so supreme and I kept this synth until it no longer worked.
Thanks Bo! I picked up the original minilouge in 2022 for 350 us, no regrets. I'm learning slot and am very surprised at how much I can do with it. Thanks
Many options are available these days , a good MIDI controller will open another world of possibilities if you are up to use software . If not , do your research ; since all the synths on Bob’s video are great , but each one has a unique sound palette and a particular way to be programed and manipulated . I owned a M32 , and while it sounded pretty cool it was dead horse when interacting with my Novation , my Minibrute or my Elektrons , on the other hand my Minitaur works magic with any other synths or VSTs. If you come from old school ( like me ) make sure also to feel comfortable with the keys , a lot of keyboards these days feels like a toy. My check list for a synth : - Sound palette - Polyphony - Editing and programing capabilities - # of Oscillators and Filters - Ports : USB - Audio in and CV's are a powerful tool - VST integration - Keys : make sure to played and tested before you buy it - Material : longevity is a thing you also want to look for , cheap material won't last - And of course, $$$
My first synth was a brand new Roland SH1000, well it was my father’s. After being in music for the last 40 years, I come back to standalone synths. Got a Microfreak and a Uno to have fun. They‘re two good buddies for travelling.
My 1st Synth after a LOT of research was the JDXi(£373 new in the UK). As a beginner it’s so easy to get a groove going and has so much in one box. I then got a Circuit to complement it. Wow! the sounds from it are amazing plus it’s so well supported with updates and new patches to download. You can also use samples on it! I also have a TB3 when I need an aciid fix!
Another solution is to take a Super nova (second-hand) and a Behringer Pro 1 (new) for 600€ it's a bit more expensive, but the level of sound and the possibility of modulation is much better. Novation is virus level, and the Pro one, it's the big analog sound of DSI, the analogical way of JDXI is (almost ridiculous) in comparison. If you want even more fat or another type of alalogue sound than those of DSI (there is the model D or the K20 at the same price (300 €) at behringer)
The Behringer Model D (a budget copy of the Moog Model D) should be on this list! For under $300, it's 25 times cheaper than the synth it replicates, and sounds great.
Hi Bo, it's all your fault.....3 months ago, my only keyboard was a Yamaha PSR S770. Loved it but since I watched some of your videos, synth sounds were all I played on it. Fast forward to today, I now have a Monologue XD, Volca Drum, Volca FM, Arturia Microfreak and a Teenage Engineering P.O. 33 sampler. Oh and a Behringer audio interface and Ableton Live Lite. It's been an expensive few months but so worth it. Going to trade the PSR in for a MODX 6 soon.....thanks for the inspiration :)
Korg Volca, the sound are nice, but the box are same a fuking cheap game... For 100€ more, you can have a Behringer clone like Moog Model D or The DSI Pro one... And real button and potentiometer... No match !!! It does not play in the same category (4 leagues of difference)
I went for a behringer neutron with a arturia keystep keyboard. Perfect for starting. The neutron is a great sounding synth and the patchbay makes for some interesting options. The keystep sequencer and arp are great and really add to the experience. a great, and inexpensive, way of getting into hardware.
