I got bitten by the bug years ago when I had to get a bass amp repaired under warranty. The closest place turned out to be a bunch of guys that their main business was fixing Hammond’s, Wurlis, and other vintage gear. They let me try out everything in the shop! I had no clue how to play anything, but twisting so the knobs and pulling drawbars was all so fun. The Hammond and Moog were my favorite and I wanted to learn more. They were both out of budget and too big and heavy, so I started watching tons of synth videos.
Now it’s about 10 years later. Earlier this year, I got a Mark I Rhodes and started learning to play and it’s coming along well. It’s lots of fun and I’m learning so much. But it’s still not filling that void. I want to be able to experiment with sounds and make full songs with multiple layers, but I feel lost from doing so much research before jumping in.
First I wanted an Akai Mini, then the Minilab to experiment with sounds design, then the Keystep for more focus on sequencing, then I saw so many cool videos on the Volca Sample that made it look like it could do everything, but then everyone was saying they outgrew all their Volcas. That lead me to a bunch of things saying to just start with a synth like the Monologue, XD, or the Hydrasynth Explorer. Then I started looking at Circuit Tracks to play the Rhodes over.
At first, I thought starting with a cheap Midi controller and computer would let me play around for not much cash. But now I use my phone or work laptop and don’t even have an actual computer to put a DAW on. I like the portability of an actual synth since it doesn’t need to computer, but since I’m still a relative noob, I feel going the DAW route would help me finish things since I could cut and paste together. I could still do a controller with some Volcas, but that seems like if need a dedicated space to set everything up.
I’m just so overwhelmed now, and without anyone to learn from, I don’t know were to start. I don’t have so much an end goal of doing one specific thing, it’s mainly about the learning and experimenting. If like to be able to do passable lofi, house, acid, and things I haven’t even learned about yet.
I’ve gone on for too long, both on this post, and deciding what I need to do. Currently have Rhodes>MultiFX>Bass Amp, no computer, no audio interface. What will get me the most fun and education and experimentation from here for <$1000?
I didn’t think I’d get any more responses to this, but it is still something I think about all the time.
I ended up getting the Verselab and it’s been fun, and I need to find more time again to get back to it. I actually started taking piano lessons and I got a really great teacher. I feel I’ve heard more about music the past few months of structured lessons instead of learning on my own for over 10 years. I feel now my learning is going more from point A to B to C than just learning what I feel like at the moment. I’m getting to play a variety of music too instead of what I’d normally listen to or choose on my own and it’s all teaching me different things.
I’d like to get my Rhodes sent off to Vintage Vibe to get a little refurb since it’s still all original, so it could use new felts and grommets at least and a better tuning than I can give it, so I still think about a keyboard purchase so I can play something while that’s gone and just for other sounds going forward.
I watch tons of videos from Starsky, loopop, Andertons, etc and they all make everything sound like the best thing ever. I still don’t know what I want to sound like yet, which I think is the root of my problem.
I got a Korg Nano Keys 2 for half price that I take to work when I have spare time and play with some phone apps or even a few web synths, and I’m learning a little of this knob tweaking stuff here and there. I’m still feeling like I’m more at home with hardware though, at least where I’m at now. Of course as I say that, I’ve been watching uHe Diva videos all week!
The synth demo videos are fun but confusing. Sometimes they make different things sound alike, other times wildly different, and it leaves me like, does it actually matter what I get or not? It’s getting me to have more expensive taste too! Lately I’ve been eyeing the Novation Summit. At least with stuff like that, I’m less tempted to just order it on a whim then when Behringer starts showing off cheap Prophets and such.
The Yamaha CK series pianos seem like something affordable, yet something I wouldn’t outgrow and would make a nice controller for a desktop synth too. With that, the only real decision is 61 or 88 keys. The 61 sounds nice if I start playing with other people again in the future, but if I’ve ran into some classical stuff where I’ve come up a key or 2 shirt with my 73 keys I have now.
The only other thing I’ve physically got my hands on was I demoed the original Minilogue when I went to get the Verselab. It sounded great, but I had no clue what I was doing at the time so I just scrolled presets. Was still fun though! I think I really want full sized keys though, I got kinda chonky paws.
So still basically zero clue what I want out of gear, or myself really, but I’ve been actually playing and learning in most of my free time anymore and having way more of a rewarding experience doing it.
Maybe after I get a little further in my classes, I’ll have to take some field trips to demo more stuff. I’m a little over an hour from New York and there look to be a ton of synth places there. I always just end up overthinking everything, and I need to just go get hands on this when it’s time.
Well I’m glad you replied to this post, it’s fun to get to talk to someone else interested in this stuff. I appreciate the advice and encouragement!
It’s an exciting journey, and I think you made a solid decision to get yourself a guide and learn some piano. It’s a solid foundation that will get you used to navigating music in general as well as performance and how music is assembled. Learning as you go is fine, but a little structure goes a long way to help connect various ideas and fill in knowledge gaps.
If you’re that close to some music stores, definitely spend an afternoon or two exploring different instruments to see what sounds good and scratches that hardware itch. The Novation Summit is a lovely synth, but yeah it’s far from an impulse purchase.
Beware the YouTube “synthfluencers” - they can make anything sound good. I tend to dig up complaint videos and lurk on Facebook and other online groups dedicated to a piece of equipment before I take the plunge. Spending a few weeks listening to people gripe about workflow, design flaws, and sound issues can help balance out the glowing words of the YouTube reviews. If you read through the Elektronauts forum dedicated to the Summit you’ll find out what it does well and what real users have issues with.
In the meantime, keep up with those lessons. The better you get at piano and the more new and interesting music styles you absorb, the easier it will be to speak that language as you go. I only just started all this in 2017 and I am still VERY new at all this! It’s a great way to keep your mind growing.
The amount of things that make sense to me now musically is possibly the most exciting thing I’ve been picking up, just from basic theory taught in the right order, and being exposed to a variety of genres and being able to compare and contrast techniques has been crazy in the best way.
Probably half my lesson songs are still classical, but this week I’m doing blues improv and an opera piece. It’s all things I’ve never heard, especially on a Rhodes, and I’m getting an appreciation for the creative process behind all of it and learning new things to enjoy.
Scales are becoming second nature, the circle of fifths makes sense now, awkward hand movements aren’t so awkward now, my hand independence is way better. There are so many perceptible landmarks I can see, feel, and hear.
I’ve typically looked for “value” gear, and I still do, but I’m in my 40s now and make decent money, and I think at this point with how serious I’ve been with learning and how much fun I’ve been having that budget isn’t going to be the top concern when I do go looking for the next set of keys. But that definitely means getting hands on so I don’t regret it. The Verselab has given me a nice intro to menu diving, and it really isn’t bad for all it can do, but it was a big learning curve to get started, and I still only know like half the features it has at this point. I would probably pick a lot of knobs over deep menus, but getting the hands on seems to be the only way to know for sure. Plus of course seeing if I like the key feel. I know many things feel very different between my piano and my teacher’s upright. Some stuff I feel I play better on mine, others on hers.
I’ll keep studying and playing. Music is great because there’s always new things to learn or to try out. You do the same!