When I first decided to buy and learn to use a Synthesizer, I didn't realise how complex and different each type can be. If you decided to play guitar for instance, each guitar you pick up is basically the same. Once you've learnt to play one guitar, you can play another.
With Synthesizers, you could be amazing with a Roland Juno and then have no idea how to use a Korg Kaossilator. But once you have learnt the basic controls you can find your way around each synth pretty quickly.
How Should I Start?
I read many articles around the Internet (as you probably are) before investing in a synthesizer. Many of them suggested the Roland SH201 Synthesizer. I managed to pick one up on EBay for £300 and was really impressed by it. The SH201 is perfect for beginners, but it is also a good professional stage synthesizer. Once you have gotten used to all the controls and are hungry for more, it is easy too add on to your set-up. Mixers and Vocoders will all connect and work really well along side each other, so building up an arsenal of impressive synthesizers can be done quickly but will be quite expensive.
Obviously the SH201 isn't the only Synthesizer to start with, but personally I would recommend it for those who are just starting out.
Genre?
Maybe you are into a particular genre, I personally play in a metal band. Many people think synthesizers are for dance/ techno music. Although they are mainly used in these genres bands such as 'Attack Attack' make very good use of them in Metal.
So it really does not matter what kind of music you are into, Synths will fit in.
Controls
When using Synthesizers always remember "ADSR"
it stands for "Attack Delay Sustain and Release"
Attack - Attack is the time taken for the sound to go from the lowest point to the peak of how it will sound
Decay - Decay is the time taken for the noise to decay for the time specified by the sustain
Sustain - Sustain is the length of the note you have pressed
Release - Release is the time taken for the sound to decay from the sustain level to zero after the key has been released.
This is an example (All the pictures of Synthesizer controls used in this article will be from the SH201 as it is a good overall example)
of the filter envelope for the SH201. The 'ADSR' levels are all represented as well as a 'Depth' slider. Synthesizers don't just contain pre-made sounds, they allow you to create entirely new ones. This is how you would Control the Attack, Delay, Sustain, Release and depth of any new or pre-existing sound.
When using Synthesizers, you will probably also hear the word LFO used a lot. This stands for
'Low-Frequency Oscillation' and creates effects such as pulses, tremolos and sweeps for notes.
This is the LFO for the SH201. It includes 2 LFO controllers and, as you can see by the picture, can be used to change lots of different things.
The buttons marked "shape" on the left of the picture are used to select how the filter will be effected. The rate knob if for choosing the tempo.
For example: If I made a sound on my synthesizer that pulsed so that half the time it sounds clear and loud, and half the time the filter comes in and makes the sound muffled and quiet, I could use the rate knob to determine how quickly it changed between the two. The shape buttons decide how it changes. The shape that is selected on the picture would make the sound change evenly but would not stay at the peak and trough of the sound for a fairly short amount of time. The shape at the top of the diagram (that looks like a turned over S) would make the sound instantly change between the two and would remain on the peak and trough for much longer.
The second LFO menu is for choosing what you want the first LFO to effect. My last example used the filter as the effect, but if I were to change the second LFO to 'Pitch', that would make the note vary from one pitch to another.
Key Words to Remember
Vocoder - When looking for a synth, you may see many that say "with built-in Vocoder" and wonder what this means. A Vocoder is a synth that can manipulate your voice (the "Vo" stands for Voice, so the word basically means Voice-Coder). A Vocoder has the technology to change your voice into many synthesized sounds. If you listen to a lot of songs, you will notice many of them include robotic or strange sounding vocals at some points. These are made using a Vocoder. Some Vocoders allow you to press a note as you speak into them and will change your voice to fit that note.
LFO - Low-Frequency Oscillation creates effects such as pulses, tremolos and sweeps for notes. The LFO can be changed in many ways. You can change the shape of the LFO and choose the tempo of how it is changed.
Arpeggiator - An arpeggiator is a feature that allows some synthesisers to automatically play through a sequence of notes after you have entered a chord. This creates an arpeggio and this is why it is named the Arpeggiator
Patch - A patch is a pre-made sound on a synthesizer. You can create your own patches on synthesizers and save them so that they can be used later.
Conclusion
These are only the basics of using a synthesizer. I haven't gone into using other Oscillators, amp effects or External mode in this article but may in another. The point of this article is to give you a general idea of synthesizers and what they are about. I hope it has been of some help.
