Recommend me a synth for epic 80s cheez

[Metaltastic]

Thread title says it all, and here's a perfect example of what I'm going for (listen to it all, it's a short clip, and there's a variety of sounds in there, all of which I lust for - of particular note are the high pad that sustains just before the vox come in, and then the arpeggiated chimey type sound that comes in during the prechorus)

And I'll come right out and admit my nerdiness: this is one of the ending songs from the original Japanese broadcast of Dragon Ball GT But it's still legendarily 80s in sound, and I freakin' love the vocal melodies

 

[Metaltastic]

And I would say I've got a price cap of ~$200, and while software is preferable, if there's some ancient synth module that's considered like the definitive box for those sounds, I'm open to the idea as well

 

[Zack Uidl]

maybe check out NI FM8. There are some definitely cheesy sounds that can be created with that

 

[updog]

For those analog kind of sounds, I use

Alchemy(normal price somewhere around 200, but I got it for half the price during their group buy... It's a great synth, it combines a lot of different types of synths and while I sometimes just end up using presets, you can create virtually any sound if you choose to go that far)
AAS Ultra Analog(was 15 dollars or something at audiomidi.com a while back, but normal price is around 200)
Arturia Analog Factory (some watered-down version that came with some hardware, but it's surprisingly good. You just can't tweak much, but it was free anyways)

 

[JonWormwood]

Ive got a Korg x5d for sale?

 

[Chris_P_Critter]

Dude - there are soooooo many free soft synths out there that emulate the old synths. Don't spend a dime. Just go to KVR and grab a slew of them and try them out.

One dude that nails the older synths is Robert Krzywick (Electrostudio)- check it out meng. I love his stuff.

 

[Chris_P_Critter]

Dude - Sorry - they're not on KvR - you can grab them here: http://elektrostudio.ovh.org/index2.php/

 

[Metaltastic]

Haha, nah, the visual kei crap is just weird, and I usually don't even like the music that much (too rock, not enough METULZ) - but I definitely do have a soft spot for the country's art Just had to google the term "anison", but what can I say, anime has some fucking awesome music (I'm still quite new to it, wrote it off for years, but DBZ was my introduction last Fall - uncut DVD's ftw!)

Thanks a ton for the suggestions everybody; Chris, I'll check out some of the free stuff, but honestly, since making synth patches intimidates the piss out of me, I'm willing to pay for a solid library of presets, and FM8 is looking pretty tempting, as well as Analog Factory...demo time!

 

[Chris_P_Critter]

Dude - the freebies come with presets too.

 

[Metaltastic]

Yeah, but after experiencing how absolutely godawful each and every one in Crystal Synth was, I'm nervous Only one way to find out though!

 

[Mutant]

1. Download Voyager from http://www.aodix.com/products.html
2. Download Ann bank #2 from http://ann.sounds.free.fr/
3. Change to "JUMP !!!!!" patch.
4. EQ it a lil bit.
5. Add some 80s style reverb.

Presto !
Instant 80s cheese.

[edit]

Oh and while you are at Anns page, download ALL these patch banks and synths - especially Synth1 and Oatmeal.

Remember that you can also stack multiple synths and patches for a much bigger sound.

 

[Sloan]

PAWN SHOP > $10 CASIO KEYBOARD

 

[updog]

Yeah, but after experiencing how absolutely godawful each and every one in Crystal Synth was, I'm nervous Only one way to find out though!

Crystal is only useful for chaotic random noise, and it's probably made for it anyway.

It works well for chaotic random noise, never the less.

 

[kev]

Beast drum kit on that! As far as i'm concerned, the soft synth crown still belongs to nexus doesnt it?

 

[updog]

Beast drum kit on that! As far as i'm concerned, the soft synth crown still belongs to nexus doesnt it?

My opinion is however, that thing costs way too much unless you're doing techno (Nexus 2 plus all the addons for 1000 USD!!) and it's definitely one of those synths that tries to sound as polished as possible out-of-the box. As I understand it, you can't really tweak the sounds much or make your own presets? Correct me if I'm wrong plxz.

 

[Chris_P_Critter]

Crystal is only useful for chaotic random noise, and it's probably made for it anyway.

It works well for chaotic random noise, never the less.

Crystal is for atmophere basically, you're right.

Honestly, there are some REALLY good payware synths, but some of the freebies provide the same quality in my opinion.

 

[updog]

Crystal is for atmophere basically, you're right.

True... But it works great for noise as well I've never used it for anything else, and the controls on it seem hardly musical. I'm not saying it wouldn't be a versatile synth, but for noise and such, it's truly unique.

anyway, sorry for going OT.

 

[Ermz]

Nexus is a 'rompler'.

Basically a synth-sampler with all the great patches ready to go, with not much room to tweak them. Really cool if you're writing, or just want the sound right there, with a minimum of fuss. Since many of us are guitar nuts rather than oscillator/envelope/fucked up audio tech geek shit nuts it can be a really cool thing. Not to mention it lets them virtually 'nail' the sounds.

But yeah my suggestions would go to the:

-Arturia synth emus. The Prophet was a popular one around the 80s. The mini-moog will do that classic cheesy synth shit.
-Nexus of course basically IS a collection of sick patches.
-The Ultra Analog synth may be okay. I bought this thing but never used it, so I can't vouch for it. I hear it does 'softer' sounds and isn't very aggressive, which may be perfect for you.

 

[Notuern]

Kurzweil K2000/K2500!
They go for about 250$ here in sweden, and they f-ing rule for 80's cheese.

http://www.kurzweilmusicsystems.com/Product.php?product=148 then click on the Audio tab, there you have some samples.
Seriously, this machine RULES!

Edit: Oh, and you can do literally anything as far as sounds go.. there is no other keyboard that allows that deep programming(Maybe the Oasys.).

 

[SocialNumb]

http://www.discodsp.com/discoverypro/

Maybe it sounds too good for 80's? Either way, I'm getting it!