P
porphyrous
New member
Hello....
I'm new here, so I thought I would give my thoughts on some of the units I'm owning right now. Feel free to support me or yell me down, just want to put some ideas in people's heads.
The greatest thing about all of these synths is price: Most can be had for under $250 used, a couple for less than $100.
Master keyboard: Alesis QS-6 (1998, paid $710 new from Kraft Music)
This is a good sounding all-around sample playback synth, with decent presets and lots of good ROM cards to add on. The keyboard feels good, one of the best in its price range. It's not the easiest to program, though, and the effects are nearly incomprehensible. But a good workhorse synth. Can be had used for around $350.
Oberheim Matrix 1000 (1988, paid $250 used on eBay)
A 1-U updated version of the Matrix 6, with 800 presets added to the 200 memory patches. Great 6-voice 2-oscillator analog synth, a wonderful addition to any rack. Only programmable via an editor/librarian, and a lot of the patches only demonstrate their usefulness if you use the mod wheel other MIDI controls.
Ensoniq ESQ-M (1986, paid $150 used on eBay)
This 2-U hybrid synth (wavetable digital w/ analog filters and envelopes) is the rackmount version of the ESQ-1, a great-sounding but famously flaky keyboard. Later units are best. Compared to most units of the era, very easy to program. Adds a great grungy dirty angle to your sound.
Yamaha TX-81Z (1988, paid $60 used on eBay)
Perhaps the least expensive synth that is still useful in your set-up. Everyone should have at least one FM synth, and this 4-operator 1-U guy will fit the bill. FM synths are notoriously difficult to program, but thankfully there are bushel-baskets of sound patches out there for download. Cold and crisp, nothing does metallic sounds better, and FM electric pianos have nearly made everyone forget about Rhodes and Wurlitzer. This unit is the rackmount version of the DX-9, I believe.
Roland R-8M (1989, paid $130 used on eBay)
The Roland R-8 was perhaps the best drum machine ever made, topped only by samplers for flexibility and sound quality. Rackmounted drum machines are comparatively rare, but the R-8M is a good one. 67 classic 16-bit PCM samples built in, and it will take up to 3 ROM cards at once (the R-8 only takes one). Plus you can mix and match sounds from internal and external ROMs into the same drum kits. Includes the infamously inscrutable Roland programming interface, so an editor/librarian will help immensely.
Alesis NanoPiano (1999, paid $119 new on eBay)
Take Alesis's gorgeous 16 MB Stereo Grand Q-card, add some related keyboard-type sounds, and put it in a 1/3-U box with minimal controls, and you have a NanoPiano. Buy it purely for the stereo piano patches and for the size -- it's difficult to get from photos exactly how small this thing is -- not for the other patches, though, which sound like QS leftovers. Packed in a nice metal case. Can go for as low as $80 used on eBay.
Roland Juno-60 (1982, paid $30 used on eBay)
Yep, that's not a typo. I paid $30 for it -- it wasn't working, but it is now and it's really worth about 10 times that price. One of the very first of the Juno line of 1-oscillator DCO-driven analog synths. The greatest thing about it is all those sliders, plus several dozen patch memories. The downside is that it is pre-MIDI, but a Kenton MIDI-to-DCB converter can take care of that. The keyboard feels fragile and flimsy, but it's still working. To me, the Juno-60 is the happy medium among the early Junos. The Juno-6 had no patch storage and no external control. The more popular and common Juno 106 has a very good MIDI implementation, but in spite of supposedly having the same synth engine in it, nearly everyone seems to agree that the Juno-60 sounds superior to the 106 for some unknown reason. Expect to pay around $300 used for a decent one under normal circumstances.
Wurlitzer 200 (1971, paid $75 used in local shop)
What the?!? Yep, a real Wurly electric piano. This particular model dominates the albums of Supertramp. This 60 pound retro monster is a joy to play. The keyboard is wonderfully weighted, with all-wood real piano-hammer action. You can't really appreciate this instrument through a sampler or a synth. After you play the real thing, you'll know why electric piano patches still show up in nearly every synth made. The drawbacks? What a bitch to service. Tuning is a nightmare of tedium (each reed must be removed from the unit first, then little bits of solder either added or filed off) and definitely left to a qualified technician. The one I bought had a blown amp and lost of missing cosmetic parts, but the mechanicals were nearly perfect. In the wild, expect to pay anywhere from $600 to $1200 depending on the condition and the color (black ones are less valuable than colored ones).
Yamaha DD-5 (1988, paid $40 used on eBay)
As a musical instrument, the DD-5 is a useless toy. But check out that MIDI out. Yep, this is the cheapest MIDI drum controller to be had in the history of the world. Programming the pads takes patience, and it's all lost if you turn it off, but hey, for $40 what do you want?
Please share your thoughts with me, especially if you also are into vintage equipment. Thanks!
I'm new here, so I thought I would give my thoughts on some of the units I'm owning right now. Feel free to support me or yell me down, just want to put some ideas in people's heads.
The greatest thing about all of these synths is price: Most can be had for under $250 used, a couple for less than $100.
Master keyboard: Alesis QS-6 (1998, paid $710 new from Kraft Music)
This is a good sounding all-around sample playback synth, with decent presets and lots of good ROM cards to add on. The keyboard feels good, one of the best in its price range. It's not the easiest to program, though, and the effects are nearly incomprehensible. But a good workhorse synth. Can be had used for around $350.
Oberheim Matrix 1000 (1988, paid $250 used on eBay)
A 1-U updated version of the Matrix 6, with 800 presets added to the 200 memory patches. Great 6-voice 2-oscillator analog synth, a wonderful addition to any rack. Only programmable via an editor/librarian, and a lot of the patches only demonstrate their usefulness if you use the mod wheel other MIDI controls.
Ensoniq ESQ-M (1986, paid $150 used on eBay)
This 2-U hybrid synth (wavetable digital w/ analog filters and envelopes) is the rackmount version of the ESQ-1, a great-sounding but famously flaky keyboard. Later units are best. Compared to most units of the era, very easy to program. Adds a great grungy dirty angle to your sound.
Yamaha TX-81Z (1988, paid $60 used on eBay)
Perhaps the least expensive synth that is still useful in your set-up. Everyone should have at least one FM synth, and this 4-operator 1-U guy will fit the bill. FM synths are notoriously difficult to program, but thankfully there are bushel-baskets of sound patches out there for download. Cold and crisp, nothing does metallic sounds better, and FM electric pianos have nearly made everyone forget about Rhodes and Wurlitzer. This unit is the rackmount version of the DX-9, I believe.
Roland R-8M (1989, paid $130 used on eBay)
The Roland R-8 was perhaps the best drum machine ever made, topped only by samplers for flexibility and sound quality. Rackmounted drum machines are comparatively rare, but the R-8M is a good one. 67 classic 16-bit PCM samples built in, and it will take up to 3 ROM cards at once (the R-8 only takes one). Plus you can mix and match sounds from internal and external ROMs into the same drum kits. Includes the infamously inscrutable Roland programming interface, so an editor/librarian will help immensely.
Alesis NanoPiano (1999, paid $119 new on eBay)
Take Alesis's gorgeous 16 MB Stereo Grand Q-card, add some related keyboard-type sounds, and put it in a 1/3-U box with minimal controls, and you have a NanoPiano. Buy it purely for the stereo piano patches and for the size -- it's difficult to get from photos exactly how small this thing is -- not for the other patches, though, which sound like QS leftovers. Packed in a nice metal case. Can go for as low as $80 used on eBay.
Roland Juno-60 (1982, paid $30 used on eBay)
Yep, that's not a typo. I paid $30 for it -- it wasn't working, but it is now and it's really worth about 10 times that price. One of the very first of the Juno line of 1-oscillator DCO-driven analog synths. The greatest thing about it is all those sliders, plus several dozen patch memories. The downside is that it is pre-MIDI, but a Kenton MIDI-to-DCB converter can take care of that. The keyboard feels fragile and flimsy, but it's still working. To me, the Juno-60 is the happy medium among the early Junos. The Juno-6 had no patch storage and no external control. The more popular and common Juno 106 has a very good MIDI implementation, but in spite of supposedly having the same synth engine in it, nearly everyone seems to agree that the Juno-60 sounds superior to the 106 for some unknown reason. Expect to pay around $300 used for a decent one under normal circumstances.
Wurlitzer 200 (1971, paid $75 used in local shop)
What the?!? Yep, a real Wurly electric piano. This particular model dominates the albums of Supertramp. This 60 pound retro monster is a joy to play. The keyboard is wonderfully weighted, with all-wood real piano-hammer action. You can't really appreciate this instrument through a sampler or a synth. After you play the real thing, you'll know why electric piano patches still show up in nearly every synth made. The drawbacks? What a bitch to service. Tuning is a nightmare of tedium (each reed must be removed from the unit first, then little bits of solder either added or filed off) and definitely left to a qualified technician. The one I bought had a blown amp and lost of missing cosmetic parts, but the mechanicals were nearly perfect. In the wild, expect to pay anywhere from $600 to $1200 depending on the condition and the color (black ones are less valuable than colored ones).
Yamaha DD-5 (1988, paid $40 used on eBay)
As a musical instrument, the DD-5 is a useless toy. But check out that MIDI out. Yep, this is the cheapest MIDI drum controller to be had in the history of the world. Programming the pads takes patience, and it's all lost if you turn it off, but hey, for $40 what do you want?
Please share your thoughts with me, especially if you also are into vintage equipment. Thanks!