Advice on synths...

[Acidman]

Hi!

I'm new member, and are planning to buy my first synth :D .

I own a TB-303 8) and MB33, but also want a synth for my music. My composing style is mostly acid/acidtrance (think of older acid from Hardfloor, Cores, Microwave Prince etc), and acidtechno.

At the moment I've been looking at two synth's especially; Virus TI and Nord Lead 3. Should I maybe look at something else?

I've no previous experience using synth's before.

[Onkel Dunkel]

Go for the Nord. The TI will never be released :lol:

[Onkel Dunkel]

No seriusly you are on the right track IMO. Try them both out (when/if the TI comes out) and buy what you think sounds best and will fit your style best. If money is a problem then look for a second hand Virus C/KC or Nord lead 2...

[Rat]

<<Sorry, I don't speak english very well >>
Hmm, i'd suggest you to buy a second-hand jp8080. Ti and Nordlead3 are rather expensive synth and not everyone like their sound character
(unless you tried them in the shop before you buy them). And with jp8080 you most likely won't be dissapointed. I've bought a JP some days ago and I like it's sound much better then my Virus's-b.
P/S Don't know much about nord, but I can tell that Virus always sounds somehow dark, muddy and rusty and it's high-pitched notes sound almost pathetic; And Jp sounds bright, clean, and edgy- It is much more similar to those tunes from TV then Virus is.
Besides JP is much more convinient in editing 'cause everything you need is on the front panel. And it has RPS-sequencer- you can record into it up to 48(each up to 4 bars) small-songs (either through keyboard or through midi) and can quickly play any of them by pressin' dedicated buttons(in jp8080) or Keyboard keys(in jp8000)- eack key for one of 48 songs. And while it's playing you can experiment with sound- turn knobs etc.

[Tomer=Trance]

Get a clavia G2,
if your into synthesis and sound design you cant get a synth that sounds nastyer and expirimental then that one.

[aztec]

I'll second g2. and the g2 engine alone is not that expensive:>.

I think you should have a listen though and have a look at all the synths workflow before you buy, since you say you have no previous experience.

[Onkel Dunkel]

If you are going to program your own sounds and haven?t got any synth experience, you should also look for a synth where you don?t have to use a lot of menus to program it (one with lots of knobs). Here the Virus is a good choise. Very easy to program IMO and i learned a lot about synth programming from my Virus (and in contrary to Rat i think the Virus sounds GREAT). But listen to them because it really is a matter of taste. Some like the dark, evil, muddy sound of the Virus and som don?t...

[Ade]

Personally i`d say Vanguard & Superwave Trance with a JP8080 or something :-)

[Tomer=Trance]

nah no way,thats boring... :D
im corrently after a cheap creamware card to run their modular 3 monster+flexor modules.

[Acidman]

Thank you all who answered. I see now its a jungle out there, and I have to ask myself what I want to do with it.
I dont know how many more gears I will buy, and therefore the synth should be something that holds for years. At the moment I've thought like this:

Drums - mostly samples or maybe drum machine in the future

Bass/leadbass - TB303 & MB33, and ofcourse the synth should give me more/different bass if I want too.

Strings/FX/background noises etc - Synth

Virus is great when it comes to filter, but maybe I'm better of with an all-around-synth?
The Clavia modular G2X looked very impressive. Is the synthesis good/fat/whatever?

[Tomer=Trance]

Virus is great when it comes to filter, but maybe I'm better of with an all-around-synth?
The Clavia modular G2X looked very impressive. Is the synthesis good/fat/whatever?

you got to ask yourself,does it fit me?

if your not into patching and not looking to get into sound design and modular envroment the g2 is not for you.
but then again for some people the virus doesnt fit also.
you should try both and see which one you like better and fit your work habbits best.

[Gopal]

Strings/FX/background noises etc - Synth

Virus is great when it comes to filter, but maybe I'm better of with an all-around-synth?

A: Virus is a very alround machine! (if you write acid style music, the darkness of the virus' sound is your friend)

B: Strings/FX/background noises are where the virus shines, also in lead basses and backing (thickening) synth lines under your lead.

I often use Nova or JP8080 for leads and virus for just about every other synth part.

[ledge]

the virus is definitely capable of creating sounds that would work in acid techno.

and if you are after a drum machine MachineDrum would suit the style well also.