Looking to buy a synth for playing synthpop

I'm wrapping up a synthpop record soon and thinking about how to perform it live, which means I want to buy a synth. I think I will mostly be just playing pads onstage, since I'm not a very good keyboard player. But it would be great to be able to have something versatile that I could also use for lead sounds and future recordings etc., and could control with MIDI.

The guy I'm working with suggested picking up a Juno 106 from eBay, which seems to meet those requirements and go for around $800. Any thoughts?

i would love to have a Juno, but you could do worse than one of the microKorgs. it would be a few hundred dollars less, same for something like this: http://us.novationmusic.com/hardware-synths/mininova

or you could just get a midi controller and use soft synths off a laptop.

Hm, well I already have a MIDI controller (an AKAI LPK25) and I just got a Macbook Pro. I'm already planning on getting some kind of basic ProTools setup so I can run a session onstage with various pre-recorded synths and drums that won't be performed live. I've used softsynths a ton for recording demos before, but only on my shoddy older PC laptop, and never live.

What would be the pros/cons of going that route?

If it's your first synth, get a Juno 106. They're kind of the best synth for learning. The voice chips burn out with some frequency-- I've replaced three chips in mine over the years.

If you're looking for a secret, cheap and great hardware synth that is similar to the 106, get the Juno Alpha-1, or the Alpha-2, which is velocity sensitive, too. They are light and durable and sound good. You'll need to MIDI connect and hunt down an editing software to edit the patches but if you know what you're doing it's cheap and fun.

Neither of these polysynths are among my favourites but they're both cheap and fun and good to learn the basics on

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/ele/4106693043.html

i have a 60 and an alpha and access to a 106. the 106 is my least favourite of the three, though it is still a nice sounding machine. the alpha juno is probably the best bargain out there for analogue synths at the moment, i have the rack version and it is a delight.

i can't bear the microkorg. it is probaly my least favourite synth in existence.

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/ele/4106693043.html

Ha, did you know I'm in Philly or what?

Anyway now I am even more conflicted. FWIW the sounds on my record were made with a Prophet 600 and a Yamaha PSS-680.

junos are a good bet for a cheap analogue, only prob is they weigh a ton and will breakdown from time to time, unless you're super careful/lucky. that goes for 106s, alphas, the lot. they have *the sound* but they're a bit limited (but but but that can be a good thing. yes, of course) alpha junos are a bitch to program without software, not as much fun for mangling sounds live too, wouldn't bother for a versatile live synth.

in your situation i'd go for ipad + a decent controller. my fav is the novation remote sl 61- after working in a synth shop for a few months that's the one i liked most. the new arturia controllers are alright but seem a bit flimsy and the action is super light. the m-audio axiom pro range seems like it's pretty good, but eh m-audio. there's so much cool software out there, most of it sounds great, the korg and moog stuff especially. minijack from the ipad into an amp sounds fine if you ask me, v little background noise, there's a decent DAC in there that can output in mono or stereo iirc- get a good cable for it! only downsides: not very, err, "cool" and the 20-30ms latency you'll get from that setup isn't ideal (but fine for most keyboard synth styles)

microkorg = no imo. the engine sounds alright, but the mini keys are annoying. programming them isn't much fun imo.

out of the new stuff i'd get a novation ultranova if you want something cheap. really great synth. or you could get a 2nd hand nord lead/dave smith prophet.. both about the same price as a juno 106 and they're both incredible.

ha, man i must miss working in the synth shop

the chip issues with the 106 are fairly well known but what sort of issues have you seen with 6/60s and alphas? i guess the alpha dial would probably wear out after a while. my 60 feels unbreakable, not that i've really tried that hard to break it

i would love a P600

I've had my Alpha for a long time and subject it to a lot of anus but it's held together. The screws on the side got stripped and one of the puffy touch pad buttons got finicky but that is after years of having it under my arm on a bicycle

glorious

usual stuff, sticky/faulty keys, crackly pots, the dial on my alpha has gone, so have all the Fs. all easily fixable, that sort of thing just seems to happen over time with older synths ime.

whoa at "anus". I meant "abuse" but w/e I hope my Alpha has seen some anus in its time. Now that you mention it Crackle Box I did have a bunch of problems w my Alpha that I'd gotten so used to working around that I'd forgotten I had them. Noisy volume slider, breakable keys.

Haha I was thinking that "subject it to a lot of anus" was sort of a metaphorical way of saying "subject it to a lot of shit."

i should have an Arturia Microbrute next week O_O. super excited, it's the first analog synth to enter my house.

Sweet, let me know what you think of it!

it's monophonic so probably not what you're looking for, but i just wanted something really nasty for basslines and effects. i'd like to experiment layering single lines to make chords with it but i'm fine using my plugins for poly stuff.

Alpha one is not velocity sensitive. Although it doesn't have the knobs, fun performance things can be done with the alpha wheel.

It's also not at all hard to program, there really aren't many options. Software or a pg makes it easier, but it's pretty simple to find yr parameter and tweak. However I use an osx JavaScript edito I found online for free that is great.

The Juno voice Chip issue, now that the know the problem, means you don't need to replace the chips any more. I had replaced one with a clone. Then another went and by them I learned about the coating issue. Sent the entire motherboard to some guy who removed the chips, melted off the coating (which melts over time and causes the dead voice issue) and out them back in and it's been perfect since.

one knob editing can be fun, the moog source does it that way and i really dig it on that