Hey Kyle - No Drooling!

[Rob_In_MO]

The Modular Moog!

Admire the sheer beauty and ponder the possibilities..

8)

 

[mark]

Admire the sheer beauty and ponder the possibilities..

Moog ****

 

[Natch]

That looks like the one Tonto's Expanding Headband used why back when. I'll have to dig out my old 33 1/3s and see if there isn't a pix of it on one of their albums.

Is that vanilla incense I smell in the background? And what other smell is it trying to cover?

Natch

 

[Rob_In_MO]

That looks like the one Tonto's Expanding Headband used why back when.

Yeah, they were quite popular models back in the day. Tangerine Dream, ELP, Walter (Wendy) Carlos, and many others made good use of the Moog back then. It's amazing what could actually be done with one of those monsters...

 

[Rob_In_MO]

I'll have to dig out my old 33 1/3s and see if there isn't a pix of it on one of their albums.

Will this work, Brother? (Synthesizer is shown starting at roughly 00:25)

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nGfR3G6si_M" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[Anonymous]

Stevie Wonder made 3+ albums with the TONTO group.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Do you get that one you mentioned to me? Is that it?

 

[DrT999]

It's been a long time since I saw something similar to that (more primitive, though, and no keyboard). Fun to play with, but I was never able to do much else with one

 

[Rob_In_MO]

Do you get that one you mentioned to me? Is that it?

Uh, no! Couldn't work it in the budget, besides it was a re-release of the Mini-Moog Voyager and pretty-well beat to hell... Still would've loved to have it, but it just wasn't in the cards and I didn't have time to stack the deck.

Here's one for reference:

 

[Kyle Weiss]

My mind is unsynthefied these days. I couldn't remember what the heck you came across recently.

 

[leatherneck]

YES . . . but can you play CHOP STICKS?

 

[Kyle Weiss]

...I circuit-bent some electric chopsticks once...

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

I've been composing music in my head since April. I've thought of getting a synthesizer as much of the music would be impossible to reproduce without the Hallelujah Chorus. Honest. But the prices, oh! my god the prices. Even the used stuff that sounds like it might produce at least some of the sounds that I've been hearing is way over budget.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

What exactly are you trying to do, Mike?

Maybe some terms to help you:

Synthesizer: A device that creates its own unique sound via circuitry or on-board computer algorithms which must be programmed, or one can choose to use the "factory" settings, which is more common on newer synthesizer instruments. Complaints about synthesizers in times of yore would be "the 'strings' sound does not sound like an orchestra." Synthesizers, though, gained their own following, and it wasn't until the late 1990s and through to today, that digital representations of analog synthesizers (called "analog-modeling" for actual instruments; and "VST" for software installed on a computer for playing through suites like Ableton and Reason) came back around for more reliable access to the unique sound only a true synthesizer can make. These can range from $50 junk store/ebay finds to $10,000 professional (or rare vintage) units.

Rompler Keyboard: Often confused with a synthesizer, these are instruments with pre-recorded sounds of actual instruments, and more resemble a sampler than a synthesizer. "Rompler" combines the acronym "ROM" (Read-only memory) with "Sampler" (see below). Some Romplers are hybrid machines, with synthesizer control (such as filters, LFOs, effects, etc), but do not actually "make" any sound of their own--only pre-recorded pieces of tuned samples. They became popular as the 1990s rolled in, and digital storage technology caught up with people's need to hear "real" piano (and other instrument) sounds. Mostly very common, hey range from dirt-cheap toys at $10, to $10,000 stage and studio powerhouses.

Sampler Keyboard: Like a rompler, but you program them with your own sounds. Record a bird, it plays a bird in all octaves. May have some of the same tools as a synthesizer or rompler might, but you must learn to record, cut, edit, layer, oversample (recorded layers of samples), splice (string together sounds) and the like to get any real results. Samplers have been popular due to the fact they are often cheaper than a synthesizer, and you can load the sound of a very expensive/rare synthesizer (or any instrument, really) and get a very close approximation of your intended sound. Hip-hop and rap in the 1980s and 1990s helped bring these instruments to popularity. From $100 - $10,000, they are often complex and beyond most musicians patience to "tinker" with such a device.

Apple: Ever see DJs and other musicians with a laptop or an iPad on stage? They're running software that has almost made any of the above obsolete. With countless boxes of software, pre-recorded samples, programs that mimic a synthesizer, DJs on-screen turntables that "spin" MP3s, plug-in devices from piano keyboards to digital "wind" instruments, if you have the money, you can have a small studio that fits in a backpack. The days of lugging around half a ton of gear are over: and some might even say, the soul of the synthesizer itself (which ironically, was scrutinized by many decades ago for being "soulless"). Cost: the price of a computer/pad device, software and whatever toys you hook up to it.

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

Hi Kyle, thanks for your trouble. My purpose is to entertain myself; sometimes I layer a melody with various additions, instruments or harmonies. I've got two or three standard melodies and about a half dozen layering variations.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Sounds like you need Reason or Ableton on a computer.

 

[alfredo_buscatti]

A computer application would be a lot more affordable than a synthesizer. Thanks, Kyle!

 

[Rob_In_MO]

A computer application would be a lot more affordable than a synthesizer. Thanks, Kyle!

Not to mention, easier to use. :lol:

Honestly, the more recent apps that I've heard sound fantastic compared to the older analog synths. It's doubtful that the casual listener would be able to tell the difference in your finished recording.

 

[Kyle Weiss]

Synthesizers are strictly for people who like synthesizers and tinkering, not necessarily musicians or people who just want to play with sound. Computers can give you a pretty good sound for the money, and as Rob said, are a hell of a lot easier to use. Presets galore, no "sound theory" to have to apply, no dead batteries wiping out days of hard work from memory banks... Synth = hot rod, computer/Ableton = Toyota Camry. One works and always will, the other will knock your socks off, but makes you work for it.

If you have an iPad, there's a ton of cheap/free applications that have even made me perk up my ears and want to play around with them. And I usually rally against "soft synths" on general principle.