Do I “need” analog synths?

[vurt]

well, im far from rich.
im on disability benefits.

without the pleasure i get from music, both listening, making and discussing, id be lost.
i spend a lot of time alone, but because i can get caught up in the fun side without any of the hang ups or problems you describe from low resolution, i never feel lonely or bored. i am always looking forward to firing up the synths.

i think honestly, even a couple of low priced synths, eg the uno or the modular volca, might add a little pleasure to your life that surpasses the cost

but as you say, only you can know whether its affordable, i do know how difficult things can be when you're worrying about finances

For the very 1st time, one of your posts touched my heart.
Don't do that again.

ill do my best

wasnt my intention really, sympathy or anything, more to suggest quality of life comes in all shapes and sizes, and we have to find our own.
living is more than existing.
everyone deserves a little happiness in their lives

[Lotuzia]

To Jace-BeOS : Plugins interpolate midi values. That's why you won't hear any stepping while sweeping a -properly coded- filter with the mod wheel. Same goes with the pitch of oscillators btw for glissando/slides etc. And other values. So no worries, with good plugs, the midi restriction is in 99.99% cases not hearable. There are specific cases where you have to make some different levels of interpolations, like sweeping an oscillator on the entire freq. range (VS only sweeping it between 2 ST or an octave) (like it was possible on the real EMS vcs3, and only possible in the Xils 4 in the recent versions) Also the final/initial value of a midi controller position is still a bit restrictive, but really, not in most cases it won't harm. Still, there are many things that are different between the 0/1 and the real/analog world. Here's the main one : In an analog synth, everything happens simultaneously, in software instructions are executed one after another.

[vurt]

i would add, whatever route you (anyone reading this) take, be it analogue or digital or a combination of the two, make sure the purchases you do make, the pleasure you get is from the item itself and not the purchase.
ive witnessed others and been a little guilty myself (lego was my drug here) where i got a buzz from buying, whether id finished building previous kits or not, luckily i realised early. but ive seen people end up in deep debt through this.

just something for folk to think of, not making any assumptions

[GearNostalgia]

Hello, again. I got caught up in other aspects of life and have not been in here for some time. As for Behringers I have nothing to add since I don't have any of their stuff, but I will get an RD808 or RD909 when they get released. For that price they can't go wrong. As for Expert Sleepers ES-3. The instructions about how to set it up in Cubase is a nightmare. A total nightmare. I have been fiddling with gear for 30 years and it took me days of trial and error and googling to set it up. If you are in Ableton it seems like a cake walk though. It was a bit easier in Waveform Traction. But when you are done it is brilliant. It tracks my VCOs perfectly and all my old woes of VCOs going slightly out of tune went away from my Eurorack.

But, here comes the twist. If you are looking for some cool synth sounds and ability to tweak your parameters at a budget there is a lot of other cool gear that I would take a look at. Something like a Nordlead might be great for you, Arturia Peak or any of all those Dave Smith synths. All cool gear and most easy to sync with Midi.

[pekbro]

Definitely, I’ve spent a ton on my music hobby with little return. I’m not rich, but I do have a job which makes money less of a worry for me than many.

Anyway, regardless of what the cost has been. The reward in personal enjoyment is totally worth it. While a smarter man, would likely squirrel the money away, life most certainly would have been pretty boring for me if I had done that all this time. At least this habit is non destructive, which is more than most of the people I’ve grown up around can say.

[egbert101]

You buy a sub £300 analog synth, and what's the worse that can happen? You don't like it, sell it and move on. You either have a revelatory experience "aha" moment or you don't. At least you tried it out, and moved on, and that's part of your artistic process.

Only problem is if what you really want is some monster synthesizer that costs thousands and refuse to "test the waters" and then, perhaps, your motivations aren't in the right place. So the only way this question can be answered definitely is to test the waters and either you love it or you hate it, and you move on. [BTW I'm poor as f***]

[Hooj]

You buy a sub £300 analog synth, and what's the worse that can happen? You don't like it, sell it and move on. You either have a revelatory experience "aha" moment or you don't.

You can always re-sell, that IS true! However, consider buying stuff that you have a real interest in to begin with. That will help ensure that you're not just buying and re-selling a bunch of hardware with nothing to show for it.

[Jace-BeOS]

living is more than existing.
everyone deserves a little happiness in their lives

+1000

Also, thanks for your response to my comments about finances, and about music making life worthwhile. I’m on disability too. Money is definitely a hard subject. The only life goal I have is to get out of this house and this town, but until I’m able to (if ever), I need to do more than merely subsist.

[Jace-BeOS]

To Jace-BeOS : Plugins interpolate midi values. That's why you won't hear any stepping while sweeping a -properly coded- filter with the mod wheel. Same goes with the pitch of oscillators btw for glissando/slides etc. And other values.

I haven’t tested *every* plugin I have, but this has not been my experience at all. For example, I know Korg’s MS-20 plugin, driven from the Korg MS-20i MIDI controller, doesn’t smooth anything. The stepping is noticeable. I’ve tested this with others too.

DAW automation is different sometimes (if drawing the values, not if using MIDI controls to record the automation), but even then, I’ve experienced problems getting automation to be smooth when the original automation was created via MIDI.

[Jace-BeOS]

i would add, whatever route you (anyone reading this) take, be it analogue or digital or a combination of the two, make sure the purchases you do make, the pleasure you get is from the item itself and not the purchase.
ive witnessed others and been a little guilty myself (lego was my drug here) where i got a buzz from buying, whether id finished building previous kits or not, luckily i realised early. but ive seen people end up in deep debt through this.

just something for folk to think of, not making any assumptions

Good advise. I’ve been there myself. This is why I’m agonizing over spending the money on something completely new to me. It might be fun, or...

[Jace-BeOS]

While a smarter man, would likely squirrel the money away, life most certainly would have been pretty boring for me if I had done that all this time.

In my case, due to disability rules, I’m not allowed to save up money. That’s another issue here. If I want to make personal use of rare spare money, I have to do it before it’s literally eaten up (groceries I might be able to skip) and I can’t build it up over time.

At least this habit is non destructive, which is more than most of the people I’ve grown up around can say.

Agreed!

[Jace-BeOS]

You buy a sub £300 analog synth, and what's the worse that can happen? You don't like it, sell it and move on. You either have a revelatory experience "aha" moment or you don't. At least you tried it out, and moved on, and that's part of your artistic process.

Only problem is if what you really want is some monster synthesizer that costs thousands and refuse to "test the waters" and then, perhaps, your motivations aren't in the right place. So the only way this question can be answered definitely is to test the waters and either you love it or you hate it, and you move on. [BTW I'm poor as f***]

I’ve gone back and forth about “testing the waters” with only one synth, but part of what I’m looking to test is a small semi-modular setup between a few different-sounding synths and a step sequencer for sequencing and CV modulation. The synths I listed earlier fit usage that nicely, it seems.

Also, those sub-$300 products went up $30 recently.

Also also: I HATE eBay. The last time I tried to sell gear I no longer use, the buyer screwed me and eBay let them. I have the gear back, but lost the shipping costs. I was used to let some guy test something he hadn’t done his due diligence on researching.

Those factors are not making it easier...

[Jace-BeOS]

PS: it’s not just about fun music toys. It’s also about growing in experience with music equipment and methodologies. That’s been a huge issue for me with my life on hold (while still aging): lack of growth & acquisition of new experiences.

[egbert101]

PS: it’s not just about fun music toys. It’s also about growing in experience with music equipment and methodologies. That’s been a huge issue for me with my life on hold (while still aging): lack of growth & acquisition of new experiences.

I'm in a similar boat. Complete drastic change in headset going from software to a hybrid setup. I decided I "needed" analog in some form, it's just a matter of how best to spend my money. I don't want to keep compromising all the time with emulations, I want a bit of authenticity.

Currently I'm writing lists of gear, and seeing what would work best together with the minimum setup, with maximum creativity and artistic fulfillment. Not an easy task, but it cuts away all the fluff and fat, and all my very bad ideas and stupid decisions, before I finally commit to buying stuff. I know I will not have any regrets.

[toonertik]

From some of the posts, it would seem some of us share similar situations... I will be 65 this year.. for reasons, I had to leave my semi_pro studio to live with my 93 year old mum ( I was volunteered by my still married younger bro>> F_him ) I recently got my self a Neutrino synth and a Beatstep pro...
It was a leap of faith .. but not into the unknown (I used to have a Roland System 100, way way back)..
This recent acquisition took months of deliberation.. but has turned out to be the most fantastic fun I have had in years with sound creation... actually touching real knobs.. the feedback and response.. I love it. Money is tight, we have to make "VALUE" choices.. for ME, this has been a value choice.
BTW, I am not really a musician, although I have 4 guitars (crap player), tenor sax (rhythmic re-circulation.. think didgeridoo and crazy harmonics) and most important to me PERCUSSION (4 congas, bongos, wood drums etc {sadly, my neighbors will not let me play them} ), I used to work as a pro sound engineer, live and studio but well past my "use by date"
For sure I would like more... but even with just one synth (the Neutron) and some fx in VEV_Rack, I could sing (I am joking here) a tribute to the vurt.. this is just the Neutron and VCV_FX...
It ain't serious.. it is the famous vurt toon.. with the neutron singing praise to vurt (or just screaming in pain, you decide).. hey.. lets not get too serious.. have a giggle
https://soundcloud.com/toonertik/singing-the-vuts