Need help choosing my first synth, ZERO hardware experience

[DeadSilence]

New to the forum, Hi guys.

So, I've been producing with software like FlStudio, Reason, and Ableton for about a year and like to think I have pretty decent understanding of them. I've used a lot of different VST's (especially Native Instruments products, I LOVE Massive) and have a decent understanding of what a synth is and does. My problem is that I want to buy a physical keyboard/synth, but hooking up my Xbox to my surround sound is probably the most experience I have with any sort of sound cables or hardware.

I have a $500-$600 budget, and mainly produce house and dubstep. I went to a few different music stores and played around with different synths because I seriously had no idea what I needed, and I ended up falling in love with two Korg synths, the MicroKorg XL and the R3. Now, I know these both run off of the engine that the Radias (which I hear nothing but unlimited love for) runs off, which is cool, so I'll get the same sound out of either. The mini-keys on the xl don't bother me and I from what I've read that's the biggest complaint about it.

I seemed to like the XL better, but I can't really explain why. The only thing that was really frustrating me was the difficult navigation in the menu, but doesn't it come with software that I can use to make all of my sounds and everything like that? Everything I've read about the r3 tells me that I should like it better than the XL, and I'm not sure why I don't.

I probably sound really uneducated on the subject haha, but can someone help me make a choice between these two? The price isn't really an issue to me since It's only a $100 difference.

[Ldizzy]

vintagesynthexplorer.com .... my best reference... then when u have a more precise idea... u might want to come here and ask for reviews... or google it...

from what i think itll help people to get inspiration to post helpful replies!

[amphibian]

The first question that comes to mind when I see what you've typed is...

Why do you want a hardware synth?

I went over this in my head a HEAP of times - and discovered that I generally wanted one cos others had one, and made cool sounds with it. But getting past that I realized - I just want to make cool sounds, and that it actually had nothing to do with what I was using.

[rubiconguava]

The first question that comes to mind when I see what you've typed is...

Why do you want a hardware synth?

I went over this in my head a HEAP of times - and discovered that I generally wanted one cos others had one, and made cool sounds with it. But getting past that I realized - I just want to make cool sounds, and that it actually had nothing to do with what I was using.

the only reason i would want a hardware synth is if it had all the knobs etc on the front and i could physically tweak stuff, very easily, without having to scrol tons of menus. The reason id want this is so it gets me off the computer to make music, i find it liberating for my creativity if i step back from the computer for a while, play a bit of guitar, or tweak a syunth. unfortunately i dont have a synth and yeh i would only get one if it had all envolopes oscs etc on the front with dedicated controls.

[andregmp]

I stopped in to a local music store here, and was looking at some compact synths too, and one of the guys that worked there told me to play with the AKAI Miniak a bit, said that it has a lot more bang for the buck compared to the Korg MicroKorg or the XL, and was only about $50 more. Try that one out too, I'll probably end up with the Miniak or the Roland SH-01 Gaia which just blowsss my mind.

[ninjadog]

Good on you for making the switch, I'm a fan of hardware.
My suggestion is to keep checking your local craigslist, you might luck out and find a full analog synth for cheap. With the economic climate and more and more people replacing their rigs with software it can be a gold mine for vintage synths.

[hifi]

I stopped in to a local music store here, and was looking at some compact synths too, and one of the guys that worked there told me to play with the AKAI Miniak a bit, said that it has a lot more bang for the buck compared to the Korg MicroKorg or the XL, and was only about $50 more. Try that one out too, I'll probably end up with the Miniak or the Roland SH-01 Gaia which just blowsss my mind.

I have the Gaia and it's sexy.

[DeadSilence]

The first question that comes to mind when I see what you've typed is...

Why do you want a hardware synth?

I went over this in my head a HEAP of times - and discovered that I generally wanted one cos others had one, and made cool sounds with it. But getting past that I realized - I just want to make cool sounds, and that it actually had nothing to do with what I was using.

I too wondered for a bit if I was only getting hardware for the sake of having hardware, but in the end I decided it's something I do really want. The first reason Is because I don't own any sort of midi controller, the second is that I have no hardware experience and need some for my job, and the last being that I guinely just loved the feel of the two keyboards I mentioned when I played them.