Want to dip your toes into the world of analog, but don't know quite where to start? RA's Francis Preve makes things easy, detailing some of the best synths currently on the market.

Awesome article. It's great to see RA moving (back?) into gear coverage. I appreciate the consideration for people's budgets. And it's nice to see some devices I had no idea about.

That Dark Energy sounds amazing. For someone interested in very tentatively wading into modular systems, would it be a good cornerstone, then? That is, can it be connected to other modules via banana plugs or the like?

excellent article! I love analogue synths!

No mention of the x0xb0x? Next best thing to a real TB-303, and one already built can be purchased for under 1000

Very nice. I would like to see more equipment-related articles on RA. Such as the Machine Love article series.

i was thinking the same thing

the doepfer seems a little pricey for one VCO but with that midi/cv it opens up a lot of possibilities. awesome article, more of these please!

The older the analog the better..

Great article!

Interesting article!
Last to come Korg Monotron is a pretty cool piece of analog synthesis, cost around 70 € and seems to be the most hackable analog synthetizer, a great news for all the circuit benders!

absolutely right! the same classic filter as the MS-10, MS-20.... and super cheap!!!

yep!

Im thinking of getting a Moog Little Phatty stage 2. Anyone have one or used one?

Along with a sturdy increase in dollars. But I agree mate.

the only way to go is Modular!!

nothing much to say in ruling....

Modular synths are a bit more expensive but give u alot more options and more original sounds than most synths..how u patch is up to you and you buy whatever VCF's and OSC's and so on to make the system work best for you..

where did you get those prices?) and no mention of other mfb synths? no x0x? whose writing this one?

yeah for a full Modular system its gonna be over 1000e but ya could get a very basic system for under a grand.i get most of my gear from Schneiders Buero in germany,great shop..lovely toys in there!he sells MFB too, MFB have some great gear,the BASSLINE 2 is nice and the KRAFTZWERG!

and where the dark energy is selling for 300? imho this 'review' is just idk for some hippies to buy some stuff.. 2 dsis out of 4 synths and 1 toy? come on!

the tetra would be nice to have..i would not like the mophp its monophonic!! i use a modular system myself and nothin compares in my opionion! the dark energy is good for an introduction to anolog gear for people that hove none! i dont understand where u are gettin hippies from?? who cares what people buy..get what u like pointless sayin stuff like that...come on!

looks like an ad to me nothing else

I've got the mopho and dark energy and they are both really good in different ways. the mopho is capable of lots of different analogue sounds and the software editor makes it basically an analogue vst (which is good as it lacks real knobs).
the dark energy has a distinct sound, a bit like a 101 but nastier.
you cant save patches, but this might help http://dap.askdesign.org/

I've just bought a Mopho too, and I have to say I'm happy with it (the bass is pretty sweet), although the software editor needs a bit of tweaking to make it more user friendly. To be honest - it's a steal for the money.

mmm I want them all

or the moog little phatty, just under a grand mind but sounds like nothing else!

Film about Schneiders Büro - fun and informative

TOTALLY WIRED. Watch here as video on demand stream

http://www.realeyz.tv/en/niamh-guckian-ahern-totally-wired_cont1319.html

Roland Juno 60 my favorite girl..., (-;

oberheim matrix 1000.

You can get them for 250€ on ebay. 1000 presets with the old matrix 6r engine inside, if you want to edit them you can get loads of programmes online to do it via midi

"The older the better.."

That´s sometimes right, but not in general! Some of the old synth have very bad signal-amps, they are makeing much signal to noise and do NOT let all the frequencies thru, or they distort. Of course You can say thats Your taste and You like it - o.k. But I found out that if You can grip/catch the signal before it goes into the output-amp of the synth, then You can catch a huge wider range of harmonics/overtones etc...
Thats why I only agree partially with You.
There are some newer synth on the market - "very Hi-End & pure analogue", like:
Analogue Systems,
Cwejman,
bananalogue,
Macbeth,
Livewire,...

Cheaper but not Hi-End but interesting too are:
MFB,
Doepfer,
Analog Solutions,
Curetronic...

pure tube-synth: Metasonix


:-)

Pure wankage... although there is something delicious about real-hardware (e.g. an Emu EIII: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vPhaCe2RyU ), it's also some terrible snobbery due to the rareness and pricing. Plus, lets face it, because it's hardware, you end up with the same damn loop or arpeggio going on forever, with the same kind of variation due to knob-twiddling. Been there, done that (1954: www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXqvBvOXV3U ) ... and half the manufacturers of those new expensive boxes know they'll be shelfware just like several million electric guitars.... there's much easier, more financially productive ways of making sounds than buying another box, cool though they are.

Fortunately computers are making sound manipulation of all kinds, including "analog emulation", accessible to more people, and we'll be producing better and more interesting music in the long run. Open source is making it free for everybody to try, including students, bedroom musicians and those just wanting to get their foot in the door without bill or steve pulling money out of our pocket to get upgrades to fix their mistakes and security blunders.

Also, you analog people are just emulating the real thing anyways - silentlistening.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/dispersion-of-sound-waves-in-ice-sheets/ - so you're really no better than digital with your en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analog_computer versus our "digital computer".

Here's some good links to get you started on a better, cheaper & open way:
www.linuxjournal.com/taxonomy/term/28 linux-sound.org/one-page.html linux-sound.org/plugins.html www.rosegardenmusic.com/tutorials/ e.g.
** www.rosegardenmusic.com/tutorials/en/chapter-0.html ** www.rosegardenmusic.com/tutorials/supplemental/zyn/zyn.html ** www.rosegardenmusic.com/tutorials/supplemental/hydrogen/ electronaut.linuxgamers.net/~lsd/music/synthtute/part01_overview.ogv orford.org/assets/jack.php
(get it all for free, with source-code and community if you want fedoraproject.org and ccrma.stanford.edu/planetccrma/software/packages.html ) and chances are it'll run just fine on that computer that's too slow or outdated to run the latest microsoft or apple OS).

i guess you just like to hear yourself talk mr. mayer. a discussion about analog vs. digital is plain stupid. analog + digital / best of both worlds. that´s how its done.

Exactly, best of both worlds is what I'm after too.

Sitting in front of a screen with a great controller will never be the same as the feel (or the smell) of a nice monophonic analog synth, even if they sound very alike. The 'instrument' part is still an important factor, the tangibility and the direct contact (no latency, no drivers, no reboots) just puts you in a 'different state' to put in hippy-speak.
That said, I love what VST's have done, take something like Absynth or Zebra, the sheer power (and sound) are just downright incredible.

Would be nice if this article was extended in a sort of 'vintage analog synths under $1000', as there are many great ones (some aforementioned) to be found.

Open Your ears ! You never compared for instance a real analogue ARP2600 and its emulation!
It is not about better or more sophisticated - hardware is not replacing software and vive versa. This are two different things
and different methods - in the end You come to different results not only in sound in structure too.
To simulate is borimg. Find the inherent laws of each media and play with it. Stop war between alalog+digital because this is a big wank...

The writer needs to research the price quotes a bit better.

"Oberheim SEM CV Patch version: Approx 600 Euro"

There is only one official re-seller of the Oberheim SEM in Europe, Schneider's Buero, and they're selling the CV Patch version for 850 Euro. They've also got the Doepfer Dark Energy for 395 Euro.

Yeah really usefull, thanks

great article!
i've got to get some analog

Excellent article. Here are some other great, cheap synths at www.affordableanalogsynths.com

I love my Yamaha CS-10. Great for some really deep acid basslines.
Another favorite in these days are the Dave Smith Mopho keyboard version, not completely analog but a nice modern contender. I still have my eyes fixed on the Minibrute.

The Arturia Minibrute & Yamaha CS-15 need to be mentioned as well.

Very nice

Anyone try out that Thingamagoop 2? Looks really cool to me. Anyone!?

Anyone try out that Thingamagoop 2? Looks really cool to me. Anyone!?

tested is sick! if i didnt have the voyager id be on it!

Your right about the DE... I sold my 101 to buy it...

Dope article, im liking the bleep labs thing, looks mental

Hi Guys, there's a collection of really cool analogue synth sounds on Steve Mac's new producer pack - 'Loopmasters Pres. Steve Mac - Mac's House'

Welcome to Mac’s House as Loopmasters join forces with the talented DJ/Producer, Steve Mac with a stunning collection of finely tuned loops and samples, packed with power and punch ready for the dance floor! Producers can expect to find over 800Mb of 24bit quality loops and sounds including chunky bass lines, fat bouncy beats, catchy music hooks, punchy percussion and an incredibly detailed collection of analogue synths.
>>>
www.loopmasters.com/product/details/1822

WTF does this have to do with analogue synths... Post in the sampler thread...