Discussion
I need help from the electronic music hive mind!
What are the electronic instruments you've played over the years that are DEAD SIMPLE to use? Meaning, a person with no experience could walk up to it and quickly and intuitively move some knobs around, poke around a bit, and start exploring the instrument?
Samplers, synths, drum machines, and recording tech suggestions are all welcome. Boost if your followers would know about this pleeease! <3
Just want to say a huge, all-caps THANK YOU to everyone who has responded so far. There are so many great ideas in this thread that absolutely would not have occurred to me. <333
@alisynthesis @BorrisInABox it's a bit pricey for a starter instrument but the Suzuki Omnichord is pretty simple to pick up and play. There are some cheaper variations and software emulators out now so you can get an idea of what it can do. https://www.omnichord-heaven.com/
@dotsonapage @BorrisInABox good idea...love those!
@alisynthesis It's not self contained, but people seem to be drawn to my MIDIKalimba MIDI controller.
Of course, it got the most attention when I had it controlling not just a synth, but a MIDI->DMX converter and a bank of colored lights as well.
@voiceofunreason that's a very cool idea!!
@alisynthesis old TR style drum machine, no menuing, quick to figure it.
I literally walked up to the Juno 6 in 1983 and started playing it, having never touched a polysynth in my life, and its control layout being quite different to either of the monosynths I'd touched.
The effect was noted by someone watching me who commented something about me seeming transformed but *I* had the headphones and didn't catch all of it. It worked!
Yet somehow I'm still finding out more, having actually had one for ~35 years now.
@electropict that's awesome. I had a similar experience (much later) with the Waldorf Iridium. I don't still own one, but I wish I did. Very cool and unusual interface!
@alisynthesis This is literally exactly how I got into synthesizers, with the Realistic Concertmate MG-1. To this day I don't think I've ever seen a manual.
@ben oh man those were great. I think they might be pricey now though?
@alisynthesis Yep.
They originally cost, if memory serves, $695 at Radio Shack. I bought mine at a yard sale for $50ish. I then sold it, in like 1993, for $150 or so. They show up on eBay for $500-700ish now.
They are basically a Moog Prodigy with an organ/string section.
@ben yeah, I had one for awhile in the early 00s. It was great.
@alisynthesis I don’t now if this is simple enough but Akai mpk mini has built in speaker and battery. Has keyboard and drum pad
@alisynthesis props to the Minibrute and Microbrute for being solid dead simple fun to use analog synths that kicked off an era of budget synths.
@alisynthesis Lots of great suggestions on here, Ill add the Novation Bass Station II. It has nicely outlined sections for the components and is a bunch of fun to use. Monophonic and analog, so it doesnt get too deep. Also relatively inexpensive.
@starlily ah, a classic! I've almost bought one so many times for myself. :)
@alisynthesis Do it! They are well worth it.
@alisynthesis I've always enjoyed the drum brute/ drum brute impact. It's very easy to learn and very fun to play in a jam
@alisynthesis Otamatone maybe.
Kinda like a thermin-junior.
@evilstevie yes, I was just checking those out! Given the price, one or two of those is a no-brainer, even if it's only because teens might find them fun.
Simple to understand, or simple to get sound out of while glossing over what you don't understand?
if the former then you can't beat a very simple modular, ie 1 VCO, 1 VCF, 1 VCA and a EG. almost anything easier to start on than that is hiding something which then makes it harder to understand.
it could be prepatched to a standard signal flow. then when they unplug something and it stops working that's a clue.
also a theremin is super simple to understand what it does and how to use it even though it's hard to play and the underlying tech is a bit subtle the UI is super transparent (literally)
TAL noisemaker is a pretty straightforward plugin synth with not much hidden, and free.
there's loads of other hardware and software monosynths that don't hide very much.
it might depend if labeling of controls and a few simple instructions are allowed.
EDIT wrote this before seeing that you are not teaching synthesis, from which I infer that understanding is not a goal, in which case I don't know - though theremin still stands.
@xenogon yes, I'm basically trying to get people who don't necessarily know how to use a synthesizer to explore sound. There will be lots of other non-electronic sound sources too, but I think having some electronic sounds would be fun, although I recognize that it can be hard and intimidating.
These are good suggestions, thank you!
@alisynthesis Roland TR-8S drum machine is pretty intuitive. There's some really deep menu-divey stuff but you can do loads without worrying much about that.
@benofbrown oh, that's a fun idea for a drum machine.
Novation Circuit was the easiest and most fun make-music-now box I've ever played with. More and more I regret selling it.
@venya I've always wanted to try one!
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@alisynthesis it takes a little bit of assembly, but a guitar pickup connected to an amplifier is really interesting even without any strings. you can put smartphones and whatever other electronics on it and explore what the electromagnetic waves sound like