One synth (at a time) to rule them all

[Manbird]

Every time I finish or begin a project (I make a lot of albums...), I try to find a way to start fresh with whatever is (or isn't yet) in front of me. Chances are, there's a new piece of gear or a batch of plugins to help jump start things.

I'm in another in-between moment and this time, I've taken the curious step of turning off all my synths but one. I started by keeping only the Prophet 5 switched on and always ready. The P5 has been my dream synth since I was a teen and I've often wished it was the only one I had with me. But... I own a lot more than just that one and you know how that goes. Anyway, I did a week with only the Prophet and it was wonderful. Any recording or messing about was with that one synth and it's particular sound.

I switched the other day to the Korg Prologue, which is the synth I sold my PolySix for. That might indicate how much I dig the Prologue. It's got a wider range of "synthy" sounds than the P5, in a way. It travels up into space, whereas the Prophet 5 climbs deep into the earth.

The Trigon has been my controller keyboard, sat right in front of me atop my desk, but I haven't had any reason to use it, as I'm mostly working on a rock record with drums, piano, guitars etc. No samples or twitchy electronics for now.

I do like limiting my synth access, but after a few more days, I know I'll turn my Moogs back on just cos... and then the Korg MS-10 just in case I need some phase-shifted noise drones... I'm missing the Prophet 6 even as I write this.

My music room upstairs is certainly much colder with the synths turned off, so maybe I'll switch em on sooner than later!

[Soundquest]

I tend to do a rotation, with several days set to just one instrument.   But no real set rule.  Manbird, my studio also gets a little cool in the winter, but synths are expensive alternative to a space heater

[Manbird]

I tend to do a rotation, with several days set to just one instrument.   But no real set rule.  Manbird, my studio also gets a little cool in the winter, but synths are expensive alternative to a space heater

There's still the "practical" need sometimes... I had my band over for a tracking session. I'd done a demo of one of the songs with the Trigon, then switched to the Prophet 5. After the band did their thing, I redid my part on the Prophet 6 - it just fit the sound of the song. So, yeah, no real rule is right!

I think a key for me is moving between familiarity and mystery. There's always something unknown lurking in even the most-played synths I own...