Good VA synth for beginners?

[whitelightening]

A friend of mine asked me what would be a good analog/VA synth for him to start out on. He is a guitarist/pianist and has no previous experience with synthesizers. Based on his musical tastes (Styx, Journey, Kansas, Yes, Rush, etc.) he seems to be in that Analog/VA area. Now, of course I have my own preferences, but I was wondering what would YOU guys and gals suggest, not only to him, but all of the beginners out there that want to get into some good, old-fashioned, knob-twistin synthesizer learning? He basically told me money is no object (which I promptly replied by saying I want him to buy me a Motif XS8...but no luck).

[-=AnatomiC=-]

There is a whole second-hand market, where you can find a lot of vintage synthesizers for a very reasonable price.

But here are some "new" synths I would recommend:
Korg Radias - very sophisticated, yet use friendly and intuitive (lot's of knobs) - very good price/performance ratio. Very digital, not really organic
Nord Lead series - more organic sound, very sophisticated
Virus TI: probably the most powerful VA on the market, has "dark" sound.
Roland SH-201: a very basic VA (no super flashy features) for a very affordable price.
Roland V-synth: very digital VA synth, with lot's of innovative features. I would not take it though - doesn't have this vintage feel, thanks to a large touch screen :biggrin:

All of them are VA synths.
I think, Nord Lead would be the best "old school twist synth".
In low price category: SH-201

[jeebustrain]

Check out the Alesis Ion or Micron. You could also do quite a bit with a used Korg MS2000.

[Dixie]

Check out the Alesis Ion or Micron. You could also do quite a bit with a used Korg MS2000.

I'd advise against the Micron as a first VA, since there are so few knobs. There's quite a bit of scrolling through the menus with The One Knob.

[aibohphobia]

Buy a used Yamaha CS15...no better way to learn the fundamentals of how synthesis works! At least it's what I learned on.

Then move on to whatever you want!

[Syrinx]

I'd advise against the Micron as a first VA, since there are so few knobs. There's quite a bit of scrolling through the menus with The One Knob.

With the Behringer BCR-2000

http://www.synthtopia.com/synth_review/Behringer/images/BCR2000_big.jpg


it should be fine. Not all the parameters can be controlled this way but most of them can. Also there are several different computer editors for the Micron now.
Check out: www.bizune.com and www.midictrl.com

[Grey Loki]

Virus TI: probably the most powerful VA on the market, has "dark" sound.

tbh, I think the Fusion is more powerful - it's definately more flexible.

Setting up a micron and then fudging together an external controller for it is probably not the best idea for a synth newbie - then he'd have to work out not only what the difference between an envelope and an LFO is, but also how to assign MIDI controls of an external interface to internal functions, and then remember what they all do.

[Analogkid]

I have a Siel DK-600 six voice that would be perfect for him :smile:

[-=AnatomiC=-]

A very interesting question, IMHO!

Should one begin with a Real Analog or Virtual Analog?

What do you think?

[whitelightening]

A very interesting question, IMHO!

Should one begin with a Real Analog or Virtual Analog?

What do you think?

I've been trying to figure that out myself. I had actually considered recommending the Moog Little Phatty for the simple fact that it is Real Analog...also not so many knobs that it would be intimidating as hell for a beginner (i.e., Dave Smith Polyevolver or Prophet 08).

Then again, I have a very soft spot for the Virus C (since I've never gotten my hands on a TI). Unfortunately, the Virus has always had a pretty steep learning curve from what I've read in the past...as opposed to the Nord Lead series, which is supposedly very intuitive and easy to be creative with (yet another synth I've never had the chance to use).

[Omega Monkey]

If money is no object, just tell him to get an Alesis Andromeda. Those things are sweet (hands down the best piece of gear Alesis ever came up with, maybe besides the ADAT XT20).

Also, if money isnt an object he could go for a VA or real analog. Here are some choices...

real analog:
MiniMoog (still the standard mono synth after 35 years)
Moog Rogue
MemoryMoog+ (a bit temperamental supposedly, but its basically 8 mini's with 1 keyboard and MIDI)
Prophet 5
Prophet 600
T8 (76 weighted keys, very rare on an analog synth)
Oberheim OBXa or OB8
ARP Odessey
ARP 2600
Korg MonoPoly (this would be a great simple yet powerful yet inexpensive choice for real analog)
Korg PolySix
Roland Juno 6 or 60
Roland Jupiter 6

VA
Nord Lead 3
Novation Supernova
Oberheim OB12
DSI PolyEvolver

Do a bunch of research on all of those (or have your friend do it) and figure out what he really wants.

But short answer, if money really isnt an object and he wants something new, just go with the Nord Lead 3. This will get him all the analog sounds he will probably need for a long time and the cornucopia of knobs will make it easy to learn programming.

[-=AnatomiC=-]

But short answer, if money really isnt an object and he wants something new, just go with the Nord Lead 3. This will get him all the analog sounds he will probably need for a long time and the cornucopia of knobs will make it easy to learn programming.

Lol - money is always an object! Just wait till he sees the price tag of Andromeda :wink: or even Nord Lead.
There are two kinds of people who say such things: very rich people and people who think that for less than 300 bucks you can get the best synth there is. (no offense, but really - keyboard instruments are very expensive! Much more expensive than most people think)

And if you are a millionaire - just to to the store and take the most expensive synth you can get.
Usually you get what you pay for...

Still - I also recommend Nord Lead.

[Grey Loki]

It matters very little whether a beginner's synth is VA or real analogue circuitry - he or she isn't going to notice, because they just won't have the ears for it.

I'd also put forward the suggestion of the Oberheim OB12 - it's not in production any more, as far as i'm aware, but it is a rather nice piece of kit, that's very easy to use, and IIRC it sells for a very reasonable price. Only problem with it (if you'd even class it as such) is that it's a very 'soft' synth - it's hard to get really biting nasty leads with it, in the same way that you would with say, a Virus.

[Analogkid]

Something like a Juno 106 is a great choice for a beginner. Its layout is easy to follow and a helps build a foundation in analog synthesis. But their are lots of other good ones like the ARP axe, Moog Prodigy or Rogue, Korg Trident. All are fairly resonable with the Moogs being the most expensive if your going true analog that is.

For VA the Ion and the SH201 are hard to beat for the price, if you have more money to spend the Nord leads are cool( ive been looking at them lately)

[whitelightening]

Honestly, keyboards are as cheap now as ever...if not cheaper. Anyone remember the price for a Roland Jupiter 6 back when it came out?

$6,000.00

Would you pay that much for it now? I shure wouldn't. He is aware that there seems to be that $2,000.00-$3,000.00 range for keyboards. Similar to guitar amps if you think about it.

It sounds like the Nord Lead 3 seems to be the most popular choice for various reasons. Thank you everyone for your input!

[SerFox]

WHat I'd ultimately reccomend is something thats almost completely hands on, and visually respresented with the basics, and then move on. tis what I did. Unfortunately, things like those are really expensive. So I would reccomend a copy of Reason and a midi controller. It's very flexible, has a good 3 synths in it now, and throws you in the deep end and lets you twiddle the knobs and have fun until you get used to it (Or read the help files, which I still havent, I like discovering things myself)

[Gustavo]

Well, I say that if he can afford the Nord Wave (Nord Lead 3 sucessor) then he should get it, if not, the NL2x or NL3. Also for saving the buck, maybe a used Korg synth, the ones they´ve mentioned(i don´t know the names).

G

[normthesamurai]

what about the novation xiosynth? Since it's for a beginer its a cheap keyboard, VA, also good controller for sequencers, very portable, I'd imagine it has good keys if the x-station is anything to go by (but without aftertouch I think)
But I haven't played it so dunno what the sound or editing is like