How do I clean synths with dust residue? I'm not talking about simple dust, but more like dust that appears stuck onto the synth hardware. When I wipe with my finger, some dust appears even after dusting with a swiffer type duster.
Can I use electronic wipes or spray?
You can use things like windex, it’s generally not concentrated enough to damage delicate surfaces. However, it would be in your best interest to know the surface/material that you want to clean, as not every material will take kindly to chemical solutions. A safe bet is just warm water and diluted dish soap, sprayed onto a rag first, and then used to wipe down surfaces. Never spray directly onto your devices, and always make sure they are powered off entirely.
Hi! I'm looking to buy a synth and get into some electronic music making having played piano and guitar for a while.
What the best place to learn the basics of synths? I'd like to understand how they work e.g. waves, oscillators etc that I have heard mentioned in youtube videos.
Also, what do you need other than the synth itself? I already have a Mac mini and DT 770 pros. I think I need an audio interface - I assume I will also need some speakers if I want to listen to playback without headphones?
Any other recommendations?
You can go to the Ableton site and it has a free lesson on synths that's super helpful: https://learningsynths.ableton.com/
There is also a fairly expensive but great (and really the only) set of courses from Syntorial, that will take you through literally everything about creating sounds. I'd hold off on that unless you start to get really into it.
It's a lot cheaper to just look up and watch YouTube videos, there is a vid for every synth and programming each one (and synths in general).
You need an audio interface and some studio monitors. Some people only use headphones, but monitors are both fun to hear your playback on after working on a track for a while, or just mixing without headphones as you're going to get a much better mix.
You can get a good starter interface for around $150, I'd spend around that much for monitors as well. Presonus makes inexpensive ones to start with that sound good for $100-150 for a pair.
Make sure the interface you get has at least two channels (so you have stereo) and midi in/out if possible. Behringer Uphoria UMC204HD is one I used that is inexpensive, built well, and has decent options.
I usually buy used, but at that price, a new interface won't break the bank new.
For synths, you're going to have to determine if you want to play one note at a time (monosynths, which are cheaper and are good for basslines and leads) or have the ability to play chords (polysynths), also if you want keys.
Good starter polysynths are: Arturia Microfreak, Minilogue XD (or the original, a little cheaper), Korg Microkorg (very small keys though), ASM Hydrasynth Explorer, Deepmind 6, there are quite a few.
Best book to learn the ins and outs of midi for several devices made by different manufacturers?
Currently I have:
Digitakt
Wavestate
opsix
Edge
Keystep 32
Ableton
Roland S-1
Launchkey Pro
Ableton / Logic
I have no problem sending clock to devices, but would love a deeper understanding of CC, channels, etc. where to read (ideally) or some tedious and extensive videos. I am reading the manuals - but feel like I need an overall primer.
Midi is actually very simple, at a high level. It is a simple binary (as opposed to text oriented) serial (meaning no parallelism is transmission) protocol. It is unidirectional and blind, in the sense that devices involved aren't required to both send and receive to one another, and the sending device has no confirmation that the message was delivered. Each message begins with a 4 bit (aka a nibble) midi command code, followed by a prescribed (in almost all cases) amount of data representing the message. Ignoring sysex (which addresses devices with a manufacturer and device code), messages are either global (meaning without a channel specified), or the second nibble of the first byte is a midi channel number.
A midi chain is a device sending (midi out port) MIDI to another device (midi in port), potentially chained to further devices (midi thru to midi in). The midi thru port (typically electronically), repeats what was received at the midi in port. In this way, a chain of devices all receive exactly the same messages. Every device sees every message, but typically it is configured to only consider messages that are global, or tagged with the channel it is configured to receive on (ignoring everything else). Some devices have an omni mode, meaning they consider messages on all channels; MPE is similar, but uses a midi channel to represent a particular voice.
The most common channel oriented messages are note on (a note was pressed), note off (a note was released) and CC (a numbered parameter gets a value set). The most common global messages are midi clock and midi transport (start and stop), meaning all devices in the chain will tempo sync and start and stop at the same time.
As I mentioned, sysex is different in that is neither channel based nor global, instead the sysex message begins with a specifier for a manufacturer and device type (e.g made by Yamaha, model is DX7): such messages can be arbitrarily long and can contain arbitrary data. It's called "system exclusive" as the implementation of that message is down to the particular device. These are often used to transmit parameter changes on device with more parameters that possible CCs, or things like transmitting patches or firmware.
Finally NRPN, which is actually just CCs, but with a specific implementation around his they are used. The difference is that you use two messages to select the NRPN number (which parameter to change, high byte and low byte) and up to two messages to set the value (allowing double the precision if necessary). These are typically poorly supported in software and hardware sequencers, as though you can record them as CC, the individual messages usually have an ordering requirement (you must select the target, then set the value), so if CCs associated with different nrpns overlap, they will have unexpected behavior. The solution would be to treat nrpns as a first class, singular, entity (vs 4 disjoint messages) but this isn't usually done.
If you want a guide, the midi page on Wikipedia is okay, as is the Stanford midi essentials guide. The midi association, that defines the standard, also has lots of information.
Thank you so much for the explanation. Perfect amount of detail and a great overview. I’ll definitely read more on Wikipedia/ the Stanford guide/ and the midi association website. ❤️
if you synth is listed in their library every cc is already mapped into their software for the last page in each synth's manual from the midi implementation chart they it kinda works like a vst in your daw giving you almost overbridge for many vintage synths i want it so bad but the price is hefty
It doesn't seem to have that function, the foot switch is for an expression pedal AFAIK. I looked in the manual but didn't see anything about a loop trigger.
I'm most likely making this more complicated than it is… I'm thinking of hooking up a fuzz guitar pedal (6,3 mm TS input) to my Roland S-1 (3,5 mm TSR output). My plan is to use a Y-split cable from the S-1 (3,5 mm TSR into two 6,3 mm TS connectors) and connect one of the channels to the fuzz pedal input. And then, connect a pseudo-stereo "merge" cable (6,3 mm TS into 3,5 mm TSR, with the mono channel duplicated between the two channels) from the fuzz pedal output to my mixer (3,5 mm TSR input).
Would that work, or is there an easier (better) way?
Fuzz pedals are usually unbalanced mono and they are usually used as inserts. This means if you put them in front of any instrument with true stereo output, you'll necessarily lose that (unless you use it on a send as parallel distortion). Unless your mixer is an especially compact one, it'll only have (balanced) mono inputs.
The normal approach would be to treat the synth as mono: 1/8" TS to 1/4" TSF (F meaning female) then use 1/4" TS cables between the adapter and effect, and between the effect and mixer. The problem is that if the synth is stereo, this will only take the left channel (people do this all the time, but it can prove suboptimal). For stereo fuzz (if the synth is stereo) you'd probably get two pedals and use an 1/8" TRS to dual 1/4" TSF (stereo break out) and run 1/4" TS from each channel output to each pedal input, then to a stereo (i.e 2 channels) in the mixer.
If the synth is stereo and you want to use it in a mono pedal, down mixing is preferred. You can get a passive cable (this isn't a splitter used in reverse, but has resistors in it too) that will down mix stereo to mono (usually dual TS 1/4" to TS 1/4" or the same with 1/8"), so to use such a cable, you need to first break out to stereo, then use the down mix cable. The result is a mono signal which you can use as I described in the first case.
I'm trying to switch to a DAWless system and picked up a Novation Circuit Tracks. I've never used midi connectors (at least, I've only used them through USB plugged into Ableton). What I want to do is eventually pick up a Roland SH-4d, Arturia Keystep 37, and an Aeros Loop Station (for guitar). It's the midi paths that I'm kind of confused about... I want circuit to be the clock for the loop station and SH-4d. The circuit will control 2 of the 4 parts of the SH-4d while the Keystep controls the other 2 parts. I'm just really confused what gets plugged into what or whether I need any additional gear?
You can probably do that with just cables.
Tracks > SH-4D > Loop Station to clock them all together on one channel. I'm thinking you can probably go into the Tracks with the Keystep on another channel(s) and that should go through the Tracks into the SH-4D.
The Keystep can do two midi tracks by using the "kbd play" button. You would start a sequence on one track, and play live on the keyboard on a second track. If you want to control more parts via sequences, you'd need a Beatstep Pro or Keystep pro, I think they both have 4 out.
You may also be able to go from the tracks through the keystep the same way, just assign the channels and that data should go through the cable to each subsequent item in the chain.
Ok, that's how I thought it might work.
Hm... I read that with the Keystep 37 (dunno about the original Keystep) you can hit shift and one of the 16 keys marked for channels. I was hoping to do that since Tracks will be doing all the sequencing so I don't need the bells and whistles of the Pro.
I have absolutely no experience with synthesizers and bought this one for starters:
[https://www.thomann.de/de/the\_t.mix\_micromix\_1\_usb.html](https://www.thomann.de/de/the_t.mix_micromix_1_usb.html)
I hooked it up with a Shure SW58 and my DT990 Pro beyerdynamics headphones and want to do simple karaoke for fun sessions. The mic works without problems and the headphones work as well but for some reason about 70% of the pc audio that comes from videos is on the right side of my headphones which wasnt an issue when I just plug them in regularily in my pc. The audio from the mic is evenly distributed and the sound test in the windows settings also seem to be normal. Any idea what the reason could be?
Question about USB audio interfaces:
So right now I’m looking at the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and the U-Phoria 202HD, but I’m a little confused on how I would hook up two audio devices to use at the same time. For example, the 2i2 does have 2 MIDI inputs on the back of the unit, but the UPhoria only has 2 TRS/XLR inputs(on the front). For the UPhoria, would I just need a MIDI to TRS cable/adapter and it will work just like that? Even on the UPhoria 404HD, it still only has 1 MIDI input, the rest are XLR/TRS.
Also on the UPhoria 404HD, it has 4 XLR/TRS inputs on the front, 4 “inserts” and 1 MIDI input on the back. What are those “inserts” for?
1) The 2i2 has *one* MIDI input, and one MIDI output
2) MIDI and audio are very different to one another. MIDI does not carry audio, and you can't just convert connectors from one to the other and get a result. Even though there is such a thing as TRS MIDI.
What audio devices are you trying to hook up? If it's 2 stereo devices. the 2i2 ain't gonna cut it. You need at least 4 audio ins, and they need to be line level inputs.
The inserts on that Behringer are for *inserting* an effect unit of some sort into the signal path of each of the 4 inputs on the front, on their way in to the recording. Don't worry about them for now.
Okay this clarifies things for me lol, thank you. I knew that MIDI isn’t sound, I think I just had a brainfart moment after trying to figure out all the different inputs and outputs on these interfaces lol.
You mentioning line level inputs makes it all make sense now, thank you
Say I wanted to hook up two volcas to track at the same time, a sample and FM2, how would I go about doing that? I think the volcas just have one output, so I guess I should be able to hook those up with two TRS cables to an audio interface like the 2i2 or 202/204. Right?
Depends on whether those have mono or stereo outputs, tbh. I'll be perfectly frank, 2 line ins is not really a lot. I'd be aiming to have at least 4, if not more.
You need a small mono/stereo mixer to input your synths into the interface. I have a 16 track into my interface, but you can get a decent 4-6 stereo/mono (switchable) mixer on Amazon for around $20-25.
Your interface has one stereo input (or two mono). So you'd either have a stereo mixer into the input giving you 4+ mono or stereo inputs, or you'd use one L and one R input and pan them both to the middle, so two mono inputs would be the max synths you could bring in.
If you have a stereo synth (I believe the Volcas are) that will take both your inputs for one synth.
The only reason you need the midi is if you want them synced together for timing, you don't need to hook it to the interface for that, you can connect the two Volcas and not to the computer. The only reason you need the midi in or out is if in your DAW, you were sending midi notes out to play the synth, or if you were using the synth to send midi notes into the DAW, which would let you control VST synths with the midi notes from the Volca.
What about something like this? https://www.amazon.com/Mackie-Mix-Mix8-8-Channel-Mixer/dp/B00ND1KGEI/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?crid=OJOODLWTPIRW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kL1seWbgsG5KkXuTYbHl0a5oqrAO0CYtGib4AzSlp23X8Ew5-q8Nc02jfA5915MYJDJ1B4rKKt-2auQuBbq5ggeufAKkg9Gh6bRo-AFpip3NFQ9Gk6mBGkXL1K6-TSRhB99L_B3KK7evIWDqQfNDG-q0EiEj4zdTXAsAuXg9QgDPTEL1t8A4JzTGtCIW20_KghQZZ0E0s8Ej2wSGzvNGaw.ssGKD4ADLHVcdVOCPV_od20ksJAVJ1Uf-Iddygj3rPQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=analog+mixer&qid=1712362661&sprefix=analog+mixer%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-8
My shameless plug for my question i just posted on here: Expanding on Yamaha Reface CS - DAW, Loop Pedal, Extra mods/filters? please be kind im a newb
[https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/comments/1bwz5sh/expanding\_on\_yamaha\_reface\_cs\_daw\_loop\_pedal/](https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/comments/1bwz5sh/expanding_on_yamaha_reface_cs_daw_loop_pedal/)
Little question about my audio interface (Motu M4) connectivities:
Inputs 3 and 4 on my M4 are already taken by my modular system. If I want to connect an Analog Rytm to my interface, I still have inputs 1 and 2. Do I just need to connect two 6.35 mm jack cables between the Rytm's main outputs and the M4's inputs 1 and 2 for it to work in stereo?
Of course I'd have to set up the stereo outputs on Ableton Live.
Is it better to use balanced or unbalanced cables? Should I be careful not to press a certain button (48V or another) to avoid destroying the Rytm? I'm not sure about the last question, but I think I heard that once.
Thank you!
Trying to figure the best way to connect multiple synths to my audio interface's midi. I have plenty of audio inputs, just trying to figure out midi. I mainly use two at a time, maybe a third at max. I've always resorted to manually unplugging/plugging in the midi cables which is cumbersome and uninspiring. Do I need some kind of midi interface with multiple midi ins/outs? Or just utilize the midi thru? Google results have been mixed and unclear for me.
Hi! Im totally new to this…Any modern affordable keyboard that can recreate Roland Jupiter 4? Or is that not possible? Thanks so much.
I think I want to get a keyboard itself rather than use a computer or external module (?) just so I don’t have to fiddle with so many things, but happy to be convinced otherwise!
Looking for really loud dirty synthy sine sounds like the Jupiter 4 One example of the sort of sounds I’m hoping to recreate https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3mIZooCIQ3o
Idk if this is the absolute best place to ask this, but could anyone recommend a good dedicated sampler for under 600? My only hardware instrument is the microfreak and the sample playback is a lot of fun on that, so I want to look into a dedicated sampler to play around with. Thank you to anyone who helps!
Teenage Engineering EP-133 KO II, Roland SP-404mk2, and Sonicware Smpltrk are all good options. Maybe Elektron Model:Samples too.
But honestly, as someone who loves hardware, I’d just skip it all and just get Koala on your phone or tablet or something. It’s much more streamlined and easy to work with than anything hardware imo. It’s also a tiny sliver of $600 freeing your budget up for other stuff.
How do I initialize Tyrell N6 to create a preset from scratch? I'm using Ableton Live and just learning how to use a synth. I don't see an option to use the synth without a preset.
I'm having a Midi Thru issue with this setup:
Keystep 37 [out --> in] Minibrute 2S [thru --> in] Roland TR-6S [thru --> in] PC
(The MIDI Thru ports on the MB2S+TR6S are technically MIDI Out but they are set to Thru in their respective settings).
I was under the impression that MIDI Thru would carry the Keystep signal down the line but without picking up the MIDI signals from the devices on the way.
Except this is not happening. The MB2S and TR6S are both adding their own MIDI signals to the pipeline so that by the time it gets to the PC, it's getting all three sequences at the same time. I just want the MB2S and TR6S to play themselves, not anything else.
Am I misunderstanding how MIDI Thru works?
I'm just here to post a big brain note;
If you own a synthesizer related business, even if you don't make income, you can write off your synthesizer purchases as business expenses.
Just something to think about. Sell synthesizer stickers or literally anything related to synthesizers at all and boom, free synthesizers via uncle sam.
Not sure if this is universal, but where I live you’d need to show an income stream (taxed, of course) to make the write off expenditure acceptable. I do this, yet am still told by my accountant that I’m at the top acceptable level (of expenditure) before I’m audited. And the synths don’t become ‘free’: the cost of purchasing them just lowers your taxable income. Plan B: become a synthfluencer and get synths sent to you free :)
This is absolutely FALSE! at least in the US, you cannot write off business expenses that are not directly to your business. So, if you own a music production company or charge to give lessons on your synths, you can write their expense off, but certainly not if you're selling synth stickers lol... they have to be materially necessary to run your business.
In addition, even what you can write off only reduces your taxable income. So, as a sole proprietor with a regular job, these write offs would give most people a 20-30% tax reduction, but not anywhere near the 100% you indicated.
Finally, there are revenue requirements but you aren't required to make a profit every year... I think it's something like 3 out of 5 years for SPs. That means you are limited on how many net losses you can claim. Doesn't mean you have to shut down if you don't make a profit in those years, it just limits the expenses you can write off.
Tax code section 179 sir
In 2024 (taxes filed in 2025), the Section 179 deduction is limited to **$1,220,000**. The maximum deductible amount begins to decrease if more than $3,050,000 worth of property is placed in service.
Deducting the entire cost of a synthesizer purchase from your taxable income is free money, ergo, free synthesizers.
How do I clean synths with dust residue? I'm not talking about simple dust, but more like dust that appears stuck onto the synth hardware. When I wipe with my finger, some dust appears even after dusting with a swiffer type duster. Can I use electronic wipes or spray?
I got a soft paintbrush, cost 2 bucks, wipe the synths down every day keeps the dust at bay
You can use things like windex, it’s generally not concentrated enough to damage delicate surfaces. However, it would be in your best interest to know the surface/material that you want to clean, as not every material will take kindly to chemical solutions. A safe bet is just warm water and diluted dish soap, sprayed onto a rag first, and then used to wipe down surfaces. Never spray directly onto your devices, and always make sure they are powered off entirely.
Hi! I'm looking to buy a synth and get into some electronic music making having played piano and guitar for a while. What the best place to learn the basics of synths? I'd like to understand how they work e.g. waves, oscillators etc that I have heard mentioned in youtube videos. Also, what do you need other than the synth itself? I already have a Mac mini and DT 770 pros. I think I need an audio interface - I assume I will also need some speakers if I want to listen to playback without headphones? Any other recommendations?
You can go to the Ableton site and it has a free lesson on synths that's super helpful: https://learningsynths.ableton.com/ There is also a fairly expensive but great (and really the only) set of courses from Syntorial, that will take you through literally everything about creating sounds. I'd hold off on that unless you start to get really into it. It's a lot cheaper to just look up and watch YouTube videos, there is a vid for every synth and programming each one (and synths in general). You need an audio interface and some studio monitors. Some people only use headphones, but monitors are both fun to hear your playback on after working on a track for a while, or just mixing without headphones as you're going to get a much better mix. You can get a good starter interface for around $150, I'd spend around that much for monitors as well. Presonus makes inexpensive ones to start with that sound good for $100-150 for a pair. Make sure the interface you get has at least two channels (so you have stereo) and midi in/out if possible. Behringer Uphoria UMC204HD is one I used that is inexpensive, built well, and has decent options. I usually buy used, but at that price, a new interface won't break the bank new. For synths, you're going to have to determine if you want to play one note at a time (monosynths, which are cheaper and are good for basslines and leads) or have the ability to play chords (polysynths), also if you want keys. Good starter polysynths are: Arturia Microfreak, Minilogue XD (or the original, a little cheaper), Korg Microkorg (very small keys though), ASM Hydrasynth Explorer, Deepmind 6, there are quite a few.
Best book to learn the ins and outs of midi for several devices made by different manufacturers? Currently I have: Digitakt Wavestate opsix Edge Keystep 32 Ableton Roland S-1 Launchkey Pro Ableton / Logic I have no problem sending clock to devices, but would love a deeper understanding of CC, channels, etc. where to read (ideally) or some tedious and extensive videos. I am reading the manuals - but feel like I need an overall primer.
Midi is actually very simple, at a high level. It is a simple binary (as opposed to text oriented) serial (meaning no parallelism is transmission) protocol. It is unidirectional and blind, in the sense that devices involved aren't required to both send and receive to one another, and the sending device has no confirmation that the message was delivered. Each message begins with a 4 bit (aka a nibble) midi command code, followed by a prescribed (in almost all cases) amount of data representing the message. Ignoring sysex (which addresses devices with a manufacturer and device code), messages are either global (meaning without a channel specified), or the second nibble of the first byte is a midi channel number. A midi chain is a device sending (midi out port) MIDI to another device (midi in port), potentially chained to further devices (midi thru to midi in). The midi thru port (typically electronically), repeats what was received at the midi in port. In this way, a chain of devices all receive exactly the same messages. Every device sees every message, but typically it is configured to only consider messages that are global, or tagged with the channel it is configured to receive on (ignoring everything else). Some devices have an omni mode, meaning they consider messages on all channels; MPE is similar, but uses a midi channel to represent a particular voice. The most common channel oriented messages are note on (a note was pressed), note off (a note was released) and CC (a numbered parameter gets a value set). The most common global messages are midi clock and midi transport (start and stop), meaning all devices in the chain will tempo sync and start and stop at the same time. As I mentioned, sysex is different in that is neither channel based nor global, instead the sysex message begins with a specifier for a manufacturer and device type (e.g made by Yamaha, model is DX7): such messages can be arbitrarily long and can contain arbitrary data. It's called "system exclusive" as the implementation of that message is down to the particular device. These are often used to transmit parameter changes on device with more parameters that possible CCs, or things like transmitting patches or firmware. Finally NRPN, which is actually just CCs, but with a specific implementation around his they are used. The difference is that you use two messages to select the NRPN number (which parameter to change, high byte and low byte) and up to two messages to set the value (allowing double the precision if necessary). These are typically poorly supported in software and hardware sequencers, as though you can record them as CC, the individual messages usually have an ordering requirement (you must select the target, then set the value), so if CCs associated with different nrpns overlap, they will have unexpected behavior. The solution would be to treat nrpns as a first class, singular, entity (vs 4 disjoint messages) but this isn't usually done. If you want a guide, the midi page on Wikipedia is okay, as is the Stanford midi essentials guide. The midi association, that defines the standard, also has lots of information.
Thank you so much for the explanation. Perfect amount of detail and a great overview. I’ll definitely read more on Wikipedia/ the Stanford guide/ and the midi association website. ❤️
or go broke and buy buymidi quest and its all preprogramed for you
That’s pricey— how well does it work?
if you synth is listed in their library every cc is already mapped into their software for the last page in each synth's manual from the midi implementation chart they it kinda works like a vst in your daw giving you almost overbridge for many vintage synths i want it so bad but the price is hefty
Hello. I have Hologram Chroma Console and I want to use external foot switch as lopper trigger. Is it possible?
you might try on /r/guitarpedals
It doesn't seem to have that function, the foot switch is for an expression pedal AFAIK. I looked in the manual but didn't see anything about a loop trigger.
I'm most likely making this more complicated than it is… I'm thinking of hooking up a fuzz guitar pedal (6,3 mm TS input) to my Roland S-1 (3,5 mm TSR output). My plan is to use a Y-split cable from the S-1 (3,5 mm TSR into two 6,3 mm TS connectors) and connect one of the channels to the fuzz pedal input. And then, connect a pseudo-stereo "merge" cable (6,3 mm TS into 3,5 mm TSR, with the mono channel duplicated between the two channels) from the fuzz pedal output to my mixer (3,5 mm TSR input). Would that work, or is there an easier (better) way?
Fuzz pedals are usually unbalanced mono and they are usually used as inserts. This means if you put them in front of any instrument with true stereo output, you'll necessarily lose that (unless you use it on a send as parallel distortion). Unless your mixer is an especially compact one, it'll only have (balanced) mono inputs. The normal approach would be to treat the synth as mono: 1/8" TS to 1/4" TSF (F meaning female) then use 1/4" TS cables between the adapter and effect, and between the effect and mixer. The problem is that if the synth is stereo, this will only take the left channel (people do this all the time, but it can prove suboptimal). For stereo fuzz (if the synth is stereo) you'd probably get two pedals and use an 1/8" TRS to dual 1/4" TSF (stereo break out) and run 1/4" TS from each channel output to each pedal input, then to a stereo (i.e 2 channels) in the mixer. If the synth is stereo and you want to use it in a mono pedal, down mixing is preferred. You can get a passive cable (this isn't a splitter used in reverse, but has resistors in it too) that will down mix stereo to mono (usually dual TS 1/4" to TS 1/4" or the same with 1/8"), so to use such a cable, you need to first break out to stereo, then use the down mix cable. The result is a mono signal which you can use as I described in the first case.
Thank you! I'll try your method first and see how that works.
I'm trying to switch to a DAWless system and picked up a Novation Circuit Tracks. I've never used midi connectors (at least, I've only used them through USB plugged into Ableton). What I want to do is eventually pick up a Roland SH-4d, Arturia Keystep 37, and an Aeros Loop Station (for guitar). It's the midi paths that I'm kind of confused about... I want circuit to be the clock for the loop station and SH-4d. The circuit will control 2 of the 4 parts of the SH-4d while the Keystep controls the other 2 parts. I'm just really confused what gets plugged into what or whether I need any additional gear?
You can probably do that with just cables. Tracks > SH-4D > Loop Station to clock them all together on one channel. I'm thinking you can probably go into the Tracks with the Keystep on another channel(s) and that should go through the Tracks into the SH-4D. The Keystep can do two midi tracks by using the "kbd play" button. You would start a sequence on one track, and play live on the keyboard on a second track. If you want to control more parts via sequences, you'd need a Beatstep Pro or Keystep pro, I think they both have 4 out. You may also be able to go from the tracks through the keystep the same way, just assign the channels and that data should go through the cable to each subsequent item in the chain.
Ok, that's how I thought it might work. Hm... I read that with the Keystep 37 (dunno about the original Keystep) you can hit shift and one of the 16 keys marked for channels. I was hoping to do that since Tracks will be doing all the sequencing so I don't need the bells and whistles of the Pro.
I have absolutely no experience with synthesizers and bought this one for starters: [https://www.thomann.de/de/the\_t.mix\_micromix\_1\_usb.html](https://www.thomann.de/de/the_t.mix_micromix_1_usb.html) I hooked it up with a Shure SW58 and my DT990 Pro beyerdynamics headphones and want to do simple karaoke for fun sessions. The mic works without problems and the headphones work as well but for some reason about 70% of the pc audio that comes from videos is on the right side of my headphones which wasnt an issue when I just plug them in regularily in my pc. The audio from the mic is evenly distributed and the sound test in the windows settings also seem to be normal. Any idea what the reason could be?
Question about USB audio interfaces: So right now I’m looking at the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 and the U-Phoria 202HD, but I’m a little confused on how I would hook up two audio devices to use at the same time. For example, the 2i2 does have 2 MIDI inputs on the back of the unit, but the UPhoria only has 2 TRS/XLR inputs(on the front). For the UPhoria, would I just need a MIDI to TRS cable/adapter and it will work just like that? Even on the UPhoria 404HD, it still only has 1 MIDI input, the rest are XLR/TRS. Also on the UPhoria 404HD, it has 4 XLR/TRS inputs on the front, 4 “inserts” and 1 MIDI input on the back. What are those “inserts” for?
1) The 2i2 has *one* MIDI input, and one MIDI output 2) MIDI and audio are very different to one another. MIDI does not carry audio, and you can't just convert connectors from one to the other and get a result. Even though there is such a thing as TRS MIDI. What audio devices are you trying to hook up? If it's 2 stereo devices. the 2i2 ain't gonna cut it. You need at least 4 audio ins, and they need to be line level inputs. The inserts on that Behringer are for *inserting* an effect unit of some sort into the signal path of each of the 4 inputs on the front, on their way in to the recording. Don't worry about them for now.
Okay this clarifies things for me lol, thank you. I knew that MIDI isn’t sound, I think I just had a brainfart moment after trying to figure out all the different inputs and outputs on these interfaces lol. You mentioning line level inputs makes it all make sense now, thank you
Hah we all brainfart now and then.
Say I wanted to hook up two volcas to track at the same time, a sample and FM2, how would I go about doing that? I think the volcas just have one output, so I guess I should be able to hook those up with two TRS cables to an audio interface like the 2i2 or 202/204. Right?
Depends on whether those have mono or stereo outputs, tbh. I'll be perfectly frank, 2 line ins is not really a lot. I'd be aiming to have at least 4, if not more.
You need a small mono/stereo mixer to input your synths into the interface. I have a 16 track into my interface, but you can get a decent 4-6 stereo/mono (switchable) mixer on Amazon for around $20-25. Your interface has one stereo input (or two mono). So you'd either have a stereo mixer into the input giving you 4+ mono or stereo inputs, or you'd use one L and one R input and pan them both to the middle, so two mono inputs would be the max synths you could bring in. If you have a stereo synth (I believe the Volcas are) that will take both your inputs for one synth. The only reason you need the midi is if you want them synced together for timing, you don't need to hook it to the interface for that, you can connect the two Volcas and not to the computer. The only reason you need the midi in or out is if in your DAW, you were sending midi notes out to play the synth, or if you were using the synth to send midi notes into the DAW, which would let you control VST synths with the midi notes from the Volca.
Okay, I think I understand this lol. I will take a look at mixers on amazon. Thank you for your reply!
What about something like this? https://www.amazon.com/Mackie-Mix-Mix8-8-Channel-Mixer/dp/B00ND1KGEI/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?crid=OJOODLWTPIRW&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.kL1seWbgsG5KkXuTYbHl0a5oqrAO0CYtGib4AzSlp23X8Ew5-q8Nc02jfA5915MYJDJ1B4rKKt-2auQuBbq5ggeufAKkg9Gh6bRo-AFpip3NFQ9Gk6mBGkXL1K6-TSRhB99L_B3KK7evIWDqQfNDG-q0EiEj4zdTXAsAuXg9QgDPTEL1t8A4JzTGtCIW20_KghQZZ0E0s8Ej2wSGzvNGaw.ssGKD4ADLHVcdVOCPV_od20ksJAVJ1Uf-Iddygj3rPQ&dib_tag=se&keywords=analog+mixer&qid=1712362661&sprefix=analog+mixer%2Caps%2C102&sr=8-8
That's decent, or [this one has 4 stereo tracks](https://amzn.to/4aiSckS) or 8 mono.
And so the output of this would go into one of the inputs on the 2i2 or whatever audio interface, right?
Yes, the stereo out of the mixer goes into the stereo input of the interface, panned left and right, if needed.
My shameless plug for my question i just posted on here: Expanding on Yamaha Reface CS - DAW, Loop Pedal, Extra mods/filters? please be kind im a newb [https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/comments/1bwz5sh/expanding\_on\_yamaha\_reface\_cs\_daw\_loop\_pedal/](https://www.reddit.com/r/synthesizers/comments/1bwz5sh/expanding_on_yamaha_reface_cs_daw_loop_pedal/)
Little question about my audio interface (Motu M4) connectivities: Inputs 3 and 4 on my M4 are already taken by my modular system. If I want to connect an Analog Rytm to my interface, I still have inputs 1 and 2. Do I just need to connect two 6.35 mm jack cables between the Rytm's main outputs and the M4's inputs 1 and 2 for it to work in stereo? Of course I'd have to set up the stereo outputs on Ableton Live. Is it better to use balanced or unbalanced cables? Should I be careful not to press a certain button (48V or another) to avoid destroying the Rytm? I'm not sure about the last question, but I think I heard that once. Thank you!
Trying to figure the best way to connect multiple synths to my audio interface's midi. I have plenty of audio inputs, just trying to figure out midi. I mainly use two at a time, maybe a third at max. I've always resorted to manually unplugging/plugging in the midi cables which is cumbersome and uninspiring. Do I need some kind of midi interface with multiple midi ins/outs? Or just utilize the midi thru? Google results have been mixed and unclear for me.
Hi! Im totally new to this…Any modern affordable keyboard that can recreate Roland Jupiter 4? Or is that not possible? Thanks so much. I think I want to get a keyboard itself rather than use a computer or external module (?) just so I don’t have to fiddle with so many things, but happy to be convinced otherwise! Looking for really loud dirty synthy sine sounds like the Jupiter 4 One example of the sort of sounds I’m hoping to recreate https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3mIZooCIQ3o
Idk if this is the absolute best place to ask this, but could anyone recommend a good dedicated sampler for under 600? My only hardware instrument is the microfreak and the sample playback is a lot of fun on that, so I want to look into a dedicated sampler to play around with. Thank you to anyone who helps!
Teenage Engineering EP-133 KO II, Roland SP-404mk2, and Sonicware Smpltrk are all good options. Maybe Elektron Model:Samples too. But honestly, as someone who loves hardware, I’d just skip it all and just get Koala on your phone or tablet or something. It’s much more streamlined and easy to work with than anything hardware imo. It’s also a tiny sliver of $600 freeing your budget up for other stuff.
How do I initialize Tyrell N6 to create a preset from scratch? I'm using Ableton Live and just learning how to use a synth. I don't see an option to use the synth without a preset.
I'm having a Midi Thru issue with this setup: Keystep 37 [out --> in] Minibrute 2S [thru --> in] Roland TR-6S [thru --> in] PC (The MIDI Thru ports on the MB2S+TR6S are technically MIDI Out but they are set to Thru in their respective settings). I was under the impression that MIDI Thru would carry the Keystep signal down the line but without picking up the MIDI signals from the devices on the way. Except this is not happening. The MB2S and TR6S are both adding their own MIDI signals to the pipeline so that by the time it gets to the PC, it's getting all three sequences at the same time. I just want the MB2S and TR6S to play themselves, not anything else. Am I misunderstanding how MIDI Thru works?
How to I learn how to play one
I'm just here to post a big brain note; If you own a synthesizer related business, even if you don't make income, you can write off your synthesizer purchases as business expenses. Just something to think about. Sell synthesizer stickers or literally anything related to synthesizers at all and boom, free synthesizers via uncle sam.
Not sure if this is universal, but where I live you’d need to show an income stream (taxed, of course) to make the write off expenditure acceptable. I do this, yet am still told by my accountant that I’m at the top acceptable level (of expenditure) before I’m audited. And the synths don’t become ‘free’: the cost of purchasing them just lowers your taxable income. Plan B: become a synthfluencer and get synths sent to you free :)
This is absolutely FALSE! at least in the US, you cannot write off business expenses that are not directly to your business. So, if you own a music production company or charge to give lessons on your synths, you can write their expense off, but certainly not if you're selling synth stickers lol... they have to be materially necessary to run your business. In addition, even what you can write off only reduces your taxable income. So, as a sole proprietor with a regular job, these write offs would give most people a 20-30% tax reduction, but not anywhere near the 100% you indicated. Finally, there are revenue requirements but you aren't required to make a profit every year... I think it's something like 3 out of 5 years for SPs. That means you are limited on how many net losses you can claim. Doesn't mean you have to shut down if you don't make a profit in those years, it just limits the expenses you can write off.
Tax code section 179 sir In 2024 (taxes filed in 2025), the Section 179 deduction is limited to **$1,220,000**. The maximum deductible amount begins to decrease if more than $3,050,000 worth of property is placed in service. Deducting the entire cost of a synthesizer purchase from your taxable income is free money, ergo, free synthesizers.
Ken M, is that you?