Hello guys.

I am interested in synthesizers... Very interested. I listen to music that uses synths almost all of the time (Bands like KMFDM, :Wumpscut:, Skinny Puppy, etc), and I am interested in becoming a part of this scene.

Reading up on synthesizers, well, it all seems very complicated. Things are very expensive, many terms are used, there's so much equipment... It's all just very confusing to me.

If I wanted to make music like these guys, I understand that I would need a lot of equipment. Where do I start, however? If I want to get into this scene, what equipment should I buy to get started?

Thanks.

you're welcome.

If I were you I would just start of with a soft-synth. These run inside most modern sequencers, and if you have internet, there's no need to pay for them. Good simple ones are the Logic ES1 & ES2, the Absynth (eventhough this interface is a bit confusing) and the new Vanguard is also very handable. There's basically three things you can control on these synths, and these are the wav form generator (in which you can select your source sound, triangle, square, sine etc), the envelope generator (which controls the amplitude of your tone / sound), and the filter. Just try these parameters separetly and you'll soon be getting the hang of it.

If you ever want to play live at all (not dj but actually sequence live) you'll want to stay away from soft-synths.

I do live stuff and I use keyboards and sequencers. Particularly the Korg line of products. I love this stuff, editing sounds goes so smooth and quick. And realtime editing is the bomb. After learning on hardware, I've tried to use software and it just seems so slow and clunky to me.

However there are certain limitations with hardware sequencers but not much.

Um.. Geeze.. where to start.. well there's a lot of books and magazines and what not.. that are dedicated to the subject.. one of the programs in my software library, reaktor, which allows you to create your own instruments.. I found a site for here: http://www.semaforte.com/reaktor/faq.htm that also happens to have some decent information on starting out..

I recomend starting with soft synths to.. in part cause you get get a certain amount of stuff for free... And.. well I just like soft synths better.. they seem to be cheaper.. and everytime I get around to upgrading my computer It's like I get an upgrade on all my instruments at the same time.. A teacher I had at Berklee said you needed to get a new synth every 6 months.. inorder to really stay up to date.. each one costing about $1,000.. and when you bought a new one you could sell the old one.. so it wasn't that much money... but I mean.. I got Native Instruments Komplete for about that.. and you know.. this years software upgrade is only about $229, last I checked.. and of course.. if you're feeling ethically challenged there's always the piracy route..

But um.. what technology you want.. it's probably an indavidual choice.. I mean.. you might look at the artist's you like to find what they are using.. you may want to read reviews.. you may find that you have a certain sort of way that makes sense for your aprouch to music making that.. just might be different from the next persons.. my experiance with electronic music suggests to me that it really is, probably, about the most flexable of musical genra's.. at least from the artist's perspective.. and its pretty broad.. and blah blah blah.. I'm droning on now so I think its time for me to shut up but um.. you get the picture... just go to your local book store.. check out the books in the music section and the magazines... and eventually you'll learn something?

lol,
well good luck

I think you should start by getting yourself Cubase sx and Reason, both by Steinberg. Run the two together and you've got enough kit to emulate any sound you like.
Cubase is the brain that holds all your audio and midi info and settings. It also controls added plug-ins such as soft synths and fx.
Reason is a fantastic piece of kit that can be used as a sound source or a stand alone program. Its got everything you need for experimenting with analogue filters and suchlike.
If you are thinking of performing live, there is the option of getting module versions of synths and running them from a good midi controller. I also use a Roland SH101 and a Korg Poly800, cos sometimes you need that extra bite that the real analogues have.

Hi there,

well, the things are not like that anymore. With new computers you don't need many
equipment at all. Especially as a beginner, fewer equipment is easier to start. All what you
need is one synth or sampler, for this I would take good sampling soundcard like Emulator X from E-mu

systems (http://www.e-mu.com), any keyboard with MIDI in and out ports as a controller,
and good sequencing software, there are a lot of manufacturers, but my personal preference would
be MusicPhrase (http://www.musicphrase.com).

Good luck!