Re: Should I buy...

some form of ADAT.

I know virtually nothing about them but seems useful for post.

Re: Should I buy...

an ax80 in o.k physical condition but a bunch of busted membranes for $175. I know you can't control it with an external midi cc controller so that means I gotta fix it.

53 (edited by Squadra Smackos 2008-09-01 11:40:35)

Re: Should I buy...

Apparently that is fixable I read I had one and sold it to Chinetti withouth fixing though so he could fix it.
You can open it like a trunk of a car that is pretty cool.

Its a very good warm sounding synthesizer with chord memory and 175$ is cheap

I sometimes regret selling it

Re: Should I buy...

pslayvins wrote:

some form of ADAT.

I know virtually nothing about them but seems useful for post.

HUH.... STAY THE HELL AWAY FROM ADAT.

They are slow, they never sync on time and you will have an endless rain of error messages.
Shure they were great in the 80's and a cheap way of building a studio but now they just suck.

If you decide to get one anyway, then get the studer adats, they seem like they are the best build + they sound better.


BTW. Why do you need a 8track tape for post???

Home is where your hardware is!!!
ErrorAudio SoundCloud

Re: Should I buy...

Roland A-880 MIDI patchbay?

and what's the reasonable price for one nowadays?

56 (edited by plikestechno 2008-09-03 21:21:36)

Re: Should I buy...

A Nord Modular G1 keyboard locally for $600 Canadian?

Seems like the bee's knees in online reviews over the past couple of years but interest has been waning. And a good deal especially considering I wouldnt have to pay shipping or exchange or customs. And seems like a nice complement to what I have since I don't have a "modular" yet. I emailed the guy at Modcan and asked what $2000 would get me and he suggested that I come back when I had $3000.

Have been exploring Crystal for a while and am enjoying it. Would the Nord Modular be that much of a step up? Does it make a bigger, fuller sound? The more I get to know my other synths (Roland JX10, Waldorf Q, Waldorf Pulse, Korg Poly800 mkII, Casio CZ5000, Solina B417, Proteus 2000 (great filters!)) the more I've managed to make a lot of the crazy, blippy, crunchy and earthy sounds anyway. Just made that Deepchord/Basic Channel sound on my JX10/PG800 just last night. And can layer it with so much more.

Would rather have hardware than software. I know a lot of people have been using it for a long time but hear the keyboards on Nords are cheap and have crappy action yet in my married, mortgaged world I don't think $3000 is ever going to be a reality in one go for a new hardware modular synth. Isn't the Nord Modular just a MIDI controller with software or is there much more?

I can also get an ESQ-1 for $100 at a pawn shop here. Something tells me I should do this right away. Wish it was a rack though. Starting to get too many keys around the basement.

Re: Should I buy...

Sequential Six Trak apparently absolutely mint for $500 locally. Is it better or worse than the MultiTrak. Good ol Edmonton. It's guitars, guitars, guitars for months and then synths start flying everywhere. Who knows? Probably the same guy.

Re: Should I buy...

Whoa, seems like Edmonton is the place for used synths at the moment.

That seems like a good deal for the ESQ-1!  If it was me I'd already have bought it.  I love those guys and have been missing mine.

As for the G1, $600 CAD seems like a good deal as well.  I'm not sure that I'm familiar with Crystal (is that the older VST that's kind of like Absynth?) but the Nord Modular editor is a breeze to use.  It can sound big and full - assuming that means the same thing to you and I.  You'd be cutting the NM short to think of it simply as a MIDI controller plus software.  Once you have your modules patched together, you can edit the synth as much as you like without the need for the editor.  You can also use it as an effects processor for your other gear.  If you were to hold out for a G2 engine (I've seen them go for $800 CAD), you could also use it as a basic but fun MIDI sequencer, and a rather sophisticated MIDI processor.

I haven't used a G1 keyboard, but as a G2 owner I can attest to the fact that the keys are rather lackluster.  But hey...you have a JX-10 that you can use as your master controller so no biggie.  smile

59 (edited by Squadra Smackos 2008-09-03 21:12:39)

Re: Should I buy...

plikestechno wrote:

Sequential Six Trak apparently absolutely mint for $500 locally. Is it better or worse than the MultiTrak. Good ol Edmonton. It's guitars, guitars, guitars for months and then synths start flying everywhere. Who knows? Probably the same guy.

A Sixtrak is better then the multi-trak on many fronts, not all but most of them
500$ isn't that a lot for a sixtrak though?

edit: Ow its Canadian dollar, thats like 20 dollarcents or something right...then its pretty cheap

60 (edited by plikestechno 2008-09-03 21:27:09)

Re: Should I buy...

Yeah I thought $500 was a lot for it but he says it's mint and they are actually going for 5-700 US on Ebay right now plus there'd be shipping etc. But I won't be buying it. I jokingly asked (with LOL) if placing it in a rock garden http://edmonton.en.craigslist.ca/msg/824135609.html was the best thing for a "mint" synth and he proceeded to not so jokingly ask me if I was a f***ing retard. Swell guy. Probably needs the money for coke which is oh so popular here.

Canadian dollar is .95 US right now. Was up to 1.10 US last year but I think the world would have fallen apart if they Canadian dollar stayed on top. Better than buying vinyl and CDs five or six years ago when it was .62.

Re: Should I buy...

Erroraudio wrote:

BTW. Why do you need a 8track tape for post???

i was chattin it up with a buddy of mine who put a few records in his day and he started talking about using ADATs to layer chords and get a fatter sound. resampling, etc. got me to reading about it and it seems like they used to record onto vhs tape and the newer ones are completely different and all digital. just wanted to know more about what exactly they did.

Re: Should I buy...

and also some guy near my house is selling a boss phase shifter ph-3 for $55, anybody ever own one of those?

Re: Should I buy...

pslayvins wrote:

and also some guy near my house is selling a boss phase shifter ph-3 for $55, anybody ever own one of those?

I have one and it's fun. Depth and Res ranges are quite wide, and the step mode sounds really good on hi-hats. The price seems fair to me also. only don't expect this to be THE phaser.

Re: Should I buy...

Waldorf Pulse for 300$.My setup lacks a decent analog monophonic synth .Will it suit my needs?

Re: Should I buy...

I got one for $320 a few months ago. The pulse is amazing. A poor man's minimoog with actual minimoog filter.

Also has great midi. Can access all parameters with great online programming software. Good buy for 3 bills considering the prices of synths these days.

Re: Should I buy...

I've heard it sounds a bit sterile, but are there any alternatives in that price range? How could you describe sound , which genres it suits best?

67 (edited by plikestechno 2008-09-05 18:16:34)

Re: Should I buy...

You sent me an email asking for Detroit techno like basslines. And I don't know if the Pulse is really good for those kinds of smoothy, spacey, jazzy, deep basslines straight out of the box. I've had it only a month and It's more of an electro, acid, hip hop, banging thumpy or minimal techno machine as far as basslines go. If you want to make those deep detroit basslines there are a variety of early-mid 80s polysynths that will do a nice job and be really expressive. I recently got a Roland JX-10 and it sounds marvelous for techno. So warm, wide and deep. Any of those Juno or JX series synths would be fine in that $300 price point.

Sterile? Sounds like a review from someone who just looked at the specs or tried it for two minutes in a shop. Waldorf synths are weird with a lot of movement and the pulse is especially wet because it is till analog (albeit it with DCOs.) If you have super old gear I'd hold out for a pulse plus so you can use the gate function. But the price of the plus has skyrocketed lately to over $600 which is crazy considering you can get basically the same thing in the pulse for half that.

68 (edited by plikestechno 2008-09-05 18:29:10)

Re: Should I buy...

This thread may also be helpful in your quest for a Detroit vibe as well. It talks about some great synths and drum machines that can be picked up for very cheap these days.

http://www.robotsforrobots.net/viewtopic.php?id=829

Re: Should I buy...

I already have jx8p. Looks like Pulse might be a good addition. Thanks

Re: Should I buy...

So how about those Yamaha RX drum machines, are they cool or should I stay away... Which one is the one to get??

Home is where your hardware is!!!
ErrorAudio SoundCloud

Re: Should I buy...

i own RX5
very digital but nice
you can do a lot with the samples you've got
plus the 24 pads and 12 outs
i wish i had some cartridges, those are pretty tough to get around


here's a demo (not mine)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4GOqYll8b4


it's a good buy
there's also RX7, like a RX5's little brother, but my guess is to go for RX5

Re: Should I buy...

mekonin wrote:

i own RX5
very digital but nice
you can do a lot with the samples you've got
plus the 24 pads and 12 outs
i wish i had some cartridges, those are pretty tough to get around


here's a demo (not mine)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4GOqYll8b4


it's a good buy
there's also RX7, like a RX5's little brother, but my guess is to go for RX5

What about the RX11

Generally the RX series don't seem to very well documented on the net...

Home is where your hardware is!!!
ErrorAudio SoundCloud

Re: Should I buy...

Honey Peters wrote:

an ax80 in o.k physical condition but a bunch of busted membranes for $175. I know you can't control it with an external midi cc controller so that means I gotta fix it.

Did you get it fixed yet? It's a typical AX80 problem, the last two rows of membrane buttons (for LFO, EG and VCA) stop to work. It has to do with the connection between two prints. Here's a manual of some kind: http://www.organisum.com/lp2/Akai_AX-80_Repair1.htm

I have to admit: it's supposed to be an easy fix but with me it wasn't big_smile Somewhere I screwed up and the buttons connected on both prints got assigned to the wrong functions. Since there's a good repair guy in my town I didn't bother and brought it to him.

Re: Should I buy...

Erroraudio wrote:
mekonin wrote:

i own RX5
very digital but nice
you can do a lot with the samples you've got
plus the 24 pads and 12 outs
i wish i had some cartridges, those are pretty tough to get around


here's a demo (not mine)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4GOqYll8b4


it's a good buy
there's also RX7, like a RX5's little brother, but my guess is to go for RX5

What about the RX11

Generally the RX series don't seem to very well documented on the net...

i don't know about RX11
it's probably even more lo-fi, being 8bit

this link explains pretty much everything about RX5:
http://www.geocities.com/diffused_light/stuff/rx5.html
plus some interesting tricks with the cartridges

Re: Should I buy...

I had an RX-5 for a few months and I didn't really like it.
It sounds ok and it's versatile but I much prefer a TR-707 or Oberheim DX in terms of sound and interface, the RX-5 can sometimes be found for quite cheap, but the 707 and DX too if you look hard enough.