Synth Streamlining
It’s no secret that I adore vintage synthesizers, and I have thoroughly enjoyed collecting some real icons; particularly those that inspired me in my youth. I also adore bacon - and vintage synthesizers are like sonic bacon. I could eat bacon every day. But I have a confession to make: after a steady diet of bacon (or any other good thing), you get very familiar with it and you start hankering for a bit of huevos rancheros to go with that bacon! It’s time for me to admit that vintage synths, as much as I love them, are always going to be confined to a certain family or “flavor” of sounds, whether that be from subtractive synthesis (like most analogues) or FM (like the Yamaha DX series).
So, having thoroughly loved a lot of vintage synths (and I haven’t stopped!) - I’m at a point where I want to change things up a bit in the Fortress of Synthetude. Make no mistake, I will always have my 70s & 80s-era Yamaha, Roland, Sequential, and Moog stuff - but I’m done collecting old technology for the most part. I’ve owned just about anything I ever cared to, and I’ve also had the repair bills and reliability issues to go with them. Of course some of them were worth it, but I’m really wondering how much I’ve been motivated purely by nostalgia, at the expense of the present.
So after cutting a few pieces loose (which I confess wasn’t easy, but purely because of that nostalgia), I’ve made a decision to be a better steward of my studio space and the “bandwidth” each piece occupies. You see, every piece of gear you bring into your studio occupies different types of bandwidth: sonic, creative, practical, and financial. We synth lovers can get a bit infected with GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome), and before you know it, you can end up surrounded by gear that looks cool and impresses people, but it can also slow you down with options overload. After all, there are only so many different flavors of analogue synth basses, pads, etc. - and I don’t need 18 different synths to do those things.
So, while I will always love my “sonic bacon” and keep the major flavors on hand, I’m shifting my focus a bit. No more vintage stuff. What I do want is new sounds and possibilities I haven’t heard yet. New approaches to synthesis. New ways to control and interact with those sounds.
There are some incredible new tools out there that truly break new ground in sound and/or performance. Here’s my short list of synths that have my attention: the Arturia PolyBrute with its blending of superb analogue sounds and unique architecture and controller features; the ASM Hydrasynth with its fresh approach to wavetable synthesis, insane modulation possibilities, and polyphonic aftertouch/ribbon controller; the Sequential Pro 3 which might be the most wicked monosynth since the MiniMoog; and finally, the Dreadbox Typhon and Moog Subharmonicon as incredible desktop sources of inspiration. A few of these will be replacing some of my beloved vintage synths soon, and I look forward to new sounds and inspiration!
Again, I can’t emphasize enough that if you’re just starting out, it’s great fun to have a few vintage icons in your collection - to a point. It’s not popular to say, but many vintage synths can easily be matched by modern alternatives without the maintenance and reliability headaches. On the other hand, having a gorgeous, iconic vintage synth in your studio can be incredibly inspiring, so there’s definitely a balance. But that’s another blog ;-)
Speaking of other blogs… I’ve talked before about how I’ve come full-circle over the years: selling off all my synths in the early 2000s in favor of plugins, then collecting hardware again to the point where I’m surrounded by it. I’ve found that I get VASTLY more inspiration out of interacting with hardware. I’m at the point where I now reach for plugins last when I want to truly be inspired. How about you? What synth gear is really getting your creative fires stoked?