Trance synths, which is better?

3

3vovle

New member
Hi softies,

I'm doing production on trance, chill and house music. From what i've gathered, Virus series seems to deem most fitted for the genre. Currently i dont have any hardwares, except for some turntables. But I've been using Reason 3 and is rather familiar with knods and nuts of the synth.

So, what i need help is, anyone who is doing for the genre, or experience the sound before give me some thoughts? I'm only budgeted for about 2.5k... and since it is my first piece of hardware, I'll want to make a correct choice.

Therefore, Xiao Di here request all big brothers help! Thnks!!
 
Hi, the virus is an excellent choice for all electronic music genres. I have a Virus-A for 7 years and it's still a machine I fall back on for inspirational sound design. With the drop in hardware prices, $2.5k can get you pretty far if you shop selectively for quality used gear. The Roland JP8000 or JP8080 (rack), Nord Lead or the old Roland classics (the TR-series drum machines, SH-101, MC-202, etc) will also perform well for dance music.

You do need to think about the more mundane essentials if you want to dip into hardware. Things like a mixer, a MIDI-interface and decent monitor speakers are not the most inspiring items but you will need them to integrate with your Reason setup.

If you have any specific questions, I'll be happy to share with you the little I know. Have fun and happy research/shopping! :)

EDIT: Incidentally, you may also want to consider the Novation Supernova which someone is selling as we speak.
 
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hmmm, that's a handful of equipments. I just drop by resolution today at sunshine plaza. And the guy there gave me a rather good demo on the Novation Xiosynth. I like the sound, and the tweaking is something I'm rather familiar about.

But beyond that, come my worries. Like you mention about midi interfaces, those are the things i've not much knowledge about. Is it better to get a synth for a start? Becos to make things more complex, I'm going into deejaying as well... and both setup is going to cost...

Yeah, I'm a little greedy.... =P
 
Hahahahaha i know what you mean :) DJ-ing and production go hand-in-hand but can be seriously damaging to your bank account!

You should ask yourself where your priorities at the moment lie and plan your budget carefully. I dunno...are you still able to see yourself growing using Reason 3 as a production tool? If so, continue to produce with Reason and accumulate more noise-making experience (for ex: the technical know-hows you gain from using the subtractor synth can easily be transferred to any analog or VA subtractive synth) and let this guide/inform you which piece(s) of missing/extra tools will help improve your creative process. Know your tools well, what they can or cannot do.

Meanwhile, you can channel a portion of your $2.5k to get your DJ-ing setup going (which route are you going btw?)...keep your spare cash till you better understand your own/preferred creative workflow...what works well for Dave may not work so good for Martin...keep your finger off the trigger (to $pend) till you know what you need and you will have less chance of regret later...

My 2 cents :)
luke
 
I don't know abt the Xiosynth, but my mate uses a Novation X-Station, which can also be used as an Audio Interface & KB MIDI Controller.
Loads of usable sounds for different genres & knobs/faders for u to tweak. It's a good investment if u wanna start out. Think it's out of production though.

Otherwise, Reason 3 is cool. Thats what i started with before i move up to Logic 7. If you're gonna go down that route, get a KB MIDI controller like the M-Audio Radium or Axiom series. Affordable. Easier to get your ideas down through a Keyboard Controller, rather than single note entry using your mouse.

Good luck! I love trance :)
 
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