Yes that's a poster of zappa (lord and savior)

Hi all,

I've been lurking for a long time over here but never posted. I currently have a solid studio setup, I use Cubase for my productions and I have a pretty solid setup with MIDI controllers and a good amount of software synths and sampled instruments, as I make a lot of different genres and compose for media too.

Lately I've been interested in sampling and I wanted to integrate it more into my music-making. I got a Maschine MK3 for dirt cheap and I'm liking it as a way to deal with samples in a tactile way, and I can "easily" (needs a bit of mapping but it's ok for what I do) integrate the work I do in Maschine into larger Cubase projects.

That said, I'd really like a portable groovebox that would allow me to lay down ideas/beats quickly, to then export said sequences Cubase so I can keep working on them and get a finished song in the end. I was looking at the Ableton Move because it's close to what I had in mind, but I'm not an Ableton user so I don't think it would fit my workflow. Any ideas? Thanks!

TLDR: need a portable groovebox that goes along with DAWs in terms of exporting options, so I can have a sketchpad to bring around, jam on, and later finish my tracks in Cubase.

I feel like every new thing that gets announced is described as an "inspiration machine." Nothing against any of these new synth spectrum products themselves - especially the tape machine thing on the front page currently that inspired this, it legit looks fun and cool, so does Orchid the "idea machine" - but I find that marketing language pretty off-putting.

I mean... Why are y'all so desperate for inspiration?

Idk I come from guitar world where you have one or a couple guitars, one or a couple pedals, and one or a couple amps. You have four or five octaves and a dozen or so knobs. But moving over to synths in the last couple years has been super eye opening. There is just so much you can do with synths, so many knobs to turn, so many ways to make things work together, so many things to try. With a drum machine sequencing two synths, I'm the drummer, bassist and guitarist. I'm the whole band! The problem, for me at least, has never been inspiration. (Spoiler, it's getting a track from 90% done to 100 🫠)

I know it's a running joke in this sub that nobody makes songs, and that's fine. I agree with everybody who argues that noodling without finishing tracks is a legitimate use of all this stuff. People have been making unrecorded improvisational music for as long as people have existed. I love to noodle.

But I do think the "inspiration machine" thing plays on an insecurity that a lot of us have, especially when we're less experienced, about how our music isn't good enoigh. Obviously this isn't everyone, but for a lot of us, we tell ourselves that we're happy noodling, but what we'd actually like to be doing is finishing and releasing music - but it's terrifying to actually try, when we know we're not good yet. So... "I have these cool instruments but I don't like the sounds I make with them - what I need is an inspiration machine to finally put me over the edge and make me sound like the 2025 equivalent of boards of canada or aphex twin or whatever."

But that's not how it works. We all recognize GAS as a manifestation of this, right? "My music is bad because my equipment is bad, I need to buy better equipment to make better music." It's just not true. What you actually need to do is put the time in, learn your instruments well, experiment, and follow through with those experiments. Those last two especially imho. You don't need to know what a diminished chord is to make a noise that makes you excited. Build shit around that cool noise. That's it. Make shitty tracks, don't just start a new one when this one is bad - you learn so much more by figuring out how to turn a bad track into a good one than you do by starting over. Or by throwing money at the problem.

Does that make sense? I'm kind of thinking this through as I write these [thousands of] words. I kinda feel like GAS is the rock and the words "inspirstion machine" are the paper covering it. It almost feels kind of predatory - like, "you don't need skill, or experience, or to put in work, you just need inspiration. Luckily, here, you can buy it." Idk

I've heard that the audio and midi jacks on these give out way too easily, among other things. But, I've been scouring eBay for a while and never see any busted ones for sale. Is everyone just tossing them in the trash, or are they not as fragile as some make them sound? I'd be interested in buying broken ones to repair, if they really exist and the price is right. I think there are probably others like me.

Y'all should post more of your broken junk up on eBay (or the like). Some of us would buy it up... getya some dough back.

What makes the Prophet 5 sound so good from a technical perspective?

The take 5 whilst sounding great in its own right, doesn't seem to able match the P5 in sound, despite sharing the same filter.

I understand the P5 uses best in class analog componentry, but what other engineering design decisions have enabled its unrivaled sound?

tldr; synth volume is really low. trying to figure out how to raise it in daw without introducing noise

Sorry for the newbie question guys. So I have an arturia microfreak that I'm recording into a focusrite scarlett. The output levels of this synth are famously low. I've done everything that I can in the synth to bring up the levels (raising master volume/raising preset volume) but when I record it, the levels are still very low.

What is the preferred "correct" way to deal with this situation so that I don't distort or introduce noise into the recordings? There seem to be a bunch of options:

1. I could bring up the gain on my audio interface. Currently I'm using line level inputs, but there is still a gain on those inputs. Right now it is set at 0 because, supposedly, the microfreak is transmitting at line level. I could just... bring up the gain of the input which would bring up recording volume.

2. I could bring up the volume on the track that it is recorded to. I used to use cubase, and in that daw you can just increase the fader of the track that it is recorded to.

3. I could bring up clip gain. In ableton, there is a clip gain for each clip, and I could bring up the gain for the individual clip to make it louder. The same thing can be done in cubase just by grabbing the clip level and bringing it up. This, of course, would have to be done for each clip recorded.

4. I think I can use certain tools like compressors that have make-up gain. But this would/might add unnecessary effects or audio changes to the final product.

I think that some of these methods might be equivalent, or they might be different ways to do the exact same thing. So for the real professionals out there, is there an "industry standard correct way" to bring up the volume of a low synth?

I'm from Mexico, and sometimes i feel like community around synths/hardware and music made with them is somehow centralized in the US and Europe. Not that much conversation around this machines in my native language (Spanish)

I know there are hispanic communities, but i feel they are not that active (not as english speaking ones are)

¿Is that only a missconception or does that happens to you too?

So I am not super into synths although I do think they are cool, however my dad is a huge fan of them. Always adding stuff and buying new components for his setups. Anyways, the reason im in here is to see if you guys have any good christmas present recommendations for a huge synth fan. Just for some for context I tried to get him the hi-chord in the summer for his bday but I missed the deadline and now they arent for sale for now. I also wouldnt mind getting him the new Kevin Parker synth that is coming out in december but im predicting that it will also be harder for me to get my hands on. I also saw a cool video of an oscilloscope on here but i cant seem to find one like the one i saw in the video. My budget is $550 absolute max. And if you guys have any recommendations that would be awesome.

Also dont worry about what he might have or might not have. Its safe to assume he has all of the basic stuff(if thats applicable here).

Depending on the suggestions I get, I will make sure whatever I decide to buy, he does not have.

Thanks!

TLDR: Need synth related suggestions for christmas present for dad

Does anyone know where I can get some music disks for a Technics SX-PR700? I had a 95 year old gentleman ask me and he is not internet savvy, but I can’t find anything anywhere on this. Thanks!

This is my first synth but I think I can’t handle it😭 Can anyone give advice?

I have the sp 505/202 and enjoy their charm. I’m wondering if I would equally dig the 404 as an upgrade? I’m particularly interested in its loop features, chromatic mode and fx. What do people find the 404 excels at and how does it complement your current set up?

I have a guitar style controller that sends out 6 midi channels, one for each string. I would like to send it to my microkorg which can only use one channel at a time. Is there any way I can make the controller send only on one channel or make the microkorg accept all of them?

Hey folks,

I usually just design my own sounds, but I wonder whether there's any site for synthesizer enthusiasts to exchange patches out there? Like categorized by synth and sound type.

I mean, it doesn't make sense there's just paid stuff online, I'd honestly enjoy just listening what people make.

I only have an Pocket Operator, but the sounds are too arcadish to me. I know about rolands mini series but i believe they splitted the drum and synth sounds into 2 devices .. Does someone know something about a product that im hoping for ?

Anyone know of a cheap bag I can store my Behringer Solina in? I know Thomann sells one but the shipping cost is quite pricy and Analog Cases makes one too but it's not easy to find.

So this thing seems extremely basic but costs a similar amount to more fully-featured units like the Grandmother. Is it just scarcity/collectability or is the oscillator sound actually unique enough for it to be of value?

It's clearly a Polymoog pictured in the beginning of the clip, but still sounds like something electro-piano, or even a Clavinet.
Is there a source on what instrument the actual recorded sound was coming from?

Hi all so I am looking to buy one of these as my next synth purchase and want to make the right choice. My budget doesn’t really allow for the 12 right now, but if it is a big upgrade I might just save a bit longer. The only differences I can see is of course the additional 6 voices as well as a updated Keynes with aftertouch and MPE capabilities. But is there a difference in the keybed quality? And what other differences makes the 12 more worth it? If these are the only differences the 6 voice is fine for me

I've been looking into getting another synth (mainly one that's great for bass lines and low end) and naturally I've gravitated towards the model D. Moogs are my favorite sounding synths by name, but I sadly don't have minimoog or voyager money as of right now. The only other synth I have right now is a Rev2, but it's not my favorite for filling in the low end of a mix. Is it worth it for me to get a desktop model D, or should I save up some money for something else? Any recommendations on what I should look into?

Td3 or roland t-8? The first one allw me to do more stuff , is it true? Any differences?