Comparison Casio MZ-X300 vs Arturia MatrixBrute

- Synthesizer. In this case, we mean classic digital synthesizers - keyboard musical instruments that can reproduce the sounds of various instruments and sound effects. The functionality of such models can be very diverse - from budget devices with minimal functionality to advanced instruments suitable even for professional musicians.

— Workstation. High-quality synthesizers for professional use, capable of playing the role of not only a musical instrument, but also a remote control for recording and mixing sound. Accordingly, a mandatory feature of such instruments is a sequencer (see below). In addition, workstations are distinguished by advanced equipment that corresponds to the class: among such instruments there are models with full-size hammer-action (see “Mechanics”) keyboards with 88 keys, an abundance of adjustments and connectors is available to the user, and the sound quality and reliability in inexpensive models is good , in advanced ones - almost ideal. True, synthesizers of this type are very expensive, so combined with their extensive capabilities, they are indispensable assistants for composers, sound engineers and other specialists involved in both performing and recording music.

— Children's synthesizer. The features of such instruments are generally clear from the name - these are synthesizers designed for children's. Externally, such models differ from “adult”...ones primarily in the small number of keys (up to 49, often less) and the size of the keys themselves, which is reduced to suit a child’s hand. In addition, the performance characteristics and functionality of children's's synthesizers are also most often more modest: for example, polyphony (see below) rarely exceeds 8 voices, and the overall sound reliability is very low. But the learning opportunities in such instruments, on the contrary, can be very extensive, and in general, children's's synthesizers are considered a good choice for initial training.

— Analog synthesizer. Instruments in which sound is generated not through digital processing, but through passing through a real electrical circuit. In a very simplified way, the principle of operation of such an instrument can be described as follows: each key, when pressed, turns on its own sound generator of a certain frequency, which is responsible for the desired note, and with the help of additional settings (oscillators, envelope, filters), the musician gives color to this sound. From the user's point of view, the most noticeable difference between an analog synthesizer is the lack of built-in tones - the musician adjusts all the details of the sound manually. Analog instruments, on the one hand, are more difficult to control, but on the other hand, they allow you to achieve effects that are not available digitally. In addition, the color of the sound itself on analog synthesizers is somewhat different. Historically, instruments of this type appeared earlier than digital ones, but today they are highly specialized solutions, designed mainly for professional performers and used in specific musical areas.

The greater the number of keys — the wider the range of the instrument, the lower and higher notes you can take on it right during the game, without resorting to tricks like octave shift (see below). By comparison, a full size piano keyboard has 88 keys. However, in synthesizers, such an amount is rare, because. the instrument would have turned out to be too bulky and expensive, and not every musician, even a professional one, needs such an extensive range. Thus, 88-key keyboards are used primarily in high-end workstations (see "Type"). For ordinary synthesizers, the standard is 49, 61 or 76 keys ( there are also options for 73 keys) — this is usually quite enough (while the "golden mean" option is considered to be 61 keys). And small children's models can have 32 keys.

Ability to change the sensitivity of active mechanics (see above) in the synthesizer.

This function allows you to adjust the intensity of the key's response to pressing. Simply put, the higher the sensitivity, the louder and sharper the sound will be, with the same pressing force. This allows you to change the characteristics of the instrument's sound.

Also in synthesizers with this function, it is often possible to completely turn off the active mechanics and play on a “passive” keyboard. This can be useful for making certain voices, such as harpsichord or organ, sound realistic.

— Unweighted. Keys with a very low pressing force, literally "failing" under the fingers. This option is well suited for inexpensive synthesizers with passive mechanics (see above), but is rarely used in active models — a small resistance force makes it difficult to choose the optimal pressing force.

— Semi- weighted. Medium-strength keys, not up to the hardness of a full-fledged piano, but showing noticeably more resistance than unweighted ones. This variant is most popular among instruments with active mechanics (see above) — the force on the keys provides adequate feedback and at the same time playing such an instrument does not cause any special difficulties even for those who previously dealt only with unweighted keyboards.

— Weighted. Keys with high actuation force, comparable to that of a classical piano. Used only in professional hammer action instruments (see above) — high rigidity is a must for such mechanics (more precisely, for the response that it must provide).

The polyphony supported by a synthesizer, in other words, is the number of “voices” (tone generators) that can simultaneously sound on it.

This parameter is often described as the number of notes that can be played simultaneously on the keyboard. However, this is not entirely true due to the fact that in many timbres one note can activate several tone generators. As a result, for example, to play a chord of 3 notes in a timbre with 4 tone generators per note, polyphony of at least 3 * 4=12 voices is required. In addition, Auto Accompaniment and Preset Songs (see related sections) also use tone generators, requiring even more voices to work effectively with these features.

The minimum value for a more or less functional modern synthesizer is polyphony for 32 voices — and even then such an instrument can be used mainly for initial training and simple melodies. For a more solid application, it is desirable to have at least 50 – 60 voices, and in professional models (in particular, workstations where you have to deal with several audio tracks at once), there are models with polyphony for 150 tone generators or more.

In general, a more advanced synthesizer is likely to have more extensive polyphony, however, it is only possible to evaluate the class of an instrument by this parameter very approximately — instruments with the same number of voices can differ greatly in level. The only exception to this rule are children's synthesizers (see "T...ype"), which support up to 20 voices.

The number of built-in sounds provided in the synthesizer.

The number of timbres is often described as the number of instruments that a given model can imitate. However, this is not entirely true — rather, this parameter can be called "the number of instruments and sound effects." For example, the same instrument — an electric guitar — with different "gadgets" (distortion, overdrive) will sound differently, and in the synthesizer each such gadget will be considered a separate timbre. The “drums” timbre usually combines different types of drums and other percussion instruments — in other words, it allows you to portray both the “bass drum” and the cymbals without switching settings, just by pressing the desired keys. And some timbres may not have analogues among real instruments at all.

The more built-in timbres, the more extensive the possibilities of the synthesizer, the more diverse the sounds that can be extracted from it. At the same time, in high-end models like workstations (see "Type"), this number can reach 1000 or even more.

The number of memory slots for user tones provided in the synthesizer.

For Voices in general, see “Preset Voices” above. User timbres are sound settings that were not originally provided in the synthesizer's memory and are created by the user according to their preferences. This feature is indispensable in cases where the built-in set of timbres does not contain the necessary options. However, the capabilities of the User Voices may vary from model to model. So, one instrument only allows you to edit and supplement existing timbres (for example, add a “wah-wah” effect to a bass guitar and save such a bunch as a user setting), another makes it possible to set the sound parameters almost manually, and the third even allows you to load timbres through USB (see below).

The more user timbres in the synthesizer, the more personal “instruments” you can register in its memory.

The presence of the auto accompaniment function in the synthesizer.

This function allows the instrument to automatically play an accompaniment melody that you can play along with the main part on the keyboard. At the same time, the left hand of the musician can control the accompaniment: it is enough to take a chord on the left half of the keyboard, and the auto accompaniment will automatically “decompose” it into instrument parts that sound in accompaniment. Thus, the musician turns into a "man-orchestra": one synthesizer can replace the whole ensemble, or at least a solid part of the ensemble. Of course, the sound quality in such models can be different, and not every synthesizer with accompaniment is suitable for an event more serious than a children's party, although there are quite advanced models.

In addition, playing to accompaniment can also be useful for educational purposes: it contributes to the development of general technique, a sense of rhythm, and additional accompaniment is very convenient during improvisation exercises.

It should be taken into account that not only the sound quality, but also the number of accompaniment styles (melodies) can be different; and some models allow you to record your own melodies. See below for more details on these features.

The number of auto accompaniment styles (see above) originally provided in the synthesizer, in other words, the number of accompaniment options available to the user.

The more extensive this set, the higher the probability of finding among these melodies suitable options for a particular case. At the same time, the abundance of styles in itself is not yet a 100% guarantee that among them there will be a suitable one, especially since different synthesizer models can differ markedly in a specific set of melodies. So the list does not hurt to clarify before buying. Also note that the situation can be corrected by user styles (see below) — many synthesizers with auto accompaniment support them.