Lower-cost instrument(s)

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ebg31
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Lower-cost instrument(s)

Post by ebg31 » Mon Sep 05, 2005 4:30 pm

I've brought this up, before, but I feel no shame, bringing it up, again.

Partly in light of what Suede was deliberating over, I'm interested in what some of you think about the possibility of having lower-cost analog gear, again.

No, I'm not thinking about modeling synths. They're great, but they're like a different animal. I'm talking something like the Oberheim OB-1, Prophet 600, Korg DW-8000 (so, it has digital oscillators) and Roland JX series. Instruments that, in the current decade, could take the streamlined world of the Voyager, Evolver series and A6 Andromeda and make it accessible to a kid working the counter at Burger King.

It doesn't even have to be made by Moog.

So, do any of you think someone will attempt to bulid such gear as I've listed for the current era?
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thewaag
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Post by thewaag » Mon Sep 05, 2005 4:36 pm

If there is a market for it, and if it can be done cost effectively, they will make it.

Based on the few analog instruments I see in my local music stores, I wonder if there are enough of us analog lovers out there to warrant it.
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Lengai
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Post by Lengai » Mon Sep 05, 2005 10:11 pm

What about Technosaurus?

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Post by OysterRock » Mon Sep 05, 2005 11:05 pm

It would have to be a large company (like Roland, Korg, Alesis etc.) if it were to be truly low cost. Small companies such as Moog or Dave Smith will always be more expensive than if a larger company were to make the same product.

Technosaurus make inexpensive analog gear, I don't have any experience with their stuff. Looks interesting, though! They make a lot of high end stuff, too, I think.

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Post by MarkM » Tue Sep 06, 2005 12:24 am

What about Future Retro?
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miket156
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Post by miket156 » Wed Sep 07, 2005 12:14 pm

ebg31:

The VA market has taken over the role of the inexpensive analog synth. Analog gear costs even more to make than it did at the height of it's popularity, there's less companies making components for analog gear like in the old days. Most everything is digital.

When you consider getting a vintage real analog, they can turn out to be expensive in the long run, even if the initial cost is affordable for you. You never know how many playing hours are on a synth, and none of them last forever. Parts can be difficult to find, and expensive when you do. There are a lot less techs around that can service analog gear. It adds up.

You can get a very nice sounding VA for a reasonable amount of money. Sure they're not RA's, but they don't have some of the problems associated with RA's either. The Alesis Micron and the ION come to mind, as well as some of the Novation boards. You wouldn't be sacrificing sound either. The ION puts out a sound that's similar to a Mini Moog, and its 8 voice. That being said, RA's do have better sounding filters than any VA I've ever heard. But where that reduced sonic power comes in to play is somewhat limited too. Filter sweeps for one. But musically, you get a lot of bang for the buck with a good VA, and even working at Burger King, you could save enough money to get one.


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OysterRock
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Post by OysterRock » Wed Sep 07, 2005 12:57 pm

I agree with miket on this one. Now don't get me wrong, I LOVE ANALOG and there is a lot of digital sh*t out there. If I could buy all analog, I would. But it gets to a point where lets stop waiting around for the next great analog, get a cheap VA (or whatever) and start making some music! Isn't that what its about? MAKING MUSIC. We can wank around all day talking about what sounds better than what, but there is a lot of good inexpensive stuff out there. And there are a lot of people out there making awesome music with crap gear.

Sorry for the rant, but thats just how i feel today :)

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Post by tunedLow » Fri Sep 09, 2005 2:20 am

I picked up an Oberheim Matrix-1000 on Ebay for $155 (us$). DCOs but the rest is analog. Sounds great. You can control it via sysex. Even if you don't, for around 200 bucks you get 1000 presets, and your bound to like some of them. To me, that's still a good deal.

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Post by miket156 » Fri Sep 09, 2005 10:32 pm

tunedLOW:

My, that IS a good deal. You lucked out. I LOVE the Oberheim synth sound. I owned a few of the back in the eighties, they defined the word FAT.

Congrats on a real STEAL.


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ebg31
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Post by ebg31 » Fri Sep 09, 2005 10:49 pm

I've thought about getting at least one Matrix module, from time to time. Of course, the prospect of being stuck with presets was daunting, but I've given it extra thought, since I've learned that you can control it from an outboard MIDI device by Doepher, or the like. But, I might have been leaning more towards the Matrix 6r, rather than the 1000.
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tunedLow
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Post by tunedLow » Sat Sep 10, 2005 4:34 am

The price I got mine for does seem pretty low, but I see these all the time on ebay, and I'm sure you could get a good deal on one as well. From what I understand, they're essentially the same synth as the 6R, just without the option of editing it from the front panel. No problem:

http://home.hccnet.nl/mark.strijbos/syn ... index.html

Someone just showed that to me tonight, it's a great editor, best one I've tried, and it's $20(us). Plus it's got assignable midi cc, so you can use a modern midi controller to control your matrix!

With a 1000 presets, you'll find some good stuff, but not being able to control the envelopes was a drag for me, so the above editor is well worth $20. I'm using a uc-33 to control my Matrix now, and couldn't be happier, and that thing was new on ebay for the same price I paid for the matrix. So for about $350, I got a fully controllable analog synth. You could certainly do the same.

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Post by this_poison » Sun Sep 11, 2005 6:18 am

Ebay is a minefield, but the bargains do come up. When Matrix 6Rs were bidding up to £250/£300 18 mths ago, I picked up a pair in one sale from a UK seller. Both were mint, and I was stunned when my opening bid of £299 was not bettered.

I'm sure we all follow Moogs and ARPs to the last on auctions etc, but the less high profile (and I mean no disrespect to Obies, which I love) brands maybe get only a passing focus, and an assumption they'll go too high.

I also watched Access Matrix Programmer after Access Matrix Programmer go for £300, but after a year of watching them all, I got a mint example for £150.


Patience is a virtue, and although eBay prices are generally too high, as tunedLow also found.....there are still good deals if the snipers are busy!

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Lengai
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Post by Lengai » Sun Sep 11, 2005 11:57 pm

I have a Matrix 6R that I got off Ebay and I love it. I plan to get a Matrix 1000 to go with it because you can edit with the 6R and dump to the 1000.

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