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Microbrute vs korg microsynth6/7/2023 If a synth is advertisted as a VCO or DCO oscillator synth, it will have VCF filters and VCA amplifier sections. If you want a synth that can produce the warmer/fatter analog style sounds without any digital artifacts / aliasing, then you should look for synths that have an analog topology - specifically, analog oscillators (either VCOs or DCOs), analog filters (VCFs), and analog amplifier sections (VCAs). In the 80s, digital and hybrid analog/digital synths started to come on the scene. All of the classic synthesizer sounds up until the 1980s were analog. On the other side, analog synths are generally considered to be "warmer and fatter sounding", free of digital artifacts that may be produces when digitally approximating analog sounds. If you're looking to produce electronica/dubstep/dance music, there are many sounds that digital synths can produce that are not available on analog synths. Digital and software synths are generally cheaper to produce, and can offer more cutting edge sound shaping techniques, like advanced oscillator waveshaping, wavetable scanning, and other newer innovations. There are a few different types of synthesizer sound engines available, and each has it's own sound and character. It will be listed as Polyphony: Number or Voices: Number. But with analog, hardware gear, polyphony has a direct relationship to cost, so you should keep an eye on what polyphony each synth you are looking at offers. With digital synths and software synths / VSTs, most have a high amount of polyphony. Generally, for a first (or only) synthesizer, its best to get a polyphonic synth, so you can play both harmonies (chords) and melodies (leads/bass lines) Note that virtually all polyphonic synths can run in unison/monophonic mode as well as their native polyphonic mode, giving you the best of both worlds. It's a recommended option for it's price. That being said, we're very excited by the sound and value of the Poly-D. Despite the misleading term "Poly" being used in the name, its really just capable of Paraphonic function. The Poly-D is a good example of a paraphonic synth. It's a nice feature to have on a mono-synth, however, it's not true polyphony, and has definite sound design limitations. Paraphonic synths can be thought of as a sort of "poor mans polyphony". They become monophonic in terms of the filter and amplifier. Note: There is another type of voicing called Paraphonic, which means that a synth may be able to play more than one key at a time with a different pitch (by splitting its normally mono oscillator section into multiple pitches), however, the pitches are not individually articulated through the filter and amp sections. Most early synths from the 1960s and 1970s were monophonic, and were used for bass or lead sections in many classic songs. Monophonic means 1-Voice - Only one key you strike will play at a time, until a different note is struck. If you are just looking to play melodies / lead parts or bass lines, then you can look at Monophonic synths. If you want to be able to play harmonies of chords of two, three or more notes, then you need a synth with Polyphony (multiple voices). Polyphony is the total number of voices (total number of keys) that you can press down at one time, and get a different articulated note out of each one. There are now dozens of large synth manufacturers, and hundreds of boutique synth modules available, and it can be difficult to determine what the best option is for getting into synthesizers.īelow are the top four considerations that you need to make a choice on: 1. This is a common question that arises in synth forums, and social media posts. What Synth Should I Purchase? - 2022 Guide 2020 Guide: A list of considerations and recommendations for getting your first synth.
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