Synthesizer for avant-garde contemporary music

Hello, all. I'm looking for my first synth, and although I have searched for some informations, I could not find a suitable one for the sounds I want to create.

I'm into Avant-Garde in general, and it is most likely that I'm going to be doing Avant-Garde Free Jazz with friends, or compose contemporary music - which will probably be the primary purpose of getting the synth. Here are some of the examples of sounds similar to what I want :

youtu.be/TMYDgwNALY8
Pierre Boulez, 'Anthémes II'

youtu.be/JhQ2AZsK7Os
Pierre Boulez, 'Répons'

youtu.be/ePBB-NO8vKg
Karlheinz Stockhausen, 'Oktophonie'

youtu.be/uQ_vGr9U3QY
Karlheinz Stockhausen, 'Kurzwellen'

The price range I'm thinking of is from 700 or cheaper to 1,500 euros, cheaper the better since I'm only beginning and yet a student, who does not have any idea on electronics and sound engineering, so I wish to make this as a chance to step into those things.

37 keys or less would be good, I believe more than that would cost too much?

Thank you very much, I'll be waiting for helpful guides.

>I'm into Avant-Garde in general, and it is most likely that I'm going to be doing Avant-Garde Free Jazz
Christ go fuck yourself

Just use any synth

Why?

Which synth though? Sorry I don't know anything.

What exactly do you mean by 'any' synth? I can't choose for there are so many of them.

You aren't a genius. Anything you make that you think is avant-garde has already been done.

If you know literally nothing about synths, maybe research instead of trying to be spoonfed?

get your hands on a moog

Get a cello

>spoonfed
my favorite weasel word

Koma field kit might work out alright for you

also for the money you mentioned, look into building a modular system

Also I'd look into contact mics and running them through pedals, or if you can get a tape machine and mess around with tape in creative ways.

Short wave radios are also good.

How? OP is literally uneducated on the subject and looking for a handout

Of course. I will be studying contemporary music. And I am indeed sure I know much more than your hipster ass self about it.

I did but did not get any satisfying result.

I played cello indeed but for now I prefer keyboard instrument.

Thank you very much! What do you mean by modular system? Wouldn't it be expensive?

just use anything from ableton live

Yeah modular is expensive, but it would be made to your customs and give you exactly what you need. You'd have to research though.

Honestly, the best way to get into this stuff is mess around with contact mics, effects, feedback and using just oscillators on their own (Stockhausen does this occasionally) just find ways in which using that stuff sounds good to you, and then keep building from there.

Basically, get some techniques going and just experiment, try anything to make interesting sounds.

Also maybe try and find new ways to play instruments, like put pins on the fretboard of a guitar or something.

>And I am indeed sure I know much more than your hipster ass self about it.
>stockhausen, boulez, le list goes on
What's next, you're going to namedrop Cage, Varese and Schoenberg to back your shit up?

My approach would rather be prescriptively theoretic than your dumb ass. Why do you think I gotta back my shit up? Avant-garde is avant-garde. Your bullshit oh-I'm-different-cynicism is what blocks one's creativity.

mate, those guys made their stuff by manipulating tape and sine tone generators. you dont want to go down that road. if youre rich then go modular, if not then learn about max msp. there is no standalone synth thats going to be making rich complex timbral structures of 20th century modernism.

Sounds great. Where do you think I should start from, specifically?

Honestly cello with some pads sounds better and more unique than a synth. Especially when you overlay some sampling on top of it.

Yeah I thought so. I could start from something rather similar though.

Read books about old school industrial. It should give you a pointer where to start.

Old school industrial? You mean as a genre? Do you have a specific one to recommend? Sorry if I'm asking too much.

Yep.
Wreckers of Civilization
Noise//Music
Unofficial Release
Industrial Culture Handbook

There's also a couple I haven't gotten to, like Japanoise: Music at... And Alvin Lucier's writings

Aright. Thank you very much of all this. I'll try and look for them. :)

Most synths can do similar things, if you're a good enough player you should be able to make do.

They should all be pirateable, worst case you can order it from amazon digitally, de-drm and refund. Also read into some interviews and other stuff about industrial in general (the experimental side of it). You can make a song from anything when you manipulatebit enough. Noise//Music goes into some detail on how Aube made whole album from just one sample.

I see. Well I guess I could start with something like Moog 37... who knows.

Sounds impressive. I'll definitely have a look. Thank you.

Check out Peach of Immortality, they played avant garde inspired industrial with a cello, guitar and a tape recorder

I'd say do your research on what type of synthesis attracts you most. Maybe try out a few software synths from the different branches (subtractive, additive, frequency modulation, west-coast, sampling, etc).
There's a lot of stuff out there both new and vintage.
And remember, the studio is also an instrument.

I assume I was not prepared enough to decide in the first place. I'll do more research myself.

try to see if you can go to store and play some, even if you have no intention of buying a particular model. Half of what makes a synth imo is how well it fits into your workflow and you won't know that till you play some. I make completely different music to you so I can't really help you if you're looking for particular sound but if there are certain features you're after I might be of assistance.

Honestly i'd probs start with some raw oscillators. Try getting interesting patterns through there and then spend some time getting loops from other sources to work with it.

Or just start making some noise and see where it takes you, record everything you do. You can always use stuff as sources for later pieces.

Or for more modern (florian hecker) type stuff learn supercollider, can get some wicked sounds from it.

Also, obviously not everyone is gonna dig what you make. But as long as it's interesting to you, then it's fine. There's always someone out there who will enjoy something.

Probably you want to use Max/MSP for this kind of thing.

Why do you think this is a valid point?

I would honestly advise OP to try manipulating field recordings and tapes first. It costs nothing and teaches you a lot about sound and what can you do with it. Synth can come later.