Welcome to the Analog Upside-Down

September 14, 2016 1:35 PM

The synth sound of Stranger Things, on the Roland Juno-6, Roland Juno 106, Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, MiniMoog Model D , and Ableton Live. Link via . Wandertalk covers the Stranger Things theme.
posted by thirteenthletter (18 comments total)

I often found myself wondering what Tangerine Dream soundtracked movie was playing if I happen to look away from the screen.
posted by humboldt32 at 1:49 PM on September 14, 2016

Tangerine Dream Cover “Stranger Things” Soundtrack
posted by Foosnark at 2:05 PM on September 14, 2016 [7 favorites]

I kind of want to cover it with Soulsby Atmegatron, PocketC.H.I.P. and Red Sound Darkstar, just because.
posted by Foosnark at 2:06 PM on September 14, 2016

Dammit I might by a synth now
posted by glaucon at 2:18 PM on September 14, 2016 [2 favorites]

I know real analog nerds will crucify me for this, but if a real Juno 6/106 is too rich for your tastes, the JU-06 boutique "remake" is a more than acceptable impersonation - for me it captures like 95% of the original's character for far less money, in a tiny space. It's really tactile and sounds properly good, and I've gone on a total 80s soundtrack bender since getting mine.

(unfortunately, if you want the Moog sound, the only thing that does that really is an actual Moog. Oh well.)
posted by parm at 2:26 PM on September 14, 2016 [3 favorites]

I haven't watched the video since I'm at work, but here's an interview on what the guys from S U R V I V E recommend and use. They mention the Juno-106 especially for novices starting out, but they get a bit more heady than that in their own must-have synths: modular, the Korg Mono/Poly, and a synth I've been lusting after for too long, the ARP 2600.
posted by naju at 2:41 PM on September 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

The guys in SURVIVE are so nice and their music is amazing. I've known several of the members for several years now. It's so freaking weird to see their work and names all over the place and OMFG Tangerine Dream covering them.

If you ever have a chance to go Switched On in Austin it's a real delight.

I'm so happy to see them all getting recognition. They all deserve it. And you ever get a chance, check out Holodeck Records and Xander Harris. I'd make an FPP about it but these guys are close enough friends that it would be in violation of FPP guidelines.

*smiles and smiles*

If we're talking "getting started with synths", I think a new-ish good starter synth is Arturia Minibrute or a Korg Arp Odyssey, but if you wanna go vintage, a Juno 60 is fun as hell and an Arp Axxe is a monosynth blast. These days I'm playing an (original) Arp Odyssey with the Moog Filter and if the Berhinger Deepmind Analog synth doesn't just knock me out of my seat when it finally comes out then I'll probably go with the Oberheim/Sequential Circuits collaboration synth as my next purchase.
posted by Annika Cicada at 5:22 PM on September 14, 2016 [6 favorites]

This is kind of a derail, but any thoughts on the Korg Minilogue as a starter synth? I have a Volca Beats that I've played around with some and I'm thinking about upgrading to something a bit more legit, and people seem to love the Minikogue, but my experience is limited...
posted by Itaxpica at 6:41 PM on September 14, 2016 [1 favorite]

That Minilogue certainly seems damn cool, and at a shockingly low price point. You could do worse for a starter synth, definitely!
posted by naju at 8:56 PM on September 14, 2016

Two awesome synthy posts in one week... love it.
posted by kaibutsu at 12:12 AM on September 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

The Minilogue looks amazing. Someone in the 303/909 thread said Roland are resting on their laurels while Korg are bringing out new, cool, affordable stuff, and they're right.
posted by kersplunk at 8:01 AM on September 15, 2016

I just bought an Arturia Microbrute and it's really fun to play with even though I barely know what I am doing - I am looking forward to branching out and adding to it after I get my feet under me. I recommend it for its price and it seems to be a good beginner synth.
posted by BooneTheCowboyToy at 8:23 AM on September 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

I am not an analog/hardware snob, but I do think everyone interested in synths should try some sort of inexpensive-ish analog synth with knobs, for the experience of the thing.

I started that way in the 80s with a beat-up MicroMoog, before I went to a Yamaha DX100 and then a Korg DS-8. In the early 2000s I switched to an all computer-based setup with VST plugins, and the power available there is amazing. It's only been this year that I started adding hardware synths back in. I think that's the best of both worlds.

I don't think my MicroBrute sounds better than NI Monark or AAS Ultra Analog (for instance) but there's an immediacy to using it. But also if I want four PPG Waves in my track I don't have to buy four of them (or even one "real" one with a lot of bouncing to audio).
posted by Foosnark at 8:24 AM on September 15, 2016

But also if I want four PPG Waves in my track I don't have to buy four of them

nodding. Just owning one of them is definitely in the realm "I am an oil baron with way more money than sense".

And the Minilogue is a super-badass synthesizer for the money.
posted by Annika Cicada at 11:00 AM on September 15, 2016

any thoughts on the Korg Minilogue as a starter synth?

I hear you can't get it out of your head, it's LFOin is all you think about.

la la la. la la, la LA la, la la la...
posted by weston at 11:09 AM on September 15, 2016 [2 favorites]

> any thoughts on the Korg Minilogue as a starter synth?

The Minilogue is actually what I was looking at when I ended up buying the JU-06. They were out of stock for ages (because they're incredibly cheap for a 4-osc analog synth) but after waiting like 6 months I finally got to try one and... I was really disappointed. It just sounded really lifeless to me - I tried to program a bunch of classic analog/poly sounds and they all sounded like, well, cheap copies of classic analog/poly sounds. I don't doubt that if you spend a bit of time with it you can probably get something out of it, but it was far from immediate for me, in the way I'd hope a lovely big knobby analogue synth would be. It's cheap for what it is, sure, but it's also still £500 and that's too much for something that I couldn't make a sound I was happy with in about 20 minutes of tweaking.

(I've also got a MicroBrute which is a stack of fun, but don't go thinking you'll get those lovely Tangerine Dream sounds out of it; it's very much its own thing. It sounds great through a heavy metal distortion pedal, or with a load of dirty swirly phaser and delay, and the mini-patchbay is surprisingly fun, especially if you've got other gear that can input/output gate/CV. And the Volca's are great fun - I've got the Beats/Bass/Keys/FM - and a good way to get into analog synth stuff for a bargain price, but again, don't expect to be able to recreate the sound of a MiniMoog or anything)
posted by parm at 11:49 AM on September 15, 2016

The *brutes are based on a steiner-parker filter design that has been out of use since the 70's, which is cool because it's basically a new sound in your mix. The "East Coast/West Coast" filter designs (arp/moog/buchla) have pretty much dominated the analog synth sound texture landscape for a very long ass time so it was nice to see a manufacturer dig something up from the past and give it new life.

What I would really really really love is someone to re-create the old Crumar synthesizers. (I'm a total freaking geek about this shit sorry)
posted by Annika Cicada at 7:30 AM on September 16, 2016 [2 favorites]

And Don Buchla died today. So sad.
posted by Annika Cicada at 7:06 PM on September 16, 2016