Sorry - complete numpty question about synthesizers

[OneWorld]

KT Tunstall.
https://youtu.be/FGT0A2Hz-uk

Yep, that’s her and very impressive too.

[RichardT]

I can’t resist this one. The brilliant multi instrumentalist and singer Richard Bona using a Boss RC-30...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6SY2nz5PJs

I also like his observation ‘excellence is repetition’.

[blinddrew]

If I could play air-double-bass like that I could get a smaller car!

[adrian_k]

Check out David Ford for a masterclass in live looping too.
One take: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY8ni5kPp-E

Yes very good, he avoids what I sometimes see as a limitation of looping (from an audience perspective) which is the boring bit while the backing is built. Bringing the vocals in early avoids that, and then layering up in the breaks genuinely builds the dynamic rather than just adding more 'stuff'.

I still feel the need for a 'middle eight' or some musical change though. Also I wouldn't be able to do what he's doing in the context of this project, I would literally have to march in, plug in my stuff and go.

[adrian_k]

I can’t resist this one. The brilliant multi instrumentalist and singer Richard Bona using a Boss RC-30...

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6SY2nz5PJs

I also like his observation ‘excellence is repetition’.

Love this. It's actually a possibility for me to try this (well not this exactly!) for this project. The looper would count as a new skill and voice isn't my main instrument (is voice an instrument? - discuss).

[N i g e l]

If I could play air-double-bass like that I could get a smaller car!

or alternatively, you could sell your monstatruck_car, buy a motor bike with side car, and with the saved cash get a Ned Steinberger [or similar product] electric double bass + amp.

sounds eco, trading petrol for electricity ?

[blinddrew]

I think you might be over-estimating how much i spend on cars...

[adrian_k]

An update.

I managed to get a used Roland JD-Xi at a decent price to try it out. Coming from knowing nothing about synthesis, and not actually having been a massive fan of synthesised sound, I have to say this has been a bit of a revelation.

It’s easy to get going, knobs on the front do most of what you need and lots of editing available through the menus if you really need to. Three independent synthesiser tracks plus drums, lots of sounds (too many?), effects, vocoder, arpeggiator, etc. I can even plug my guitar in and use the filter and effects.

You guys would find it a toy and the mini keys aren’t great but for a guitarist who needs to expand his approach this hits the spot. The limitations (eg max 4 bars in a loop, no separate ADSR control just a ‘shape’ knob) actually encourage creativity, I think that with the addition of a simple loop pedal I can make this work for this project. I’m having fun trying anyway!

[Eddy Deegan]

Sounds perfect to me - especially as you're getting along with it

For learning about synthesis analogue synths are generally more logically laid out (the physical controls closely align with the signal path) but digital synths often present similar controls to analogue synths when it comes to filters and envelopes especially.

They usually differ in oscillator selection (analogues generally have a knob with different waveforms around it whereas digitals tend to require selecting a preset and then initialising it and/or locating an oscillator page in the menu) but the core principles are similar enough that you can learn a huge amount from a digital synth.

That said, a lot of digital synths have better modulation capabilities than analogues, with some notable exceptions (the PolyBrute and MatrixBrute spring to mind but I'm sure there are others). Certainly most of my digital synths have a good-to-excellent modulation matrix capacity.

Glad to hear you found something that's working for you and do fire away if you have any questions about synthesis in general as you progress

[adrian_k]

Thanks Eddy, that’s helpful. In fact this thing has two digital synths and one analogue so I am kind of getting a feel for the some of different possibilities. At numpty level anyway.

Glad to hear you found something that's working for you and do fire away if you have any questions about synthesis in general as you progress

Definitely will!

[The Elf]

Glad you have something that's working for you. I still take a sharp breath when someone says that they're not a keyboard player so mini-keys are good for them. I actually think that mini-keys make things more difficult for non-players, but to each their own.

Take your time getting to know it, and yes, we're always here if you find yourself head-scratching.

[adrian_k]

Sorry Elf I wasn’t clear.

I was trying to say I’m getting a lot out of it despite the mini keys. It’s more that ‘synthesis for dummies’ architecture works for me at this point.

The keys - well they are horrible. I’ve been learning basic keyboard skills on a Roland V-combo VR so could use that as a master keyboard. But that’s not what this project is about.

I’ll be back with lots of questions

[BillB]

As usual, the SOS Review tells you all the stuff that the manual doesn’t.
https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/roland-jdxi
Well worth a read.

[adrian_k]

Thank you - I should probably have read this before bidding

Actually it wouldn’t have changed anything, it’s a good review. And the hack to create 8 bar patterns is going to be useful.

[Martin Walker]

KT Tunstall.
https://youtu.be/FGT0A2Hz-uk

Yep, that’s her and very impressive too.

Wow, it certainly is, and she manages so much variety using that looper - a real skill in itself!

Martin