amplifying synthesizers

[friendship]

When I used to use synths live, I always went DI->PA. Sometimes this was good, but often the broad frequency range of a wide-open synth either stepped all over the rest of the band, or was masked by them.

In DAW recording, I've been messing around with adding saturation, distortion, and speaker resonance to synths using a VST, and I like all the coloration it provides. Depending on the patch, it can really help the synth pop out of the mix.

So I wanted to ask about your thoughts and experiences with (non-PA-type) amplification with your synths. What kind of tomfoolery are you up to?

[greenmario]

I play in a two piece: I play guitar, the other guy plays synths and switches off with bass, and we have a drum machine. Live he's been playing synths (Minilogue and a 90s Nord) through his bass amp, an ampeg rocket B100R. Live he's kind of covering the bass frequencies when he plays synth so it works out. We've tried going through the PA but like you said it kind of eats the vocals and in our case the drum machine.

When we record, we really like how the synths sound through a JC-77. It does cut some lows (two 10-inch speakers), but the chorus and grit with that thing is so good. A lot of times we split the signal and record both DI and with a mic (or two for stereo) against the JC-77. Then we use all the highs and mids from the JC-77 and can mix in only the bass and lower frequencies from the DI as needed -cutting all the highs and mids from the DI signal.

We've been messing with the idea of doing the same for live shows, just gotta get motivated enough to haul another amp to shows lol.

[John]

Funny this should come up, as I was just discussing with the guitarist of my drum/synth/guitar band how to get the synths a little tighter and less overlapping into guitar range. We were thinking about running the synth through a relatively small amp or a modeler of such, for some natty low n hi rolloff and compression. Right now the synth goes direct to PA and it can be pretty brackish.

[DannDubbleEwe]

Sometimes I double on bass and synth and have had good success with an a/b switch to move it to either instrument through my bass rig It seems to have a good frequency range to cover what I would personally need it for, which is more bass oriented to begin with. Another friend we play with is using an older bass rig of mine and it works equally as well, but admittedly I have not tried running through any type of guitar amp. The extended frequencies that could be produced would make me worried about damaging speakers.

FWIW we have a tiny PA in our space and the usual-synth-dood definitely sounds better through the bass rig. Seems a little more controllable and it can go deeper if you need it, and the speaker voicing is fun.

Also a Moog Grandmother and a beat to shit Peavey 215 with any head is just awesome.

[coupleonapkins]

It's been a while for me but any synth into a bass amp with or without wheels is the A+ choice, the bigger the bouncier

I wish keyboard amps were still a thing (like lap steel amps), but maybe it's just EQ shelving + big cones disguised as marketing tool (probably need to ask an accordion player if I ever find one, eventually).

[coldbrightsunlight]

Synths through guitar amps sound great and can really cut through well, or bass amps if you want a bit more low end. Provided you're playing through speakers that won't get shredded if you do any super loud low stuff, play around. Haven't played live in years though so purely talking about jams/practice rooms/recording.

[Bartimaeus]

first i'd strongly recommend getting a flexible EQ pedal like the mxr 10-band. while producers do use amps (or modelers), EQ is by fair the most important tool for fitting a synth into the mix.

for example, you might want a pretty scooped sound to stay out of the way of the guitar and vocals. but guitar speakers usually roll off the lows and highs. EQ into a PA is probably a better way to get those kinds of sounds.

for the most flexibility, a bass modeling amp is actually a great option. they usually have a totally flat setting to be used as a PA. then the rest are various colors you can try out.

that said, going A/B between the PA and a guitar amp is a good option too. for convenience you could get a small guitar amp and mic it up, then use the mixer to blend between the dry and amp sounds.