Synthesizers

[Eugenics]

they look really tacky, but i would love to get ahold of a waldorf microwave. they had some great sounds on 'em
havent really looked them up on ebay in awhile. i wonder how cheap i could pick one up for

[sleigh]

it sucks

I've got one, it certainly doesn't suck, but I probably would go with the Micron over it if I had to make the decision again.

[withnail]

just sold my Micron. I traded my old microKorg for it and was happy to have done so.

Now I just picked up a Roland SH-2 with a CV/gate->Midi converter.



I think I've worked out all the midi cabling/settings to be able to sequence live [MPC, KP3, ms2000, SH-2]. The key is the MPC's soft thru!

[you're all assholes]

Bought a Roland Alpha Juno 2 for Christmas 'cause I found it for pretty cheap on eBay. Just got it hooked up with my MIDI controller and computer for sequencing stuff, pretty psyched on it so far as my first hardware synth.

i love my alpha juno 2. did you hook it up to a BCR? if not, you should. it helps so much with sound editing.

[you're all assholes]

Figured this would be as good of a place to ask the following...

Got a good deal on a Micron a while back. Haven't ever fucked around with synths in any way in my life and I haven't really gone beyond clicking through various voices and tinkling around on the keys. What, at the minimum, would you consider necessary to have alongside this to enjoy it the way it's meant to be used. A basic sequencer of some sort? Just my laptop and a simple program? I'm not a performer here, but I'd obviously like to figure out how to put together songs and shit.

just use your laptop and software. depending on the software, you should be able to program sequences from your laptop to the micron via midi. the micron has a step sequencer and a sequencer for drums on it as well.

[pablito]

i have a huge alesis ion

[Eugenics]

speaking of alesis, ive never known anyone to own a andromeda, but ive played one on a few occasions, and they fucking rule hard. it, along with the new dave smith stuff are some of my favorite 'new' sounding analog synths on the mass market these days

[c-p]

the roland sh 101 has a great arppegiator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSchTzFj9kg

Also i've been looking up old drum machines
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_coVK7QgjE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHbckGWz-fo
the tr 606 is what im trying to get/find

[Eugenics]

ive come across a bunch of 606s in my day. they are great and not hard to attain or as overpriced as 808s or 909s

[genghis sean]

is a juno 106 in good condition with all 6 voices working worth $625 cdn?

i'm interested in picking this up http://montreal.en.craigslist.ca/msg/1551856894.html

anything i should look out for if i go with this?

[withnail]

The Juno 106's voice chip has been known to fail. Just the ones from certain batches of chips or something. You can read about it on wikipedia or vintagesynth I think. You should be able to find one closer to $500.

[Ankh]

Yeah, you can do better than $625 CDN.

[withnail]

there's no arpeggiator in the 106, right?

[withnail]

they look really tacky, but i would love to get ahold of a waldorf microwave. they had some great sounds on 'em
havent really looked them up on ebay in awhile. i wonder how cheap i could pick one up for

looked this up on vintagesynth. no buttons for changing values, only knobs! looks pretty nice, a lot better than the ms2000 I use I'm sure.

[grass tacks]

micron's better in same price range

Which leads me to repeat my last question, which was why I bumped this thread today...

Figured this would be as good of a place to ask the following...

Got a good deal on a Micron a while back. Haven't ever fucked around with synths in any way in my life and I haven't really gone beyond clicking through various voices and tinkling around on the keys. What, at the minimum, would you consider necessary to have alongside this to enjoy it the way it's meant to be used. A basic sequencer of some sort? Just my laptop and a simple program? I'm not a performer here, but I'd obviously like to figure out how to put together songs and shit.

Microns are amazing, but they're not great toys. The presets suck and editing it is a pain so writing and even making sounds on it sucks, but they're so versatile you if you know what its capable of you can do a ton with it. I have some settings i use at shows where the lowest octave is run through my bass amp with one sound and the high part through a DI with a lead program, and you can sync with a tempo live and it has a built in fakeanalog drum machine and sequencer.

If you have a midi interface you can program it from a computer, for mac i use micronau but i think theres a free pc one out there too. http://mysite.verizon.net/retroware/

[grass tacks]

oh and as far as what you need alongside it - besides a computer to program sounds from, for experimenting the only thing its badly lacking effects wise is an eq. the filters tend to sound thin or be be really bulky in one narrow frequency, so an eq can make it sound way better. the built in effects aren't great, but for fucking around they're enough, unlike the microkorg which is just boring without pedals

[grass tacks]

not too take over the thread with a micron rant, but one other thing:

the presets almost never use it, but one of the keys to getting it to sound good is using multiple voices per note. its one of the first few options in the editing menu, but especially for basses using 4 voices per note and setting them to detune even just 1 cent can be huge. the presets are almost all 1 voice/note or 2 at the most, which is why most of them sound like they're coming out of a commodore 64

[waterbottle]

[deklin]

Philipe Zdar on the CS80 from Future Music magazine.

http://vimeo.com/7796416

my favourite synth. for a while, a few years ago, all I used was CS80v and Impulse in Live for every track. then when I was lucky enough to play one a few months back, I knew it really well cause of the software. the guy who owned it was really impressed. If only he knew

[you're all assholes]

grass tacks, im enjoying your micron rant.
i just got one last week.

[slangking]

Bought a Roland Alpha Juno 2 for Christmas 'cause I found it for pretty cheap on eBay. Just got it hooked up with my MIDI controller and computer for sequencing stuff, pretty psyched on it so far as my first hardware synth.

i love my alpha juno 2. did you hook it up to a BCR? if not, you should. it helps so much with sound editing.

Yup, it's a total breeze now that I have it working with the BCR. Really excited to test the whole rig out at band practice this weekend

[genghis sean]

i offfered that guy $525 for the juno 106 if its functional and $550 if i plug it in and i'm happy for it. maybe overpaying but i need something to fuck around with and i don't want to sit around for two months to save $50 or whatever.

[Ankh]

i offfered that guy $525 for the juno 106 if its functional and $550 if i plug it in and i'm happy for it. maybe overpaying but i need something to fuck around with and i don't want to sit around for two months to save $50 or whatever.

Makes sense.

[Dad: The Boarder]

More Moog = More good

[Broncobama]

it sucks

I've got one, it certainly doesn't suck, but I probably would go with the Micron over it if I had to make the decision again.

I had one. They certainly do suck. Bad synth.

Waldorfs are fantastic if you can get your hands on one. I got a broken one a while back for $40 and tried my best to fix it to no avail.

[you're all assholes]

it sucks

I've got one, it certainly doesn't suck, but I probably would go with the Micron over it if I had to make the decision again.

I had one. They certainly do suck. Bad synth.

Waldorfs are fantastic if you can get your hands on one. I got a broken one a while back for $40 and tried my best to fix it to no avail.

why do they suck again?

[overoverover]

I've seen people wield the microkorg really well. I am not one of those people, though. Hate.

[Broncobama]

why do they suck again?

Probably the least expressive and customizable synth I've encountered. Most of the options/dials barely impact the synthesis. Scope of sound is very limited. Tiny keys are obviously retarded, might as well be modular. The vocoding might be on par with the micron, which is the best I can say about it. I guess it's relatively sturdy for a piece of plastic.

Probably the dumbest synth purchase I've ever made, and I still have a CS1x, if that tells you anything.

[Milquetoaster Strudels]

Is it worth it to buy a Juno 60 for $380 if the memory banks are cutting out every few minutes? How much would that repair probably run?

[Broncobama]

I wouldn't. That may be the tip of the iceberg.