dawnchaser's Electronic Studio Setup

When I first picked this thing up from a pawn shop, I was interested but skeptical, since I knew it was based on the Supernova, but knew little else about it. Once I got a chance to dive into it though, it's become one of my fave synths. I can make sounds that originally came from a Supernova on it pretty quickly, and it sits very nicely in modern mixes. The factory presets do not do this synth any justice. It's a powerhouse for Trance, Techno, House, Ambient, Dubstep, Hardstyle, and so much more. And it fits in a backpack, which is also super handy if you're a traveling musician

Everyone already knows the interface is awesome. What gets less talked about, is how useful it is in just about every context. I used it for the midbass and plucks in my tune Daybreak (Alpenglow Mix) a couple years ago, and it just sits so nicely in the mix. Not too bright, not too dull, nice and punchy, and doesn't overpower everything else. The keybed is also really nice, and just invites you to sit down and play on it, and it works super nicely as a controller for desktop synths, too. It benefits the most from quality external reverb and delay (but what besides the Virus TI and the Supernova and Summit doesn't?), so if you get an NL3, also pair it up with good external FX to really get a feel for how this thing sounds. I'm keeping mine forever

Have had my NL2X rack for years, and I always find new uses for it. I use it mainly in Trance, but I've been finding increasing uses for it in progressive and psytrance and chillout, and it sounds super nice in a mix with stuff like Moogs and Prophets and the JP8080. Build quality is super nice and sturdy and it's hard to make it sound bad. I've used it in a bunch of progressive trance releases recently, because of how nice it is for plucks. Its sound is a bit brighter and fizzier than the Nord Lead 3, which is great when I need a sound to cut through a mix.

Where to begin. This is one of my favorite synths, period. It's analog, but not so overly saturated in the lows that it overpowers mixes. It's bright enough to use for just about anything. And it has deep modulation capabilities, which is awesome for complex sound design. It can be as thin and clean, or as fat and gritty, as you need it to be.

Plus! And this is a big one

It has a Pan Spread function that is mono-compatible, which makes it super awesome for bouncy plucks and mid-basses. I frequently use the Rev2 for sub basses and mid basses, because they sit super nice and cleanly in a mix. But I've used it for pads, and often for plucks, because they just sound so nice and round and tight in a finished mix. Takes a little finagling to round off the brassy edges of the sawtooth waves, for gentler sounds, but the curtis filter makes that easy in 4-pole mode.

This is my favorite analog, no question. I don't use it on everything, but like my Virus TI2, I use it in everything. Super versatile, powerful synth.

Doesn't matter how old I get, I still love JP8080 SuperSaws. Nothing else hits quite like them in a song with a big epic melody. The mod options on this synth are pretty limited, and the filter pop you have to correct for by nudging up the Attack on the envelopes is kind of annoying, but there's few sounds more satisfying than a big epic anthem trance pad or arp on this machine.

Of course, it can certainly do much more than that, and it does everything from Tech House basses to Drum n Bass screams to Hardstyle shrieks super nicely. But I just like its SuperSaw, and I go bonkers with them whenever I turn mine on.

I wanna be buried with my JP one day

I've had my TI2 for nearly a decade, and even after 10 years, it still continues to surprise me with what it can do. Can pull off vintage sounds and modern edgy ones, without breaking a sweat. I use it in every song, and it is 100% my desert island synth, if I had to choose one. I don't use it for everything, but I do use it in everything. The HyperSaws sound awesome, the wavetables are super cool, and it has maybe the deepest mod capabilities of any synth I have ever used. Even the Blofeld and Mininova, who also have deep mod capabilities, don't go as far as the TI2. I love this thing and use it all the time.

What can I say? It's RME. Reliability is practically in the name. Crystal clear sound, lots of inputs, very flexible digital interface, rock solid stable drivers and performance. And RME still pushes out updates for it, which is fantastic. My fireface comes with me all over the place, and it runs like a charm everywhere. Excellent interface.

This mixer is just what I need for studio and music work. Crystal clear signal path, simple controls, lots of inputs, and a nice tidy footprint that makes it easy to fit in the studio. Love my LX308b

Lotta folks slept on this one, which is kinda weird, but also kinda makes sense. Its sound is total classic Moog vibes. I've been pulling classic 80s basses and leads out of this thing like it's nobody's business, and you wouldn't know the difference from the originals. And I can also pull Trance and Techno sounds out of it that would fit in a modern song today.

But then it also has annoying tuning stability issues, and a super limited modulation section, and no white noise. a white noise generator would be really nice on this thing. And even having 2 mod sources that access the same parameters would be handy.

Having said that, the patch storage and the super fat warm sound is nice. I don't use this synth all the time, but when I do, I enjoy it. Always adds recognizeable Moog sound to any tune I use it in.

If you can get one, get it. Just give it time to warm up.

At first I, like just about everyone else, was fooled by the challenging interface and wonky factory presets. I wondered why I even bought it, for the first few weeks after it showed up in the mail. But when I really dug into this thing, all the sounds came out. Huge Trance SuperSaws. Meaty Deep House basses. Gnarly DnB Reeses. Filthy Dubstep growls. Haunting Ambient pads and atmospheres. This this is a pint-sized Virus at 1/4 the price. I've written whole songs using the Blofeld. This synth could be a desert island synth for someone with a decent mixer to amplify it, and some good FX plugins to run recordings through.

Those are kind of its weak points. It's a bit on the quiet side, even with the Filter Drive modified to boost the signal a little. And most of the FX are pretty wack. The Phaser and Reverb in particular are... not great. This is a synth that really benefits from external FX (plus, turning off internal chorus/reverb/delay frees up a bit of DSP, giving you more voices to work with). And if you like the S&H Effect buried in the Triple FX section, because the Rate Reduction effect IS cool, unfortunately for you, you cannot modulate its intensity, or indeed, any of the FX values at all. So talking basses using modulated rate reduction FX don't really work on this synth. Which is a minor bummer. Otherwise, the Blofeld is a beast and definitely is worth having in the studio.

I always wanted a JD-800, but could never find one within a thousand miles of me. Plus, the sheer size of the OG JD wouldn't have worked in my tiny studio. When Roland released the JD-08, I was thrilled

As soon as it arrived, I plugged it in, was baffled by a weird bug in the MIDI, which I was able to quickly solve, and then I got to work making all kinds of classic Trance and Psytrance sounds. And this thing just oozes 90s vibes, which was a fun treat. It does modern sounds super well too, don't get me wrong. But when I sat down to do some old Euro style tunes, the sounds just leaped out of this synth right away.

The interface is also a lot easier to get the hang of than I expected, and I've managed to make all kinds of diverse and exciting presets on it quickly. The controls are tiny, but not hard to use, and a little delicate work goes a long way on this instrument.

If you can, get your hands on one. This thing can be as glossy or as gritty as you need, and it can store a lot of patches, which is super nice.