How did you all get into synth?

I think the synth is an interesting instrument cos most of the synth players I know started off playing something else, such as classical piano or guitar and eventually moved onto synth.

I'm not sure if there are many people out there who JUST play synth and started off with the goal of being a synth player. I certainly don't think I've met any.

For what it's worth, my route to the synthzone started off with me as a struggling guitar player. I had always loved Jimi Hendrix and bands like Led Zep and Queen (I still do!). I played since I was 12, but by my early 20's my guitar playing seemed to hit a ceiling. I had trained my fingers to move as fast as they could (which was NOT very fast!) and they weren't gonna get much faster. I found it very difficult to improve, but as well as that I also started to get a bit bored with the guitar. I felt very limited in what sounds I could create with a guitar.

Anyway, one day I discovered the album, Ray of Light. I have to tell you, I can't STAND Madonna one bit, but I think the guy who played synth on that album (William Orbit) is the Jimi Hendrix of the synth world! I later found out that pretty much all of the synth work on the album had been performed on an old and relatively cheap Juno 106.

As you can imagine, I was pretty blown away to find out that you could make all these amazing sounds from such an old an cheap instrument.

So, that's what got me into synth.

I'm curious to know what everyone else's stories are.

I've played piano since I was young. As an electronics engineer I was always fascinated with electronic music and even wrote a music compiler for a mainframe back in 1965. I could never afford anything though until PCs came along and I bought a cheap keyboard to use as a midi controller. I then discovered I was a frustrated keyboard player so I bought a better one and have been playing it ever since. Still play piano and clarinet occasionally though.

Bryan

I've been into electronic music since I was 4 years old . When I heard Kraftwerk's Autobahn , that did it . I got my first synthesizer in 1983 , I was 13 . I did learn to play piano , but , on a synthesizer a keyboard is only one way to control the instrument . I have some with metal touchplates , some with ribbon controllers , some with analog sequencers . I just love electronic music , I never really cared for rock and roll . It's always been electronic music for me . New Wave was the only form of rock and roll that I could handle . We perform electronic music with very little keyboard playing , because the keyboard is just one way to control a synthesizer .

I like your style! Autobahn probably qualifies as the best synth instrumental of all time in my book.

I can well understand why you'd be insipired to take up the synth after hearing that number.

I started just wanting to play piano. Not so much into the electronic sounds early on. When I started playing in a band, the band leader wanted to hear the B3 sound and piano. Well all we had was a Korg Poly 800. Trying to get this keyboard to sound like a B3 was what lead me to learn things like oscilaters, filters, attack, decay and I found these interesting. Never did come up with anything close to a B3, but we did come up with a pretty unique synthy organ. I'm still pretty much just a player of presets I must admit. I like using synth pads and sweeps under piano and organ sounds and the ability to sequence.

<><
Bob

PS - Digging YES and Pink Floyd also influenced me to some degree. As well as Ray Manzarek (sp?) of the Doors.

[This message has been edited by RW (edited 07-10-2003).]

I never get tired of Autobahn . I like alot of early experimental electronic music from Pauline Oliveros , Morton Subotnik , Vladimir Ussachevsky , Pierre Henry and alot of others . Kraftwerk , I believe they showed the world that synthesizers can be used to make pop music . When the Man Machine came out in 1978 , no one on earth had that kind of sound . So tight , so precise , and it was so futuristic .

I do like raw synth-pop music too . The Future ( Human League ) is another favorite from 1977 .

I learned piano when I was young, made a transition to guitar in 1967 ( Are You Experienced ? ) and then came back to synths in the early 80s when I was playing with a synth pop band. Once MIDI showed up I was hooked, as this now provided a way I could create backing tracks that I could then overdub with bass and guitars. Then those early piano lessons came in handy. Nowadays I constantly switch between keyboard and guitar with the band I play with around Ventura County in California.

And the Juno 106 is great synth even today and is highly recommended if you can find one in good shape. Roland's analog synths sound great.

I started making small tunes with a tracker called Noisetracker 2.0 on the Amiga500. A year later I got an Ensoniq SQ1+ and it was the worst piece of shit ever, but it taught me sequencing and stuff about MIDI. I guess if I went back to an SQ1 now, I'd get better results out of it, now that I know what LFO1 to Filter modulation actually does. Still, it sucked big time. I guess Ensoniq were proud of their Rock drums, cos the electronic kits were shite.

Ensoniq totally redeemed themselves later though, when I found out the guy who started it, is the same guy that made the SID chip.

-tek

Hello.........I was in 4th or 5th grade when my Dad started repeatedly playing "Switched on Bach" on the old HiFi...........WOW, so cool. I remember some other old albums he played. "Everything you always wanted to hear on the Moog but were afraid to ask!" and........"The Age of Electronicus". I even found these albums in his collection a few years ago and made mp3's out of them.
In 6th grade a friend and myself found an old electric organ that was thrown out at the curb. It worked, but sounded kind of funky. I remember tweaking some of the occillators on it and playing with different unusual sounds. It was our "Moog" and it was fun til it fried!.................real good too!

Very interesting folks!

So far, none of us seem have gone along the same path- we all have different musical backgrounds and from what I've read it seems like Tek is probably the only person here who started off as an out and out synth guy (maybe I'm wrong there).

I must admit, I don't have a Juno 106 but I'm very tempted to get one. The synth I have right now is a modern Korg. Don't get me wrong, it sounds great and it can do everything but make your breakfast. The only trouble is... I'm finding it a complete nightmare to learn. It's just far too complicated!

For me, learning how to drive was an easier task than learning how to use this synth of mine.

Lately, I've started to feel that modern synths have started to become far too overcomplicated. I long to go back to something that's a little more intuitive. When I use a synth, I want to feel as if I'm actively playing an instrument, NOT constructing some kind of oversized audio/computational tapestry.

I realise that a Juno would have less features than my current synth, but if it's easier to learn then I'll take my chances on a Juno any day!

I'm know I'm starting to drift off topic, but I often wonder if I'm the only one who feels like that.

Being born in the 70s and growing up in the 80s, there was no escaping the sound of synthesizers.

Somehow, as i grew older, I came to hate synths sounds, and went into a totally different musical direction.

But strangely enough, the earliest songs i had heard in my life revolved around those machines, and i still held those songs very dear to my heart.

I think that for me, at least, without pinpointing an exact time, the interest came by trying to re-live those days of my early life and the whole cultural aspect of life itself which has never stopped but continues to evolve. (maybe i was trying to understand the context of time where i came in)

Synthesizers, as well as any new technology, really were and still are part of a revolution. It all goes hand in hand.

man I knew this would be a hard question to answer..not enuff space..im blabbering

ps: Junos may not have the fattest of sounds but the design has to be the most intuitive I've ever seen. Too bad i sold my 106 to buy a 300lbs Hammond M3. I'm glad i have the M3 but I miss the little guy.

And all the ppl who said it are right...
Some pads and sounds i did with a 106 had the most pristine, crystal clear sound ive ever came up on a synth ((other)) than a Roland.

But mostly,
i miss his weight

So, are they quite light?

My was I loaded..hihi


For a 5 octave keyboard of that time they're pretty lightweight.

played Classical piano from abot 6 or 7 (My mum was a piano teacher) to about grade 7 I think .all was fine untill the school bought a roland Jx3P its been all down hill from there ! Its sometime nice now to play a 'real' piano like with wood and stuff on it .
and speaking of weighty Kbds I got a ensoniq Esq 1 (predates teks SQ1 I think) maaaaannnnn it was heavy didnt sound toooo bad though quite analouge-ish for a s+s synth

I got into synths about 10 years ago. Background in Hammond organ (M series, H-112 and B-3) since mid 60s. First synth was an EMU MPS+. Also have a Korg Trinity and EMU sampler and assorted rack gear. I play contemporary worship music at church and some classical and "old standard" stuff my folks required of me. Still like the R&R and blues.

Synths are definitely lighter to pack than the Hammond and offer a bigger pallete of sounds. However, my heart still lies with the Hammond and Leslie combo. Nothing quite like it.

Wow, I definately feel like a newbie. I've been playing piano - classical and the occasional Broadway or ragtime thrown in - for close to ten years. About a year and a half ago I got an interest in composing and an interest in playing in a rock band about the same time, and bought myself a low-cost synthesizer to take care of both new hobbies, building a small MIDI setup with a computer and working my way into a band a few of my friends had formed. It took about a year before I realized the limited possibilities of the Roland XP-10, but once I bought an XP-80, it was synth showtime within a week. (I formed my own band, too.)

I started by climbing up onto the bench for the organ that my aunt had and making as much noise as possible with it. I figure I was about 4 years old or so. She also had a piano but I just wasn't all that interested in it. I liked the organ better right from the beginning because I wanted something portable and you could alter the sounds and do cool things with it. Even at 6 years old I kinda realized the value of this for me. It didn't get much more portable than my 2 octave magnus chord organ. I could pick the thing up and move it at from room to room at will.

I stayed with organs until I got my Hohner Clavinet back in about 1977. A few years later, and after a trip or two to Sam Ash and a thorough cleansing of my bank account, I was playing a CP25 and a Poly six. The Poly6 immediately clicked with me when I realized I could alter the sounds in it. I loved that setup and it served me through the 80's and into the early 90's, although occasionally I'd added and subtracted a couple of Casio synths here and there. Then I got an M1 and was just in awe at the time.

Had synths been as widely available and affordable in the 60's when I began to play,
I would have immediately set out to be a synth player. I tried drums way back when too, but I was so into keyboard / organ that I never really tried to develop any real skill at it. Today, armed with a little better knowledge of drum beats and patterns, thanks in large part to midi technology, I have rekindled my interest in drumming a bit.

AJ

Piano player since age 3. My sisters had some old keyboards for the family band. I was drummer. Sisters had an old Crumar for bass and some Korg thing for the leads. My folks still have them. Don't remember the models.
Anyway, I never got too interested in the synthe sounds of a synthe. I am more interested in having a keyboard that does really good representations of real instruments. Also, I just like the ability to create sequences for my own backing tracks when i play other instruments.
Bought my first real synthe, Roland XP80, in 99. Prior to that we always had some toy keyboards around, plus my sisters' keyboards. They also had a Roland RD700, which I sometimes now use as a weighted controller for the XP. My styles are country and jazz, but I've done session work for rock, and R&B and pop stuff as well.

[This message has been edited by FAEbGBD (edited 08-05-2003).]

The SID chip was a lot of fun to program. I wrote a couple of synths in 6502 assembly code when I used to write games for the Commodore 64. Even though it was only 3 voices you could do a lot with them with a little imagination combined with coding.


[This message has been edited by Nigel (edited 08-06-2003).]

Got my first guitar when I was 12. Let's see, 40 years have passed...you do the math. I was heavily into guitar until around 1967 when I bought a Farfisa, this was closely followed by a Vox Continental. My first actual synth was my T3, still have it (if something works...don't fix it..right). I had an M1 for a short time, but sold it to a friend....yes we're still friends. I've tried various Roland, and Yamaha models, and I suppose you either love 'em or hate 'em. Personally, I've always had good luck with Korg, so I guess I'm doomed to be a Korg-Addict, although I will say I don't really like the touch screens on the new models. I mainly got into synths to add something different other than guitar or piano to whatever I might be creating. I'm having a good time with it, and it's helped me to pay for every piece of equipment I've owned, so something must be working right.
I guess it's whatever works for you that guides you towards you choice of instrument. My instruments have been my companions for a long time, and as long as we continue to make music together...that's what really matters isn't it?
Just my thots...