After my obsessive-compulsive experiment with going down the Huge Guitar Rig path, I needed a vacation from guitar tone seeking. In my opinion, I reached my guitar nirvana. I have lots of virtual synthesizers in my DAW, but I missed the physical aspects of a real synthesizer. So here is the play-by-play of a 3-month excursion in trying to find the right synth components in my studio.
In recent years, I dabbled in getting back into a hardware synth by getting a Korg MicroKORG, which just didn't do it for me. I also had a Teenage Instruments OP-1, which (please don't flame me for it) is a toy. Great concept, incredible piece of engineering, but falls short in execution for me. I built a few different Mutable Instruments Shruthi hybrid synth modules. Very cool, but not a main synth.
I bought a Roland SH-201 GAIA. Fun synth, some cool sounds, but it has a few flaws. The concept of three layers, each with a single oscillator, filter, amp and envelopes seems cool in theory, but not as functional as a few better sounding oscillators into one really good filter. The sound is pretty weak - it seems as though everything was being pumped through a muffler, the filter was "zippery", and playing it felt like there was some lag in response. It's overall a good beginner synth - better than the MicroKORG both in sound and in controls, in my opinion, but the price reflects the quality of the sound.
I also considered the Roland boutique synths, but they seem more like toys than real sonic performance machines; and maybe the Dave Smith Mopho X4 - but four voices just doesn't cut it for the current price of these machines.
I came across a synth I never quite considered in the past, writing it off as a poor, digital imitation of an analog polysynth at an - at the time - exorbitant price. A Nord Lead 2X. Back in the 90's, I never got a chance to try a Nord Lead. At first try, I was hesitant. It has two Oscillators, a decent filter and snappy envelopes - but I thought, "is that all?". The next day, I read the manual and realized that you can stack FOUR LAYERS of that. Bought it 30 minutes later, and at a very reasonable price.
I am not really comparing fairly - but playing the Nord next to the GAIA, is like someone removed the muffler, and the performance responsiveness is like a real analog synth. If this makes sense - The Nord can be sharper, brighter and angrier - and at the same time be softer, smoother, fatter and warmer than the GAIA. The GAIA was sold the following week.
In many ways, the Nord is a modern implementation of what the Sequential Prophet 600 was. It feels good to play. The responsiveness of the controls and their layout is well thought out. It is a performance machine. If I have a few criticisms:
I researched where Waldorf had gone since the 90's. I really wanted the gorgeous orange Microwave XT with all it's knobs, but the going prices on these, and it's replacement, the Q, are a bit high for what I could afford. I considered the Micro Q rack, but quickly realized that the Blofeld can be obtained for not much more, and it has more wavetables and might have just a few more modern amenities. The Blofeld is amazing bang for the buck, and once I tried the keybed on the keyboard version - I just had to have it. It ruined my plan for having only one keyboard in the studio, but I can never go back now.
The Blofeld can create massive textures. It's oscillators, filters and modulation routings are amazing.
The interface is quite ergonomic considering it only has handful of knobs and buttons. The filters sound amazing, and having four envelopes, three LFOs and the wealth of modulation routings is a sonic science lab. Only real beefs are that the ability to upload samples is a horribly implemented afterthought, even worse - the ability to add user-designed wavetables is there, but no such official tool exists to actually create and upload them. You can't output the notes from the arpeggiator/sequencer to MIDI. The effects are a nice touch, but the reverb is horrible when you compare it to the Waldorf Streichfett reverb (breathtaking) - but then again, I have a rack of outboard Lexicon processors, so it's not a deal-breaker.
Synths from My Past
I got my first synth in 1993. I was transitioning from writing alt.rock into writing techno and house music, and this was the start. It was a Yamaha CS20m, claimed to have been used by Chick Corea. Pure analog, dozens of knobs, monophonic and no MIDI. Fat with a capital "F". Over the next few years, I had the pleasure of owning many other analog and digital synthesizers:- Roland SH-5 Analog Monosynth. Amazing. Very different than that CS20m.
- Sequential Circuits Prophet 600. To this day, one of the greatest synths I had ever owned.
- Moog CDX Organ/Monosynth. Giant White Whale that I didn't utilize back then (sure could now, if I had the real estate!).
- Crumar Performer string synth. Single purpose, and it sounded wonderful.
- Novation BassStation. The original, and one of the first ones ever in Canada.
- Korg Wavestation A/D. Very cool, made me want a Waldorf Microwave so bad.
- Yamaha TG77. Great pads.
- Yamaha TX81z. Never really could be bothered programming this back in 1998.
- Roland JD-990. Cool, but oh so digital and too deeply menu-driven.
- Roland Juno106. Awesome. Unfortunately was never returned after the buyer of my SH-5 "helped" me by taking it for repairs.
In recent years, I dabbled in getting back into a hardware synth by getting a Korg MicroKORG, which just didn't do it for me. I also had a Teenage Instruments OP-1, which (please don't flame me for it) is a toy. Great concept, incredible piece of engineering, but falls short in execution for me. I built a few different Mutable Instruments Shruthi hybrid synth modules. Very cool, but not a main synth.
The Next Synth
I had a few things in mind for my next synth. It had to have knobs. It had to feel Analog. It had to polyphonic, as most of what I am hearing in my head sounds more like pads - not Moog bass lines.I bought a Roland SH-201 GAIA. Fun synth, some cool sounds, but it has a few flaws. The concept of three layers, each with a single oscillator, filter, amp and envelopes seems cool in theory, but not as functional as a few better sounding oscillators into one really good filter. The sound is pretty weak - it seems as though everything was being pumped through a muffler, the filter was "zippery", and playing it felt like there was some lag in response. It's overall a good beginner synth - better than the MicroKORG both in sound and in controls, in my opinion, but the price reflects the quality of the sound.
I also considered the Roland boutique synths, but they seem more like toys than real sonic performance machines; and maybe the Dave Smith Mopho X4 - but four voices just doesn't cut it for the current price of these machines.
Nord Lead 2X
I am not really comparing fairly - but playing the Nord next to the GAIA, is like someone removed the muffler, and the performance responsiveness is like a real analog synth. If this makes sense - The Nord can be sharper, brighter and angrier - and at the same time be softer, smoother, fatter and warmer than the GAIA. The GAIA was sold the following week.
In many ways, the Nord is a modern implementation of what the Sequential Prophet 600 was. It feels good to play. The responsiveness of the controls and their layout is well thought out. It is a performance machine. If I have a few criticisms:
- It can fall short when attempting to get really low, fat bass - but that is where a real Moog analog would be needed
- The Nord Lead 2X waveforms are very limiting when trying to create airy, spacey textures
- It doesn't really have ability to actually sync the LFO or arpeggiator - only restart the cycle on clock - which is kind of a hack. As much as I love the arpeggiator
Waldorf Blofeld
I then returned to my original desire for a Waldorf Microwave. Knowing the sounds possible on them was the driver. Not that I wanted to replace the Nord. Just something to compliment it.I researched where Waldorf had gone since the 90's. I really wanted the gorgeous orange Microwave XT with all it's knobs, but the going prices on these, and it's replacement, the Q, are a bit high for what I could afford. I considered the Micro Q rack, but quickly realized that the Blofeld can be obtained for not much more, and it has more wavetables and might have just a few more modern amenities. The Blofeld is amazing bang for the buck, and once I tried the keybed on the keyboard version - I just had to have it. It ruined my plan for having only one keyboard in the studio, but I can never go back now.
The Blofeld can create massive textures. It's oscillators, filters and modulation routings are amazing.
The interface is quite ergonomic considering it only has handful of knobs and buttons. The filters sound amazing, and having four envelopes, three LFOs and the wealth of modulation routings is a sonic science lab. Only real beefs are that the ability to upload samples is a horribly implemented afterthought, even worse - the ability to add user-designed wavetables is there, but no such official tool exists to actually create and upload them. You can't output the notes from the arpeggiator/sequencer to MIDI. The effects are a nice touch, but the reverb is horrible when you compare it to the Waldorf Streichfett reverb (breathtaking) - but then again, I have a rack of outboard Lexicon processors, so it's not a deal-breaker.
Alternatives
Other Alternatives and additions that I have considered or may consider in the future, include:- Access Virus. I've heard these are a bit similar to the Nord and the Blofeld in many ways. I have yet to try one.
- Moog Mother. I've been planning on diving into the modular world for a long time, and I think this is the best starting point...
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