Don’t worry..I’m not going to become DjP, but it’s for my (nearly) 8 year old son..

He’s getting into music making apps on the ipad etc, and he’s surprisingly good!
He’s well into ‘andrew huang ‘ on YouTube – that chap makes beats and tracks on little synths, loop pads, and the like.

We’ve been looking into bits of kit like:
This sample recorder/player
And
THe microgranny (great name!)

And there’s a few midi keyboards with drum pads attached…
I’m REALLY not musical, but become a ‘research geek’ when it comes to tech!!

Just wondering if anyone here could offer some insight and advice as to a ‘few bits of kit’ that are simple to use, adaptable, and will keep him interested!!

Cheers

DrP

how deep are your pockets is the first question you should answer. It’s a rather large rabbit hole.

andrew hwangs channel is great.

Good question…it’s for Christmas from us and the family… i was thinking, if he got a drum pad, and synth thing, about the £100 each mark…..

Ideally..

DrP

Look at the korg volca series and the arturia microbrute for hardware, get to learn the basics of synthesis and beatmaking without spending a lot of money (most of them are £100 each, cheaper on ebay).

The microgranny is awesome, it uses granular synthesis, which may be a little complex for a beginner, still not sure I fully understand it, and i’ve been wasting money on this shit for over a decade.

Novation Launchkey 25 is also good as a midi/usb controller, as it comes bundled with Ableton Live Lite, which is a good way of testing the waters with DAW sofware without breaking the bank.

I’ve not used them, but I’ve seen AHw use the micro granny, it does look a great wee device. The pads on the Akai are velocity sensitive, which is good, it’ll no doubt be programmable and useable as a midi controller outwith the box too(ie in abelton or other DAW(Digital audio workstation)).

He’s only 8 years old at the mo, but if he kept at it, you are probably looking at things he’ll want down the line, like Abelton live(and a capable pc/mac), probably some kind of actual keyboard(novation impulse would do fine there, I’ve got a 25, but I’d get the 61), and he’ll probably lust after an Ableton Push at some point as well(which would basically replace the akai). He’ll probably end up wanting decent headphones and monitor speakers aswell.

There’s a ridiculous amount of midi controllers mind you and synth like stuff.

I’d look at the Korg Volca Keys as a good intro to synthesisers or the Volca Sample for beats ( its a sampler but I just use mine as a drum machine ), there are other Volca’s available but the Volca FM is a complex beast, and the Volca Beats a bit limited.
Both of these are available for around £130 ( they were a bit cheaper but the £ plummeted for some reason )

Aphex Twin track created with Korg gear inc the Beats/Sample/Keys

Regarding DAW’s as he’ll end up there at some point.

I use Abelton, it comes in a few flavours:

The lite version you get bundled, limited to 8 tracks. missing lots of functions, but useable.
abelton standard, fully functional, but missing some instruments and sample packs.
abelton suite, you get everything, all instrument and sample packs, plus max for live(basically programming for music, big learning curve there, it just puggles me!)

Other DAWs out there:

Reaper (Youre as well getting him into this to start, as it’s basically free(the ask for 60 dollars or something after a bit, but it keeps running), but it’s well thought of and powerful) https://www.reaper.fm/

Infact, this will tell you better than I can about the range of available DAWs. (ignore the order)

https://blog.landr.com/every-recording-software-matters-music-today/

Regarding DAW’s as he’ll end up there at some point.

I agree eventually he’ll end up with a DAW but staring at a computer screen is not much fun, knob twiddling is far better 😀

I have one of these… [video]https://youtu.be/dI9l3WGmDeE[/video]

Its hilarious

Cheers all… will have a look at the suggested items, run them past him, and let you know!!!!

DrP

I’d maybe not mention abelton or the push btw, let him come up with those wants on his own.

Unless you fancy spending the best part of 2k on those and other bits! 😆

Get him a second hand Fairlight CMI!

He can have a play and you can enjoy the grind, chug chug of the floppy drives.

My other hobby 🙂

You can get really good stuff cheaply second hand, but you can also pay more for second hand than new.

Just like bikes, you can spend as much as you want and it doesn’t necessarily make it better.

I would consider a Novation Circuit. It’s a little over budget at ~£250, but it is two synths and a drum machine in one (and a sequencer).

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCxCAN6Ezek[/video]

Saying that, my next purchases are a Hades module and a Volca Sample (I want something portable and drummable. My current option for drums are either too big to transport or too ’80s sounding.

There are also some good keyboard style synths, but they would be stretching the budget a bit further…

On a thread on Muff Wigglers (the STW of synths, in more ways than one) I recommended microkorg, mini Nova (aanderson .paak’s keyboard player uses it live) and jd-xi (chic use it live), but they didn’t suggest a budget.

It might be worth taking a look at that thread too.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwlwePxLR-4&t=161s[/video]

As you’re local to them, GAK in Brighton have a good selection of what people have suggested above on demo in their shop if you want to try them out. Their online prices are competitive & they often have bundled deals.

Suggesting he browse on Muff Wigglers is cruel 🙂 Starting a modular synth habit at 8 hahahahaha.
(Muffs has a great sell/trade sub-forum for 2nd user gear. It has a “good trader” sticky thread at the top thats actively maintained so you can check who you’re buying from. It’s one of the members only sub-forums, so you’ll need to register to access it).

I’m not into it, but I’m amazed at some of the vids I’ve come across of the Teenage Engineering kit, pocket sized synths, sequencers etc, looks a lot of fun.

disco_stu – Member
Regarding DAW’s as he’ll end up there at some point.
I agree eventually he’ll end up with a DAW but staring at a computer screen is not much fun, knob twiddling is far better

I do agree, just trying to give the idea that the DAW is essentially the brain and the other bits are additions, no harming in building up the bits before getting to the daw though.

To the OP, Just be also aware that things like the novation keyboards mentioned don’t actually make any sound on their own, they are pure controllers, ie you need to hook them up to something else to get them working, more that just speakers, some kinda software instrument. (mostly why I’m mentioning daws.)

Just be aware of that point regarding pure midi controllers.

Beeps, bleeps and pluggy in stuff

(Chrome only)

Korg Volca at that price point without doubt.

Suggesting he browse on Muff Wigglers is cruel Starting a modular synth habit at 8 hahahahaha.

That’s why I pointed him at the general forum 🙂 and not the single speed titanium recumbent forum.

Only in so much as the first time I heard one it was being played by Carl Palmer on Brain Salad Surgery ..full kit linked to a Moog ..

I sold a set of volka bass, keys and beats recently. They were easy enough to use and get into. Great fun twiddling thr knows and easy enough to get a decent sounding loop going.

I bought them new and didn’t lose much money when I sold them on- just saying 😉

I would consider a Novation Circuit. It’s a little over budget at ~£250, but it is two synths and a drum machine in one (and a sequencer).

Agree. Really good fun and provides ability to make nice sounding tracks without knowing keys, scales or chords as it works that out for you.
Okay you probably won’t learn about use of LFO for example but at 8 years old the circuit would maintain interest for longer. In fact at 50 years old it keeps me interested for longer..

My partner works for Focusrite so I get to play with a few of these kind of toys and yeah, your kid would probably love the Novation thing.

staring at a computer screen is not much fun, knob twiddling is far better

Having started with knobs and sliders and all the accompanying trouble (especially when equipment is gigged) I’d much rather use the DAW – nothing to wear out or get clogged with shit. But knobs are fashionable and the pots are probably better quality than they were in the 70s and 80s. Not really a fan of those soft pads, either – remind me of an early Roland drum machine I had, the number of which eludes me…

I’m seriously thinking of an analogue synth.

I’m torn between the Microbrute and the Korg Monologue.

Any advice from you envelope crazy guys?

depends what you’re after. I borrowed a Microbrute and found the tone of it too tough. It’s a nice little synth but it tends towards ‘nasty’ ripping techno leads – there’s even a knob called ‘brutalizer’ – and I usually had to soften it up in the mix. Could never use it straight out of the box, but then I don’t make filthy dubstep/trap/boy techno etc. Will work well for some.

I much prefer the sound of the monologue – it can’t go quite as tough but it’s just a nicer sound – much warmer. IMO

This thread has reminded me how much fun this stuff is.
I used to have a Yamaha rm1x about 10 years ago, but never really got to grips with it.
The Novation Circuit up there looks interesting.
Any other recommendations for a standalone groovebox?
Is the Korg Electribe worth the extra?

Great thread.
I’m now pining for my DX11 that I sold 20 years ago and (after two days of internet research) thinking of buying a Yamaha DX Reface and a Korg Minilogue / Monologue.
Then I remember I have two small kids and no time…

I’m now pining for my DX11

Get a Volca FM. So much easier to program, really fun/inspiring little machine. And cheap. And weighs about 1/1000th of what the DX11 does 😉

Maybe this is a good place to ask a question that has been bugging me a bit. I know I’m an old fart, but what are these jolly tunesters actually DOING? It seems like he is tuning in a telly while occasionally checking his email/posting on STW, while she is doing – well – more or less nothing.

To be clear, I like the music, but have no clue where it is coming from 🙂

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X13beDr0fZY[/video]

derek_starship – Member
I’m seriously thinking of an analogue synth.

I’m torn between the Microbrute and the Korg Monologue.

Any advice from you envelope crazy guys?

I had a microbrute – Arturia’s “thing” is in the ‘brute’-ness of this product – it’s very harsh, metallic, aggressive. It was very hard to get anything soft or rounded out of the synth. That’s not to say it’s sound was rubbish – it’s just a particular type of sound.

My music didn’t have use for that so I sold it and got a Bass Station II – which has a much more usable range of sound palette than the Microbrute for me.

But it depends what you want. Just don’t go in expecting lovely bouncy SH-101 basses.

DrJ – Member
Maybe this is a good place to ask a question that has been bugging me a bit. I know I’m an old fart, but what are these jolly tunesters actually DOING? It seems like he is tuning in a telly while occasionally checking his email/posting on STW, while she is doing – well – more or less nothing.

To be clear, I like the music, but have no clue where it is coming from
They could be doing as little or as much as they like, it could all be on a laptop prerecorded and they just twiddle the odd knob to alter a filer, however every sample they have could be being played, triggered and manipulated live.

If you look at about 3:35 you can see the guy does at least seem to do some work just as the music makes a change. Also think what kind of set up you’d need to replicate this with traditional music, they are basically creating the music of maybe 10 people.

I’m selling a Microbrute, a Novation SuperNova desktop and a Mutable Instruments Shruthi that I lovingly soldered together with my fair hands if of interest to anyone here.

That microbrute produces some lovely filthy sounds.

I have a microbrute. It’s easy to make non-harsh sounds with it (keep the oscillator knobs under half way, or you drive the filter/vca section). It’s also easy to get harsh sounds out of it too.

Although this is the minibrute (it’s bigger brother, some features added, some missing) here is a video of a brute sounding very soft:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbCXA8IHXsE[/video]

The monologue wasn’t out when I bought mine, but it would be a much harder choice now it is. Aphex Twin had a lot to do with the voicing of the monologue and also influenced the inclusion of native microtuning.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3h57sJIS3tI[/video]

The microbrute can integrate with CV/Eurorack easier (be careful, expensive!)

Also remember, most synths sound bad without effects. Even something like a mini kaos pad 2 will let you add reverb or delay and make a big different to the sound.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnZmUpnnzko[/video]

Listen to a bunch of videos and see which one you prefer the sound of. You won’t go far wrong with either of them.

I’ve just had a Hades DIY kit land on my door 🙂 Going to have some fun soldering that together.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvx6z37FnTc[/video]

Aaaggghhh!

Now I’m thinking I should go Minilogue rather than Monologue for the polyphony. What if I want to play chords a week after my Monologue arrives?

Cripes this is tricky.

I’ve just had a Hades DIY kit land on my door Going to have some fun soldering that together.

I’m going to grab one of the next batch in November, I’m also going to keep pestering them on Facebook to do a Nyx DIY kit. 🙂

Minilogue ordered 😀

I’d get annoyed with mono.

Now I’m thinking I should go Minilogue rather than Monologue for the polyphony. What if I want to play chords a week after my Monologue arrives?

GAS is as much of a problem in the synth world as it is in the bike world.

What do you want to do with your synth? Muck around and have fun? Play (bass|lead) in a band? Be a whole band?

If you are just mucking around, anything will do.
If you want to play bass or lead in a band, pick a monosynth you like.
If you want to fill out a band, pick a nice polyphonic synth?
If you want to be a ban, you would want something multi-timbral.

When you are spending ~£500 (minilogue price), there are a lot more options. Deepmind 6, Roland Boutique range, Waldorf Blofeld.

If you want to go totally ’90s (it’s not fashionable yet) you could pick up a Roland JV-1080 and an old AKAI or E-MU sampler for less.