New to synths/keyboards

[Brentmiedema]

I have a songwriter's studio in my home. I like to be able to include some string instruments as well as some Jordan Rudess/Opeth sounds. Please disregard price here, and please give me your opinions on what synths/keyboards you like using, and some of your good/bad experiences. I want to make as educated a choice here as I can.

[filosofem]

Hardware or software? Digital or analog? Modular or hardwired? Programmable or presets?

[Diccer]

Brentmiedema
The best value, Best Sound, best expandability, control and compact power for songwriting is in Virtual Instruments-this is the right answer for you. Such as komplete 8, Play 3, BFD2 and so on. The last 5 years has seen a revolution in instrument approach.

The only worthy hardware synths will be true analog synths dsi/moog etc
The Roland workstation is 3-4 Grand, Kronos and Motif the same -a bad value in comparison the the newly available VI's which are $300 to 500 on average. And the size of their sample bases is beans compared to the new disk streaming libraries of VI's.
I'd buy an inexpensive keyboard controller (with no bells and whistles) who's keys you like and use it to control VI's. If you're looking to play out you'll only need a laptop which as an additional expense still keeps you in the pink, and then you can take those complex arrangements/ensembes and play out with them

[filosofem]

Originally Posted by Diccer

The best value, Best Sound, best expandability, control and compact power for songwriting is in Virtual Instruments-this is the right answer for you. Such as komplete 8, Play 3, BFD2 and so on. The last 5 years has seen a revolution in instrument approach.

One essential element missing in todays virtual instrument palette is direct tactile parameter control and although virtual instruments do deliver an instant bang for your buck, hardware synthesizers offer the ever longer lasting bang for your buck in my opinion.

[Diccer]

Filo
That's why you get a CC controller like the axiom you're so fond of. Even that controller with VI's is going to to be better than any of the digital hardware synths. The Roland Korg Yamaha workstations are a bad value and getting the all in one means being stuck with components that you may grow to dislike or are too heavy and outdated. Keeping things seperate the way to go.
If you're talking of Analog synths like DSI and Moog, that's entirely different as VI's are really not emulating true analog synth sounds well yet.. It'll be a few more years
But if you wanna talk control- The. Computer is King.. Period

[filosofem]

Originally Posted by Diccer

That's why you get a CC controller like the axiom you're so fond of.

Thought I'd get a bite with that one. You see, as fond as I am with M-Audio Axiom Pro, Axiom Pro's weakness like most low-end controllers is their rotary encoder navigation and although better than most, direct tactile parameter control offered by most hardware synthesizers cannot be bet by any computer-based controller.