I know everyone here will hate me, but I don’t own a synth. I want one real bad, but the internet sucks and all I can find is stupid stuff like stage pianos and workstations. The catches are, I’m on a tight budget and I want it to have that great new wave/analog sound. It doesn’t neccisarily have to be a Moog, but that would be cool. Do you guys know any that I should look at or some sites that would be helpful? Your assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Well, if you want cheap analog, you can always hunt down a Roland JX3P, Korg Poly 6, Oberheim Matrix 6 (or 1000), or any number of others. If you really want Moog, there is the Satellite(I know..), or MG–1. The Moog Prodigy and Source are both really nice, but the price is about twice of what you’d pay for some of the above listed synths.
You can find all of these synths on Ebay (though you may have to wait on a Satellite to be listed).
Hi!
To be able to recommend a synthesizer I think you need to answer this questions.
- Do you want a monophonic (one note at a time) or polyphonic (being able to play chords) synthesizer?
- Must it necessary have to be a real analogue or would a virtual analogue work?
- Are you looking for keyboard or rack version?
- Should the sizer have knobs, sliders to edit the sounds or can you settle using some buttons and a display to edit you sounds?
- How much are you willing to pay?
Kind regards
Demokid
- polyphonic is cool but, but monophonic would be fine I think (I mostly want basses, leads, and noises).
- Real analogues are perfered, but a realistic digital might be okay.
- Keyboard.
- I like lots of knobs, so I can tweak sounds as I play. I know some Rolands have an expandable thing with all the sliders, that would be fine.
- $400 at most, but I’ve been looking at the $200-$300 range more. I work at Sonic, so I’m in a bit of a bind for any real cash.
I’ve been looking at the ARP Odyssey, and the Moog/Realistic Concertmate, and they look pretty good. Please provide pros and cons of both these synths.
What’s that about?
Hi!
Here are a list of monophonic and polyphonic sizers that don’t cost a fortune are quit stable. The list only has sizers that cost under $400.
Monophonic:
- Sequential Circuits Pro~One. Maybe the best monosynth ever. Lots of possibilities and sounds great. Basically the same sound generation as Prophet~5 Rev 3.)
- Roland SH101. Fun little synth with sequencer, arpeggiator and guitar strap-on)
- Roland SH2. Sound really warm
- Yamaha CS15. Can make really cool sounds.
- Roland ProMars MRS-2. A one voice Jupiter-4. Basic but sounds great and has memories.
Polyphonic:
- Roland Juno-60. Sounds good even with only one DCO, no MIDI.
- Korg Polysix. Very basic but sounds expensive thanks to SSM VCO/VCF, no MIDI.
- Akai AX60. Harsh and cold sounding but can produce some great Fx/bass/lead sounds.
- Sequential Prophet~600. Warm sounding with 2 VCOs, arpeggiator/sequencer, MIDI. Envelopes are slow. Bass sounds with fast attack are not possible.
- Roland Juno-106. The filter doesn’t sound as good as Juno-60, good MIDI implementation.
- Kawai SX-240. Sounds ok can make some interesting sounds and has MIDI.
More info:
http://www.vintagesynth.com/
Regards
Demokid
Why would we hate you for not owning a synth - especially when you want to get your hands on one?
I don’t know. Certain groups of people (especially some musicians) don’t like new-comers. I’m very glad to know this isn’t one of those groups.
Thanks alot to Demokid and Goom. You guys have been quite helpful.
This seems to be a nice group of people here so im gunna hop in and ask a question if you guys dont mind. Ive been heavy into guitar for about 9 years. But i recently started listening to this new band i love, they are called Motion City Soundtrack. Anyway all i know is they are into synth behind there guitar or between it. And absolutely love the sound they have. And i want to get into this stuff but i have no clue where to start. If anyone knows what they sound like that might help in recommending me where to start. The only way i know how to describe it is they have a higher pitched synth sound.
Thanks in advance - Blake
endocrine:
I’ll personally would go for a Pro~One since it sounds great, warm and fat and has a lot of modulation possibilities, arpeggiator and more. If I would by my first polyphonic sizer and didn’t need MIDI then I go for a Juno-60. The Ju-60 has a nice keyboard, looks retro and is quit stable.
Good luck!
If you have more questions don’t hesitate to ask us!
Regards
Demokid
By the way I’m not interested in midi at all.
To Blake: I’m sure these guys know alot more than me about good synth bands, but I would have to recomend The Espionage-formerly known as Alabama Jihad (www.alabamajihad.tk), Zom Zoms (www.tubezomzoms.com), and for an all synthesizer kick in the face Yip Yip (www.yipyip.com…maybe. Look it up yourself. It’s easy).
To Everyone: www.keytarmusic.com
I know its not really synth but it’s really cheesey and pretty amazing too.
Hello,
For the $400.00 range you gave, there is the Moog Rogue, the Concertmate (many who use the MG-1 are on this forum and can give more info), also the Oberheim OB-1 (versatile and often slept-on).
A fully serviced Odyssey would run considerably higher. I’ve seen them go for between $900-$1200 USD.
They do appear in the $400-$500 range when the unit requires maintainence (which usually means the sliders need cleaning and lubing).
Other things that may need to be addressed (as with any board not recently serviced) are a keybed cleaning and cal.
Regards,
LWG
How much different is the Pro One over the Moog Source. Which is more flexible, I have a Source but some of the statements about the Pro One are intriguing.
I have not tested a Moog Source but I have a Model D. People say Source is the closes to a Minimoog you can get.
I own two Pro~One’s and I just love them. They sound really warm, fat and organic and have a bit of that moog sound. But the best thing about the Pro~One is its modulation possibilities. It has a modulation matrix with three sources and five destinations.
Sources:
VCF Envelope, OSC-B and LFO, each with a knob to set amount and switches to set direct or via mod-wheel.
Destinations:
OSC-A pitch, OSC-A PW, OSC-B pitch, OSC-B PW and Filter, each with a switch to set Direct/mod-wheel or Off.
If that’s not enough you have sync, and OSC-B can act as LFO and be disconnected from keyboard CV. Add to that a fun arpeggiator and a sequencer with 40 steps and two tracks that can be pitched by keyboard or CV/GATE in.
Regards
Demokid
the Pro One and Kuzweil K2000 is definately on my to be aquired list, I have a good lead on a Prophet V as well. As soon as I get my Source back it is time to get serious with it.
Prophet~5 is a great sizer!! Check the revision before you buy. I never tested a Prophet~5 Rev. 1 or Rev. 2 but people say it sounds better but it is also more unstable and can be hard/expensive to fix.
Revision 3 is much more stable but still sounds great and it has some other nice thing. Here is how you check the revision.
Rev 1 (s/n 0001-0182).
SSM chips, 40 memories, on/off switch on front panel, oak wood case.
Rev 2 (s/n 0183-12xx).
On/Off on rear, auto-tune, edit switches on front panel, walnut wood case.
Rev 3 (s/n 1300-2285).
Redesign of the electronics using Curtis chips.
Rev 3.1 (2286-2423)
Cassette interface, A440 tone, single trig in unison, automatic entry of edit mode as soon as you move a knob.
Rev 3.2 (s/n 2424-xxxx)
Analogue and digital sockets for Sequential sequencer on back panel.
Rev 3.3 (s/n ?)
120 memories
Rev 3.31
MIDI as standard.
My P5 is a Rev 3.2 that I have updated to a Rev 3.31 giving me 120 memories and MIDI.
I hope the P5 is in good condition, might be expensive to fix. I just bought $205 worth of control panel pots and switches for one of my Pro~Ones from Wine Country!!
Parts for Sequential sizers:
http://www.winecountrysequential.com
Regards
Demokid
Rev 1 case is Koa, not oak.
I have played a rev 2 and rev 3 side by side. While the rev 3 was more stable, the rev 2 had a better sounding filter.
Many tech shops will not touch a rev 1 or 2 P5.
I also have piles of new switches for the P5 (all colors except the sole gold keycap) should anyone need any.
Hey thanks for the sites endo, appreciate it very much!
Hello,
gd,
The Pro-One is an excellent sounding synth however, before you buy, check the s/n as the first units had the mains transformer fastened to the pc board,and not the chassis (which caused a few nightmares).
In the last units, Sequential switched toa membrane contact keyboard,which for some, was problemmatic in terms of reliability.
The P5 emerged at an opportune time in that many synth users then regarded the Yamaha CS-80 and Oberheim 4/8-voice as being too complicated to program.
The P5’s streamlined voice architecture and programmability made it faster to work with live and in the studio. Most importantly, it provided a polyphonic
resemblance to the Minimoog’s voice. In this respect , it was entirely on time.
After the P5, Sequential stayed the course of modeling the featuresets
(and to a large degree sound) of subsequent instruments on the Moog gear. Their reason was familiarity; that if you already learned the P5, you didn’t have to relearn their newer offerings, which is valid.
This may have been a mixed blessing though, as it made them very straightforward to program, yet if you already had Moog gear (especially the Memory) there tended to be a significant amount of overlap in the sounds.
It wasn’t until the cult classic, Prophet VS, that Sequential attempted to diversify the color palette of the Prophet series.
All in all the P5 has a solid sound and other posters on this thread have been very helpful in providing you with info to make an informed decision.
Regards,
LWG
I have got a 3.2. I am thinking about bringing it up to Rev3.3, by installing more patch memory, then adding full midi capability at some point.