Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Don't. Computer keyboards are inexpressive. Constraints can be a great thing.
Not this one. It would be like finger painting, except you have to wear mittens.
It's not that bad.
Learning Synths
71–80 of 128 posts
Re: Learning Synths
#72Re: Learning Synths
#73Re: Learning Synths
#74My browser put up a dialog asking for permission to control midi devices before the site showed anything.
It's a good idea to show content before your page does anything that asks for scary permissions. (And, honestly, without knowing what the site does, its pretty scary to click on a link on hacker news and have a site ask for elevated permissions before it shows anything.)
Re: Learning Synths
#75If you want to understand (Subtractive) synthesis. The best way is to get copy of VCV rack and follow a few tutorials. If you patch one subtractive mono synth voice once, you understand 80% of all subtractive synth architecture moving forward. https://vcvrack.com (open source and wonderful) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V35OhojjqDs Happy patching :) There's a bunch of other really interesting types of synthesis and…
I bought a Moog Mother-32 and read the manual - I remember it being very thick (for modern music gear) and informative. I didn't do too much patching but by the time I was done I understood the basics of subtractive synthesis.
A few years earlier I also had a DX9 that I foolishly used to try and emulate analog sounds. Somehow I stumbled across an article on Fourier series and how infinite sinusoidal summations could be used to create the other types of fundamental waves. Programming a 4-op DX synth to emulate these and looking at waveforms in Audacity gave me a natural intuition for how time series waves relate to frequency and harmonic content.
If I had to do it all again I might get a Korg Minilogue since it can display waveforms on its LCD and is digitally-controlled.
Re: Learning Synths
#76Earlier quoted context omitted.
Don't. Computer keyboards are inexpressive. You'll be giving up the ability to modulate note velocity/volume, for starters. Get a cheap MIDI keyboard for a few hundred bucks. If instead of playing you're more interested in making cool sounds, I'd skip the keyboard completely and download a free DAW like Reaper, Ableton, or FL Studio. Whichever route you take, the secret is practice. It always is...
> Don't. Computer keyboards are inexpressive. Constraints can be a great thing.
Music is about nuance, finesse, expressivity.
You don't have that with a computer keyboard. Music is hard, don't set yourself for failure so early, for no good reason.
Re: Learning Synths
#77Earlier quoted context omitted.
I tend to thing that non-modular is a better place to start. Modular is great, I've wasted untold shameful consumerist dollars on Eurorack, but I think it's better to get the core concepts from a well-known fixed-architecture synth (like a Minimoog clone/VST) before moving on to modular. Modular can be very overwhelming when you're new.
To this point, are there any free/cheap apps/browser apps that clone simple/older/well known synths you'd (or others here) would recommend for skilling up a bit? Doesn't need to be anywhere near pro quality sound-wise, not what I'm after. A million years ago I had some analogue korg model and have been interested in playing around again. But I know myself well enough to know that my interest may very well be fleeting…
Sylenth has a free trial. Garageband probably has an analogue synth in it. There's also v station:
https://stgdownloads.novationmusic.com/novation/novation-sof...
Re: Learning Synths
#78Earlier quoted context omitted.
Not this one. It would be like finger painting, except you have to wear mittens.
It's not that bad. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbRXKVcQ8EA
I'm amazed by this.
At the same time, if this is the best one can hope for on a computer keyboard, I feel comfortable resting my case.
Re: Learning Synths
#79Re: Learning Synths
#80If you want to understand (Subtractive) synthesis. The best way is to get copy of VCV rack and follow a few tutorials. If you patch one subtractive mono synth voice once, you understand 80% of all subtractive synth architecture moving forward. https://vcvrack.com (open source and wonderful) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V35OhojjqDs Happy patching :) There's a bunch of other really interesting types of synthesis and…
Came here to post something similar, so I'll upvote your comment, and add my own. I started building a Eurorack modular synthesizer in 2009. Prior to that I would mostly tweak presets on other synths. I knew what the filter did, and could adjust an envelope, but didn't have a fundamental understanding of what was going on.
When I started using the modular, I was forced to understand the signal flow. And, the patch cables provided a visual cue of what was happening. I learned more about synths in a year with my eurorack system than I did in the previous 10 with hardwired synths.
After you learn those basic rules for patching a synth, then you get to break them. (-:
Recommending something like VCV rack seems like starting with Calculus before you can solve 2+2, but it's really not. The signal flow is right there for you to observe.