I figure it gives me a drum machine for practice too if I do this.
I feel like the resale on the Roland is better or maybe I can find one used for a good deal.
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Iāve had to go right back to the start of this thread as itāll take hours to catch up, but THIS, OH MY GOD, THIS!!!
Every synth for sale should have a WARNING on it, saying, āThis will completely take over your life. And not only that, it will lead to MORE purchasesā
You think GAS is bad with Basses? Man, itās 100 times more powerful with synths!
I started with a moog werkstatt that was about Ā£100. And a small 2 octave midi controller keyboard that was about Ā£60. Itās a tiny little entry level moog ājust to get you startedā.
Hah, yeah. Right. Now look at what it turned into -
Honestly, they WILL take over!
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I love software synths for this so much. I have dozens at this point and only need space for one keyboard 
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Iāve deliberately not engaged with software synths, because on top of everything else, it would be too much. Iād end up with choice paralysis.
Plus, thereās nothing that compares to a physical synth. The moog one is practically dreamlike!
Iām in an excited mood today because half the band canāt make band practice, but the guitarist and myself are going to descend into that mad room later after work to experiment with a synth intro to one of our tracks weāve already done. I canāt wait to get started and see where it leads!
Probably still be at it at 3am, drunk!
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This is exactly the reason why I listen to @howard. 
I already messed up big time with guitars, basses and amps. Been culling but they keep on coming!
I need more disciplineā¦
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You know where itās going to lead if you get itā¦
FIxed that for you.
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Iām definitely glad I was in to hardware synths when I was poor and could only afford one at a time
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Does anyone here have any experience with Abeltonās Push controller? Or similar devices?
Thx!
Hey. Iāve had Push 2 for some time now. Itās really just a big, expensive mouse tbh. But if you want more info on the device, ask.
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That seems harsh 
Are you using it in your workflow? Are there alternatives that could do the same (apart from a mouse apparently)?
I guess I kinda like the feature to have only scale-relevant notes available (for us non-keyboard players) and play chords more like on bass (i.e., the pattern/shape doesnāt change with the key). Are such features available on āsimplerā/less expensive surfaces?
Finally, can you map it to trigger MIDI phrases, like they use in the UJAM plug-ins?
In my workflow, I use it as a huge play button and for controlling macros. I really wanted it to be the centerpiece of my setup, but as I use a lot of external plugins and other hardware, it doesnāt gel that well with such a setup.
This feature is available on a lot of hardware. (I launched scale/key mode on all 3 devices I have with this feature.) The execution differs from device to device, but you can get this hassle-free, scale-lock surface on a lot of, cheaper, devices rather than Push. I personally donāt use it, but my favorite one is the Novation SL MK3 style when the LEDs above keys show what keys are in the scale. Maschine has āonly scale keys modeā and it has also chord mode which lets you play chords from the selected scale by pressing one pad.
The shape paradigm of the Push 2 setup is IMHO a gimmick. Itās probably a good fit for someone who uses Push exclusively, but for anyone who uses piano keyboard style, it doesnāt translate. So what you will learn on the Push will not be transferable to anything else.
I donāt have any UJAM plugin installed atm. so I am not that sure what you mean. But IIRC itās just a midi-note trigger that triggers the change to a different phrase. (The plugin just listens if it hears some designated note press to trigger a change.) So it should be possible to set it up on whichever midi control surface.
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Thanks for the information - thatās more stuff to mull over 
It looks like this (see the lower part):
You can see which keys are assigned to trigger phrasesā¦ I guess this could be mapped on any of these surfaces!?!
There shouldnāt be any problem with any MIDI device to handle this. I am not using UJAM plugins, however, this approach is quite often used in orchestral libraries as an articulation switch (ie. from staccato to pizzicato by pressing, for example, C6 on the keyboard.) and Iāve never had any issue using it no matter the controller I use.
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Anyone have a recommendation for a basic tutorial for midi? Thereās a ~$1000 midi controller/keyboard on my GAS list from this thread 
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Unfortunately I do not, I learned this stuff too long ago.
The MIDI spec is free to download. It tells you everything buried in there.
MIDI sends control messages over channels. The channel number of the controller has to match the channel number the device being controlled is listening to. Thereās also an all channels option.
When a key is pressed a ānote onā command is sent with a note number and optionally velocity of the key press. Note off is sent when key is released.
Things like knobs and sliders are continuous controllers CC and each have a number. They send out a range of values friending on how far up the knob is turned. You can usually arbitrarily assign CC controllers to any soft knob you want to turn.
Pitch bend and mod wheel are frequently used continuous controllers and have a more standardized continuous controller number.
Other commands can be sent to change presets on a device, for example.
There also a clock signal that can be sent over midi to synchronize multiple devices.
To know what midi functions a device is capable of look in the manual for its āmidi implementation chartā. It will tell you what commands will do what.
Many plugins have a midi learn feature. You can grab a soft knob and put it in learn mode, maybe a right click option or menu option. Then move the hardware controller knob and it sets up the association for you without worrying about CC numbers.
Maybe thatās enough to get started. Itās the best tutorial I have on me.
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You are such an engineer
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