Synth Madness

In a Moog Mood? Here's a forum for discussion of general Moog topics.
Demokid
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Post by Demokid » Thu Oct 21, 2004 4:05 pm

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
Gearlist: Andromeda A6, Emu E4XT Ultra, Korg MS20, Minimoog Model D (incl.MIDI), Minimoog Voyager AE, Roland Jupiter-8 (MIDI), RE-301, Prophet~5 (Rev3.3 incl MIDI), Poly Evolver Keyboard, Pro~One, Prophet 08, Synthesizers.com Custom Studio-44

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MC
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Post by MC » Thu Oct 21, 2004 4:41 pm

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.

flashgordan
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Post by flashgordan » Thu Oct 21, 2004 11:59 pm

Hey thanks for the sites endo, appreciate it very much!

LWG
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Post Subject

Post by LWG » Fri Oct 22, 2004 1:12 am

Hello,
gd wrote: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.
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

Boeing 737-400
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Post by Boeing 737-400 » Fri Oct 22, 2004 7:31 am

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.

Goom
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Post by Goom » Sat Oct 23, 2004 10:00 pm

endocrine wrote:
Goom wrote:If you really want Moog, there is the Satellite(I know..)
What's that about?
What I meant by that is that the Satellite is sometimes looked down upon. It's only a single oscillator synth, and I don't think it has the ladder filter. It's also not fully programmable like other Moogs, but instead offers preset tab switches that select patches for you. There are a few sliders that will let you modify the sound a bit, but nothing like the other Moogs.

With that said, I used to own a Satellite, and it worked nicely for for the band I was in at the time (some 20+ years ago). It's limited, but has a few nice sounds. Since you're on a budget, it might be just the ticket. I'm sure you can find one for less than $200 if you're patient. Then again, an MG-1 might be had for the same price. It just depends on how much you're willing to spend and what appeals to you.

Over and out,
Goom

gd
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Post by gd » Sun Oct 24, 2004 8:41 am

I appreciate your replies, I had better win a lottery, as I see a great old analogue synth and feel this great need to buy them :) I enjoy being able to set them up in my studio and get lost in them for hours at a time. I also have some pretty cool EMU gear but I truely love thise old gals.

endocrine
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Post by endocrine » Tue Nov 16, 2004 11:21 pm

Hey, I think I've narrowed it down to 3 or 4 synths that are right up my alley on price. If you know anything about any of them please let me know.
They are:
-Akai AX-60
-Roland HS-60
-Roland JX-3P (with PG-800)
-Roland JX-8p (with PG-800)
-Korg MS-10

Thats the order of consideration, but ironically it is also the general order of price. The HS-60 looks really great, but JXs would be great if I could get them cheap enough with the PG-800. Korg MS-10 looks nice but a bit pricey, and the Akai Ax-60 looks like my best bet. Its been ending around $200 with shipping on ebay about once a week since I started looking. But the question is, will it do what I want. I saw one person who said it didn't have good basses, and thats mostly what I want. Please help.

Demokid
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Post by Demokid » Wed Nov 17, 2004 8:23 am

Akai AX-60. I had an AX60 ones and it is a good entry polyphonic analogue sizer. It doesn’t sound as warm and fat as say the Juno series or Korg Poly-6. It sounds harder and rawer in a good way (mostly). The AX-60 is great on blipps/blopps, strange effects, even hard basses and leads sometimes. It has some really good points like 2 ADSR’s, the ability to pulse width modulate all waveforms, bi-timbral, MIDI and external input for the samplers S612/S900/X7000.

Roland JX-3P does not work with the programmer PG-800. The PG-800 only works with JX8P, JX10 (SuperJX) and MKS-70 module. The JX3P and MKS-30 (module version of JX3P) use PG-200 programmer.

If you don’t need sliders and knobs then a Roland Alpha Juno-2 might be something for you. It features a keyboard with velocity and aftertouch and has an optional programmer called PG-300.
Webpage: http://www.vintagesynth.org/roland/ajuno2.shtml

Regards
Demokid
Gearlist: Andromeda A6, Emu E4XT Ultra, Korg MS20, Minimoog Model D (incl.MIDI), Minimoog Voyager AE, Roland Jupiter-8 (MIDI), RE-301, Prophet~5 (Rev3.3 incl MIDI), Poly Evolver Keyboard, Pro~One, Prophet 08, Synthesizers.com Custom Studio-44

sundaeclubber
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Post by sundaeclubber » Wed Nov 17, 2004 5:09 pm

endocrine wrote:Hey, I think I've narrowed it down to 3 or 4 synths that are right up my alley on price. If you know anything about any of them please let me know.
They are:
-Akai AX-60
-Roland HS-60
-Roland JX-3P (with PG-800)
-Roland JX-8p (with PG-800)
-Korg MS-10
The MS-10 is a bit of an odd one in this company! Why did you shortlist it?
What about a Juno 6 or 60? Better than the 3P IMHO. The 8P with PG-800 is a staple of our studio, but I can't remember when we used it for anything more than a MIDI controller.

HRx
Sundae Club* http://www.s-club.co.uk
Moog-Filled Album "TECHNOSTALGIA"
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http://www.myspace.com/sundaeclub

endocrine
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Post by endocrine » Wed Nov 17, 2004 6:58 pm

The MS-10 is a bit of an odd one in this company! Why did you shortlist it?
It looks good to me.
-realatively cheap
-semi-modular
-lots of knobs
,but I must say I've done the least research on it of all. Is there something wrong with it?

sundaeclubber
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Post by sundaeclubber » Thu Nov 18, 2004 4:05 am

Nothing wrong with it at all, but it's a bit monophonic compared to the others! I can't believe that you could find one cheaper than a Prodigy... What's happened to Moog prices?

H
Sundae Club* http://www.s-club.co.uk
Moog-Filled Album "TECHNOSTALGIA"
from
http://www.cdbaby.com/sundaeclub
and in your local iTunes store

http://www.myspace.com/sundaeclub

sundaeclubber
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Re: Post Subject

Post by sundaeclubber » Thu Nov 18, 2004 4:15 am

LWG wrote: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.
Also check out the keyboard contacts on early machines which although they are the more reliable of the types used, can get sticky (all are sticky on first depression if the unit isn't played regularly) and the shoddy build quality of the casework which is manufactured from well camouflaged egg-carton plastic with low grade timber.

Make sure it's all working correctly as those Curtis Chips are hard to come by.
Sundae Club* http://www.s-club.co.uk
Moog-Filled Album "TECHNOSTALGIA"
from
http://www.cdbaby.com/sundaeclub
and in your local iTunes store

http://www.myspace.com/sundaeclub

endocrine
Posts: 166
Joined: Tue Oct 12, 2004 8:37 pm

Post by endocrine » Tue Nov 23, 2004 1:19 pm

I'm pretty much focussed on that Roland HS-60. It's the same a Roland Juno-106, but ugly and with speakers built in. If you have input on how awesome these may be, or if you have any warnings about them let me know. Remember, I really want BASS and lead. Pads are cool too.

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