Synthesizer Gear Porn ;-)

[markwoll]

Sort of begs to be turned into one of those odd 10 hour youtube vids.

[hFx]

Sort of begs to be turned into one of those odd 10 hour youtube vids.

...maybe there already exists a complete from-dawn-till-dusk video

[Progbear]

While we’re on the subject, what about Michael Iceberg?

[Gizmotron]

I was thinking about picking up an Alesis SR 18 from a local Craigs List dude who's offering it for $170 in excellent condition. Good reviews on this unit - any thoughts on alternatives for adding drum sounds for recording purposes or should I jump on it? Thanks.

I've not used one but isn't it considered a classic?

[hFx]

Back on track with some gear porn! Moroder meets Jarre meets Wakeman

[hFx]

Some Jarre'sk fanfare-style

[Rarebird]

Some Jarre'sk fanfare-style

That Schmidt synthesizer makes my mouth water. Everything else as well. If I only won the jackpot in the lottery...

[Buddhabreath]

I've not used one but isn't it considered a classic?

That's my impression, at least a classic in the "inexpensive drum machine" category.

[Buddhabreath]

Oscar Salas updated this version of the Trautonium, first developed by the electrical engineer Freidrich Trautwein in Germany in 1930, there was a commercial version credited as the fist mass marketed electronic musical instrument (at least by the BBC). It was later used by Alfred Hitchcock to make electronic bird sounds in his film “The Birds”. It is a predecessor of the ondes martinet of Messiaen fame (previous post). The composer Paul Hindemith is known among other things for his several short trios written for the instrument. I’d love to have one.

[Progbear]

I've not used one but isn't it considered a classic?

Just because something is considered “a classic” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any good (Roland TB-303 anyone?).

[Rarebird]

Just because something is considered “a classic” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any good (Roland TB-303 anyone?).

It's popular in certain kinds of music, so it's good for that kind of music. I used to own one. Alas I sold it, before it really became popular.

[dannyrichardson]

Previously, I used the (discontinued) M-Audio Keystation 88-Pro, which has plenty of assignable knobs, buttons, sliders and pedal jacks. Now, my Prophet-12 doubles as an excellent MIDI controller

That's awesome! I use my Fantom FA 08 as MIDI controller and use my Prophet 12 for its own sounds. Love them both! There are so many good options for MIDI controllers now that it's crazy.

[Progology]

Just because something is considered “a classic” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s any good (Roland TB-303 anyone?).

The TB-303 is one of the Roland boxes that helped give birth to modern techno, acid, and trance (along with the TR-808). Good is subjective. Lots of people love those boxes.

[dropforge]

The comments...

[interbellum]

An older, yet now current clip featuring Mattias Olsson:

[hippypants]

This was fun and informative if you're a synth head.

[Top Cat]

This was fun and informative if you're a synth head.

I really like Woody's channel a lot.
Roland D50 and Korg Wavestation EX are still in my home studio, bought them new in the late 80's and 1990.
While not presently in constant use, I do bring them out from time to time to play and sometimes record a track or two with them.
These 2 are keepers and aren't going anywhere. I recently had to have all the output jacks on the Korg re-soldered. The Korg Prophecy, Wavestation and 01W series all suffered from poor solder joints on the outputs and are known to have intermittent sound cutting in/out when they go bad.
My Wavestation also suffered the infamous collapsed keys syndrome which I fixed by straightened the guides and lubricating with lithium grease.
I also own the VST version of the Wavestation which is excellent, but it doesn't compare to the real thing in my opinion.

Thanks for posting this video.

[hippypants]

Yeah, I didn't know of Woody's channel until the other day when doing some searches on synths. He seems pretty smart about what he likes and doesn't, but also explains things in a layman's language. Some of the guys on YT when reviewing a new synth model talk way to much over my head with techo babble.

[Buddhabreath]

Who here would rather have a DX-7 over Nord Lead? Not me!

[Rarebird]

Who here would rather have a DX-7 over Nord Lead? Not me!

Me neither, though the DX-7 has its uses. It was a new concept, though it was hard to program.

[battema]

At this juncture, I'd take a DX7 over a Nord. In fact, I've sometimes eyeballed the Reface DX to get the same basic engine in a much smaller box.

The presets of the DX7, much like the Korg M1 a few years later, quickly went from being the sound of the era then (good) to being the sound of the era in retrospect (bad), but some of Eno's work with the DX7 was really remarkable and I'd enjoy exploring a fairly flexible take on FM synthesis.

[Buddhabreath]

^^^
Interesting. The keyboard player in our 80s basement band had a DX-7 and I fondly remember playing around with it and enjoying some of the etherial sounds it produced. Perhaps I'm biased towards a more analog sound. I see that "Reface DX" is under $300, so yes, kinda tempting.

[pmrviana]

About the DX-7, one of the great things about it is that each operator has its own envelope and these envelopes can be set to evolve very slowly if you want to. And due to the nature of FM synthesis even a small change in one of the operators can radically alter the entire sound, depending on how they are chained together. As a result of this, you can program sounds that go on for minutes without ever repeating. This means you could create an entire piece of music by just pressing and holding one key in the DX-7 and listen to the sound evolve on its own.

[Rarebird]

About the DX-7, one of the great things about it is that each operator has its own envelope and these envelopes can be set to evolve very slowly if you want to. And due to the nature of FM synthesis even a small change in one of the operators can radically alter the entire sound, depending on how they are chained together. As a result of this, you can program sounds that go on for minutes without ever repeating. This means you could create an entire piece of music by just pressing and holding one key in the DX-7 and listen to the sound evolve on its own.

The biggest problem I have with the DX-7 and related synthesizers, like the TX81Z I own, they are pretty hard to program. It has a steep learning curve. Besides I prefer twidling knobs.

[battema]

^^^
Interesting. The keyboard player in our 80s basement band had a DX-7 and I fondly remember playing around with it and enjoying some of the etherial sounds it produced. Perhaps I'm biased towards a more analog sound. I see that "Reface DX" is under $300, so yes, kinda tempting.

Full disclosure, that's kind of the reason I said "at this juncture" in my post At this time, I have a Moog Voyager, Deckards Dream (8-voice analog polysynth CS-80 clone), and a Eurorack system so a Nord isn't something that really offers something I don't already have. Whereas, a DX7 or Reface DX could give me a new window into exploring FM in a fairly involved sort of way. So, that aspect very much appeals to me.

If I didn't already have some analog goodness, my choice might be different. Might