Hey Elektronaughts, one of my close friends is a pretty talented guitarist in a band, but he wants to buy his first synth (!). The catalyst is that his band is going to be covering some 80’s tunes for a show and he’s going to be playing keys.
He said he wants to be able to make a Rhodes-ish electric piano sound among other 80’s sounds. He wants to be able to grow with it a little, so I don’t want to recommend a total starter synth.
What do you guys think? I know there’s a lot of info missing here. Mono or poly? Analog or digital? But given what I’ve told you, what would you recommend a friend in a similar situation?
It kinda depends on your friend’s budget. Normally I recommend synth beginners to get a Minilogue, because they’re great to learn on, and excellent value for money. But if he wants something with full-size keys and more polyphony, I would recommend a Blofeld. Extremely deep synthesis options, great sound, good keyboard action.
As a guitar player that likes Rhodes sounds and doesn’t really gel that well with synths, I would suggest the Yamaha Reface CP. I had one and wish I hadn’t sold it. Such amazing old electric piano sounds and effects. They knocked it out of the park with the sounds.
If he needs something more roadworthy, perhaps a Nord Electro. I’ve never owned one, but they always interested me. I know these aren’t synths, but if he’s thinking Rhodes sounds, perhaps he really wants old electric pianos. I wish someone had told me that when I was first thinking of getting into synths.
If your guitarist friend is a gigging musician, I’d suggest something a little more professional. You can’t really get a convincing Rhodes out of an analog/virtual analog synth. For that you need a sample based instrument. The SV2 has all the stuff one needs from a stage piano, but also small synth section. The full size, good quality keyboard is a good thing for learning too. There’s many other - cheaper - options in this class too, but I’d go for some kind of stage piano from Roland/Korg/Yamaha/Nord. That’s what a pro would buy.
rather mono, or poly that allows using a single (mono-style) output.
the reason is simple: pedals. gutarist already owns pedals. and not using them would be silly.
Microkorg, Minilogue (not XD). Or maybe an older Nord lead? I’d say VA is the way to go if he wants to learn synthesis and use it in a more band / musical context.
I think the Nord Electro and Yamaha Reface options from upthread are probably best.
But if they’re really looking to grow into synthesis over time, consider a Rev2. They won’t do such a good job at the Rhodes tones (it’s got some tolerable presets in this vein), but they’re solidly made, giggable, have split-mode (or layers), very deep but easy to use, and have great keyboards. The Summit might also work.
Yeah, while originally suggesting the Reface CP, which I still think is awesome, I should have also mentioned the bigger Yamaha CPs. I’ve messed around with one at a shop a number of times and they are awesome, pro-level gear. If I had the money and space, I’d love one. It was so much fun to mess around with and includes quite a few synth sounds in there, while leaning more towards electric pianos, organs, and acoustic piano sounds. It would be a fabulous instrument to learn on and to gig. I suggested the Nord only because they win on portability. I always wanted that Korg you suggested as well, but it’s a bit big as well. Killer instrument, though.
Reface CP is my favorite reface and has some of the best electric piano sounds I’ve heard but I think the Reface FM would get you there for 80s sounds, had a bunch of cool effects and FM synthesis capabilities.
Glorious… but I reckon first get them using something that provides that Rhodes sound, and has a couple of knobs for tweaking, before unleashing the full on analog scream fest.
The Reface CP people mentioned is a great call for the Rhodes / EP sounds.
You could combine that with an Analog or Virtual Analog Mono or Poly. If it’s for a lower budget, it’s hard not to mention B… Deep Minds are pretty affordable, FS keys and would get the 80s Juno-ish bass, pads, strings etc. Plus, a good choice of effects in a very affordable engine.
If the budget was higher, wanted a one stop stop, and digital is OK. Yamaha MODX6 (or 7) is a great choice, because it would take a long time to outgrow it. And, it can be a chameleon with the AWM and tons of samples. But can also do the 80s FMX digital stuff too.
But, if they are OK with an initially steep learning curve, an MPC One loaded with the right samples, plus the built in synths (including EP and Odyssey). If not going with a laptop+Ableton, an MPC One plus USB midi controller keyboard would usually be my recommendation for someone building a system from scratch. Because you get so much for the money. And maybe they can fire the drummer
