Any love for synthesizers? Whatcha got? Whaddaya want?

[Mars]

There's a 10 year old "wishlist" thread on PH but it has lay dormant for so long, I thought I'd try to gauge interest with a new thread title.

So, who likes synths? What have you got? What do you want?



If there's any interest, I'll follow-up with some pics and details.

[clintonward]

Yamaha TX816 (8 DX7's in a rack) bought from the BBC radiophonic workshop - just awesome
Yamaha KX88 weighted keyboard
Yamaha TX802
Roland MKS-70 and programmer (rack Jupiter 8)
Roland P330
Emax II rack
Alesis DM5 drum rack
Korg Prophecy

and Logic Pro X plus the Arturia SoftSynth collection and a Roland TD-12 V Drum kit

The analog stuff is nice, but you can do pretty much everything in software was more easily sad to say.

[Robertb]

Love synth music (Jon Hopkins and Ulrich Schnauss) but have always found them too complicated to actually use!

I’ve got a Roland JV2080 rack mount unit (which is practically incomprehensible) and a Roland Phantom G which is relatively easy to use but doesn’t sound as good as the JV. The factory sounds on the JV are still stunning.

I’ve a Korg M1 too, which seems to gave scrambled its firmware and doesn’t work properly any more.

[maccboy]

I have find memories of my dad's music shop receiving our first Yamaha FB-01. It was a revelation. I don't suppose anyone here would remember it though.

[Rollin]

I'm still cross about my Juno 6 getting nicked in the late 80s.

[Mars]

I can't play either. I'm a drummer but I have a good ear for tunes, tones and music in general. My parents tried to get me to play the violin when I was 8yo because lessons at school were free and the instrument was affordable for them. I am grateful that they thought about this but after 12 months of hating it, I was allowed to let it go.

I think, had I had the opportunity to play piano, I might have enjoyed that and stuck with it. As it is, I waited until my teens to discover I wanted to hit things.

But, when a Juno 60 came up for sale in the early 90s - one that I knew all 3 of its previous owners - I jumped at it. I still can't play but I can string together sounds to create hooks, riffs and rudimentary tunes which I'd then take into the studio and present to my band who'd squeeze and shape it into songs that we then played and recorded.

I sold the Juno 60 when I ran out of patience with it having no MIDI - a decision I regret now but hey ho...

Over the past few years I bought an electronic drumkit so I can play at home, and I've just been adding sounds ever since.

The main stack - Modal Cobalt 8X, Behringer Poly D, Korg Monologue, Roland JU-06A (modern version of the Juno)



Modal Argon 8X - "sister" to the Cobalt 8X



The three in the middle are Roland JV880 (of the first gen when Roland moved into sample-based machines), Yamaha TX81Z (a DX7 in a box), Kawai K4R (my first band keyboard player had a K1 - mid/late 80s - and it was the coolest thing ever. Still has some decent sounds, particularly pianos)



This is what I normal play with... this or the acoustic kit which is currently stashed under the stairs



Christmas present from my son



How can I tell you I'm single without telling you I'm single?



To be fair, my ex-wife never minded the live kit being set up and played

[Hoofy]

Well, I don't have much because it takes up so much space. My Korg digital piano was a warning that I should not get into this hobby. So the nearest I ever got to synths in the past was a Roland MC-303 - bought when it was first released! I still have it and it still works. There's a lot of hate for it but if you're creative with it, then anything's possible. Let's face it, Carbon Based Lifeforms created a track with it for one of their albums and they mention having it in their synth line-up. So, if it's good enough for CBL...

Anyway, after usings DAWs and virtual synths for nearly two decades but not really enjoying the process, I started getting back into playing with my MC-303 and exploring the limitations for live work ie knob twiddling. Bearing in mind my dislike of how much space synths take up, and not having looked at hardware in over a decade, I was delighted to discover that manufacturers have been creating pocket synths (or thereabouts). So I tried a Behringer TD-3 for a bit and then returned it for a better-built Korg Volca Modular, which I've been dabbling with, exploring the joys of modular synthesis.

To date, I've avoided going down the route of a Eurorack because that could be an expensive, addictive hobby with no end in sight, but I have bought some guitar pedals for some amateurish patching with the MC-303 and Volca Modular.

Anyway, lots of dabbling, twiddling and time-wasting = lots of fun.

[Arrivalist]

Love synths!

Apart from modern keyboards (Nord Grand) I’ve currently got a Korg M1 and a Roland MC-202.

Past keys I’ve owned include Roland RD2000, Octave Cat, Yamaha SK20, Yamaha DX9 and Roland Jupiter 8.

Currently looking at buying either a Moog Muse or Korg MultiPoly and I may trade in my Nord Grand for a Nord Stage 4 at some point.

[Oberheim]

Yes! Particularly vintage synths of the late seventies and eighties. My username provides a hint - but sad to say I’ve never actually owned an Oberheim. It was Dave Greenfied (RIP) who first got me into keyboards and synths. I adore his work with Oberheim 4-voice, 8-voice and OBX synths on albums such as The Raven, The Gospel According to The Men In Black, La Folie and Feline.

I love vintage synths in particular. I still have my Roland D-50 which I bought in 1988 as an 18-year-old who was lucky enough to inherit 2 grand from a great uncle. The D-50 is still mint (been stored in a flight case all its life) despite being gigged a bit in the nineties. I also have a Casio CZ-1000 in the loft. I once owned a Roland Juno 60 and a Jen SX-1000 monosynth - both reluctantly sold when I was strapped for cash after buying my first house.

Other than Oberheims, vintage synths I fantasise about owning are the Roland Jupiter 8, Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 and the Yamaha CS-80. All of them way too expensive to acquire nowadays.

[Mars]

clintonward said:

Yamaha TX816 (8 DX7's in a rack) bought from the BBC radiophonic workshop - just awesome

Oh man - that is an amazing piece of hardware

clintonward said:

Yamaha KX88 weighted keyboard
Yamaha TX802
Roland MKS-70 and programmer (rack Jupiter 8)

Nice one. I've been on the lookout for one of those but they're a bit hard to come by these days.

clintonward said:

Roland P330
Emax II rack
Alesis DM5 drum rack
Korg Prophecy

and Logic Pro X plus the Arturia SoftSynth collection and a Roland TD-12 V Drum kit

Do you play drums too, then?

clintonward said:

The analog stuff is nice, but you can do pretty much everything in software was more easily sad to say.

I really don't like VSTs at all. I find sitting in front of the hardware and just scrolling through the options inspires me.

Robertb said:

Love synth music (Jon Hopkins and Ulrich Schnauss) but have always found them too complicated to actually use!

I’ve got a Roland JV2080 rack mount unit (which is practically incomprehensible) and a Roland Phantom G which is relatively easy to use but doesn’t sound as good as the JV. The factory sounds on the JV are still stunning.

I’ve a Korg M1 too, which seems to gave scrambled its firmware and doesn’t work properly any more.

The JV is from the same family as my 880. I wouldn't even try to edit any of the sounds - I just use what it came with. There are loads of little plug-in circuit boards you can buy to expand the sounds but they sell for ridiculous prices on Reverb. I'll wait until they drop in price I think. At the moment, my 880 and the Kawai are my favourite piano sounds.

When my original keyboard player bought his Kawai K1, he actually wanted the Korg M1 (this was in 1988) but the Korg was too pricey. Nowadays it's hard to find an M1 that's in decent condition so I've been on the lookout for a Korg TR-Rack which just about wraps up all the sounds from the M1 until the TR-Rack came out. There's a couple for sale in Japan but they have 100V power supplies and I can't be arsed with that.

However, there does seem to be a lot of M1 component parts for sale if you ever decide to rebuild yours.

Hoofy said:

Well, I don't have much because it takes up so much space. My Korg digital piano was a warning that I should not get into this hobby. So the nearest I ever got to synths in the past was a Roland MC-303 - bought when it was first released! I still have it and it still works. There's a lot of hate for it but if you're creative with it, then anything's possible. Let's face it, Carbon Based Lifeforms created a track with it for one of their albums and they mention having it in their synth line-up. So, if it's good enough for CBL...

Anyway, after usings DAWs and virtual synths for nearly two decades but not really enjoying the process, I started getting back into playing with my MC-303 and exploring the limitations for live work ie knob twiddling. Bearing in mind my dislike of how much space synths take up, and not having looked at hardware in over a decade, I was delighted to discover that manufacturers have been creating pocket synths (or thereabouts). So I tried a Behringer TD-3 for a bit and then returned it for a better-built Korg Volca Modular, which I've been dabbling with, exploring the joys of modular synthesis.

To date, I've avoided going down the route of a Eurorack because that could be an expensive, addictive hobby with no end in sight, but I have bought some guitar pedals for some amateurish patching with the MC-303 and Volca Modular.

Anyway, lots of dabbling, twiddling and time-wasting = lots of fun.

Synths do take up a lot of space. I've even had my uncle (builder) out to quote me for a dedicated music room. I can't afford it sadly but at least I know what to work towards now.

I've looked at Euroracks too but like you, that's a step too far for me.

Arrivalist said:

Love synths!

Apart from modern keyboards (Nord Grand) I’ve currently got a Korg M1 and a Roland MC-202.

Past keys I’ve owned include Roland RD2000, Octave Cat, Yamaha SK20, Yamaha DX9 and Roland Jupiter 8.

Currently looking at buying either a Moog Muse or Korg MultiPoly and I may trade in my Nord Grand for a Nord Stage 4 at some point.

I reckon a Jupiter 8 is the holy grail still. I saw one on eBay recently advertised for £25K though. Twenty Five Thousand Pounds..!!

[Oberheim]

That’s insane. If only I’d bought a Jupiter 8 in the late eighties or nineties when they would go for a few hundred pounds at most. I bought my Juno 60 for 200 quid in 1995 and sold it for 7 times as much 10 years later. It would go for even more now.

[Hoofy]

Mars said:

I've looked at Euroracks too but like you, that's a step too far for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81fMDyNCljM

"Eurocrack"

One reason why I got the Korg Volca Modular is because there's a random function (woggle, stepped and smooth) that can be applied to any of the modules which makes things interesting (ok choosing random notes doesn't sound that great). Also, there are randomising functions for in-key notes, step and microtuning plus a stochastic step function for semi-randomisation (forward, skip one forward, backwards or repeat). I tend to create ambient/meditative soundscapes these days so the potential is there for interesting creations. Having a few fx pedals also helps to create interesting sounds. I quite like the idea of a tiny device creating its own music but then I enjoy using AI.

PS if you love synths, check out that Audiopilz's videos.

[Mars]

Oberheim said:

That’s insane. If only I’d bought a Jupiter 8 in the late eighties or nineties when they would go for a few hundred pounds at most. I bought my Juno 60 for 200 quid in 1995 and sold it for 7 times as much 10 years later. It would go for even more now.

I'm pretty sure I sold my Juno 60 in 1995 (although for £400) to a chap who came up from London (I was in Solihull at the time). I thought I was doing well selling it for what I'd paid for it 2 years previously. If only I'd been more in touch...

Can't remember where I advertised it. That would have been pre-internet.

My fav synth channels include that Italian chap called Dr Mix, Starsky Carr, Scott's Synth Stuff, and Anderson's Synths.

[Chimune]

Aquired a Korg Ms2000 to go along with my Arturia / Cubase / Analogue Lab V, - plus a Novation Circuit and RC 505.

I dont need anything else apart from time and some talent now.....

[Mars]

Chimune said:

Aquired a Korg Ms2000 to go along with my Arturia / Cubase / Analogue Lab V, - plus a Novation Circuit and RC 505.

I dont need anything else apart from time and some talent now.....

I've watched people use those loopers. Do they sample the sound and play it back or control the source with MIDI?...or both?

[clintonward]

Despite all the hassle with using hardware (and there is a lot what with routing, patching, internal batteries going flat etc) there’s something very special about playing a synth where the latency is so low.

On the TX816 there’s a series of factory patches where they used each of the 8 (!) 32 voice DX7 modules to create part of a sound eg one did a key click, one the attack phase etc. all not phase locked and subtly drifting in both time and thing as only hardware(even if digital) does.

I’ve tried running the same patches in 8 copies of a DX7 soft synth and it’s not even close!

My wish list would include an ARP Quadra and the super rare Korg PS-3300.

I spent much too much time in Rose Morris in Denmark street when I was in college in London.

What a great nostalgia thread!

[Chimune]

Mars said:

Chimune said:

Aquired a Korg Ms2000 to go along with my Arturia / Cubase / Analogue Lab V, - plus a Novation Circuit and RC 505.

I dont need anything else apart from time and some talent now.....

I've watched people use those loopers. Do they sample the sound and play it back or control the source with MIDI?...or both?

They record the sound but key thing is they sync the tempo & loop start to the midi clock of the other instruments - and its own tracks.

[Dbag101]

Somehow, this is still on my wish list. This version, not the upgraded numbers that appeared from 1988.

[Honk]

Had a DX7 and QX7 sequencer.
Still got a Moog Rogue.

[Mars]

Dbag101 said:

Somehow, this is still on my wish list. This version, not the upgraded numbers that appeared from 1988.

I wonder if you can still get disks to fit this.

What was wrong/different about the upgraded one?