Seeking a Synth with Lush Pads

[Scott013]

Hi, I'm looking to buy my first hardware synth soon, but there's so much out there, it's really hard to decide on something. (Especially at their price).

I'd really like to have a diverse synth, but what is most important to me is lush pads and nice pretty, simple, lead sounds. I want something that sounds smooth. A lot of softsynths have a very sort of crunchy sound that I don't like much.

Some synths I'm looking into are:

Korg Radias (Rackmount)
MOOG Little Phatty (I really like some of the soft lead sounds I've heard from this, not sure how "diverse" it is though?)
Roland SH-201 (I've read a lot of negative reviews about this, so maybe not)
Nord Lead 2X (Rackmount)
DSI Evolver (This seems nice, but monophony seems very limiting)

I'm also considering building a PAiA Fat Man.

Any comment/suggestions would be nice!

Thanks,
Scott

[Per]

I guess Korg Radias cover most of it. But your suggested gear are quite different. The Nord Lead and the Evolver is good at cutting, biting leads, not the smooth one. Moog LP can be smooth, but is monophonic. If yo are on low budget, my suggestion is a midi keyboard and a 2nd hand Roland module in the JV/XV serie.és. They have soft pads and mellow leads, and has low value on the 2nd hand market. When you can afford it, add on a Moog LP, a Nord Lead or something else.
Per

[elektro80]

Pads? I´m still not completely sure what that even though I´ve had it explained it to me a zillion times.
So, apart from the fact that I´ve no idea what you are asking here, the advice you´ve gotten already seems quite reasonable. The JV modules can probably do this just fine. They are very cheap these days, reasonably well built and they still sound kinda good. And you will also have all those pads available you´ve heard on all those old hits.
The Radias should do very well and probably better than the others on your list. It has a lot of very cute features that should allow you to make stuff that is not quite like any other consumer friendly pad style presets out there. Another option is of course the Alesis VAs like the Ion or the Micron. The interface is more "analogue" of sorts than what the Radias offers ( even though the Micron needs a fair bit of menu diving to get there ). Another one is the Waldorf Blofeld. You will go menu diving here too, but the interface is incredibly well thought out.

However, it is hard to insist that any one of these are better than the other. It really depends on your workflow and preferences.
As for those fat sounding presets in the pads category, I often have a serious problem with those because they are usually made to sound hilariously great on their own, but they will mostly mess up the mix when layered with all the other stuff you probably will want in there. And if you don´t throw other stuff in then the presets will just sound like the factory presets everyone are using ( which makes sense because that is just what they are.. So if you want a mean pad machine then you should consider something that resembles a real synth that allows you to make those sounds from scratch. That kinda almost rules out an old JV1080, but not quite.. since it is always smart to have a JV box around anyways, and you can layer it with other stuff, like an Ion or a Radias.

[elektro80]

As for the SH201 being a bad egg. I´have no idea, but I´ve played one some and it kinda seems very cute. I don´t think it would fit the part as a pad machine very well and it also sounds a bit retro in a confused Rolandesque way, but with a contemporary edge . Personally I think something like an Alesis Ion or Radias would cover a lot more terrain.

The Little Phatty is excellent and it offers a lot ( but it offers the most to those who already own a lot of other synths. )

[Per]

I just added a 2nd hand Micron to my studio and it sounds really great. And in a way, I belive that there are not any really bad synths on the market today. Most of them offer both mellow lush sounds and more aggressive, biting ones.
It is more of a chosie if you want to be a tweaking guy or a preset sound guy. Sample based gear like Roland and Korg have great presets, Nord Lead and other VA-machines are more for the tweaking guys.
I am a tweaking guy, but have both sorts of hardware, because it is nice to have some sweet strings or choires now and then.
Per

[DrJustice]

Since typical pads are often played with chords, monophonic is sorta not the right choice. If it was me looking for a new synth to cover pads, I'd consider the Radias out of the ones in your list, since it is quite versatile (a bit exciting even...) and will do those pads very well.

...then there was that question of what a pad is. I think the commonly accepted definition is sort of a string like sound, but usually more mellow, i.e. less highs, maybe slower attack and sometimes with a bit of modulations (filter, pwm etc.). More or less. Right elektro80?

DJ
--

[Mohoyoho]

I own a Moog Little Phatty, and I love it. However, I don't think it is what you are looking for in a first hardware synth. The Nord Lead and Radias are probably the best bet from your list. Any used Waldorf Q or MicroQ would be great as well as any of the used Access Virus synths.

[elektro80]

[FlametopFred]

Best Lush Pad Machine:

1. CS-80

[Per]

Best lush pad - a valium at the size of a hockey puck.
P

[Scott013]

Thanks for the comments, they're very helpful.

I'm leaning towards the micron and radias now, but will probably end up getting the micron, just because its cheaper.

However, the menu system looks a bit wonky. If I got a midi knob box, could I map that to the synth's parameters? And could I hook up a longer midi keyboard for a bigger range, if I needed it?

EDIT: I just watched some videos of the waldorf blofeld, and I'm pretty impressed.

[Per]

For being a menu oriented machine, the Ion is pretty simple to program. If you are serious into programming, I suggest that you go for a 2nd hand Nord modular. They have fallen a lot in price since the G2 came, but is still a great machine, worth spending month of programming and learning on. And the free patch archive i huge, I guess somewhere around 25 000 patches, if i remember right.
Per

[Mohoyoho]

The Ion is a great pad machine, and you can pick up a used one for about $300-350. I own one. It's a very versatile instrument.

[elektro80]

Agreed, the Ion is excellent and it certainly has a substantially more immediate soft and lush character than some of other instruments mentioned here. The interface is also very good. The only seriously bad thing about it is that it is very underrated and thus very cheap on the secondhand market. For now, that is. You certainly won´t get a nod from a music journalist for using one. Possibly it might even help painting it black and writing Roland D50 with white letters on the back?
"Look, he is playing a vintage synth and my god, it sounds absolutely incredible! !"

[Scott013]

A lot of Micron samples I have heard have a very brassy quality, does anyone else notice this?

The Blofeld has really surprised me, I think I like the sound of it more than any other synth I have heard. It seems so silky soft and full.

[elektro80]

The Ion is pretty much a Micron, and there is nothing brassy about it unless you patch it that way, but if you do, then you can get very convincing retro brassy synth sounds.

And yes, the Blofeld is really brilliant.

[Gothboy]

[soundwave106]

[Per]

On a tour some years ago, we wrapped all our gear in black dustbín plastic bags. The enexpected response from the audience was : "Cool, you don support the musical industry"¨.
So, plastic bad can change from lame to cool, as the audience never know what the sound source is
Per

[ThreeFingersOfLove]

[elektro80]

[Scott013]

I'm either getting a Micron or Radias I think. Does anyone have some interesting samples? Most of the radias samples that I've found are more dance music oriented, I'd like to see what ambient/experimental sounds it can make.

I'm also interested in getting a DSI Mopho at some point, but probably not now. They're a lot of fun to play. And really cheap for analogue.

[kvnvk]

I've owned a Micron and currently have a Radias R (for the past two and a half years) and definitely prefer the capabilities of The Korg over the Alesis. I also do mainly noise/ambient/experimental... guess if I have the time I can try putting up some audio somewhere.

[paugui]

If you want nice soundscapes (don't know if this qualifies as pads to you), I would surely get a V-Synth.
I got one about two weeks ago and I just can't wait for Christmas to come to play with it again...

It really creates amazing ambiences, and the special controls it has, Time-Trip Pad and D-Beam, and the nice amount of knobs, makes it quite nice to play and manipulate the sound in real time.
Also, the interface is quite good, it seemed pretty intuitive to work with an edit the sounds (the only thing I found less intuitive, no exit button on the touchscreen only as an hardware button, was worked out on Version 2.0).

It isn't that expensive too (the original version, of course...) and is definitely an amazing piece of gear.
It would be my choice.

[ark]