Electro, gothic, noise, darkwave from the Side-Line
just won an ebay auction for a Waldorf Microwave XT.
this was the initial synthesizer i really wanted before getting all the others. now i'll finally have it. i really wanted the shadow version but haven't ever seen one for sale.
hopefully i'll be able to pick up a mint fs1r someday but i don't plan on getting anything else for a while
Congrats!
Mmm, I wouldn't mind a bit of Waldorf in my studio..
I got a Wireless SM58 and a Novation Launchpad last week.
i think i have a pretty powerful sonic pallet now.
Future Retro XS - highly programable mono synth. use for crazy drones and sound FX, killer leads and basses, even really fat string sounds. basically this thing is like a laser scalpel, so if you have the know how.. you can carve almost any sound.
Eventide Eclipse - more fx than i know what to do with. still learning what this can do but i love it for all the reverb and delay stuff it can do with factory defaults. this thing is deep and i'm enjoying learning how to program my own fx with its algorithyms.
Novation X-Station 25. midi controller, interface and synth. haven't used the synth part really but i hear it isn't half bad.. same thing about the fx too.. i'm sure people think it sucks as an interface.. and it might.. i couldn't tell the difference though.. besides my mixer is even more loathed (Xenyx)
and now the XT
i wanted the xt for the wave tables and its digital sound. and it had to have all those knobs for immediate control. the polyphony will be a welcome addition as well. it'll look sexy and help fill out my new rack. pictures to come :P
since i'm using reaper as a daw i think i'm going to go the software sampler route for drums. going with NI's Battery so i can get FM8 too since the Yamaha FS1R has remained too elusive for me.
i think this set up will keep me satisfied for a while then a new interface, master keyboard and studio monitors will be due. after that i'll fall in love with a bunch of new synthesizers and maybe buy a couple.. all the while dreaming of starting my modular when macbeth releases his back end filter.
KryonikMessiah23
offlinemember
I'll be buying a waldorf blofeld. Mostly for the wavetable stuff.
I bought an alesis Ion this year and i'll be damned if it isn't one of the best sounding V/A's out there.
@KryonikMessiah: is the Ion for any good? heared some youtube vids out there and they sounded amazing...
the Ion is a killer VA. after playing one i wondered why so many people suggested the SH-201 over the Ion
well I got an SH-101 replica on my Powercore...so no need for a "real" one...too expensive for me....
KryonikMessiah23
offlinemember
Oh yeah, Yade, it's amazing. And this is coming from someone who owns some vintage analog. The oscillators are much thicker than the Virus and JP series and the filters are great, really resonant depending on which filter module you are using.
Not to mention it has three operator FM, a mod matrix, and all kinds of cool stuff. I got mine for 450$+shipping.
wow 450$ is a killer...here In europe I only saw them for around 900$....needto find a dealer who ships to Europe in the US...
thicker than the Virus and JP OSCs sounds promising *G*
KryonikMessiah23
offlinemember
No kidding. It's taken over a LOT of duties I was using my virus for.
Of course the virus still has an overall more aggressive sound to it and has it beat in the options department in some ways. The Ion's onboard effects are very few, off the top of my head it has some good flangers and phasers, a small delay, and a chorus, along with compression and some distortion modeling.
I use outboard FX for the most part anyhow so that doesn't bother me.
which do you like better between the virus and ion
for bass:
for strings:
for leads:
general mayhem:
KryonikMessiah23
offlinemember
Can do
for bass: Ion. The filter modules actually add frequency content to the sound. It's just really quite a bit bassier in general. The virus I have, the virus kb, doesn't seem to be on par in that regard, although it's from my experience better for more non obtrusive bass such as that used in genres like EBM or Psytrance.
for strings: Virus. It's just seemingly a lot easier to get huge string sounds on it due to the ion lacking stereo spread in unison mode and the virus having a LOT more onboard FX. Both have the required oscillators/filters, but it's much easier on the virus.
for leads: Tough call. For leads that are going to stand out themselves in the mix, usually the Virus due to it's aggressive sound. For slower tracks that need "bigger" sounds, I find the Ion to be superior. Both are good at sync leads and whatnot, but I'd give the ion the edge in PWM based sounds. The virus though just has this quality to it's high passed and band pass filters that I love, seeing as I use those a lot, and it seemingly cuts through the mix very easy.
general mayhem: You can't go wrong with either one, but I think the Ion wins here. Huuuge mod matrix, crazy sequencer thing, tracking generator,and a superior control interface. The knobs are extremely solid in comparison and high resolution. As in, you can tweak the filter just like one of those old synths and the synth doesn't use the zippy 127 step deal a lot of V/A's use.
The virus in comparison seems easier to work with LFO wise and has a few of the more useful options not buried in menus. Not that there's TOO many of those on the Ion. Generally, you press a button, and said options move to the huge screen in the middle for your editing needs, all controlled by buttons and a very well placed knob.
The virus has a much, much better arpeggiator. The Ion only allows for a random pattern or one of the factory patterns for some reason, while the virus not only has it's own patterns but all the other standard arp options. The Ion has an easier to implement multi mode, while the virus has an easier method of routing filters.
Hard to choose which one I like more. Glad I own both. After I get a Blofeld and build the modular I want along with the analogs I already have i'll be set sound wise.
TL;DR-Alesis Ion is a very versatile, great sounding synth. As is the virus, and both are good for different things.
Try and find one, and don't get the Micron, as the micron is particularly annoying to program.
@YADE, 900 is definetly too much for an ion, i've seen it going in local listings a few months ago for 450 euros, it is still much more than 450$, but not as much as 900
and while we are at this topic, after years and years of yearning, foot stomping, saying "no i will not", but regreting it later and such, i got meself two things: a virus and a sampler (esi32).
virus is fucking great, i got a virus b, it is bloody fugly black/dark red combination, especially compared to the polar...but fuck looks, this thing rips and thrashes like hell. one of the first things i saw when i tried some of it's presets is how easy it is to make aggroterrorhell, so i will delete all of the presets as soon as possible. i played with friend's TI some time ago, but only briefly, and loved the sound on the first go, but now, when i started delving INSIDE, shit, this thing is serious, nice effects, great filters and waveforms, and i can pass shit through audio ins. great thing! i think im sleeping with it tonight
on the other hand i got an e-mu esi 32 dirt cheap, when the package arrived it felt guilty that i receieved it for an amount of money that is probably less than what you could get at the scrapyard for it. it is completely un-extended, no zips, scsi, effects, nothing, just a floppy, 8MB of RAM, but shit, i don't need more, it has great coloring in the converters, a very decent filter, some send/returns, and a few factory soundbanks. when i bought it, i thought it would be nice to sample hisses and shit i make in audiomulch or some almost-granular sampling but with mono sampling and bit reduction, 1987. style, i can cram a lot in those 8mb.
i have a few questions regarding it...how do i update the OS? e-mu used to sell the upgrade, but that is discontinued, and it would be nice not to have to load a bank using several (slooow loading) floppies, because with the new update i get support for iomegai zips...help guys!!!
CharlieAngel
offlineMember
I received an Ableton Launchpad. My only other scheduled purchases this year would be a small control board to round out my laptop set-up, a laptop with a real graphics card + projector for visuals, and then I'll be all set to play world of warcraft while I ignore my music.
My next purchases will be an SPL Channel One *or* Frontliner, and a Blue Baby Bottle mic.
So tell me guys, if you could get one thing first what would it be - a nice condenser mic (going into MOTU preamps) or a nice tube preamp (with a SM58 going into it)?
I heard stories of Trent and Manson recording with SM58s (and 57s and Betas), but running them into LA2As and so on. This is close enough to the sound I'm after and I love the sound of an SM58. So maybe a nice pre is a higher priority than a nice mic.
But on the other hand, a nice mic would provide a good starting signal, and it can be grunged nicely with some Vintage Warmer plugin, etc.
Truth is I'll probably wait and get both. But I thought it'd make for a good discussion (and I value your opinions more than those Gearslutz douchebags).
too true about gearslutz. a lot of those guys seem to enjoy talking about and collecting synths more than playing them. but there is also some very knowledgeable people there.
when it comes to mics and pre-amps though i'm totally clueless. i've considered getting a mic though.. i've only run synths, drums and guitars through the Eventide Eclipse... i wanted to see if I could sound like T-Pain.
i just purchased another piece i consider part of my growing studio.
while not a synth or instrument in any way i find it most conducive to music. My new Volcano Vaporizer. I know i shouldn't smoke around my gear.. but it isn't really smoke and fuck it anyway.
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@virulent hm i guess it depends on how your studio is set up. we tried using a condenser in our rent space (just a room in an ex commercial building, where us and another band play) except some minor isolation, the room doesn't have any acoustic treatment. when we tried the condenser it picked vibrations from all over the place, so even when we didn't hear them, the recording picked heavy broom (and everything is ok with a mic, of course). so from my experience, if you don't have a booth, or at least access to some brickwall basement, you are going to have a pain recording properly using condensers.
on the other hand, when we are mentioning trent, i saw a picture of him recording saul williams in some hotel room, where they used only blankets as an ad-hoc isolation and they used condenser mics.
oh, and i heard that eno recorded that shithead bono in the studio (not the booth) using only the sm58 and a few diffusing panels...don't know if it's truth though.
i would always go for a good tube preamp/compressor before the expensive mic, as it is more versatile, and i have pretty cheap deal for recording vocals in some studio
@dogmeat: my current studio is in my loungeroom. Which has hardwood floors and no acoustic treatment (ouch). But one of those "Mic Thing"s costs only a couple hundred...And other than that I also thought of using the rehearsal studio I go to, as a possible recording space (though it's the same - apart from foam-lined walls for iso, it has no treatment as such).
Sure for the price of a SPL Frontliner, Mic Thing and good condenser, I could probably afford to record the 2 next albums worth of vocals in a pro studio. But, I'd prefer to do it at home/on my own time.
Hmmm...
@v friends we share studio with recorded their vocals in some guy's basement, it was built with bricks, and gave pretty good acoustics, they play that sigur ross-ish mellow, feel good sound with lots of silences, so i guess they were freaks regarding backing noise, and it worked ok. once you get brooms in, you are going to piss blood to remove it, and even then, it will sound horrendeous in most cases. i know about recording home, i would like to have all the keyboards with me at all times, but there is no room, so we had to find some other space, and there we can be as loud as we want at least.
@dm: yeah, maybe recording in a rehearsal studio is a Bad Idea. I mean, I only go there to test my live setups on a loud PA before gigs so I know I won't get feedback from the vocal gear (and to get used to the volume). I'd hate to be recording a quiet vocal line and have to remove the sound of a ska band rehearsing in the background :P
Mmmm, Frontliner.. Some genuine tube saturation over synths and percussion would go a long way :)
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