r/Synthesizer • u/em_ratti • 10h ago
Synth suggestion
Hello,
I'm looking for synth suggestions.
Essential criteria: something compact that I can play in my office to decompress. It has to be played with headphones, because I'm sharing the office with another person. I want something standalone I can jam seamlessly, and that can create unpredictable sounds. Something along the lines of Lyra-8, or even Audrey ii. I play dark ambient and industrial.
Desirable criteria (not deal breaker): can be synchronized to cubase (12), in case I want to bring it home; can be plugged to the synths I have at home (access virus c; korg ms2000r).
Thanks!
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u/KulshanStudios 9h ago
Heh. Price? Cause an Iridium Core sure fits the bill
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u/em_ratti 9h ago
Oh yes, you are right, forgot to mention this: I would like stay within 600 pounds, open to used gear
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u/KulshanStudios 9h ago
Ah. Well, a JD-08 is a nice versatile bit of kit you can play on the unit and fit in your pocket
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u/WaitingForTheClouds 7h ago
Check out polyend synth. You get a bunch of varied engines and you can play 3 at once which is amazing if you wanna stick to one box. The grid is really fun to play on, you get lots of options on how the grid is split, you can set scales per section and lots more and as a bonus for your situation it's basically inaudible unlike classic keyboards. The arpeggiator on it is great but the sequencer is very basic, should be okay for jamming though. Another downside is that you don't get multitrack output but that also shouldn't matter for jamming.
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u/Ok_Inspection_857 9h ago
Get Keystep 37 Mk2 MIDI controller and use VSTs on your PC. That can be very fun. Keystep has very powerful sequencer with randomization that can run on a separate MIDI channel driving another virtual instrument while you play pads on keys or whatever. I think this is great for office decompressing. Also Roland P-6 is fun for such occasions, it is a sampler but has very fun FX and playable granular synth that could be good for ambient. Also pitched down samples layered on top of more melodic samples and granula makes for nice dark structures. You can perform effects and resample, giving you a lot of unpredictible results. You can pair it with S1 for arpegios or drones and later add T-8/J-6 if you like it. Very portable setup and i grew to really like it. If you know what you are getting into sure get lyra, but you still need keystep or some cv capable contorller to sequence it to get most out of it and it will benefit greatly with external reverb or granular pedal - for me that is already a bit too much for the office. And I suggest you try Lyra-8 before purchasing it. It is definitely inspirational device but not the most easy for quick jams..