1 (edited by plikestechno 2009-08-25 22:58:57)

Topic: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

Like I wanted a Polysix forever until I heard and played one.

It is funny, I think my ears are getting better. Last night I had my first real session with the Unique DBE and was enjoying it but then I started playing on my T8 right after and it totally made the DBE sound like shit. You can really AB things. Made some quick patches on each and you can really notice the difference.

And then played with the modular and the Octave Cat SRM too and yeah, just a definite quality dropoff.

It's funny when you want something forever and then you're like "Oh? This is not very good." But it does do some ridiculous synth bass and effects and I kinda missed the cheap sound of my Poly 800 mkII so I will still keep it. So 80s.

A little analog chorus (Jacques Meistersinger, so good on everything) made it a little better but man that's a pretty bright synth.

2 (edited by mekonin 2009-08-25 23:44:14)

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

it's easy to get used to good stuff, hard thing is to switch to, shall i say, more "consumer" equipment, and you can't get much better than T8... so it's kind of unfair to compare it to other polysynths...
but i always thought that there is a right place for every machine, you just need to find it.

as for myself, i love my polysix, i'm even going to get another one. but i never had the chance to own anything in the ranks of T8, so i guess i just don't know better smile

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

Yup, the future retro 777. I was obsessing over that thing for so long. When I finally got one for a decent price I was thoroughly underwhelmed. Great variety etc. with a ton of knobs to twiddle but the sound was just so psy trance it was awful. I came to the conclusion that you just can't beat a 303.

4 (edited by plikestechno 2009-08-26 00:17:58)

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

mekonin wrote:

iso it's kind of unfair to compare it to other polysynths...
but i always thought that there is a right place for every machine, you just need to find it.

Oh for sure, I have tons of polys. Like I have a DX7IIFD but I'm still going to keep my Casio CZ5000 which doesn't sound nearly as good but a lot more fun.

It's more the units' sound quality I really noticed the shocking dropoff with than the quality of the sounds themselves.Obviously there is a lot you can do with the Unique/Bit rack synthesis wise. I guess I was just expecting to be like much better sounding than my Poly 800 mkII when really it is about the same. And yes, A/Bing with a Prophet T8 was probably unfair.

I think I just hyped myself up too much for this. It took forever to find one. And the older SSM Bits probably sound way better. Like I wish the SSM 2040s that are in my Octave Cat SRM were in all my synths sometimes. But wouldn't that be boring?

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

1. Korg Mono/Poly, everybody is delirious about it, I am not tongue

Weak oscs (well at least it got 4, but hell I rather have 1 thick one than 4 shitty)
Bad Filter, my ex-Pro12 ASB has a way better filter...

Its a bit of a one trick pony (doppler effect sounds) And I dont like that, I like more versitile machines

One of the synths I kept the shortest...


2. MC202, the socalled poor mans 303...

Well youve got to be very poor if you want to call this and use it as a tb303 replacement...ZZZZ
Lame synth, very little synthesis in it, just a couple of osc faders 1 lfo and 1 env or so....boring

It has some nice square blake baxter sounds koming out from it, but hell a 200 euro SuperBassStatiuon does it just as well (and more)


I guess i am not so keen on old vintage simple synths...I stepped from vintage away quite a while now....only have some Rolands (D50, SVC350, tr606, tr808)

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

Prophet 5.

i don't need the gear, the gear needs me 
http://www.mono-poly.nl/

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

Septicstudio wrote:

1. Korg Mono/Poly 2. MC202, the socalled poor mans 303...

The Mono/Poly is seriously overhyped. Youtube videos and other people's experiences with it gradually chilled me on it when I started to have serious GAS for it. But there was a time when I seriously considered buying one. Almost trade my SRM for one but pulled out of the deal.

I sold my 202 a few months ago when I cleared out some things after I bought my modular. I doubled my money because I bought it locally on the cheap and the Canadian dollar sucked at the time.

I miss that sound occasionally but am hoping that a CS01mkII that I bought for cheap will fill the 80s lead lines sufficiently.

I can't be bothered to patch my modular like a 202. Too simple. I like to do crazy shit with the modular rather than use it as a mere bass/lead machine.

8 (edited by computerdisco 2009-08-26 09:58:43)

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

plikestechno wrote:
Septicstudio wrote:

1. Korg Mono/Poly 2. MC202, the socalled poor mans 303...

The Mono/Poly is seriously overhyped. Youtube videos and other people's experiences with it gradually chilled me on it when I started to have serious GAS for it. But there was a time when I seriously considered buying one. Almost trade my SRM for one but pulled out of the deal.

I disagree with the mono/poly beating here. Sure it has a weak poly side but what a monosynth. how many other 4 osc synths with so many features and a really warm phat sound do you get. Sure its not worth the serious cash it changes hands for today but I wouldn't get rid of it for anything. Just dopppler effect sounds? I don't think so! Has so many good programming possibility with the x mod and the step arp in poly mode is awesome.

Yeah I remember getting my first Korg poly 800 and being totally underwhelmed with it. 10 years later I bought one again (mkII) and I love it.. I put it down with not having the ear and patience to get the best out of it.

+++ Dont be scared honey, thats just the resonance knob +++

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

you guys are nuts. the bit 01 is one of the best sounding polys out there.. it has a pulse wave that goes deeper and is richer than any pulse i ever heard out of any other synth, a little pwm and it goes through the roof.. also the envelopes, while not superfast, are really good shapers for bass sounds. really nice and warm strings..  that thing sounds 100 times better than a poly 800, even a mk2.

as for the mono/poly, calling that a one trick pony is like calling the 303 a workstation.. it's just nonsense. yes, the filter is not one of the best ever made, but that thing can make sounds no other synth can except for maybe a modular.

they are both synths however that you need to spend some time with to get all the possibilities out of them.. maybe thats the problem.

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

I can understand getting bored of synths but I think a lot of times when you get a synth, you don't know its sweet spots so the first patches are sometimes deceptive, making you think the synth is overhyped.

I've also ended up selling synths because, even though they could be patched in many ways, I'd always end up using certain sounds to fit my needs and those sounds were not anything special on those specific synths.

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

If i could just keep one synth it be the M/P

CRACKED BY MR. Z...

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

opposite to the title of this thread. I bought a dx27 in my youth purely for use as a bigger master keyboard to the yamaha pss... that i had at the time.  anyway, i was expecting v little with it (not being too au fait with fm synthesis back then)  but have grown to love it and it's probably ended up on most tracks and i used it live a lot too.  and it was a lousy master keyboard, no vel or sending pitch bend but i never realised that at the time

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

with the risk of sounding offensive; it's probably you who are the one trick pony if you can only get dopplereffekt sounds out of a m/p. wink

14 (edited by plikestechno 2009-08-26 19:44:39)

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

Ah I stand by my thinking the Mono/Poly wasn't that great. It has 4 Osc? Big deal. I can mix ten together on my modular if I wanted to. Maybe before I bought my modular it would have seemed more impressive.

And still, my Octave Cat SRM sounded much larger and more impressive than the Mono/Poly and it only has two OSC. It literally pulls the wood panelling off my basement walls when I rock the dual sub osc's.

As far as the Bit goes, yeah I probably need more time with it, find its sweet spots but was just offset that the actual sound quality of the unit wasn't what I thought it'd be. They say Unique's internal layout was different than the bit. So who knows? It's definitely quirky enough and different from my other synths that it won't be going anywhere anyway. Just surprised.

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

I know Brian raves about it, but the Akai Ax60 leaves me mostly cold. (but there are two different models)

16

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

As a fairly new M/P owner I will admit that I didn't find it instantly gratifying. HOWEVER, the sweet spots (of which there are many, many, many) are sweeter than just about anything I've laid my hands on.

Just like with most good things, you gotta dig a little.

17 (edited by Dez 2009-08-26 20:10:34)

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

Another opposite: On a whim I bought a AN1x for $125. I think it was probably the best bang for the buck I've ever gotten out of a musical instrument.

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

Dez wrote:

Another opposite: On a whim I bought a AN1x for $125. I think it was probably the best bang for the buck I've ever gotten out of a musical instrument.

Indeed a great sounding VA and quite complex in it's architecture too. It has that dreamy quality that reminds Yamaha CS 80. Effects are nice too and match sound of the synth.

19 (edited by Squadra Smackos 2009-08-26 20:27:03)

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

Its a connection you gotta make with the synth, I sold so many things and got them back later and then I was why the fuck did I sell that...

In 2002 or something I got a Kawai K1M and I hated it and laughed at it and sold it then this year i got a K1R from Monopoly and started really programming it and I love it even bought a K1M from septic after that and then I got a K4R from moguh, and that K4R sounds so awesome its even got filters, imo one of the "warmest" digital synths out there.

I got to disagree too with the Mono/poly being a one trick pony, sure its sound "quality" of the oscies isn't deep  (making music isn't about sounding like heavy balls imo) but its got an extremely large pallette of exotic sounds, having 4 different oscs playing polyphonic is a pretty cool thing especially when you can combine them to a chord memory and then can arpeggiate it too! Fucking hell!!! you need a big ass modular system to do that shit.

but yeah its whatever you fancy....I sold my D550 a couple of days ago (the guy didn't want the PG1000 with it : /) I just couldn't progam it....but I fucking know that thing can sound good so maybe I will get a D50 anyways or that thing septic has.

And i got some too though that I don't need back, mostly not because of the sound but of bad interface:
Korg Trident: looks awesome but badly designed in the synth dept.
Yamaha CS01: nice for solo's but thats about it
Kawai K5000: additive synthesis is not fun, having to alter 9999 sine waves or something
Cheetah MS800: if you could understand the manual and could take the NON REALTIME editting on a 2 digit LED screen (!!!)  i am sure it could sound awesome
Alesis Andromeda: Big FAIL with the alien roswell psytrance looks, you just don't want to sit behind that and make an awesome sound (cause it could sound awesome)

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

plikestechno wrote:

Ah I stand by my thinking the Mono/Poly wasn't that great. It has 4 Osc? Big deal. I can mix ten together on my modular if I wanted to.

Sure, no problem for a modular synth, but I think the point was how many other hardwired monosynths out there will you find with 4 oscillators?  Not that that means you have to like it...just sayin'.

For me the machine that didn't live up to my expectations was the SP-1200.  Lucked into one for dirt cheap, played with it for a year, got rid of it.  Never regretted it (at least not for any practical reasons...it did make for a nice gear trophy).

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

i don't think i ever had a synth that i was so underwhelmed with that i sold it right after. some initially, sure, but there is always omething to be found that'll make a good track in every machine. i've had several that i initially didn't like, was too lazy to sell, and was later glad i kept it. and for hard to program machines like the k5000 there are always user groups who do the hard programming work for you..;-)

then again i'm not the kind of buyer who just buys anything to try it.. i usually either already know a machine, or know someone that has one so i can either test it, or ask opinions..

and i have to agree with smackos: its nmot only about the balls. sometimes the wimpiest machines can do something that you just need in a track.. otherwise it's just musical muscle-flexing..

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

Smackos makes a point about sound character in music as opposed to just what has the most beef or what might please an audiophile's ears best. And one thing I'll concede on the Mono/Poly is that it would be a good synth if you were going to just keep a few synths around as it can do a lot of different things.

But for the $750-$1000 they go for now there's no chance I'd ever buy one.

And straight out of the box the Unique/Bit just isn't hitting my ears right...yet.

23 (edited by plikestechno 2009-08-26 23:39:48)

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

rude66 wrote:

i don't think i ever had a synth that i was so underwhelmed with that i sold it right after.

The only one for me was the Microkorg. I had a lot of fun with the synth engine and what it did but I bought it to be the midi keyboard for my modular and the microkorg has funny MIDI. Would never just open and close properly for me. I sold it with a bunch of things that I needed to when I bought the T8.

And as I've said before I'm not selling the Unique, it's just not what I expected.

24

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

good topic! just have to say that bit one and mono/poly are the 2 synths i use most myself (read: my favourite)

mono/poly does some really crazy stuff & tricks most synths just cant do.
on the other had it's not always "instantly good", as you have to tweak carefully to get the most of it.
pay attention with the osc mixer. don't just put them  to the max all the time. less is more tongue.
mostly doppler effect like sounds? i don't know. rather drexciyan i'd say smile

same with the bit one. i think it's a wonderful polysynth. the sound is somehow really alive and organic. a little unreliable maybe, but maybe that's also part of the charme/character.
synthesis vise it's quite simple, but it manages to sound alot more interresting in the mix than some of the more popular classic polys. remember to use both lfo's and all the great velocity options and it really shines.

but to get to the actual topic... my relationship with my jx-10 is a bit like a love/hate one. ok those pads and strings are phenomenal, and all the other stuff is good too. it just often sounds too good and clean, and that can be a little boring. i can't say i don't like my jx-10, but some days i just can't make it sound good in the mix... then again sometimes it does miracles. having the pg-800 controller surely helps to get the good stuff out. also got that colin fraser update to fix the crippled midi functions.

but like rude said.. many times i find myself playing with a casio pt-1 for a track while surrounded with all those big "real" synths. the crappiest stuff might just save your day smile

Re: Ever buy something you wanted forever then you didn't like it so much?

crc wrote:

good topic!

mpc 2500 for me. mostly the faults on me for not taking the time to trying to get to learn it as well as i should have but there was just something about it that left more to be desired and stupid me i didn't even test the 2500 before i bought it. all is well though, it is sold and now in the hands of someone who will take good advantage of it.

i think this topic could do for all things that you've wanted forever (not just things you've wanted to buy) and then didn't like so much, such as: certain girlfriends. smile