Popup
Joined: 17/06/10
Posts: 56
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A nice palette of hardware synthesis
#845641 - 09/07/10 08:36 PM
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While polishing off some remaining rack spaces recently I came to the conclusion that I
would like to have a classic, value based examples of each of the various types of
synthesis that have come about to give me a nice wide palette of sound. So can
anyone offer me some wisdom as to which models are worthy of consideration or just
favorites..... within limits! - Has to be rackmount (up to 2U) -
Ideally not too rare and bargains are good! I got a FS1R the other day and
would like to think that I have FM covered in part at least  Any other ideas or wisdom?
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The Elf
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Joined: 14/08/01
Posts: 8138
Loc: Sheffield, UK
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#845652 - 09/07/10 09:42 PM
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Analogue VCO: Roland MKS-80 Analogue DCO: Roland MKS-70 FM: Yamaha TX-802 S+S: Kurzweil K-series, Korg Wavestation SR, Roland JV-series Virtual Analogue:
Normally I'd say Roland JP-8080, but a Novation Supernova 2 would take up less rack space
and is also very good. These are all find-able, if your patience and budget
will run to it. HTH! 
-------------------- An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.
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BJG145
Joined: 06/08/05
Posts: 2146
Loc: Norwich UK
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#845696 - 10/07/10 08:11 AM
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A Kawai K5000R would cross off Additive nicely...if you can find one...
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vinyl_junkie
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Joined: 24/06/03
Posts: 1436
Loc: Kent, UK
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#845749 - 10/07/10 06:00 PM
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Waldorf Microwave 1 Hybrid Analogue/Digital Wavetable synth basically a PPG
Waldorf
Microwave XT/2 > Digital Wavetabe synth
Korg Wavestation A/D Digital Vector
Synth
Clavia Nord Modular mk1/Waldorf Q Rack/Waldorf Micro Q > Virtual Analogue
Roland MKS-50/MKS-80 > Nice DCO analogue
Novation Bass Station/Suber Bass
Station/Waldorf Pulse > Modern DCO Analogue synths
Roland D-550 > LA Synth
Roland JV5080 > S&S Synth
Yamaha TX81Z > PROPER gritty 4op FM Synth
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BJG145
Joined: 06/08/05
Posts: 2146
Loc: Norwich UK
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#845753 - 10/07/10 06:19 PM
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FS1R -> TX802 -> TX81Z. I love the progression here!
An MKS80 is going
to be out of most people's pockets. I wonder if we can think of any great lo-fi modules
with analogue circuitry. A Cheetah MS6, or an ESQ-M maybe...? Don't see many of those
about.
How about a sampler? There's an ASR10R in reader's ads that Timbaland
would be glad of.
(I've always thought the ATC-1 was a pretty cool
rackmount.)
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vinyl_junkie
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Joined: 24/06/03
Posts: 1436
Loc: Kent, UK
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#845755 - 10/07/10 06:34 PM
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MKS-50's are pretty cheap aren't they though, I have the keyboard version and it's a
lovely warm synth...Yea the ATC1's are cool and considering one my self at the moment.
To be honest I want a Pulse, Microwave 1 or ATC1...just none for sale at the moment
at a sensible price other than the Pulse but the other two interest me more
Akai S-950 and the Ensoniq EPS are dope sounding cheap samplers
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jrbcm
Joined: 13/05/05
Posts: 925
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: BJG145]
#845768 - 10/07/10 08:29 PM
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Quote BJG145:
A Kawai K5000R
would cross off Additive nicely...if you can find one...
+1
... took me a while to find
one, and it's a little gem 
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Popup
Joined: 17/06/10
Posts: 56
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#845776 - 10/07/10 09:48 PM
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Loads of goodness here. I am having a great time looking it all up
Really liking the idea of a Kurzweil. When I got my JD800 15 years or so ago, I remember
wanting a JD990 then wanting a K2500. It all came flooding back...
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flo
Joined: 15/10/05
Posts: 271
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#847296 - 17/07/10 04:29 PM
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Lots of great suggestions! I could add the Korg EX8000 which is a 'hybrid' (but
not at all in the same ballpark as the lovely microwave I). i saw your other thread about
'percussive synth' and the waldorf would be fantastic for this. Loads of blippy sounds and
good at many other things. Back to the korg ;-). Has digital waveforms (the
usual ones and few 'instrument' ones which are, well, quite special), nice modulation, an
analog filter and a digital reverb. Cool synth and if you are patient you will find one
rather cheap. Have fun!!
-------------------- http://soundcloud.com/schmuckfenster
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The Elf
active member
Joined: 14/08/01
Posts: 8138
Loc: Sheffield, UK
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: BJG145]
#847304 - 17/07/10 05:25 PM
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[pedantry]The MKS-80 is actually VCO, not DCO.[/pedantry] I
believed the MKS-50 was DCO-based? If I wanted some budget analogue poly action
I'd maybe look to the Cheeta MS6 or the Oberheim Matrix 1000. Although MKS-80s
don't go for pocket-money prices I think they are better value for money that many
VCO-based synths, such as the likes of Oberheims, JP-6/8 and Prophet 5s. If you
want to keep costs down then there really is no need to shell out for the MPG-80
programmer, as long as you know what you are trying to achieve.
-------------------- An Eagle for an Emperor, A Kestrel for a Knave.
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BJG145
Joined: 06/08/05
Posts: 2146
Loc: Norwich UK
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#847310 - 17/07/10 07:43 PM
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I'd like to try out an Oberheim sometime...the Matrix 1000 is a bit of a classic, and the
Marion MSR-2 is also on my watch list.
Off-topic, I was intrigued to read
about the "Dead Presidents Society" in a recent issue of Electronic Musician. Apparently
various luminaries including Tom Oberheim, Don Buchla, Roger Linn, Dave Smith and others
meet up weekly at a Californian coffee shop. I want to gatecrash that.
http://emusician.com/interviews/feature/genius_bar/
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Popup
Joined: 17/06/10
Posts: 56
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#847326 - 17/07/10 10:53 PM
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Well, I have added another to the mix. An Oberheim Matrix 1000 has moved in Trouble
is, I feel I could never say 'that's analogue covered' because it never could be..  but, I
must keep control.
Here is what is living there now and maybe you can help
fill in the gaps or choose to replace any bad eggs.
Vsynth and JD800
Keyboards (going to sell JD as no room)
Roland JV1080 (4x card things)
Roland VariOS (running either Vocal designer or D50 cards)
Roland Fantom XR
Yamaha FS1R
Oberheim Matrix 1000
Access Virus B
Only 2 rack
spaces left, room on desk top maybe 2 desktop units and still need some kind of crazy
drum/percussion creating synth in there too.
Having loads of fun doing
this, thanks for all the help and ideas so far
I drift through most styles of music so there is no real focus. It is just diversity
that I crave!
Edited by Popup (17/07/10 10:53 PM)
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BJG145
Joined: 06/08/05
Posts: 2146
Loc: Norwich UK
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#847341 - 18/07/10 08:46 AM
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That's a pretty good haul. There's another synthesis model we haven't mentioned yet, which
is physical modelling. Examples include the Technics SX-WSA1R
and the Yamaha VL1M - both quite rare, especially the Yamaha. (These are
pretty chunky though, might be more than 2U, as are some of the modules listed above.)
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BJG145
Joined: 06/08/05
Posts: 2146
Loc: Norwich UK
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#847355 - 18/07/10 09:40 AM
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PS...just spotted on eBay, the SY77/TG77 has a reputation for being a deep synth
which is almost impossible to program. SY77s regularly go for less than DX7s, which is
daft from a sound perspective. Might well go for a bargain price - less than this VL1M
anyway...)
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vinyl_junkie
active member
Joined: 24/06/03
Posts: 1436
Loc: Kent, UK
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#847699 - 19/07/10 06:27 PM
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Oh noes not the Matrix 1000 lol I hate that thing, sloppy slow envelopes and boring DCO
sound, not dissing DCO's but this one smells lol..nothing like the Oberheim's of the day
imo. No patch edit from the front panel really gets up my nose too, this is at least
where the Matrix 6 was better at. Different strokes for different folks i guess
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MarkOne
Joined: 15/02/07
Posts: 950
Loc: Bristol, England, Earth, Perus...
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#847703 - 19/07/10 06:36 PM
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For pure analogue goodness, if you can find one a Studio Electronics SE1-X
-------------------- New album 'Fantasy Bridge' available now!
Making of Fantasy Bridge Diary
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tomafd
Joined: 03/10/05
Posts: 3468
Loc: uk
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#847713 - 19/07/10 07:02 PM
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Also hard to find, and probably for too much money that it's really worth ... and, not,
strictly speaking, analogue (but then neither is the tx802 or tx81z) but one of these will
offer you a different kind of sound- neither 'Prophet 5' nor quite as digital-sounding as
later synths based on the same principles. My keyboard version still going strong. 
-------------------- http://anotherfineday.bandcamp.com/ http://anotherfineday.co.uk http://apollomusic.co.uk
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Popup
Joined: 17/06/10
Posts: 56
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: vinyl_junkie]
#847723 - 19/07/10 08:04 PM
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My matrix seems to smell ok It has 6
notes and cost 200 notes and seemed to get way more thumbs up than down no matter how hard
I internetted'd it. Mind you, I like the sound of the SID chip too so my tastes may be
somewhat skewed.
I would swap it out though if something trumped it on all
counts of course.
The VL1M and Physical modelling would have to be an
ingredient for sure!
all the Studio Electronic gear sounds good to me!
...In fact, just how many different types of synthesis are there in total?!
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Shreddie
Joined: 16/01/08
Posts: 319
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#847843 - 20/07/10 11:45 AM
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Quote Popup:
...In fact, just
how many different types of synthesis are there in total?!
How long is a piece of string?! There's loads!
But it depends on how you look at it... Some might consider one manufacturers
version of S+S a different form of synthesis to another manufacturers version of S+S...
And the synthesis engines might be different enough for that to be considered true. But at
the other end of the scale, some might say that there are only two kinds of synthesis,
subtractive and additive.
The main ones that most people will accept are
probably Sampling/sample based, Analogue and virtual analogue, FM, Physical modelling,
Additive and Wavetable... There are numerous variants of all of those. As an example,
vector synthesis is a variant of sample based sysnthesis... And technically so is
wavetable.
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fay spook
Joined: 09/09/09
Posts: 282
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Re: A nice palette of hardware synthesis
[Re: Popup]
#847846 - 20/07/10 12:02 PM
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I also recommend Kawai K5000R. Ive got one and it is a pain to program but it sounds
unique.
Waldorf MWII, sounds great and is easy to program.
How about some EMU
rack S&S, Audity, Orbit etc?
Finally I have a Casio VZ10M, sounds unique-
whatever you do it has a "plastic" sheen.
There is a lot of unique sounding
kit but you have to think how easy it is to work with, my Kawai gets used but I dont
program it much. The MW gets used and programmed a lot more. I am sure an XT would be
easier still.
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