How to Reduce Components on a Multi-Rig Synthesizer Setup

Learning to use a synthesizer, or mix board, can be a fun and exciting thing if you take the time to set it up correctly and utilize all resources available in your home recording studio. Part of this process is reducing the components on a multi-rig synthesizer setup.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Decide on the genre of music you are going to be playing the most. This will help you determine which keyboard, or synthesizer, is right for you. Consider the number of sounds you plan to produce, the range of sounds and the quality of the keyboard.

2. Practice playing a couple of songs you already know to hear the quality of the sound on the keyboard, or synthesizer, you chose. Go through all of the sounds offered to get a feel for the options available to you.

3. Narrow down the top 10 to 20 sounds you hear in the songs that are within the genre of music you play. Make a list of them and find them on your synthesizer. Mark them if you want. A piece of tape, a page marker or just a dot from a permanent marker could work for this.

4. Keep only the sounds you utilize. If you find yourself outside your genre, you can re-evaluate the sounds you have chosen. But to keep things simple and reduce the components in your setup, stick to your genre and the sounds that are common within it. Get rid of any component that you don't find you are using often enough.