Advice on buying first synth

pmk19

Hope this is the right forum...anyway

Looking to get my first synth, my budget is up to 500euro

Originally I was looking at the microkorg... purely because it looks easy to use and seem great for a beginner (I'm not mad about the tiny keys though). I was looking at Korg R3 also, which has USB so I could use as a MIDI controller as I don't have one. However, for the same money as the R3 i could get the Roland Juno-D.

My question is basically, are the differences between the R3 and microkorg worth it and what are people's opinions on the Juno-D. I don't really know a lot about synthesis, so looking at the different engines/spec they all have doesn't meant a lot to me.

Thanks for your help.

jtsuited

best bet is to get something second hand. a lot of the great synths of the past few years sell for less than 500 on adverts.ie

in fact in the past 4 weeks I've bought two lovely synths on there (a jp-8000 and novation nova).

the microkorg isn't great tbh.

SprostonGreen

I too would love to hear peoples opnions on the Juno-D

Helix

youll pick up something far superior to the poor microkorg and less poor but still pretty uninspiring juno d second hand on adverts

if you dont need keys, but are looking for a solid workhorse at a good price, then go for the waldorf blofeld (under 400 with a suite of plugins on dolphin at the minute)

pmk19

I need something with keys, the keyboard version of the blofeld is out my price range. I'd rather go for something new tbh, I've just had bad luck with 2nd hand gear in the past so I feel like getting something new.

Any other recommendations or any opinions on YAMAHA MM6 which is around the same price

thanks

crazeehorse

dont know about you guys but i think the microkorg is great though the small keys are a pain in the ass. i love the fact that it has so many presets that you can tweak rather than starting from scratch with oscilators. its a great synth that definately shouldnt be written off. obviously it doesnt compare to an ms-20 or a moog etc but for the price range it definately gets you going.

PaulBrewer

It does have the bigger key version too doesn't it?

seannash

crazeehorse wrote: »

dont know about you guys but i think the microkorg is great though the small keys are a pain in the ass. i love the fact that it has so many presets that you can tweak rather than starting from scratch with oscilators. its a great synth that definately shouldnt be written off. obviously it doesnt compare to an ms-20 or a moog etc but for the price range it definately gets you going.

its crap(sorry)
in the process of selling mine at the moment.
price range is opt for a softsynth or a few extra bucks and get a second hand synth

seannash

PaulBrewer wrote: »

It does have the bigger key version too doesn't it?

they released a new versionn of the microkorg,the r3 or something i think it was called

deathronan

I say go with the MicroKorg, its a great starter synth, ive had mine for a couple of months learned plenty from it and I get great kicks out of playing it and as crazeehorse said, theres great presets on it so you dont have to start from scratch making whatever sound it is you want

Neurojazz

Second hand jp8000 - it's digi, so very unlikely to be faulty - just check keys/knobs work and your'e laughing.

Not only is it a very capable synth, but hidden away in those menus and shedloads of presets of their older gear - gives you masses of choice and a synth you'd end up using for many, many years.

For 'bang for buck' the jp is seriously worth looking at.

The big problem here is that since software synth came into being that hardware synths don't get made by so many companies, so your choice is limited and certain brands have certain sounds:-

Yamaha: not the greatest sounding synths, usually come with lots of presets - very user friendly though. Here are 2:-

Roland: Warm sounding, get presets, not so user friendly, get your head in the manual.

The yamaha could be used with 'band' style music and fit really well, where the roland/korg type would fit in dance music (a general rule of thumb)

But since a lot of the hardware has gone, second hand should be seriuosly considered if money is tight and you want something that is going to keep you entertained for years to come.

By the way, i don't own a JP - have used them in the past and now use software and a controller keyboard which is much cheaper but the largest pain in the arse ever, so unless you enjoy endless headaches and rocket science stay away from soft-synths

jtsuited

Neurojazz wrote: »

Second hand jp8000 - it's digi, so very unlikely to be faulty - just check keys/knobs work and your'e laughing.

Not only is it a very capable synth, but hidden away in those menus and shedloads of presets of their older gear - gives you masses of choice and a synth you'd end up using for many, many years.

For 'bang for buck' the jp is seriously worth looking at.

The big problem here is that since software synth came into being that hardware synths don't get made by so many companies, so your choice is limited and certain brands have certain sounds:-

Yamaha: not the greatest sounding synths, usually come with lots of presets - very user friendly though. Here are 2:-

Roland: Warm sounding, get presets, not so user friendly, get your head in the manual.

The yamaha could be used with 'band' style music and fit really well, where the roland/korg type would fit in dance music (a general rule of thumb)

But since a lot of the hardware has gone, second hand should be seriuosly considered if money is tight and you want something that is going to keep you entertained for years to come.

By the way, i don't own a JP - have used them in the past and now use software and a controller keyboard which is much cheaper but the largest pain in the arse ever, so unless you enjoy endless headaches and rocket science stay away from soft-synths

i got a jp a while ago and it is by far the best investment i have ever made.

seannash

Neurojazz wrote: »

Second hand jp8000 - it's digi, so very unlikely to be faulty - just check keys/knobs work and your'e laughing.

Not only is it a very capable synth, but hidden away in those menus and shedloads of presets of their older gear - gives you masses of choice and a synth you'd end up using for many, many years.

For 'bang for buck' the jp is seriously worth looking at.

The big problem here is that since software synth came into being that hardware synths don't get made by so many companies, so your choice is limited and certain brands have certain sounds:-

Yamaha: not the greatest sounding synths, usually come with lots of presets - very user friendly though. Here are 2:-

Roland: Warm sounding, get presets, not so user friendly, get your head in the manual.

The yamaha could be used with 'band' style music and fit really well, where the roland/korg type would fit in dance music (a general rule of thumb)

But since a lot of the hardware has gone, second hand should be seriuosly considered if money is tight and you want something that is going to keep you entertained for years to come.

By the way, i don't own a JP - have used them in the past and now use software and a controller keyboard which is much cheaper but the largest pain in the arse ever, so unless you enjoy endless headaches and rocket science stay away from soft-synths

just bought one last night on ebay.secured it with a sneaky bid 2 seconds before the end:D
im seriously excited about it.the op should looks at it like i did,im selling my old controller now coz i can use this as a contoller(microkorg isnt a sutiable contoller,even just for pounding in notes)so if you couple the fact i have a new controller in to the price(around 200 dollars for a good one)the jp only cost me 300 dollars for the actualy synth part

jimi_t

There's a CS1X on adverts at the moment for a reasonable price, and a JP8000 for a highly unreasonable one. Also a CS6X but probably not the best to start with

pmk19

Thanks for the all comments. Seems like 2nd is the way to go so..I'll do a bit of research on the synths recommended and get buying..or bidding I suppose

jtsuited

jimi_t wrote: »

and a JP8000 for a highly unreasonable one.

i saw that. jaysus, twice the price i paid for mine.

jiltloop

jtsuited wrote: »

i got a jp a while ago and it is by far the best investment i have ever made.

I do miss the little bugger (well not so little), glad you're enjoying it mate.

jtsuited

jiltloop wrote: »

I do miss the little bugger (well not so little), glad you're enjoying it mate.

yeah love it. thanks again.