@@NoirEtBlancVie Indeed. Great 4 track midi sequencer too for controlling other gear. More powerful than the KeyStep if only using midi. I think the drums were Midi Channel 10 and the others 1, 2, and 3.
@@NoirEtBlancVie Yeah, and it is lightweight! Sometimes I just don't want to switch on the computer, prefer to sit on the couch and make some beats. It is amazing to me to too :) (it's setting could be expanded through connecting the PatchBase) P.S. I'm here because of the pixelated jdxi too!
Love my JD-Xi. I have even heard people saying it is more intuitive to play nd has more features than its bigger brother the JD-XA for a FRACTION of the price. I've owned a lot of gear over the years. I owned the original Roland Juno 106 back when it first came out, the D-50, TR 626, and many other brands. This was such a find for me a few years ago. Who'd have thunk that all the gear I played back in the 1980s could be placed into such a small unit. Amazing.
I'd nominate the infamous Blofeld. It's been around a long time now so is hardly a gee whiz device. But it covers so much ground in terms of wavetables, VA and samples. Huge mod matrix. Pretty fancy user arp patterns. The desktop version goes for peanuts used, and the keyboard has dropped steadily in price. The pitch and mod wheels are cheap, but great keybed. The filter emulation is pretty good, and it is that rare 3 osc beastie. Seems everyone expects you to be happy with only 2 oscs per voice. The multitimbrality is a pain. Clocking LFO and Arp to MIDI is hit and miss, and sample implementation could be better. But for a starter synth I can't imagine better. Several years ago I would have nominated the Machinedrum, it's such a great noisemaker and can sequence all your gear. But lately the price has exploded on these for some reason. I got mine for $500 USD before that happened! Instead I'll suggest the Elektron Analog 4 MK1. You can find them used for 5-600 USD all day long. It has all the sequencing features of newer Elektron products with 4 voices of dual osc analog (plus subwave per osc). It can also be used to control CV/gate gear. So it's a great fit for Eurorack enthusiasts. And with the newest firmware can even sequence MIDI for other devices. Both of these boxes are hardly ideal. But when you are young and broke you tend to go deep on one piece of gear rather than own several pieces that specialize in one thing. These are the kind of devices that benefit from hours of tweaking and exploring every last crevice.
+1 blofeld. I have six of them, three each desktop & keyboard, all sample enabled, to get the multitimbrality & polyphony up. the sound is awesome. I sold my a4k- the sequencer was no good, not as clever as the one in the octatrack, & it didn't look like elektron were ever going to fix that. bought a wavestate with the money. better board.
The Blofeld's price point is great for the feature set, but the build quality is hit-and-miss. If yours isn't plagued with software crashes (especially in multitimbral mode) and poor quality encoders, consider yourself very lucky.
I have these three and I agree with the assessment...lots of bang for buck. The JDXi Manager software is a must to reveal all the capabilities of that machine.
@@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene Fair enough, though the JDXi doesn't require the software, it's just that there's a surprising amount of extra stuff under the hood to tweak if you choose to do that.
I love the Behringer Mod D. I think I paid $250 from Proaudiostar for an open box unit that turned out to be totally new. It is a great way to learn what a three oscillator synth can do.
just bought one of these new for £225 roughly 300 usd arriving in a couple days. It looks amazing and from youtube demos I have seen sounds almost identical to the minimoog model D pretty good value considering the Moog seems to fetch over 10x the price of the behringer. Can't wait to start playing with it, it will be my first proper hardware synth. Something to get stuck into and hopefully inspire some good songwriting for the next few months of lockdown.
I love my JD-XI. I got it a few years ago and I play it almost every day. I asked myself a similar question - what's the best synth I can get for under $500.00 USD? And the JD-Xi won my little tournament. You could record an entire album with this synth alone, without much difficulty. There are a few dislikes: Menu does require a bit too much diving for my tastes to change parameters (however there are desktop managers and editors); The keybed is weak and flimsy (I've broken a key a while back); I would have liked separate outs for each channel and I wasn't that impressed with the analog channel (I'd prefer they just had a third digital channel, TBH). Other than these, the JD-Xi will be a classic for many years to come!
So pumped the JD-Xi is finally getting some love. It’s insane. I just got mine a few weeks back in a trade. I was hesitant but haven’t looked back since. Amazing.
As a Volca FM owner, one additional amazing benefit is the ability to load Yamaha DX7 patches/cartridges and even edit/create your own patches with Dexed.
Let’s be honest, Craft and Skulpt should have been one device. Kinda weird they weren’t. App, well, what you have to buy to get the app to work is the dealbreaker unless you already own one.
This is dope! The Roland MC-101 has become a pretty insane value for money groovebox, now that Roland has updated it and the price has come down a bit. The polished sound and sample flipping capabilities easily stand up to anything in or even a bit above its price range. And of course, knowing how big of a deal it would be for me, I'd probably happily pay more for the Novation Circuit.
I can relate to your lack of gear lust these days. In fairness I do have quite a considerable amount of gear already so I cant claim to be going for any kind of minimalism. You definitely do reach a point where you have "enough" for what you want to do. Obviously where that point sits will vary from person to person, but its a nice position to be in to not feel the GAS pulling towards any particular piece of hardware.
Yeah, it’s really hard to have GAS, though I still want a couple of pieces... Modal 002....though, thousands of dollar synths hard to go there in this economic time.
@@NoirEtBlancVie I haven't looked too into the Modal, but if it does something unique that you can't do with your current setup then that's all the justification you need. At the moment thankfully I have all my current areas of interest covered. Admitedly it took buying quite a bit of gear to get there. Its just a nice relief to be able to look at most new gear releases and appreciate them but not feel any need to get them. I'm sure something will grab my attention eventually but for now I'm good.
The AR48 is a 64 step 12 voice groovebox with per sound effects, an FX send section that can be controlled with physical knobs, a synth engine that can modulate, a sampler with audio recording to SD, the ability to use a USB Midi Controller to accept chords, the ability to turn off quantization in the sequencer. it also has a midi out port to act as a master sequencer. its currently in your synth store's bargain bin because it looks like a rainbow tamborine.
@@ToyKeeper Microfreak has midi out over USB, it just works in Ableton at least. So if you own one you can use it like that. Just the keyboard would be an interesting idea but I think that MPE would be a better alternative than just MIDI if you're using such unique technology for the keys why not take full advantage of how expressive it can be.
@@StrayMedicine I've been tempted to get one and use it as a midi controller. The purpose is to use it like a Kaossilator, but with the ability to play more deliberately and precisely when desired. The note data would go through a midi remapper so it's always in a key and scale which matches the song, and the intuitive play style would be for improvising or composing. But really, I should probably just add kaoss support to my midi remapper... and use gear I already have instead of letting it gather dust.
Haha, I tried to use one in Guitar Center but I couldn't figure it out. That and the Elektron Digitakt are the only two pieces of gear that I've tried and had a genuinely hard time figuring out.
Really wish there was more in the way of demos here - I couldn't tell you what any of these synths sound like after watching this video. Still, thanks for the great content.
Every synth was demoed in the backing track as well I have full reviews with sounds of every single synth mentioned. I didn’t want to make the video bloated with sound demos since this is about why they’re great value for money to me and I have separate dedicated content on each. So you’re covered. :)
Good choices. Though I've never owned the JDXi, I have recommended it as an excellent starter synth because of its versatility and because it's a workstation that gives someone the ability to build an entire track all on its own. One other recommendation would be the Neutron. Especially if you're interested in exploring modular, the patchbay provides multiple modules worth of functionality. You can break this instrument apart and use its different components with other eurorack kit and its contributions would cost three times as much if purchased separately. I know that their other clones offer quite some value, but the Neutron is unique and Midas' own design so I thought it was fair to mention it. Always love your content. Keep up the great work! Peace.
Volca FM was my first synth. Bought it because of your review and Oscillator Sink's tutorials Had it for quite a little while now and still making sounds I love.
The ones I think are underpriced at the Behringer Model D, Makenoise 0-Coast and Korg SQ-1 (well, not a synth, but...) - Between the three of those you can spend around $700, and have midi to CV, sequencing, and some really deep sounds.
Great content as usual Blooper reel included! I still don't own a volca , but would be open to it . Arturia makes excellent tools (minibrute 2S is still on my wishlist) . I was considering JDXi to replace my MicroKorg XL , but then in the same price range (around 500) the GAIA is very tempting . As a guitar player i enjoy recording , and phrase looping in real time . looping (frees up the hands to twiddle with effects !) Roland is BOSS at making usable sampler/loopers . So I stuck with my MicroKorg XL , and bought a RC-202. My last purchase was a Behringer Neutron . . . Now I am semimidular 😁 love the sound of those oscillators .
JD-XI really is a Swiss Army knives of modern synths. Best 400 euros I have ever spend. I literally sold away my Juno-60 because JD-XI made it just collect dust.
@@NoirEtBlancVie they had to remove ADSR and make it a menu hell so it didn't cannibalise their higher synths like jd-xa. 3 osc with each their filter, lfo, etc and all the classic drum machine sounds
Couldn't agree more with your top choice, its so just easy to create music on and fast too. Literally the only piece of gear I own where I can switch it on and start recording straight away. You don't need anything else.
Korg NTS-1, with a Keystep or other inexpensive Midi keyboard to replace the crap one on the NTS-1. For around 100 USD you get a tiny but powerful synth, nice arpeggiator and with Audio In you can use it as an effects processor. You can also add custom synths and effects, incredible value.
I couldn't agree more with the JD-Xi. I got mine used for under 300! What a bargain! The best feature for me (quite unique btw) is the chord mode, that let's you transpose ALL 4 sequencer lanes to the key (yes, it analyzes the harmony) that you play the current chord in (also great to control external gear!).
Jd-Xi is awesome, was my first synth and is now the heart of my whole system. It really is amazing how deep and powerful it is once you open up all the parameters with an editor app. Great video, thanks for sharing!
Thanks very much. I will keep those in mind. I'm a hobbyist and have four synths. I'm trying to fight GAS. So if I do buy again, I want to get "bang for my buck" because I don't really need another one. This is a very useful list. I have the MicroFreak. Been thinking about the Volca FM for about six months. So your take is interesting. I would love to see more reviewers post "second take" or "bang for your buck" reviews.
@@Jobotubular mmm, honestly I think everything else I’ve reviewed has been fair value for money or over priced. I thought I’d say the Korg Monologue, but honestly, if it were $199 sure, great deal, but if you know the channel I’ve only reviewed very few items and since I purchased them with my own money only these three really made me say “yeah, I’d buy them again”.
What about Korg NTS-1? Although it has one-voice only, it is very affordable and portable, can be used as a effects pedal and have a wide selection of free custom oscillators. Also, you can do a lot of things by modulating the midi cc parameters with vcv rack. My other choice would be 0-coast, just so many features packed into one small semi-modular module. Also, with the one extra MIDI to CV outputs, I was able to sent out some complex non-audio rate modulations. Note, Logic Gate, envelope, LFO etc. ... you name it! It goes super well with my Pro 3 and 0hp modules from Mystic Circuits. Who needs Eurorack lol
I can't believe how good the Toriaz AS-1 sounds for 400$. Have not even considered buying another because when I try a different synth at this price point I am underwhelmed. Demos online do not seem to showcase how much beef this synth has. The UI is a bit tricky because it's a compact synth but the sound is kaboom.
i actually love my Volca Bass too , i am using the this since i started with my volcas..so much fun tweaking this and for the price with 3 oscilators i think it is pretty neat... One more and that is the Modal Skulpt...hooking it up with a midi keyboard....wow i wasrealy impressed with how much it has for that little synth. Noir...keep up the good work..
I've got both the volca and microfreak. I use the micro alot more. The Keys are a little odd to begin with but really, I actually wish it had another octave to play with. The encoders seem to have a bit of mind of their own too at times. That said, it's a beautiful synth in sound and form. Plus it hooks up to anything, controllers, DAWS and volcas.
+1 for the JD-XI! I luv that little synth and it is my go to gear for some quick and easy looping/grooving. I also own a Volca FM and it is quite nice to. The Microfreak on the other hand leaves me cold but I can see why it appeals to others... Overall great video, thank you and keep up the great work.
OMG! I can't believe you mentioned the Roland JD-Xi. Most people think of it as a toy, and yeah the keys are kind of small and "toy-ish." But the synth is Multi-timbral, something you don't see in most synths. It has all the sounds I loved back when I owned the originals in the 1980s, including the drum kits. It has an analog synth, not the greatest, but hey, it's there. It has a vocoder, which other people get excited about. It's a workstation. (I also loved and owned the Teenage OP-1, sold the OP-1 and kept the Roland.) The menu system is a pain. Just get the free overlay for it from Roland as the deck is hard to read if playing out . I hear it comes with the overlay now when purchasing. Be gentle on the keys. The keys cannot be replaced if one breaks. The whole key bed must get replaced. I know of someone who glued his broken key back into the deck and it still works LOL!. For the price, this is great, and you get those fabulous Roland sounds. I can name on one hand the multi-timbral synths out there. Many people play this in gigs as it is small and does so much for a low price. Where do I get this JD-Xi sounds for free? And...how does one load them to the JD-Xi? I'm not a computer geek, having used physical gear for 40 years.
Those words in the outro are really true. Youve got your gear that youre comfortable with and can grind out a song in 10 minutes, and then youve got the inspiring gear where you have to rethink your approach to music creation entirely just to get a good tune going. As exciting as the latter is, it's also extremely fatiguing.
I wish people realized that you can access so much of JDXis parameter control that is not available on the front panel using NRPNs, or Sysex, using a Midi controller that can utilize them (NRPN control isn't that hard to find). Roland didn't include them in the Midi implementation guide, but there are a TON of undocumented NRPNs available for the JDXi. As an example, it's amazing to be able to adjust ADSR filter envelopes for the 2nd Digital engine using knobs on a Midi controller on another channel, while you're playing a different patch on Digital engine 1 from the JDXi and adjusting the parameters from that patch with the front panel. Not to get into the amazing Drum machine in it. I spent $225 on mine, best score ever.
Your videos are always so insightful. And those stop motion unboxing sequences are awesome! Must've been time consuming. Also, I'd add Arturia's MB2 to the list. If I had to have only one analogue synth, this would be it.
Thank you! I had a rough time picking the 3, but I just thought back over all these years and felt like these are the 3 id buy back without hesitation.
Glad to see someone recognising how powerful the JDXI is. Perfect? No. But no synth is. Bang for buck, especially secondhand. Amazing. It is on my list. Volca FM has caught my eye. Its either that or one of the Sega Mega Drive sound chip FM synths. I'm going to say it... for a small simple synth, the Behringer Crave is great at the price point. A great starter synth as its got a bit of all the basics without being too complicated. I picked mine up delivered secondhand for £100.
Do you fill there are 2 buttons missing in JD-XI for such money? :) 1 beneath the Delay knob and 1 beneath the Reverb knob for Delay and Reverb modes switching like for Effect 1 and Effect 2?
If you like the Volca FM you'd absolutely LOVE the Digitone. With it's groove box like design it is so much fun to play. The ability to sequence and automate on the fly takes FM to a whole new level that you just can't achieve with a mono timbral traditional synth. I can't say enough about it.
Trust me, the Digitakt/Tone are tools I really want, it’s just so hard cause of my budget. Maybe sell stuff to get one since I LOVE the sounds from both of them!
@@NoirEtBlancVie agreed! easy accessibility to some of Roland’s most iconic sounds along with analog synth capabilities and a sequencer. The screen was the one negative and became the reason I let it go, but the foot it started me on for production was a great first. I do miss the vocoder though, had some fun with that while it lasted
Makes me happy to own one. I really need a warmer-toned synth to balance my setup out though, because every synth I have sounds relatively cold. The Neutron is the exception, but I'd like a warm-toned synth that sounds less angry.
I agree that the Korg Volca FM is worth every penny because I just bought one a week ago, and its so nice threw the Bigsky pedal. I'm super impressed with it, as I own a DX7 and I'm familiar with the sounds it makes. In fact the DX7 now sits in storage and the Volca FM has now taken over. As for the other two mentioned in this video I can't speak for them. I'll reconsider the Micro Freak though. Sounds like it can produce many different kinds of sounds and vocoders are always nice to have. I use my King Korg for its vocoding, but something in a smaller form factor would be much easier to take outside the bedroom studio lol It's all about saving space for me now days.
The Novation Bass Station II is my pick. Especially after the multiple firmware updates, it's incredibly powerful for the price, rivaling Moogs more than double its price
The mimeophon is worth more than it's asking price imo because it's a solid delay that becomes a weird and hard to control standalone synth at the right settings Also honestly imo the microfreak is poly not paraphonic. Sure the filter is monophonic but the filter can be treated as an effect rather than a core part of the sound. All the voices have their own vcas and everything.
When I wanted to "upgrade" my JDXI, I got a yamaha mx49. Not a big cost difference, but much better keyboard and the general sounds are better. Not a different world, and it's a different formfactor, but a great value.
Good shout for the FM and M/Freak, the JD-Xi has since release been my 'sleeper' synth, always wanted one but whenever it comes to a purchase, I'm swayed by Roland towards their Boutiques.. got to love em' though :)
If I had to choose any of the synths I own as "Worth more than they cost", I'd choose two. First, the ASM Hydrasynth. It costs $799 for the desktop version and it is just SUCH a fully featured synth, sounds as good as synths that cost in the thousands, is built like a tank, and is such a versatile synth. Second, I'd choose the Novation Peak, another synth that, while costing slightly more than a thousand, sounds like synths that cost thousands and is also capable of a HUGE spectrum of beautiful sounds. Anyway, thanks for the cool video, it was a pleasure to watch.
I love watching hardware videos and the Hydrasynth has always been an amazing looking and sounding synth. I love the amount of power it has and it would definitely help replace software synths like Serum for a lot of people
Oh. Korg Volca Drum. Industrial monster machine with amazing features (you can literally play on presets). Experimental as hell. Small but performative sequencer (if you focus on it as a central instrument of your setup). It's non classical drum machine, but it's a great, dirty and powerful industrial percussive synth. Bought one on a black friday year ago and it's still my favourite piece of gear. Also, if you add beatstep pro, you can go for craft synth 2. Small, cheap, toy-like monophonic wavetable thing with amazing flexibility and overall power. Shitty form factor basically turn it into module, but if you really give it a shot, you'll find much under that cheap plastic hood.
Agree, the JD-Xi is deep, and I love mine to death. I have occasionally seen it described as an MPC in the "wrong" form factor, and it's a great little tool for full song ideas and development. Only drawback for me is the 4-bar limit of the sequencer.
Yo, I agree with the Volca FM. One of my biggest regrets was selling that one. I'm still skeptical of the MicroFreak, with Covid I haven't had a chance to test one but I haven't been in love with the sound quality I've heard, I'm sure it's different in person.
Yeah it's actually wild for the price point man. It's definitely known as an ambient machine, but you can pretty much do everything short of FM on it (there's a two op FM engine, but its pretty limited obv.). I would recommend without hesitation picking one up. I only have one because I had the opportunity to get it for free, I was also too skeptical to pick one up with my own cash. But now that I own one, I can't believe such a powerful little synth is out on the market at the price point that it's at
I am not a musician. But in October I bought a Yamaha Reface CS. Someone I know who's been using synths for 20 years told me the MicroFreak is the mini-synth of the decade. I decided to buy one. When I looked at the box after it arrived last Saturday and saw on the back, "Mom, the synth is being weird again," I thought I might have made the right choice. I've used it for a few days and love it. I feel as if it were transported from another dimension or planet. Again, I'm a novice. But I am astounded by the MicroFreak. Oh, I also enjoy the Reface CS. But... "MOM, THE SYNTH IS BEING WEIRD AGAIN."
Thanks for the video! Great info and seriously good presentation, I‘ve been looking to get into hadware synths and the microfreak stood out but that Roland looks exactly like what I‘ve been looking for! Maybe I can find a good deal on one 👍
I'm just getting into music production, planning on learning hardware synths later on, and when I saw the MicroFreak on Arturia's website it was love at first sight. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but I gotta get me one of those someday. Unique little thing.
Nicely done, good presentation . . . I've been looking at a Roland JD-XI open box sale, but am open to other options. This is the perfect video for that moment (still haven't decided yet).
Nice choices!! Ive gotta say that i think pound for pound the electribe 2 synth and sampler are super underrated. You have to ride the voice stealing and 90’s style menu diving for sure but they sound pretty damn hot through a compressor.
I'd say the Roland D-05. Past it literally being worth more than its asking price now, it's a complete recreation of the D-50 with a huge preset bank of all the Roland expansion cards, full 16-voice polyphony (not just 4-voice like the other boutiques), compatible with the PG1000 programmer, accepts D-50 sysex, and once you get you get over the big ask of learning how to program one, it allows you to create some huge evolving textures and sounds you'd still to this day be hard pressed to get out of other synths, in its price range or not.
Defintiely agree with these. Havent used to the microfreak but really interested in its capabilites. Korg's volca series is pretty awesome for anyone looking to get into synths without a lot of cash.
I'm new to synths and in the recent weeks or so had watched numerous synth review videos. At the end, the lower price ranged ones that I really like are korg volca fm and arturia microfreak. It's really a surprise to find them both here!
It's definitely more money than the VolcaFM, but the Twisted Electrons MegaFM would get a vote from me. €474 for an FM synth based on the Sega Genesis sound chip (two of them actually for 12-voice polyphony), and actually has one controller per function for its four FM operators! I would've paid double.
Got my brother a Microfreak vocoder edition, that with a nice delay/reverb pedal is sooo amazing sounding omg. It's so expressive and I love it's design
Whell! My favorite synthesizer ever was the Korg MonoPoly I bought new in 1981. I replaced all the noisy OP-amps to Harris and also exchange a lot of the tantal capacitors to electrolytes capacitors! Also put a Kenton polyphonic MIDI interface to it! Loved but had to sell it. Needed the money!
ANY Korg Volca. They are one of the best bargains of the synth world! You can get excellent results from them, even the weaker models like the Beats are pretty good. I agree that the Volca FM is one of the stronger Volcas, but the Keys, Bass, Drum and Modular are superb too. One thing with the Modular though is that it isn't easy to get good sounds out of it (there is an excellent book available which unlocks its potiential). I struggled with it despite owning a modular before, this is because it is a West Coast, Buchla style synth similar to the Buchla musical easel. But despite this, as long as you don't expect instant gratification, the modular is very, very flexible and great value!
Yeah I downsized a lot recently and have lost a lot of my gearsluttyness probably because after spending a lot of money I realized no piece of gear or combination will really dramatically change my workflow or make me a better producer or musician. My next move I’m thinking is to focus on buying sounds and piano lessons.
Great choices and all of them would make fantastic gifts for a person into synths over the holidays. I have The Microfreak and totally agree there. I hate those minikeys on the JD-Xi and try to convince Roland to make a 19" rack version every chance I get! They keep pointing me to the JD-XA but it's out of my current budget. I'm just too into FM for the Volca FM's interface and got a Digitone instead. Would love to get an OpSix but only after there's a 49+ keys version. If your with me on a 19" rack of the JD-Xi, please holla at Roland about it! ;-)
Lately I've been using my JD-Xi as a minimal techno machine, I find that the 4 bar limit and the limited settings you can edit fast and live (knobs) add to the workflow :))
Granted, to program it you need to use the reference sheet and manual... but hey, to sell FM as being 'accessible' or easy would just be fraudulent imho.
Very interesting. I agree with the JD XI, nothing comes close in bang 4 buck. As much as people love the microfreak, it always sounds harsh to me, I don't like it.
had to click when i saw the pixelated jdxi. luv that the jdxi is on here.
JDXI is so amazing to me, it could be almost Dawless if you want to go that far :)
@@NoirEtBlancVie Indeed. Great 4 track midi sequencer too for controlling other gear. More powerful than the KeyStep if only using midi. I think the drums were Midi Channel 10 and the others 1, 2, and 3.
@@NoirEtBlancVie Yeah, and it is lightweight! Sometimes I just don't want to switch on the computer, prefer to sit on the couch and make some beats. It is amazing to me to too :) (it's setting could be expanded through connecting the PatchBase)
P.S. I'm here because of the pixelated jdxi too!
It’s actually about £350 and under now
Love my JD-Xi. I have even heard people saying it is more intuitive to play nd has more features than its bigger brother the JD-XA for a FRACTION of the price. I've owned a lot of gear over the years. I owned the original Roland Juno 106 back when it first came out, the D-50, TR 626, and many other brands. This was such a find for me a few years ago. Who'd have thunk that all the gear I played back in the 1980s could be placed into such a small unit. Amazing.
Notation Ultranova is also a hugely underrated synth
And the mininova
The color of your shirt looks like a casual Star Trek ‘I’m on leave’ outfit. Reporting for Synth duties after the holidays... 🤪
I'd nominate the infamous Blofeld. It's been around a long time now so is hardly a gee whiz device. But it covers so much ground in terms of wavetables, VA and samples. Huge mod matrix. Pretty fancy user arp patterns. The desktop version goes for peanuts used, and the keyboard has dropped steadily in price. The pitch and mod wheels are cheap, but great keybed. The filter emulation is pretty good, and it is that rare 3 osc beastie. Seems everyone expects you to be happy with only 2 oscs per voice.
The multitimbrality is a pain. Clocking LFO and Arp to MIDI is hit and miss, and sample implementation could be better. But for a starter synth I can't imagine better.
Several years ago I would have nominated the Machinedrum, it's such a great noisemaker and can sequence all your gear. But lately the price has exploded on these for some reason. I got mine for $500 USD before that happened!
Instead I'll suggest the Elektron Analog 4 MK1. You can find them used for 5-600 USD all day long. It has all the sequencing features of newer Elektron products with 4 voices of dual osc analog (plus subwave per osc).
It can also be used to control CV/gate gear. So it's a great fit for Eurorack enthusiasts. And with the newest firmware can even sequence MIDI for other devices.
Both of these boxes are hardly ideal. But when you are young and broke you tend to go deep on one piece of gear rather than own several pieces that specialize in one thing. These are the kind of devices that benefit from hours of tweaking and exploring every last crevice.
+1 blofeld. I have six of them, three each desktop & keyboard, all sample enabled, to get the multitimbrality & polyphony up. the sound is awesome.
I sold my a4k- the sequencer was no good, not as clever as the one in the octatrack, & it didn't look like elektron were ever going to fix that. bought a wavestate with the money. better board.
The Blofeld's price point is great for the feature set, but the build quality is hit-and-miss. If yours isn't plagued with software crashes (especially in multitimbral mode) and poor quality encoders, consider yourself very lucky.
For one it often haa technical issues and anlot of menu divng, ineather use my iphone
The JD-Xi looks cheesy and feels plasticky but it's actually a really cool piece of gear.
100% truth
I have these three and I agree with the assessment...lots of bang for buck. The JDXi Manager software is a must to reveal all the capabilities of that machine.
100% agree!
Yea..but many of us don't buy hardware that needs to be program on a computer.
@@WildernessMusic_GentleSerene Fair enough, though the JDXi doesn't require the software, it's just that there's a surprising amount of extra stuff under the hood to tweak if you choose to do that.
I love the Behringer Mod D. I think I paid $250 from Proaudiostar for an open box unit that turned out to be totally new. It is a great way to learn what a three oscillator synth can do.
just bought one of these new for £225 roughly 300 usd arriving in a couple days. It looks amazing and from youtube demos I have seen sounds almost identical to the minimoog model D pretty good value considering the Moog seems to fetch over 10x the price of the behringer. Can't wait to start playing with it, it will be my first proper hardware synth. Something to get stuck into and hopefully inspire some good songwriting for the next few months of lockdown.
I love my JD-XI. I got it a few years ago and I play it almost every day. I asked myself a similar question - what's the best synth I can get for under $500.00 USD? And the JD-Xi won my little tournament. You could record an entire album with this synth alone, without much difficulty.
There are a few dislikes: Menu does require a bit too much diving for my tastes to change parameters (however there are desktop managers and editors); The keybed is weak and flimsy (I've broken a key a while back); I would have liked separate outs for each channel and I wasn't that impressed with the analog channel (I'd prefer they just had a third digital channel, TBH).
Other than these, the JD-Xi will be a classic for many years to come!
So pumped the JD-Xi is finally getting some love. It’s insane. I just got mine a few weeks back in a trade. I was hesitant but haven’t looked back since. Amazing.
As a Volca FM owner, one additional amazing benefit is the ability to load Yamaha DX7 patches/cartridges and even edit/create your own patches with Dexed.
i've actually been super happy with the Modal Skulpt! the presets are decent, the app is pretty whack.. BUT THE SOUNDS i'm down..
Let’s be honest, Craft and Skulpt should have been one device. Kinda weird they weren’t. App, well, what you have to buy to get the app to work is the dealbreaker unless you already own one.
It’s fat
JD-XI was my first synth, and I don't think I would have gotten into synthesis without it. Glad it made it on here.
Ultranova puts all these to shame. By sounds, build quality, GUI interface, and did I say sounds ? !
This is dope! The Roland MC-101 has become a pretty insane value for money groovebox, now that Roland has updated it and the price has come down a bit. The polished sound and sample flipping capabilities easily stand up to anything in or even a bit above its price range.
And of course, knowing how big of a deal it would be for me, I'd probably happily pay more for the Novation Circuit.
Honestly if I’m gonna pay 500 for a groove box I’d just pony up 600 for a used mpc one
@@jamesmesser1212 yes, The MPC series is great, packed with features and they come at good prices. I miss my MPC2000 XL from way back.
you should definitely do top 3 synths worth less than they are worth
Hmm,
1. Akai Timbre Wolf
2. AKAI Timbre Wolf
3. Akai Timbre Wolf
TLDR of that video 😂
@@NoirEtBlancVie 🤣🤣🤣redsound darkstar anyone?
@@barrnycharlton8951 Ha ha! I have a Red Sound Elevata!
that would be about all of them...my last 20 years of purchases have been extremely disappointing, except for the MicroBrute and Roland Gaia.
@@NoirEtBlancVie LMAO!!!
I can relate to your lack of gear lust these days. In fairness I do have quite a considerable amount of gear already so I cant claim to be going for any kind of minimalism. You definitely do reach a point where you have "enough" for what you want to do. Obviously where that point sits will vary from person to person, but its a nice position to be in to not feel the GAS pulling towards any particular piece of hardware.
Yeah, it’s really hard to have GAS, though I still want a couple of pieces... Modal 002....though, thousands of dollar synths hard to go there in this economic time.
@@NoirEtBlancVie I haven't looked too into the Modal, but if it does something unique that you can't do with your current setup then that's all the justification you need. At the moment thankfully I have all my current areas of interest covered. Admitedly it took buying quite a bit of gear to get there. Its just a nice relief to be able to look at most new gear releases and appreciate them but not feel any need to get them. I'm sure something will grab my attention eventually but for now I'm good.
I love that you started your channel at nearly the same time I did, and you fucking did it while I bitched up. Love you man!
the drum kits alone make the jdxi a formidable footprint
Lovely to see my dear friend the Volca FM here. Couldn't agree more.
Hot tip, Pajen's firmware breathes new life into it!
What are some things that FW adds? I've been on the fence about the Volca FM.
@@ambidex velocity sensitivity, most significantly
The AR48 is a 64 step 12 voice groovebox with per sound effects, an FX send section that can be controlled with physical knobs, a synth engine that can modulate, a sampler with audio recording to SD, the ability to use a USB Midi Controller to accept chords, the ability to turn off quantization in the sequencer. it also has a midi out port to act as a master sequencer.
its currently in your synth store's bargain bin because it looks like a rainbow tamborine.
I wish for a microfreak without the keyboard. A desktop version would be so sweet.
I'd like a Microfreak without the synth engine. Just a midi controller, hopefully with 3 octaves instead of 2.
@@ToyKeeper they should just build both!
@@ToyKeeper Microfreak has midi out over USB, it just works in Ableton at least. So if you own one you can use it like that. Just the keyboard would be an interesting idea but I think that MPE would be a better alternative than just MIDI if you're using such unique technology for the keys why not take full advantage of how expressive it can be.
Google 3DWaves Nano Bod For The Arturia MicroFreak
@@StrayMedicine I've been tempted to get one and use it as a midi controller. The purpose is to use it like a Kaossilator, but with the ability to play more deliberately and precisely when desired. The note data would go through a midi remapper so it's always in a key and scale which matches the song, and the intuitive play style would be for improvising or composing.
But really, I should probably just add kaoss support to my midi remapper... and use gear I already have instead of letting it gather dust.
The Roland isn't a looker but for somebody starting out it is quite a package.
Totally, like as a synth for a Christmas gift to a new musician, amazing value!
Haha, I tried to use one in Guitar Center but I couldn't figure it out. That and the Elektron Digitakt are the only two pieces of gear that I've tried and had a genuinely hard time figuring out.
@@mikeexits Yep Digitakt I struggle with too.
Really wish there was more in the way of demos here - I couldn't tell you what any of these synths sound like after watching this video. Still, thanks for the great content.
Every synth was demoed in the backing track as well I have full reviews with sounds of every single synth mentioned. I didn’t want to make the video bloated with sound demos since this is about why they’re great value for money to me and I have separate dedicated content on each. So you’re covered. :)
Good choices. Though I've never owned the JDXi, I have recommended it as an excellent starter synth because of its versatility and because it's a workstation that gives someone the ability to build an entire track all on its own.
One other recommendation would be the Neutron. Especially if you're interested in exploring modular, the patchbay provides multiple modules worth of functionality. You can break this instrument apart and use its different components with other eurorack kit and its contributions would cost three times as much if purchased separately. I know that their other clones offer quite some value, but the Neutron is unique and Midas' own design so I thought it was fair to mention it.
Always love your content.
Keep up the great work!
Peace.
What does that mean Midas' own design? Also, are you saying you can use these 3 aspects of the Neutron entirely independently (with other gear)?
The Roland se-02 ! inside the flawed shell/knobs is an amazin mono synth that performs well above the price tag
Volca FM was my first synth. Bought it because of your review and Oscillator Sink's tutorials Had it for quite a little while now and still making sounds I love.
I didn't even know JDXi existed lmao
Same here. I'm a bit intrigued...
If ya'll are interest, check out its bigger brother as well, the JD-Xa. Two killer machines in their own right.
The ones I think are underpriced at the Behringer Model D, Makenoise 0-Coast and Korg SQ-1 (well, not a synth, but...) - Between the three of those you can spend around $700, and have midi to CV, sequencing, and some really deep sounds.
Great content as usual
Blooper reel included! I still don't own a volca , but would be open to it . Arturia makes excellent tools (minibrute 2S is still on my wishlist) . I was considering JDXi to replace my MicroKorg XL , but then in the same price range (around 500) the GAIA is very tempting . As a guitar player i enjoy recording , and phrase looping in real time . looping (frees up the hands to twiddle with effects !) Roland is BOSS at making usable sampler/loopers . So I stuck with my MicroKorg XL , and bought a RC-202. My last purchase was a Behringer Neutron . . . Now I am semimidular 😁 love the sound of those oscillators .
JD-XI really is a Swiss Army knives of modern synths. Best 400 euros I have ever spend. I literally sold away my Juno-60 because JD-XI made it just collect dust.
Totally agree, it’s way better than people who see it think.
@@NoirEtBlancVie they had to remove ADSR and make it a menu hell so it didn't cannibalise their higher synths like jd-xa. 3 osc with each their filter, lfo, etc and all the classic drum machine sounds
Couldn't agree more with your top choice, its so just easy to create music on and fast too. Literally the only piece of gear I own where I can switch it on and start recording straight away. You don't need anything else.
Love the yellow shirt on the blue background! Great video as always
Korg NTS-1, with a Keystep or other inexpensive Midi keyboard to replace the crap one on the NTS-1. For around 100 USD you get a tiny but powerful synth, nice arpeggiator and with Audio In you can use it as an effects processor. You can also add custom synths and effects, incredible value.
I couldn't agree more with the JD-Xi. I got mine used for under 300! What a bargain! The best feature for me (quite unique btw) is the chord mode, that let's you transpose ALL 4 sequencer lanes to the key (yes, it analyzes the harmony) that you play the current chord in (also great to control external gear!).
Jd-Xi is awesome, was my first synth and is now the heart of my whole system. It really is amazing how deep and powerful it is once you open up all the parameters with an editor app. Great video, thanks for sharing!
I love it too. Can you describe how it fits as the heart of your system?
Totally underrated once you realize all that is available.
Thanks very much. I will keep those in mind. I'm a hobbyist and have four synths. I'm trying to fight GAS. So if I do buy again, I want to get "bang for my buck" because I don't really need another one. This is a very useful list.
I have the MicroFreak. Been thinking about the Volca FM for about six months. So your take is interesting.
I would love to see more reviewers post "second take" or "bang for your buck" reviews.
It's the Korg "monologue" for me.🎹 Your video actually help sell Me on it!👍
totally agree for massive sound, workflow and excellent filter.
Yeah, totally wanted to include it on the list, but I didn’t wanna pick 5...it would definitely be in the top 5 somehow!
@@NoirEtBlancVie No problem. Thank you for making a video on it.👍✌
@@NoirEtBlancVie -- so then -- what would be the other one at #4?
@@Jobotubular mmm, honestly I think everything else I’ve reviewed has been fair value for money or over priced. I thought I’d say the Korg Monologue, but honestly, if it were $199 sure, great deal, but if you know the channel I’ve only reviewed very few items and since I purchased them with my own money only these three really made me say “yeah, I’d buy them again”.
What about Korg NTS-1? Although it has one-voice only, it is very affordable and portable, can be used as a effects pedal and have a wide selection of free custom oscillators. Also, you can do a lot of things by modulating the midi cc parameters with vcv rack.
My other choice would be 0-coast, just so many features packed into one small semi-modular module. Also, with the one extra MIDI to CV outputs, I was able to sent out some complex non-audio rate modulations. Note, Logic Gate, envelope, LFO etc. ... you name it! It goes super well with my Pro 3 and 0hp modules from Mystic Circuits. Who needs Eurorack lol
Can't agree more about the Freak... I love mine and it keeps getting better with the updates.
Yeah, I feel like it could be a total platform for future updates. They could even monetize like DLC for it if they wanted like the vocoder!
Mininova could easily be on this list.
I can't believe how good the Toriaz AS-1 sounds for 400$. Have not even considered buying another because when I try a different synth at this price point I am underwhelmed. Demos online do not seem to showcase how much beef this synth has. The UI is a bit tricky because it's a compact synth but the sound is kaboom.
Damn, I need to look at that again!!
i actually love my Volca Bass too , i am using the this since i started with my volcas..so much fun tweaking this and for the price with 3 oscilators i think it is pretty neat...
One more and that is the Modal Skulpt...hooking it up with a midi keyboard....wow i wasrealy impressed with how much it has for that little synth. Noir...keep up the good work..
I've got both the volca and microfreak. I use the micro alot more. The Keys are a little odd to begin with but really, I actually wish it had another octave to play with. The encoders seem to have a bit of mind of their own too at times. That said, it's a beautiful synth in sound and form. Plus it hooks up to anything, controllers, DAWS and volcas.
+1 for the JD-XI! I luv that little synth and it is my go to gear for some quick and easy looping/grooving. I also own a Volca FM and it is quite nice to. The Microfreak on the other hand leaves me cold but I can see why it appeals to others...
Overall great video, thank you and keep up the great work.
OMG! I can't believe you mentioned the Roland JD-Xi. Most people think of it as a toy, and yeah the keys are kind of small and "toy-ish." But the synth is Multi-timbral, something you don't see in most synths. It has all the sounds I loved back when I owned the originals in the 1980s, including the drum kits. It has an analog synth, not the greatest, but hey, it's there. It has a vocoder, which other people get excited about. It's a workstation. (I also loved and owned the Teenage OP-1, sold the OP-1 and kept the Roland.) The menu system is a pain. Just get the free overlay for it from Roland as the deck is hard to read if playing out . I hear it comes with the overlay now when purchasing. Be gentle on the keys. The keys cannot be replaced if one breaks. The whole key bed must get replaced. I know of someone who glued his broken key back into the deck and it still works LOL!. For the price, this is great, and you get those fabulous Roland sounds. I can name on one hand the multi-timbral synths out there. Many people play this in gigs as it is small and does so much for a low price. Where do I get this JD-Xi sounds for free? And...how does one load them to the JD-Xi? I'm not a computer geek, having used physical gear for 40 years.
Those words in the outro are really true. Youve got your gear that youre comfortable with and can grind out a song in 10 minutes, and then youve got the inspiring gear where you have to rethink your approach to music creation entirely just to get a good tune going. As exciting as the latter is, it's also extremely fatiguing.
I wish people realized that you can access so much of JDXis parameter control that is not available on the front panel using NRPNs, or Sysex, using a Midi controller that can utilize them (NRPN control isn't that hard to find). Roland didn't include them in the Midi implementation guide, but there are a TON of undocumented NRPNs available for the JDXi.
As an example, it's amazing to be able to adjust ADSR filter envelopes for the 2nd Digital engine using knobs on a Midi controller on another channel, while you're playing a different patch on Digital engine 1 from the JDXi and adjusting the parameters from that patch with the front panel.
Not to get into the amazing Drum machine in it.
I spent $225 on mine, best score ever.
Your videos are always so insightful. And those stop motion unboxing sequences are awesome! Must've been time consuming.
Also, I'd add Arturia's MB2 to the list. If I had to have only one analogue synth, this would be it.
The JDXi?! THE JAY DEE EX I?! Really? Yes really, it‘s definitely worth the money. A good choice your top 3!
Thank you! I had a rough time picking the 3, but I just thought back over all these years and felt like these are the 3 id buy back without hesitation.
Glad to see someone recognising how powerful the JDXI is. Perfect? No. But no synth is. Bang for buck, especially secondhand. Amazing. It is on my list. Volca FM has caught my eye. Its either that or one of the Sega Mega Drive sound chip FM synths.
I'm going to say it... for a small simple synth, the Behringer Crave is great at the price point. A great starter synth as its got a bit of all the basics without being too complicated. I picked mine up delivered secondhand for £100.
Do you fill there are 2 buttons missing in JD-XI for such money? :) 1 beneath the Delay knob and 1 beneath the Reverb knob for Delay and Reverb modes switching like for Effect 1 and Effect 2?
If you like the Volca FM you'd absolutely LOVE the Digitone. With it's groove box like design it is so much fun to play. The ability to sequence and automate on the fly takes FM to a whole new level that you just can't achieve with a mono timbral traditional synth. I can't say enough about it.
Digitone + digitakt is electronic music heaven
Trust me, the Digitakt/Tone are tools I really want, it’s just so hard cause of my budget. Maybe sell stuff to get one since I LOVE the sounds from both of them!
Yeah, its a priority!
I’ve owned the FM and JDXI and couldn’t agree more. The latter shaped how I play electronic music and kickstarted my music production journey
Same. Not a fan of the Volca series, but the FM is the lone exception.
Isn’t the JDXI just amazing, like the value and wide range of sounds is incredible. It’s kinda crippled with that screen ugh
@@NoirEtBlancVie agreed! easy accessibility to some of Roland’s most iconic sounds along with analog synth capabilities and a sequencer. The screen was the one negative and became the reason I let it go, but the foot it started me on for production was a great first. I do miss the vocoder though, had some fun with that while it lasted
Couldn't agree more. Volca FM is the most bang-for buck FM synth out there.
Makes me happy to own one. I really need a warmer-toned synth to balance my setup out though, because every synth I have sounds relatively cold. The Neutron is the exception, but I'd like a warm-toned synth that sounds less angry.
I agree that the Korg Volca FM is worth every penny because I just bought one a week ago, and its so nice threw the Bigsky pedal. I'm super impressed with it, as I own a DX7 and I'm familiar with the sounds it makes. In fact the DX7 now sits in storage and the Volca FM has now taken over. As for the other two mentioned in this video I can't speak for them. I'll reconsider the Micro Freak though. Sounds like it can produce many different kinds of sounds and vocoders are always nice to have. I use my King Korg for its vocoding, but something in a smaller form factor would be much easier to take outside the bedroom studio lol It's all about saving space for me now days.
The Novation Bass Station II is my pick. Especially after the multiple firmware updates, it's incredibly powerful for the price, rivaling Moogs more than double its price
The mimeophon is worth more than it's asking price imo because it's a solid delay that becomes a weird and hard to control standalone synth at the right settings
Also honestly imo the microfreak is poly not paraphonic. Sure the filter is monophonic but the filter can be treated as an effect rather than a core part of the sound. All the voices have their own vcas and everything.
When I wanted to "upgrade" my JDXI, I got a yamaha mx49. Not a big cost difference, but much better keyboard and the general sounds are better. Not a different world, and it's a different formfactor, but a great value.
Good shout for the FM and M/Freak, the JD-Xi has since release been my 'sleeper' synth, always wanted one but whenever it comes to a purchase, I'm swayed by Roland towards their Boutiques.. got to love em' though :)
I would just like to say, I love your videos
thank you :)
Thank you!
The problem with the JDXI is the keybed, it's horrid! I've never seen one in a store where the keys aren't broken
Yeah it'd be a no-brainer if it weren't for this.
Plenty of ways around the keybed. It could have no keys and still be worth the asking price
I don't own one but the ability to use dexed presets and dx7 voices really seem like it elevates the fm past the other volcas.
If I had to choose any of the synths I own as "Worth more than they cost", I'd choose two.
First, the ASM Hydrasynth. It costs $799 for the desktop version and it is just SUCH a fully featured synth, sounds as good as synths that cost in the thousands, is built like a tank, and is such a versatile synth.
Second, I'd choose the Novation Peak, another synth that, while costing slightly more than a thousand, sounds like synths that cost thousands and is also capable of a HUGE spectrum of beautiful sounds.
Anyway, thanks for the cool video, it was a pleasure to watch.
I love watching hardware videos and the Hydrasynth has always been an amazing looking and sounding synth. I love the amount of power it has and it would definitely help replace software synths like Serum for a lot of people
Was the shot of the monologue as an honourable mention? Should be. Great synth for the buck.
Oh. Korg Volca Drum. Industrial monster machine with amazing features (you can literally play on presets). Experimental as hell. Small but performative sequencer (if you focus on it as a central instrument of your setup).
It's non classical drum machine, but it's a great, dirty and powerful industrial percussive synth. Bought one on a black friday year ago and it's still my favourite piece of gear.
Also, if you add beatstep pro, you can go for craft synth 2. Small, cheap, toy-like monophonic wavetable thing with amazing flexibility and overall power. Shitty form factor basically turn it into module, but if you really give it a shot, you'll find much under that cheap plastic hood.
Agree, the JD-Xi is deep, and I love mine to death. I have occasionally seen it described as an MPC in the "wrong" form factor, and it's a great little tool for full song ideas and development. Only drawback for me is the 4-bar limit of the sequencer.
DUde, what an incredible production!
[you just got one more subscriber!]
Yo, I agree with the Volca FM. One of my biggest regrets was selling that one. I'm still skeptical of the MicroFreak, with Covid I haven't had a chance to test one but I haven't been in love with the sound quality I've heard, I'm sure it's different in person.
Yeah it's actually wild for the price point man. It's definitely known as an ambient machine, but you can pretty much do everything short of FM on it (there's a two op FM engine, but its pretty limited obv.). I would recommend without hesitation picking one up. I only have one because I had the opportunity to get it for free, I was also too skeptical to pick one up with my own cash. But now that I own one, I can't believe such a powerful little synth is out on the market at the price point that it's at
I am not a musician. But in October I bought a Yamaha Reface CS. Someone I know who's been using synths for 20 years told me the MicroFreak is the mini-synth of the decade. I decided to buy one. When I looked at the box after it arrived last Saturday and saw on the back, "Mom, the synth is being weird again," I thought I might have made the right choice.
I've used it for a few days and love it. I feel as if it were transported from another dimension or planet. Again, I'm a novice. But I am astounded by the MicroFreak.
Oh, I also enjoy the Reface CS. But...
"MOM, THE SYNTH IS BEING WEIRD AGAIN."
@@danielmulholland5869 Am I right in thinking that the Microfreak only has a single oscillator?
For my money (and I waste a lot of money on synths) the Modal Skulpt is the best bang for your buck I’ve seen
Thanks for the video! Great info and seriously good presentation, I‘ve been looking to get into hadware synths and the microfreak stood out but that Roland looks exactly like what I‘ve been looking for! Maybe I can find a good deal on one 👍
Nice! Having just ordered the JD-XI before watching this video (and also owning a KORG micro synth) i guess im "still doing it right". Awesome video.
Your sooo right on the Jd xi. I tried it out at Guitar Center and I was blown away with the sound.
Great vid! I have a Korg volca FM and intend to ad the Microfreak to my collection. The JDXi is out of my price range for now. Cheers!
They're (JDXi) available used all the time for so cheap.
That JDXI is hella slept on!
I'm just getting into music production, planning on learning hardware synths later on, and when I saw the MicroFreak on Arturia's website it was love at first sight. Maybe not today or tomorrow, but I gotta get me one of those someday. Unique little thing.
Nicely done, good presentation . . . I've been looking at a Roland JD-XI open box sale, but am open to other options.
This is the perfect video for that moment (still haven't decided yet).
Nice choices!! Ive gotta say that i think pound for pound the electribe 2 synth and sampler are super underrated. You have to ride the voice stealing and 90’s style menu diving for sure but they sound pretty damn hot through a compressor.
I'd say the Roland D-05. Past it literally being worth more than its asking price now, it's a complete recreation of the D-50 with a huge preset bank of all the Roland expansion cards, full 16-voice polyphony (not just 4-voice like the other boutiques), compatible with the PG1000 programmer, accepts D-50 sysex, and once you get you get over the big ask of learning how to program one, it allows you to create some huge evolving textures and sounds you'd still to this day be hard pressed to get out of other synths, in its price range or not.
Good luck with locating a PG1000, though! They sell for more than a D05 or D50, more often than not.
Defintiely agree with these. Havent used to the microfreak but really interested in its capabilites. Korg's volca series is pretty awesome for anyone looking to get into synths without a lot of cash.
I'm new to synths and in the recent weeks or so had watched numerous synth review videos. At the end, the lower price ranged ones that I really like are korg volca fm and arturia microfreak. It's really a surprise to find them both here!
It's definitely more money than the VolcaFM, but the Twisted Electrons MegaFM would get a vote from me. €474 for an FM synth based on the Sega Genesis sound chip (two of them actually for 12-voice polyphony), and actually has one controller per function for its four FM operators! I would've paid double.
Got my brother a Microfreak vocoder edition, that with a nice delay/reverb pedal is sooo amazing sounding omg. It's so expressive and I love it's design
01:32 -- And now the FM2 is available. Includes supersized polyphony and free curly fries!
Totally agree with this 100%. All these well deserve this.
Great video. A lot of people speak highly of the JD XI, though I have never used one. For me the Roland SE-02 is an absolute steal. Sounds so fat.
The Mininova still makes me proud of buying one
Whell! My favorite synthesizer ever was the Korg MonoPoly I bought new in 1981. I replaced all the noisy OP-amps to Harris and also exchange a lot of the tantal capacitors to electrolytes capacitors! Also put a Kenton polyphonic MIDI interface to it! Loved but had to sell it. Needed the money!
The JDXI is my very first synth and never regreted it, it offers much more than it costs. Thanks for all
Love my MicroFreak! 🔥
Volca and micro freak are a lot of fun, you also have a tonne of modulation on the freak which is kinda essential
Got volca fm and microfreak! They’re both some of my favorite pieces of gear!
ANY Korg Volca. They are one of the best bargains of the synth world! You can get excellent results from them, even the weaker models like the Beats are pretty good. I agree that the Volca FM is one of the stronger Volcas, but the Keys, Bass, Drum and Modular are superb too.
One thing with the Modular though is that it isn't easy to get good sounds out of it (there is an excellent book available which unlocks its potiential). I struggled with it despite owning a modular before, this is because it is a West Coast, Buchla style synth similar to the Buchla musical easel. But despite this, as long as you don't expect instant gratification, the modular is very, very flexible and great value!
My pick for best value synth is probably the korg monologue, but I got it at a really good price
Microfreak ++
Also, for items punching above their price class, probably worth mentioning the Hydrasynth desktop.
Yeah I downsized a lot recently and have lost a lot of my gearsluttyness probably because after spending a lot of money I realized no piece of gear or combination will really dramatically change my workflow or make me a better producer or musician. My next move I’m thinking is to focus on buying sounds and piano lessons.
Piano lessons sounds like a very good idea.
Seriously, where would I be without all those years of actually practicing music instead of buying gear. Totally lost on some, so great move man!
+1 for the JD-Xi
Great choices and all of them would make fantastic gifts for a person into synths over the holidays.
I have The Microfreak and totally agree there. I hate those minikeys on the JD-Xi and try to convince Roland to make a 19" rack version every chance I get! They keep pointing me to the JD-XA but it's out of my current budget. I'm just too into FM for the Volca FM's interface and got a Digitone instead. Would love to get an OpSix but only after there's a 49+ keys version.
If your with me on a 19" rack of the JD-Xi, please holla at Roland about it! ;-)
Lately I've been using my JD-Xi as a minimal techno machine, I find that the 4 bar limit and the limited settings you can edit fast and live (knobs) add to the workflow :))
Granted, to program it you need to use the reference sheet and manual... but hey, to sell FM as being 'accessible' or easy would just be fraudulent imho.
Very interesting. I agree with the JD XI, nothing comes close in bang 4 buck. As much as people love the microfreak, it always sounds harsh to me, I don't like it.
Saw the SV1 your playing, my friend has one, it feels amazing to play on, the key response, oh the intimate key response mannnn it's so good.