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mikeh
New member
The Proteus 1 & 2 were decent synths in thier day. I still have my Proteus 1, which I use for some things. By todays standards the sounds are thin and one dimentional, but like any synth there are some good sound and sounds that suck.
The Proteus 1 has some decent brass sounds (solo trumpet, solo trombone) although the ensemble brass sucks and some decent solo reeds (the saxes are week - although the bari sax is fairly good). There is a decent Hammond and some decent string sounds.
The pads can't compete with the richer tones of newer keys and the drums/percussion are week by todays standards. The pianos don't cut it - although few older synths (with the exceptions of Kurzweil) did piano well.
For $100, I think a Proteus is a great find! However, like with any piece of gear, you need to decide what your prioity need is and then decide if that piece of gear achieves that.
The Proteus 1 has some decent brass sounds (solo trumpet, solo trombone) although the ensemble brass sucks and some decent solo reeds (the saxes are week - although the bari sax is fairly good). There is a decent Hammond and some decent string sounds.
The pads can't compete with the richer tones of newer keys and the drums/percussion are week by todays standards. The pianos don't cut it - although few older synths (with the exceptions of Kurzweil) did piano well.
For $100, I think a Proteus is a great find! However, like with any piece of gear, you need to decide what your prioity need is and then decide if that piece of gear achieves that.
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notbradsohner
Compression Addict
what would you suggest that has better piano sounds? Drums would also be a plus.................
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mikeh
New member
In the $100 range there ain't much with acceptable pianos (that's my humble opinion - but I use either Kurzweil or samples)
I think the Roland JV1010 has better piano than the Proteus (not great, but better than the Proteous) and the drums are better too - I suspect you could find a used one in the $100 range. The JV101 can accept an expansion card (so you could install a piano card - if you can still find one) although the cards would likely cost more than a used 1010.
The plus of the Proteus - it has 6 outs (the JV 1010 only has 2 outs). Depending on how many sounds you plan to trigger and how much seperation you need/want - only 2 outs in limited).
I think the Roland JV1010 has better piano than the Proteus (not great, but better than the Proteous) and the drums are better too - I suspect you could find a used one in the $100 range. The JV101 can accept an expansion card (so you could install a piano card - if you can still find one) although the cards would likely cost more than a used 1010.
The plus of the Proteus - it has 6 outs (the JV 1010 only has 2 outs). Depending on how many sounds you plan to trigger and how much seperation you need/want - only 2 outs in limited).
Todzilla
New member
I think the Roland U-220 has a very serviceable piano sound. The whole module is really pretty great, though dated, and goes for around $100 used.
The downsides: It is only 7 part multitimbral compared to the Proteus's 16 (though they both have 32 voices, as I recall) and the U-220 has a very hostile though typically Roland programming interface. I don't know the programming interface on the Proteus, but my ESI-32 sampler is pretty hostile too.
THe U-220 has 3 pairs of stereo outputs too. The drums are better than Proteus IMHO, although I'll give Proteus the nods in better variety of useable synth tones.
If piano is important, I think the U-220 is your best choice in that price range.
The downsides: It is only 7 part multitimbral compared to the Proteus's 16 (though they both have 32 voices, as I recall) and the U-220 has a very hostile though typically Roland programming interface. I don't know the programming interface on the Proteus, but my ESI-32 sampler is pretty hostile too.
THe U-220 has 3 pairs of stereo outputs too. The drums are better than Proteus IMHO, although I'll give Proteus the nods in better variety of useable synth tones.
If piano is important, I think the U-220 is your best choice in that price range.
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raab
New member
Anybody tried the new proteus computer sound module yet? Saw it in a guitarcenter ad the other day...