virus B

[boomstick]

so, ive been intending to dip my toe into hardware, and ive seen virus Bs for very cheap, around 300 USD. i know, i know, they're virtual analog. i have heard that the B sounds much better than the TI. but, still virtual analog. i have been longing for a solid multitimbral hardware synth(with MIDI of course), and i want to know what you guys think of the virus B vs, say, stuff from Dave Smith, like the prophet 08(which i've actually seen people reviewing very harshly, and is too expensive for me).

[steevio]

ive got a virus b and a prophet 08,

the virus b is quite flexible but the interface is unintuitive, hardwork and the sound is thin compared to an analogue.
although the prophet has limitations, it sounds much better, the interface is excellent, and is an all round better synthesizer.

but.. if you can t afford a prophet, and you want to get into hardware cheaply, its a start.

[Stomper]

I think you should ask yourself first, what do you look for in a hardware synth, and was is the priority of those things?

is it important for you to have a lot of knobs to play with?
or is it more important for you how the synth sounds?

you can look at DSI Tetra, it has the Dave Smith sound, but not many knobs like with the Prophet.
There are many options out there (DSI, Access, Clavia, Arturia, Korg, Sonic Core, Waldorf.....) but you need to know what you want first.

[boomstick]

i want a synth with a high quality sound(of course) and with enough knobs to not have to go menu diving very much. i do want multitimbrality and midi, and if possible, flexible automation of all parameters using midi.

[Stomper]

i want a synth with a high quality sound(of course) and with enough knobs to not have to go menu diving very much. i do want multitimbrality and midi, and if possible, flexible automation of all parameters using midi.

Not for 300$

that is why you need a list of priorities.
make a list of all the synths that might be interesting to you.
than go over the names and delete all those that dont have multi timbral.
than go over them again and delete those that dont have enough knobs.
just an example of course.

IMO, Tetra 4 sound closest to what you described.
4 voice, multi timbral, not too many knobs, but enough to play with.
im just not sure if 4 voice in multi timbral situation will be enough. i know it wouldnt be for me.

[Torque]

i want a synth with a high quality sound(of course) and with enough knobs to not have to go menu diving very much. i do want multitimbrality and midi, and if possible, flexible automation of all parameters using midi.

Here's the problem you're going to run into. Something for $300 with flexible automation of all parameters does not exist in a poly synth. If you have a good head on your shoulders and have a good enough attention span to really dive into a machine that isn't that user freindly there are plenty of good sounding hardware synths out there.

I have seen way too many techno people falling for the "Analog=Awesome" bullshit. There are allot of great digital synths from the late 80's and 90's that might be a mthrfckr to work with right off the bat but if you dive in have some of the best sounds out there. The Korg Wavestation is a good example. I have one and it was a mthrfckr to figure out at first but that thing can do some sh!t i've never seen anything else do. Dave Smith invented that synth for Sequential Circuits. At the time it was called the Prophet VS and then he went over to Korg and improved it and refined it to make the Korg Wavestation. Don't be fooled, the vst Korg legacy plugin does not sound as good as the hardware. I picked that up for $300. Another cheap one that people seem to miss is the Yamaha TX81Z. You can pick those up for under $100 and that thing is a bass monster. It's another mthrfckr to try to work with but there are a few free patch editors that have now made it easy to dive into. The Korg M1 is now a bargain too. You can get allot for your money if you just take a little time and look.

[steevio]

i want a synth with a high quality sound(of course) and with enough knobs to not have to go menu diving very much. i do want multitimbrality and midi, and if possible, flexible automation of all parameters using midi.

youre asking too much for the money,

but saying that you're pretty much describing the Virus b there if you can get it cheap.
my description of thin sound is in comparison with my various analogues, and the nord which sounds better, but its not going to be any thinner than you'd get out of a softsynth.

it has plenty knobs, but the menu system is a bitch, but you dont have to dive into it that often, and if you want all the things on your list, you are pretty much going to have to accept menu diving.

if you want a good sound, maybe the nord lead rackmount would be better for you, they go pretty cheap on ebay, and it fits your description (but only 4 part multi-timbral)

the Tetra would fit your bill, but its pitiful on knobage.

i would advise you to go for a monosynth and not worry about mulit-timbrality, the Doepfer dark energy is a semi modular and will sound lights years better than anything in that price range, and they are bringing out other semi-modules to go with it, (Dark Matter...etc.) and it will integrate with doepfer modules which are relatively cheap, and you could build it up over time.
(btw i'm totally convinced modular is the way to go for this music, it's a mushrooming scene right now, with so much energy going into new designs which come out every few weeks, you just need to get a few modules to get a foothold, then take it from there, the Dark Energy is the perfect way to start)

[tone-def]

i have heard that the B sounds much better than the TI.

i've never heard this.
the Virus C was an improvement over the B and the TI was another big step forward from the C.

if your considering a Virus B you should have a look at the Waldorf Blofeld. it may not have many knobs but it's really easy to use. i haven't seen any decent clips of it on youtube yet but if it's anything like the older Waldorf synths it will be insane.

if your looking for analog then a mono synth would be your best option. i've been thinking about what synth(s) i want to buy for about the last year but i keep finding other more interesting/better value/better sounding stuff.

i've now got a shortlist of 6 synths. two of those are monos and i'll buy both of those and i'll choose 1 of the 4 polys on my list. i hope that will keep me happy for the next 7 or 8 years.