Need synth suggestions with $2000 budget (need pad/ambient suggestions)

[JohnChips]

Analog is a must, unless they sound amazing in mixes otherwise.

I've been thinking of getting a Little Phatty for $1000 for bass/leads. And maybe a Juno-60 for pads/ambience? I'm not sure whats a good synth for pads and ambience (id like big slow worldy ambience I can place behind drums as well as bright pads).

I love how 90s the Juno-60 sounds, absolutely love it. Is there anything better I should look at?

[chrisso]

I think soft synths and sampler/romplers are the 'best' for pads in all honesty.
I've done both film/tv and electronic music and find simple analog pads have their place, I love them, but they can be one dimensional without a lot of processing. Soft synth pads are instant, but also easy to tweak and personalize.
I have quite a bit of analog gear (hardware synths and modulars) and use those mostly for esoteric sounds, sequemcer sounds, basses, synth chords and percussive noises.

[JohnChips]

I guess I can demo some soft-synths out too if the pads are fantastic. Which one(s) did you have in mind?

[CfNorENa]

If analog really is a must, then I'd recommend Roland JX-8P/JX-10/MKS-70, or, if you can stretch for it, an Oberheim Xpander.

But I tend to agree with chrisso -- digital really is better (to me at least) for complex, evolving pads and soundscapes. And really, with even some basic effects processing on the other end (esp. reverbs), almost *anything* will do the trick. If you're thinking hardware, perhaps you could explore something from the weird and wonderful Waldorf universe (XT, Q, Blofeld).

[ctrlshft]

A Little Phatty+Virus TI Snow would fit the bill very nicely.

[Dubtek71]

Originally Posted by CfNorENa

If analog really is a must, then I'd recommend Roland JX-8P/JX-10/MKS-70, or, if you can stretch for it, an Oberheim Xpander.

But I tend to agree with chrisso -- digital really is better (to me at least) for complex, evolving pads and soundscapes. And really, with even some basic effects processing on the other end (esp. reverbs), almost *anything* will do the trick. If you're thinking hardware, perhaps you could explore something from the weird and wonderful Waldorf universe (XT, Q, Blofeld).

And I am gonna agree with Cfnorena The Xt is a very nice idea. Altho with 2k you could get a Prophet VS.
Or on the modern tip you could go with a used poly evolver keys. Maybe 15-1800. Both are hybrids.

[chrisso]

I don't have hands on experience with it, but I often see the Xpander recommended.
I had both a Wavestation and an SCI VS. I didn't like the Korg that much. The VS was excellent.
The Juno 60 is very nice. OK for 'pads'.
The OB Matrix 1000 is very cheap and is just as good for pads.
'Ambience' I would characterize as something very hard to achieve in analog, at least not without a lot of processing.
The king of ambience/pad softsynths-wise is Spectrasonics Omnisphere in my opinion.
There's also been some good ambience sample cd's over the years.
You can load those into soft-samplers and add extra processing.

[JohnChips]

Yeah my older brother uses Spectrasonics Omnisphere it's ridiculous in how much you can do with it. I might consider that then. So many choices I hate this to be honest. A moog is a must for me. But between DSI, Roland, Korgs and now Waldorfs its confusing as hell.

As for a Virus TI Snow if I can get one in the bill that would be great.

[Daylon Faine]

Originally Posted by JohnChips

Yeah my older brother uses Spectrasonics Omnisphere it's ridiculous in how much you can do with it. I might consider that then. So many choices I hate this to be honest. A moog is a must for me. But between DSI, Roland, Korgs and now Waldorfs its confusing as hell.

As for a Virus TI Snow if I can get one in the bill that would be great.

ambience and pads are my thing, and i have had and still have a fair amount of pad machines, analog and digital. if you tell me what kind of sounding pads your after ie, brash, metallic, soft, creamy, in ya face, dreamy etc etc. Or better yet post a couple of visuals. i should be able to point you in the right direction and send you a couple of demos.

[JohnChips]

Holy hell the good Roland Jupiter's are expensive...guess that's out of the picture.

Originally Posted by Daylon Faine

ambience and pads are my thing, and i have had and still have a fair amount of pad machines, analog and digital. if you tell me what kind of sounding pads your after ie, brash, metallic, soft, creamy, in ya face, dreamy etc etc. Or better yet post a couple of visuals. i should be able to point you in the right direction and send you a couple of demos.

I guess I'll try my best at describing the pads with your words. Soft, creamy, bright, dreamy, and worldly are the best I can really explain with. I want a good range of ambiance I can put in the back of a song, something light to glue everything together. Dreamy pads are probably my biggest concern.

[ScratchNSurf]

I have a lp stage one if youre interested. Just pm me

Sent from my DROID PRO using Gearslutz.com App

[chrisso]

That's why plug-ins and digital work well for pads.
Analog is fat and can easily be very present in a mix.
Soft, dreamy and in the background doesn't play to the strong suit of Analog.

[Daylon Faine]

Originally Posted by JohnChips

Holy hell the good Roland Jupiter's are expensive...guess that's out of the picture.

I guess I'll try my best at describing the pads with your words. Soft, creamy, bright, dreamy, and worldly are the best I can really explain with. I want a good range of ambiance I can put in the back of a song, something light to glue everything together. Dreamy pads are probably my biggest concern.

its gotta be a roland then. I had an mks 70 and hated it, i found it cheesy and tedious. i much prefer the juno 60 for creamy soft and dreamy pads, thick or bright is not a problem. I cant stand any of he digtal synths - tooo artificial. If you want ambience the sound must be organic and honest. Stay away from the prophet 08 (thin and spikey) and the andromeda (metallic, brash and haunting), i have both of these and they dont give me the sound your after imho but are great synths in their own right. The poly evolver wont sound as rich as the juno but it goes into galaxial ambient territory if thats your thing and it sounds very nice and most importnatly different from anything else. For my ambient pads im using the juno 60 and poly evolver and waiting to include my synthex once its repaired. I can fully recommend the small stone, mxr phase 100 and the mxr EVH flanger - i use the kurzweil rumour for reverb.

Ive never tried an xpander, and i dont think i ever will, i just dont like the look and size of it. + the demos ive heard dont float my boat

[clusterchord]

id use juno60 for many things, but "ambient pads" aint one of them.


if you want analog that does ambient pads, and many many others things, then its just down to two synths really: andromeda and xpander.

but with one huge difference.. andreomda can also double as fast snappy bass synth and classic lead, whereas i found xpander has a too special sound for that, and its to slow to really punch you in the stomach with lightning fast sequences.

dont get me wrong, its a beautiful machine, ive just recetly decided to pick one up in the fall, if ill have the money, after extensively playing Roginator's unit. but Andromeda has far wider area of application. esp if youre budget limited its a nice only analog to have.



alternatively, as mentioned, some digitals have phenomenal glassy/complex/ambi pads. but again, after having TI2 at my studio for last 2 weeks, i kinda striked it out from my "usual suspects" list for ambi stuff. just way too plastic/hollow sound and comp[letely falling apart in the HF range, due to extensive aliasing. (great for some other stuff, but i no longer desire it for ambi pads, as i thought i did). saved some serious money.

anyways, i found blofeld, FS1r, NL3, wavestation, k5000, jd990 all do beautiful digital pads.. each with distinctive character.. theres more..

[JohnChips]

I'm not sure I can get an Andromeda A6 for $2000 haha, or one period. I'd never buy one of those online without testing it. I know its one of the best ever but I'm just not attracted to it, it looks overwhelming for me (i'm not a good enough level for programming it, I need something simpler).

@Daylon: I wish I had extra money to afford hardware effects. Am I going to lose out on a lot by using software reverbs and delays and the sort?

[Daylon Faine]

@Daylon: I wish I had extra money to afford hardware effects. Am I going to lose out on a lot by using software reverbs and delays and the sort?[/QUOTE]
yeah the andromeda is not a simple synth, im going to sell mine just because i hate getting into technicalities when im trying to be creative, it destroys the flow. It is a great synth however. As for the effects, you can get away with software reverb but flangers and phasers, no way! a small stone will cost no more than £35 second hand and a a good guitar flanger around £80. The boss DC2 is amazing for pads, £120. $2000 is around £1300 I think the following would be best for your budget and offer variation:-

Juno 60 - £600
GFORCE String Machine - £115, or £65 with student/teacher discount
Hollow Sun Nebulae - £30
Blofeld - £200 - £250 ( its going to take some programming though) or DSI Tetra £450
with left over get a small stone £30, mxr evh flanger or electric mistress deluxe £80 and a Boss DC2, stick to some good software reverbs and delays until you can afford more hardware.

I personally was never that fond of the blofeld or tetra, but if i was in your position it would suit my needs perfectly and add alot of variation to your setup.

I think you will be very happy with these.

[DarkPlasma]

Honestly, just get Omnisphere and be done with it. They already sampled it all for you.

I'm not too familiar with vintage, but a Virus TI is just KILLER for the type of sounds you're after. If you're lucky you can find one used (Ti1) for < $2000.

[Daylon Faine]

i had a virus ti snow and then a ti2 polar and at first it seemed fantastic, but my opinion soon changed. its not organic at all and you need to drown it in reverb, all the presets a flooded with reverb as standard, once you take it off it does not sound very good at all imho. The gforce minimonsta is far better sounding, my friend sold his ti2 desktop as soon as he got that, i sold my ti2 as soon as i heard a vintage analog!

i think it all depends on whether your expressing deep emotions and want to respond to the world artistically or wanting to create the next big dance track and take the role of a designer. If you get a virus you will sound like every ambient trance producer on youtube.

[Waxavub]

Is this for live or studio?

I have a roland Jx 8p and an oberheim matrix 1000. both analog and cheap but have awesome pads. you could layer pads in the studio and use several different synths.

or are you looking for a modern reliable synth to do it all live?

[JohnChips]

No I'm not interested in live yet. I'm doing this for studio recordings so I need a big sound with deep emotions as Daylon stated. This is definitely not for fame or to make a huge dance track - I couldn't care less about that. I do want people to dance (which I'll handle through my drums and Little Phatty leads) but it won't be trance/techno. I've been checking out most of the sounds in the Virus on Youtube, now it might just be me or the guys not showing enough variety but all in all they all sound the same. Every lead and pad sounds likes it made for trance the way the sounds drag and buzz. The Virus is a cool synth but I don't think itll give me variety and fit my bill too. I'm trying to get the Little Phatty for the Moog bass/leads/arpeggios and maybe a Juno for pads with some hardware effects so this has to stay under $2000 (MAYBE a few hundred over if necessary).

Think Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here and Shine On You Crazy Diamond - what am I looking for?

Waxavub: Well it's either the JX-8P or the Juno-60, almost same pricing but what do you suggest?

[carbon111]

A Juno 60 is good but add a JD 800 and a reverb box like Eventide's Space...you'll still be within your $2K budget.

[DarkPlasma]

Originally Posted by Daylon Faine

i had a virus ti snow and then a ti2 polar and at first it seemed fantastic, but my opinion soon changed. its not organic at all and you need to drown it in reverb, all the presets a flooded with reverb as standard, once you take it off it does not sound very good at all imho. The gforce minimonsta is far better sounding, my friend sold his ti2 desktop as soon as he got that, i sold my ti2 as soon as i heard a vintage analog!

i think it all depends on whether your expressing deep emotions and want to respond to the world artistically or wanting to create the next big dance track and take the role of a designer. If you get a virus you will sound like every ambient trance producer on youtube.

If all you do is use presets, thats understandable.

[JohnChips]

Originally Posted by DarkPlasma

If all you do is use presets, thats understandable.

Do you have any clips or songs or videos that show more than just trance sounds? I'm really interested.

[SWAN808]

you might want to look at Camel Audio Alchemy and its soundpacks for Pad sounds also...

[Daylon Faine]

i will make a few juno 60 pads for you to hear. The jx8p jx10 mks 70 is better for strings rather than pads. i can send you some voyager sounds too, if you can tell me what you want. would be great if someone could post some jx pads, virus pads, jd pads also. if your thinking pink floyd though, i think GFORCE string machine is your way forward. Do you have any tracks that show the pads your after

[DarkPlasma]

Originally Posted by JohnChips

Do you have any clips or songs or videos that show more than just trance sounds? I'm really interested.

I don't get this. Any sound can be used in Trance, man. From acoustic to synthetic.

Are you talking about those euphoric trance sounds like Tiesto, etc?

[chrisso]

Originally Posted by JohnChips

Think Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here and Shine On You Crazy Diamond - what am I looking for?

Most of the classic pad synths have been sampled for Omnisphere.
Pads for days.
I would save your big bucks for something else that would make a bigger difference to your music. Pads are pads, and you can't get more creamy, or simple and complex than the stuff in Omnisphere.
I don't think the Juno 60 is a magic bullet.
It has a great sound, and I used mine for basses and sequencer type parts too. It has a tendency to sound like a Juno 60 all the time though.
For a really 'analog' sound the Matrix 1000 has dozens of great pad sounds. It's super cheap too.

[Waxavub]

Originally Posted by JohnChips

No I'm not interested in live yet. I'm doing this for studio recordings so I need a big sound with deep emotions as Daylon stated. This is definitely not for fame or to make a huge dance track - I couldn't care less about that. I do want people to dance (which I'll handle through my drums and Little Phatty leads) but it won't be trance/techno. I've been checking out most of the sounds in the Virus on Youtube, now it might just be me or the guys not showing enough variety but all in all they all sound the same. Every lead and pad sounds likes it made for trance the way the sounds drag and buzz. The Virus is a cool synth but I don't think itll give me variety and fit my bill too. I'm trying to get the Little Phatty for the Moog bass/leads/arpeggios and maybe a Juno for pads with some hardware effects so this has to stay under $2000 (MAYBE a few hundred over if necessary).

Think Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here and Shine On You Crazy Diamond - what am I looking for?

Waxavub: Well it's either the JX-8P or the Juno-60, almost same pricing but what do you suggest?

ive never used a juno-60 so i can't say.

[JohnChips]

Originally Posted by Daylon Faine

i will make a few juno 60 pads for you to hear. The jx8p jx10 mks 70 is better for strings rather than pads. i can send you some voyager sounds too, if you can tell me what you want. would be great if someone could post some jx pads, virus pads, jd pads also. if your thinking pink floyd though, i think GFORCE string machine is your way forward. Do you have any tracks that show the pads your after

Yesss I've been considering just saving up a lot more and just going for the whole package through a Voyager (looking at youtube videos I dont know if they just demo them terribly or if it lacks variety but I havent really found ANY pad sounds on it). If you could show me some thick voyager bass lines and some dreamy pads on it, it would seal the deal for me and let me know I can make them myself (I like presets but I want to create my own more than anything). I'm looking at a GFORCE VSM demo on youtube it sounds pretty damn close to everything else. I don't want a synth dedicated to just pads (I'm not on that kind of budget) but I do want a synth/softsynth that can create all types of pads.

If I end up buying a copy of Omnisphere I might not get the Juno-60 but I really am attracted to the other 80's-90's sound effects it has, big time.

The pads Aphex Twin uses around 3:00 are great (they don't sound they're at 100% velocity/volume all the time, there seems to be some modulation going on to make it sound organic and alive), but jump around as you wish:

[DarkPlasma]

Originally Posted by JohnChips

Yesss I've been considering just saving up a lot more and just going for the whole package through a Voyager (looking at youtube videos I dont know if they just demo them terribly or if it lacks variety but I havent really found ANY pad sounds on it).

Wait, what?