When I first transitioned from soft synths to hardware synths, my first purchase was an analog monosynth, and it was love at first listen! As someone who focuses primarily on producing tracks in a small home studio, I always attempt to squeeze as much functionality out of every piece of gear I own. So, I was happy to discover that not only does my analog monosynth sound fantastic when used for its primary purpose, but it can also be employed as a hardware processor to manipulate numerous sources. In this article, I’ll discuss a few different ways you can get more mileage out of your analog monosynth, including applying its filter to recorded material, turning soft synths into hybrid synths, and using it as a guitar effects unit.
You’ve Got an Analog Filter — Use It!
For my money, there’s nothing quite like an analog filter. A good voltage-controlled filter (VCF) has a certain inimitable quality that is accurately described by all the common adjectives — warm, organic, alive. The VCF on your analog monosynth is a sonic workhorse that bears much of the responsibility for helping you craft lush or biting synth sounds. Yet, it still has untapped potential in your studio. By routing audio through your monosynth’s external input, you can actualize the potential of your monosynth’s VCF to process pre-recorded tracks for creative ends or to up the vibe factor. Let’s look at a couple of applications.
Creative Filter Sweeps
Who doesn’t love a filter sweep? It’s a trope, no doubt, but there’s a reason for that. Filter sweeps are super effective at creating tension and release in an arrangement — whether you’re opening the filter to add drama to a transition or closing the filter to invite your listeners into a more intimate section of a song. One of my favorite applications for an analog filter sweep is to excite drum fills. To use an analog synth to perform the drum-fill filter sweep, I create a mono drum mix. Then, I route the audio from my DAW through a re-amp box and into the external input of one of my monosynths and route the output back into my DAW. Then, I play the audio through my monosynth and start twisting the filter cutoff knob while adjusting the filter’s resonance. Once I’m satisfied with how it sounds, I record the drum fill through the monosynth back into my DAW and layer it back into the mix.
Here’s an example of a filter-swept drum fill through the Moog Grandmother.
Reshape Sounds
Another way to use your monosynth’s analog filter is to employ it as a static EQ to alter the tone of instruments and vocals. Sure, it’s most likely just a lowpass filter, so it’s nowhere as versatile as a multiband EQ. Yet, by using the filter cutoff along with resonance, you can beef up kick drums, bass lines, vocals, and more. On top of that, you can overdrive the filter to impart a sound with texture and grit.
If your analog synth also has a highpass, then you can use it on its own to shape the top end of external sounds or in conjunction with the lowpass filter for creative effects. And, if your synth has a multimode filter, then you have even more options. In the next example, I used the lowpass and highpass filters on the Moog Grandmother to produce the classic telephone-style vocal sound.
Turn Any Soft Synth into a Hybrid Synth
In addition to analog and digital synthesizers, there are hybrid synthesizers. These come in many forms, but, most often, the term refers to a synthesizer with digital oscillators running through one or more voltage-controlled analog filters and amplifiers. Hybrid synthesizers are fun because they provide raw sounds, like wavetables or samples, that can’t be produced by fully analog synths while still offering true-analog character. By using the external input on your analog monosynth, you can transform any software synth into a hybrid synthesizer, and here’s how.
Choose a software synth and set it up so you’re hearing the sound in its purest form. For instance, if you’ve selected a virtual analog synthesizer, then choose a waveform. Next, open the filter all the way and turn down the resonance. Then, set the envelope generator for instant attack and instant decay, turn the sustain to max, and choose a longer release time. One other note: make sure you’ve disabled any modulators and effects.
Output the soft synth to the external input of your analog synth as we’ve done with the other examples. After that, you’ll want to set up your MIDI routing to control the soft synth and your hardware synth simultaneously. In Pro Tools, that involves creating a MIDI track for your hardware synth to both send and receive data. Set the input and the output of the MIDI track to your analog synth and set the MIDI input of the soft synth’s instrument track to your hardware synth. Now, you’re controlling both hardware and software right from your analog synth. If you’re using an analog synth module without a keyboard, then use the same process to send MIDI data from a separate MIDI keyboard controller to both the soft synth and your hardware synth.
Turn down the oscillators on your hardware synth and then start playing around to create a patch using the soft-synth voices. If you’re playing polyphonically, then remember that using your hardware synth in this fashion is akin to using a paraphonic synth like a Behringer MonoPoly or Poly D. That means that, regardless of how many voices you use, they’ll all share the same filter and amp.
For this example, I created a quick patch with the Arturia CZ V Phase Distortion soft synth and manipulated it using the Grandmother.
Use It as a Stompbox! (Actual Stomping Not Advised)
So far, we’ve been re-amping pre-recorded material and soft synths; but, if you’re a synth lover and a guitar player, you can also use your monosynth as a guitar effects processor by once again taking advantage of the filter.
There are two specific ways to do this that I think are very cool. The first is to use a synth’s onboard sequencer, LFO, or sample & hold to automate the opening and closing of the filter. By dialing in a little resonance on the filter, you can make very interesting textures with simple strummed chords, like so:
The second fun way to use your monosynth as an effects processor is to connect an expression pedal to control the filter cutoff and use it like a wah-wah. And, because you can control the amount of resonance, you can make it as smooth or as spiky as you want.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the ways to get more mileage out of your analog monosynth in the studio. To learn how to use your monosynth to play polyphonic parts, check out “Monosynth Magic: Transform Your Mono into a Poly!“
Looking for your first or next monophonic analog synthesizer? Give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700. They’ll be happy to help you find the right synth to fit your needs!
Monosynths with External Inputs
To employ the techniques in this article, you’ll need a monophonic synth with an external input. Sweetwater carries a wide selection of monosynths that meet that criteria. Check out a selection of some of our favorite external-input-equipped monosynths for transforming any audio source!