If price is no issue, what synth among Syntakt, Analog Four MKII, and Melbourne Instruments’ Nina would you suggest as a first synth to learn on?
My interpretation is that
Syntakt provides a lot of options, but also guides/forces you down certain paths that can, at times, feel a bit restricting
Analog Four MKII provides a vast array of alternatives for creating sounds that can potentially be overwhelming/paralyzing for a beginner
Nina strikes a balance with subtractive synthesis and wavetable synthesis and enough control over sound shaping without being restricting or bewildering, but with a slightly less capable sequencer and perhaps has least “groove box” potential among the three
Any input (not related to one being much cheaper than the other, please ) is much appreciated!
none, get yourself a microbrute
or any sh101 clone
or a moog grandmother
learning on any synth with menu diving is just bleh imo
but if i had to pick anything out of the bunch analog four, since its been out so long it probably has the most resources available to learn from as well
With the Syntakt, you have many tracks, you can experiment with both digital and analog synthesis, you can even create your own percussion… and the sequencer and Elektron interface are great. A further step could be the Digitone 2 if you’re not particularly interested in analog sounds; it has more effects, a superior chord system, and sequences up to 128 steps. Frankly, I think that among the Elektron synths, the Digitone is the best synth to work with, and not just among the Elektrons. Don’t be intimidated by those who tell you that FM synthesis is more complicated; I’m speaking as a novice; start experimenting with your sounds or use the presets; the sonic satisfaction this synth can provide is incredible.
As mentioned a mono synth without patch recall is the best way to learn subtractive synthesis. What you see is what you get and it’s a fun a quick way to interact with your machine.
But if you want to limit yourself to your list, I’d say syntakt.
I only have the A4 and it’s a beast, but it’s very deep and can be discouraging for a first machine. Also while some very talented person here can make full song with just the four tracks, you might be frustrated when you reach that limit. With the 12 all purpose tracks the syntakt offers, you 'll have an all rounder machine, that has recently got sampling ability.
If you have the money for a Syntakt (maybe second hand), go for it!
It is very immediate. You want easily make pads or chords, but there are ways to fake it.
An excellent door to synthesis and Elektron workflow.
I wouldn’t recommend A4, it’s cool but not as a learning synth, I’d say.
DNII is my favorite, it’s crazy what you can do with it. No clue how much time you would need to learn it but there are so many tutorials nowadays. One of the best synths.
For learning synthesis a basic subtractive synth with knob per function is the best place to start imo. The Nina with its motorized knobs is the best option of these 3 from that point of view. Syntakt would be the worst option imo because of the “machines” paradigm. You wouldn’t be learning the fundamentals of synthesis, you would be learning how to use a Syntakt.
I agree with what’s been said already by a few people. None of these are great options as a first synth to learn on. I would get something much simpler and easier to use. Definitely not the Syntakt or A4. Start slow, see what you like sound wise.
Syntakt is likely going to be the most fun as a beginner. The groove box format will give you the ability to make tracks from day one and learn a bit about about synthesis from trial and error as you go.
A4 is possibly too fickle for a first device but also you can use the presets as a jumping off point. if you can afford it then f*cking dive in, it’s great. . Only 4 tracks thought so you’ll be needing to learn the sequencer very well (parameter & sound locks). But that’s is a desirable aim anyway.
Don’t know the Melbourne synth at all but if you’re starting out a something groovebox-y will prob be a better choice.
The right answer here depends a lot on whether you plan to record with a DAW or want to use it standalone or with a band or what. These are dramatically different devices and the things that make the Nina and A4 attractive as fairly premium devices are not necessarily what helps you learn faster. The Nina is mostly just very premium for sound and build (and admittedly the motorized knobs are nice for knowing what’s going on when you load a preset but a Delia gives you that for a lot cheaper) and the A4 has lots of wild capabilities that are mostly expert mode kind of things.
Syntakt is probably the best bet out of these three if you aren’t going to use it alongside drums and other stuff in a DAW as it is the most complete for making full songs on, but getting the “fast and good sound” out of it depends a lot on you understanding the basics of subtractive mono synthesis and sequencing. It also has no real polyphony (though people here love weird MIDI loopback hacks around that, I think they’re just weird hacks) but with the track layering and oscillators per track you can achieve some nice paraphonic sounds on it and the chord track is useful enough for a lot of that kind of thing. It also has samples now, and is really quite a complete little package but it demands you to know about things in order to really take advantage of all it offers (you have to roll your own side chain compression with the fx track, for instance).
My recommendation would probably be to get a used Syntakt, which is also by far the best value for your money out of the bunch of those, and to also get some kind of much knobbier cheap monotimbral synth with real polyphony and an actual keyboard, then you can set it up to MIDI control the syntakt on auto channel and play its own sounds by selecting the sequencer track on Syntakt for it. A Minifreak or Hydrasynth explorer would be good choices here, or a sequential T5 or Fourm if you’re really stoked about how much cheaper the Syntakt is than the Nina and A4 and want to definitely spend your whole budget. Focus on using the Syntakt with presets to learn drum sequencing and the polysynth to learn the basics of sound design on a synth, then all the syntakt’s engine options will make much more sense to you and suddenly you will be able to absolutely fly.
With that setup you would be able to produce and record full tracks with analog and digital and sampled drums using the syntakt and overbridge as sound card, play melodically on the syntakt’s synth tracks to record into the sequencer with velocity sensitivity etc, sequence your polysynth, and have a huge runway to grow into the setup but still be able to make extremely complete sounding music. The only limit to your ability to realize your ideas would be your skill level, seriously. A Syntakt and a Hydrasynth Explorer together would be like, 1200 bucks used probably which is what a nice condition A4 goes for on its own and half of what you could ever find a Nina for.
You’re not telling us the most important information: What sort of sounds do you want to make? It might turn out that what you really need is a Tonverk.
The device with the most “groove box potential” is definitely the Syntakt.
The best “desktop synthesizer” is probably the Digitone II (more than the Analog Four).
Analog four - not enough tracks or voices. Nice soundz but needs to be combined with other things.
If you’re rich, maybe get a DN2 and a Syntakt?
If I have to pick only one for “learning” I’d get a Syntakt.
Yeah, you want a syntakt then. Great drum sounds and the chord machine for stabs. It’s sample machines will be perfectly sufficient and you should not try to take on live sampling and synthesis in tone go for learning imo. I stand by my belief that you should pair it with a keyboard polysynth though.
) is much appreciated!
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. Only 4 tracks thought so you’ll be needing to learn the sequencer very well (parameter & sound locks). But that’s is a desirable aim anyway.