Synth for Beginners

[T1bbles]

I was trailing through countless synth DIY sites trying to find a good musical build which I could learn to use effectively in my music, when it occurred to me; noone builds a guitar because they want to learn to play, they buy an entry level one and go from there. I didn't build my first guitar, not did I build my first effects pedal, or my first amp. So why should this be any different with synths?

So synth gurus, where do I start? I'm after anything between £50 - £200 which I can use musically and has a nice array of features for me to play with. Preferably analog, as always, but not entirely crucial. The lower price ranges are preferable, of course

Thanks guys!

Martin

[expanoncolin]

I was trailing through countless synth DIY sites trying to find a good musical build which I could learn to use effectively in my music, when it occurred to me; noone builds a guitar because they want to learn to play, they buy an entry level one and go from there. I didn't build my first guitar, not did I build my first effects pedal, or my first amp. So why should this be any different with synths?

So synth gurus, where do I start? I'm after anything between £50 - £200 which I can use musically and has a nice array of features for me to play with. Preferably analog, as always, but not entirely crucial. The lower price ranges are preferable, of course

Thanks guys!

Martin

IMO the best are the Novation Xiosynth and Novation X-station.  You could also get a bass station if you don't mind it being monophonic.  Unfortunately, you aren't going to get a good analog synth in that price range, and at this point it really doesn't matter one way or the other.  A lot of people end up with a microkorg.

-Colin

[Jero]

I agree, analog and cheap don't usually go hand in hand.

Got to mess with a MicroKorg XL the other day, it was really nice, think I like them more than the normal Micros. Have never owned either so I can't say for sure.

Not exactly what you're looking for, but I'm getting ready to pick up a Korg Kaoscillator & a Bliptronic5000, which both fall within your price range...though neither are synths. The bliptronic is a "toy."

[sean k]

Well, you could get a fatman kit from paia and play it through a cheap midi keyboard controller orget an old set of keys offa anything and set up a VC style controller to play it. Music from outer space has a schematic to run keys into VC out with gate and suchlike.

[T1bbles]

Well, you could get a fatman kit from paia and play it through a cheap midi keyboard controller orget an old set of keys offa anything and set up a VC style controller to play it. Music from outer space has a schematic to run keys into VC out with gate and suchlike.

Holy crap, how did that get passed me!? I think I just found my uni end of year project!!

Nice one!

And colin, those Novation Synths are brilliant for the price, and when I get a job, it's definately high up on my list

[SpectralJulian]

You could look into Sequential Circuits Six Trak.  Analog, costs about 250-450 used. 

It's not great, but you can start to learn from it.