Hello,
I am a guitarist, but I do not know much about synth. Likewise, I was inspired by
I wish to replicate this guitar sound. Can you suggest cheap setup for that?
I am thinking about Korg volca keys and cheap midi controller
Casio dg-20 have double Chanel mode for 3 high and 3 low strings. I have to buy 2 synths for that?
Thank you for replay.
Depends how much money you are willing to spend and how much my ou are ready to dive into synthesis.
To get two sounds you need either two synths or a bitimbral/multitimbral synth that can play at least 3 voices simultaneously.
Micromonsta 2 should be much fun (it can do 2x 6 voices), but there are not that many controls on the panel.
As a guitarist, what should please you is the big sound LMNC gets in the video: but he’s using a Moog Grandmother that is roaring easily. Micromonsta would need quite some tweaks to sound as aggressive, or some distorsion but not the guitar kind: you’d kill the bass.
Any synth will do anyway, but you should imo dive in synths and synthesis first, get a simple one such as a Korg Minilogue XT and tweak it until you know what you’re doing.
Volcas are cool, it was my own entrance door, and they are cheap, but very limited in sound design, you won’t get that roaring sound.
Might be a good first step though. Beware, I don’t think they are sold with a PSU so you have to add it to the price.
You could take a look at the subdecay M3 or pixel wave pedals if you want to stay in the guitar realm, with synths sounds
You need to assess the choice of controller from a perspective of how much you’re willing to invest into this, both time and money.
In the video he specifically says he bought the inexpensive ones in not working condition which means that he (skilled in electronics diagnosis and repair) fixed them. This is a very old controller and if you can’t get one in perfect working condition for cheap, unless you love the built in sounds, your money would probably be better spent on a more capable midi guitar that will actually feel like a guitar.
As far as synths, it comes down to how much of this you expect to work right out of the box. The sound of the synth and the sound design possibilities, the capability of the synth for sequencing, voices and multi-timbrality, these all come at a cost.
Another thing I might mention is that as a guitar player, I don’t know if you’re accustomed to playing through an amp, but to get the most out of synths you won’t want to play through a guitar amp. You’ll most likely need a keyboard or bass amp so as not to blow out your guitar speaker and to make the most of the synths so a new amp is an added cost. If you intend to listen in headphones and record into a computer directly or something then this won’t be relevant.
I’m not discouraging the idea because as a guitar player also, the video is fun to watch and interesting to consider. But as a person who ends up with lots of projects and not enough time to finish them, as well as finding that when I use old gear and try to do new things with it there’s a lot of hidden costs, I just think it would be good to write down your actual goals and forget about the gear recommended by the guy who modifies electronics on youtube, unless your hobby is electronics repair in which case it’s probably a good enough option to keep you entertained for a while but not in a long term serious set up.
Either way good luck with your project!
You gave me a lot of suggestions. I do not know what to choose. My budget for synths is 200-300eur(350dol). I can spend more, If it is a good deal.
I wish to have keyboard, drum machine and possibility to play two Chanels (most important). I am realistic, I understand that I can not get exactly same sound for 200dol,when guy in the video have 2k dol setup to play with that guitar.
The model 15 Moog he’s using is over $10,000 now.
If you already have a guitar, a used Roland VG 99 will do two synth sound’s at once via a GK3 hex pup mounted on the guitar. I’ve seen them go for as low as $225.
An expression pedal will work for what he’s doing however I’ve seen that pedal controller he’s using for $200 used and it pairs well with the VG99. Note, the synth sounds on the vg99 are not midi triggered and therefore don’t suffer the problems associated with guitar pitch to midi. The guitar strings act as the oscillator and are harmonically restructured to produce the synth sounds.
This however is a complex setup that will take a while to learn. A rabbit hole for sure.
The patch is available at vguitarforums.
I used to play guitar a lot, as well.
What happened to me is that I’ve bought those Volcas 10 years ago, discovered synths, and now play and love them more than guitar!
Sam is an enthusiastic and inspiring fellow. He makes it fun for sure. Anyway the sound you like above is a synth’s, so you might have just fallen for the sound of a Moog Grandmother… It’s 750€ second hand. A lot of money for some, relatively affordable for others…
You can find cheaper synths that sound good as well. Best thing to do might be going to a store and spend some time playing a few synths… Volca Keys don’t have this big gnarly sound. Micromonsta might be a bit complicated for someone that is just starting. I don’t think it’s a good voice to learn synths.
Do you have friends that are into synths and can introduce you to these?
@shigginpit’s remark about amplification is a very pertinent one, it’s all too easy to forget when you already own a decent setup: I first played the Volca on my hifi. A couple months later I had a pair of cheap monitors and a sub for 600€.
Note that if you add a little drum machine just to have fun, you’ll quickly want something to mix them.
Plenty of options today to get into synths.
I used to own a Casio DG-20. The plastic strings and rubber fretboard were very strange indeed. These days you just need an iPhone, Jam Origins MIDI Guitar (which converts a guitar signal into polyphonic MIDI without the need for any additional hardware) and a synth to send the MIDI to. If you keep things on the iPhone you could grab a (virtual) Model 15 for a lot less than $10k.
Oh! Maybe try a Roland S-1.
It’s cheap, basic but deep.
Portable, I use it a lot with headphones…
4 voices of polyphony.
Are MIDI is enough to split string sounds in the two?
I watch a lot of YouTube videos about beginners synth. I think my favorite synth is Arturia MiniLab.
Furthermore, I only do not like drum buttons location. I also have Bass Synthesizer pedal SYB-5.
It will be enough for DG-20?