www.billnelson.com

I just bought my very first synthesizer, the Novation KStation and I decided I loved Synths so much I then went and bought a microKORG just last week. Amazing little things aren't they?
I also use Logic Pro and all the lovely 'Soft Synths' included with that.

Bet they sound even better through your pudding mixer too Cuthbert.

My synth setup is pretty modest, but I love 'em all the same. I use a Roland Juno 6 (pre-midi) and a Yamaha CS5 mono synth. I also have a Fender Rhodes, which I realise isn't a synth but it warms up any track.

There's a known problem with my soundcard, which makes it freeze up the moment you attach a midi cable! (No fix is likely either - so ain't it great when you buy something that only half-works ) This means I don't have access to softsynths, but hey, technical limitations are creative possiblities....

If someone placed a couple of grand in my hand and said "hey boy, go buy some synths!", I'd source an ARP Odyssey Mark I and an OSC Oscar. Stick them through a distorted flanger and get that Connie Plank/Billy Currie 'weeeeogghhhhhh!' sound.

Two thousand pounds to go 'weeeeogghhhhhh', there's dedication/addiction/madness....

I also really loved the Memory Moog that Ian Nelson used to play in Fiat Lux. Really unstable beasts, tuning-wise (I'm told), but they made some great sounds.

Another really good set of sounds I rediscovered the other day, were on a Revox Cadets track on the Cocteau 'Signature Tunes' LP. (I think RC was a pseudonym for BN, himself). I've no idea what synths Bill used on this track but it sounds superb, classic 80s Bill Nelson.

Anyway, enough from me.

Have fun bending electricity....


John

ARP Axxe & Omni 2, Moog Memorymoog Plus & Prodigy, Yamaha DX7 & TX7, Casio CZ-1000, Roland Vocoder Plus.

Soft: NI Dynamo, Pro 52, Rebirth RB-338, PPG Wave 2.V, Retro AS-1

Tom

My sole, primary axe is an Omnichord.

The acoustic guitar geezers I used to hang out with online say I've fallen over to the dark side , but that's just jealousy masquerading as dedication to an imagined ideal . Phooey !!

The MicroKorg was really cool and I did want one when I tried it a few yaers ago. That's the last time I tried a synth in a store, being but an occasional dabbler , between work and dogs and some acoustic geezering.

I got a Korg ns5r module for $250 on Ebay; I think they sold for about $900 new . better stuff has come out since , but this works pretty good
for what I do with the arp software. Room to upload more modern patches if I want to spend the dough.

I trigger the ns5r with a cheap Casio midi keyboard and run that through
the Arp X-8 program into Cakewalk . Not elaborate , but effective . Then some sonic mutilation in Sound Forge ....

What is your guys & gals opinions on Analogue vs Digital Synthesizers?

Shed Man's synth, which is currently out on loan to a friend, is a Yamaha SY55, bought for £150 on eBay 3 years ago. I bought it for its onboard sequencer which I have so far failed to figure out and consequently never used.

I use mainly softsynths plugged into Fruity Loops to produce either whole songs or backing tracks for the guitar. Weapon of choice is NI's Absynth 2, though I also use the PPG Wave 2v from time to time, along with others too numerous to mention.

Over the years I've owned / played a variety of analog synths: Yamaha CS5, Roland SH09, Roland SH101, Wasp, Moog Prodigy, Roland Juno 6 and Juno 60 but they're so 'collectable' these days I can't afford to buy one! I prefer anaolg synths for two reasons, one because it's what I learned on and two because of their ease of use. Give me a couple of VCO's and an ADSR envelope generator any day! I love some of the more complex layered sounds that digital synths can produce but the editing / sound creation process is so complex with hundreds of adjustable parameters, you need a pilot's license and a degree in astrophysics to work them. Analog rules OK!! The ideal marriage of the two is the softsynths, analog functionality with digital control. A friend of mine is going to give me a copy of 'Oddity' a software version of the aforementioned ARP Oddysey - hey, I can put on tight white jeans, speak in a Yorkshire accent and pretend to be Billy Currie!!

Shed Man out.

What is your guys & gals opinions on Analogue vs Digital Synthesizers?

I support whatever sounds the best for a particular song, track, or album. I admit I have a certain fondness for analogue synths (primarily because I associate them with New Wave, my favorite era of music), but I also realize they have limited uses. Historically, artists exist to break free of such limitations, which is one reason why digital synths exists and why they're popular.

The trend lately, though, is to impose limits; when a musician walks into a professional studio, he's bombarded with a glut of devices and options. It's almost too much to digest, so he feels the need to limit himself by using, for example, only analogue synths.

Is this an easy way out? I'd say it depends on the artist. Although acts like Ladytron and I, Synthesist use primarily analogue synths, their music is anything but retro. Sure, you hear the influence of 80s pop, but what they do has an immediacy to it. However, If the goal of the artist is merely to recreate in 2005 what was being done in 1982, then I question the validity of his statement.

Roland Juno 6. Kawai K1. Roland SH101.

I have owned: Arp Pro Soloist. Korg Micro Preset. Korg Poly 61.