Unique dirty, raw, fun synths?

[crevice]

I recently got a Lyra 8 and it’s been the most fun I’ve had with a synth in a very long time. The dirty raw sound mixed with the unpredictable nature has taken me on some serious space adventures in my short time with it. Love it so much that I also have ordered a pulsar 23 as well.

So this got me thinking, what else is in this category of synths? Before you say “any synth can be dirty”, I understand that and I also understand I can just put a distortion pedal on most things and call it a day. But I’m also talking about the unique experience of the whole thing. Are there any other unique, creative/organic sounding synths like these? Synths that just have that amazing sense to take you for a ride and not the other way around?

[Fin25]

Erica Synths Syntrx

Elta Solar 50

Soma Enner

[spikysimon]

@crevice

Synths that just have that amazing sense to take you for a ride and not the other way around?

Strega fits that category, I think.

[Octagonist]

These things are pretty weird.

https://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/bc16.php

[Synthtastic]

The Norand Mono is a tour de force. It is some kind of next level amazing. If feels like there is a sentient music collaborator hiding inside the machine, effortlessly churning out wildly original, amazing sounding synth lines. I find myself completely awestruck at the incredible sounds coming out of it, wondering how it happened. It can get dirty, but it can sound sweet too. It seriously feels like it has a mind of its own.

[your_lamp]

Sidrax by Ciat Lonbarde is a special one.

[crevice]

All great recommendations so far - but the Strega seems to definitely hit a lot of the sweet spots I’m looking for and bonus for small size. The solar 50 looks amazing, but doesn’t seem easy to actually find and buy.

[plusn]

Without owning one, I could imagine that Twisted Electrons MegaFM can be a dirty raw fun ride of a synth.

[glia]

i agree

having owned a tetrax and rollz five in the past i think almost all of pete blassers synths fit the profile OP is seeking

i’d also recommend simmons drum synths (mainly thinking of the SDS series)

[jb]

Is it just me or are people getting more and more sensual about how they describe synths

[plusn]

That’s the big change that’s happening. Age of Aquarius incoming…

[jb]

the new normal

[darenager]

No it is in your mind.

I reach for the resonance slider, my finger barely touching the tip, slowly but deliberately I push so that the precise amount of harmonics can be achieved, too much and the self oscillation would ruin the take, but not enough and the sing song harmonics won’t reach their full potential. Satisfied after a great take, I light a cigarette and bask in the blissful release.

[jb]

There’s a big market for that sort of writing

[darenager]

Imma call it 50 shades of resonance

[bwo]

Now those are some hot knobs

[subduct]

Ticks all 4 boxes

[obscurerobot]

Take your least favorite mixer and route a send back into a channel. Play with the gain structure until you get feedback, then start to play with the EQ and whatever else is onboard. Be mindful of the expected input levels and possible output levels so that you don’t blow up a nice mixer.

[plusn]

Oh wait…here’s a good raw dirty fun synth. A classic:

Buchla Music Easel

https://buchla.com/music-easel/

[plusn]

…or a Serge Modular System from Random Source.

https://randomsource.net/

Or that rawish British Vostok 2020 from Analogue Solutions…

Vostok 2020 — Analogue Solutions