Features to consider when choosing the best synthesizer for pads
If you want to pick the best option, you must first learn to tell the different options apart. This you can do by learning about synthesizer for pad features. Notably, you needn’t look for data on these features independently. You can pick this information from the section below quite easily. After all, the collators of the data did it for your convenience.
Analog or digital
As its primary function, a synth will produce audio signals that can be manipulated in various ways thanks to effects, filters, and waveforms available in the device. This is the same for analog and digital synths for pads.
What’s different for the two synth types is how they generate the audio signal. Analog synths for pads have analog electric circuits in their designs. Currents in these electric circuits are what produce the sounds.
Notably, analog synths work more or less as most musical instruments would. As such, playing the same note in a couple of different ways is possible for these devices. Digital synths for pads are basically computers that try to emulate the sound-producing capabilities of analog synths.
It’s impossible to get the exact same sounds, and as such, some people prefer the analog option. However, there isn’t anything wrong with the sounds they produce. They are, nevertheless, a bit different. Also, they use digital signal processing as the primary way to make sounds.
Some synthesizer pads like the Korg Minilogue XD Gen Minilogue Synthesizer defy conventional classification by having both analog and digital synth capabilities. These are hybrids.
Keyboard
Most synth for pads buyers prefer standard keyboard sizes. The key sizes are easy enough to work with, and learning to play them is easier. Also, if you already know how to play a keyboard, you won’t have to go through a learning curve if you pick the Dave Smith Instruments Prophet X or a similar option.
This is different for smaller and slimmer keyboards like the one in the Korg Minilogue XD Gen Minilogue Synthesizer or those designed differently like the Behringer CRAVE Synthesizer. Other options completely leave out the keyboards in their designs, which limits their functionality a bit more.
From these numerous keyboard options, you will only be able to choose one.
Polyphony
These synths will also promise to provide you with different voices in the machine. However, the number of voices that can be produced simultaneously varies. Monophonic picks like the Moog DFAM Semi-Modular Analog Percussion Synthesizer produce one voice at a time.
Polyphonic picks are the opposite, as evidenced by the Dave Smith Instruments Prophet X. The model in question can combine 12 voices making it more versatile, especially in sound production.
How many voices you need is a question that can only be answered by you and your music production needs.
Effects
Manipulation of voices produced by the device is also something you may want to do with your synth for pads. After all, experimenting with sound is the only way to make new and unique music. To this end, effects will be present in most synths for pads, although admittedly, some manufacturers have exempted them from their designs.
Remember that more effects equal greater control over sounds in your synthesizer pad. Some effects examples include delay, reverb, and flanger with many other unique options in varying devices.
Presets
Building off of already prepared musical sequences can make music creation a lot easier. As such, some synth for pads manufacturers will include musical presets in their offerings. Two hundred of them are included in the Korg Minilogue XD Gen Minilogue Synthesizer.
However, if you’d rather not depend on provided presets, you can create some and store them in slots in the machine. Besides, remembering a unique music sequence you created is virtually impossible if you haven’t recorded it. Whatever the case having preset capabilities in your synth for pads reduces some of the hassles of music creation.
Sequencer
Playing a string of notes is also another way synth users get to create unique music. However, the number of consecutive notes that certain users can pool together is dependent on the machine’s capabilities.
One example is the Arturia MiniBrute 2S Semi-Modular Analog Sequencing Synthesizer can allow up to a 64-step sequence. This is superior to the 8-step sequence limit of the Moog DFAM Semi-Modular Analog Percussion Synthesizer.
However, even the 8-step sequencer is more than sufficient for some users’ needs. Beginners, for instance, may find a 64-step musical sequence too hard to hack, and hence the sequencer in the Arturia MiniBrute 2S will be a waste for them.
Oscillator
At the heart of the synth for pads is the oscillator. After all, it does generate the electric currents responsible for sound output. The oscillator’s capabilities and its design will thus limit or provide endless capabilities for your musical journey.
Waveform mixing, frequency modulation, and waveshaping are some of the capabilities in the Arturia MiniBrute 2S Semi-Modular Analog Sequencing Synthesizer’s oscillator. It is no wonder the synthesizer is such an impressive offering.
Filters
With filters, you have additional capabilities to tweak the sound output. As such, filters and effects have more or less the same job. It goes without saying more filters equals better sound variation capabilities.
MIDI input/output
A musical instrument digital interface (MIDI) device can prove invaluable when combined with a synthesizer pad. It allows more music hardware to be combined with the synthesizer. As such, it falls under the connectivity feature of the device.
Connectivity
There are a host of other musical instruments that can lead to fantastic results when combined with the synths for pads. However, whether these instruments are compatible with the synthesizer pads is the million-dollar question. Answering the question only requires a quick look into the connection ports provided.
Audio I/O, USB ports, and musical instrument inputs are some popular connections that might be supported. Again more connectivity options allow you more freedom when choosing the devices you want to add to your music creation setup.
Dimensions and weight
Perhaps a downside of including an almost full-size keyboard in the Dave Smith Instruments Prophet X is the synth for pad’s bulkier nature. As such, carrying the Prophet 12 everywhere you go will be much more challenging in comparison to the Moog DFAM Semi-Modular Analog Percussion Synthesizer, which can fit in a bag.
The weight of the synth for pads may also be an issue when transporting the musical machine. However, some want a synth to stay in their home studio, and it won’t matter if it is large and heavy as long as they have enough space for it.
