looking for a digital polysynth to compliment my blofeld.

[Auditor]

Not sure if it was mentioned yet, but keep an eye out for a used Ensoniq esq-1. I had one a few years ago and still regret selling it. i think you can still find them for under $300 

[TubularCorporation]

Not sure if it was mentioned yet, but keep an eye out for a used Ensoniq esq-1. I had one a few years ago and still regret selling it. i think you can still find them for under $300 

 

I almost did but for some reason I thought portability was important, even though it's not even implied in the OP.

 

Those things look fantastic.

 

I continue to support the Kawai K1 or K1m (not the rack though, the joystick is key and isn't MIDI) as a very underrated piece, although the prices seem to be getting up into ESQ-1 range this year. 

 

If keyboards are an option, the Roland D-10 is really undervalued because of its mostly undeserved reputation as a second rate D-50.

 

Also CZ-1000 is cheap because everyone wants the 101 for portability.  Fantastic, reliable synths.  Not that tweakable but easy to program.  Only down side is only 16 user memory locations and no battery backup (but it's absolutely rudimentary to wire in a battery holder for 4 AA's and those will last a year or two.  As long as it's getting more than 5v but less than 9v from its batteries it will retain its memory but won't actually turn on without mains power, so you don't have to worry about accidentally turning it on with the mains unplugged, running down the batteries over night, and losing all your patches (plus $10+ of batteries).  4 AAs in a clip with some wires soldered to the battery terminals in the keyboard does the trick and pretty much anyone with a screwdriver and a $10 soldering iron can do it.Last CZ-1000 I saw locally was $60.

[Bubba69]

Korg m1r prices seem cheap. ms2000 microkorg. older virus. I would look at a bunch of videos and decide which sound you like.

 

EDIT: korg Z1 is pretty badass too, little pricy in comparison to the above but probably way more powerful.

[TubularCorporation]

M1r is cool and distinctive sounding and much easier to program than people seem to think, but definitely look into it and make sure you know wht you're getting in to.  It won't sound like anything but itself, so it's down to whether you want that sound.  Don't expect things like filters.  It's four layers of 200+ single cycle, 8 bit digital waveforms with independent amplitude envelopes, and a few dozen short samples of the attack phase of different sounds, and you use the envelopes and envelope delays to build complex sounds additively.  It's very digital but in a very different way than any other digital synth I've heard (even the later K series synths are kind of different).  I love it, personally, but it's definitely weird.

[sweepstakes]

Not sure if it was mentioned yet, but keep an eye out for a used Ensoniq esq-1. I had one a few years ago and still regret selling it. i think you can still find them for under $300

It's a nice synth. So is the SQ80. It always has that 8 bit rompler sound but it's lovely for pads.

[Auditor]

https://soundcloud.com/auditorsounds/refill-schedule

 

The synth in this old track of mine is all esq-1 (I was very obsessed with BoC at the time) 

[TubularCorporation]

Korg m1r prices seem cheap. ms2000 microkorg. older virus. I would look at a bunch of videos and decide which sound you like.

 

EDIT: korg Z1 is pretty badass too, little pricy in comparison to the above but probably way more powerful.

 

Any of the 90s Korg AI2 synths will get you a pretty classic array of 90s ROMpler sounds.  M1 is THE European 90s house piano machine, for better or worse.

 

 

Wavestation SR is still pretty affordable because people are scared off by the programming.  It's definitely nowhere near as easy as the other Wavestations but it's not that bad and the Soundtower editor is pretty good if you're on Windows (they no longer have the PDF of the manual though - their support told me it was lost in some kind of drive crash years ago and there are no backups - so there's basically no support for it and when I explained the situation to the Korg Users' group on yahoo and asked if anyone could upload it they just assumed I'd pirated the program and unilaterally refused - but it's not that tough to figure out).  Honestly, though, even from the front panel it isn't too bad, a lot easier than the Roland D-110 anyhow, despite having a more complicated architecture.

 

If you don't need portability I'd look in to a Wavestation A/D.  Has the better interface, the joystick, and audio inputs so you can use its effects on external signals and also use live input in wave sequences.

[TubularCorporation]

Just in general, advanced 90s ROMplers and even samplers are about as undervalued right now as 80s DCO polysynths were in the early to mid 2000s, which is to say they're not as cheap as they were a few years ago but they're still really good deals and it can't stay that way much longer, fashion is catching up with them fast.

 

Rare and private press new age is getting trendier by the day and the instruments that made it are going to become a lot more sought after soon.

[acid1]

That Roland Boutique JU-06 is pretty dope.

[Braintree]

 

Didn't OP say the synth needed to be relatively cheap? Peak is over a grand, isn't it?

 

 

Yeah, it's not particularly on topic.

 

 

 

Holy shit. I hadn't looked into it before now. That synth is pretty awesome, even for $1200.

[sheatheman]

Just in general, advanced 90s ROMplers and even samplers are about as undervalued right now as 80s DCO polysynths were in the early to mid 2000s, which is to say they're not as cheap as they were a few years ago but they're still really good deals and it can't stay that way much longer, fashion is catching up with them fast.

 

Rare and private press new age is getting trendier by the day and the instruments that made it are going to become a lot more sought after soon.

Really funny accurate post

[Guest Chesney]

And it also outlines the sad reality that peoples brains work like that. getting on that next trendy thing is a fucking sorry state of affairs, for vapid cunts looking for kudos rather than happiness in music.

Make what you make, the stuff you want to listen to not the music you think is going to get you known and lots of sex.

 

Not having go at anyone, i'm in a mood as I was just reading about Grenfell.

[kausto]

I'm surprised no one mentioned nord rack 2. Gonna be first then.

[auxien]

I'd imagine Nord Rack would also be too expensive for OP. Relatively cheap (I'm assuming $500 or less? Clarification OP?) is a qualification.

[pcock]

exact price isnt really an issue, i think i already made my mind up on the micromonsta from the first page. only costs about 250, its tiny, and the demos sound good enough for me to work with once theyre pounded by my effect rack. 

 

alternatively il save up for a few months and get an OB-6 module. that would be fuckin sweet.

[Qalab Wighek]

And it also outlines the sad reality that peoples brains work like that. getting on that next trendy thing is a fucking sorry state of affairs, for vapid cunts looking for kudos rather than happiness in music.

Make what you make, the stuff you want to listen to not the music you think is going to get you known and lots of sex.

 

Forgive me for my language, but this is a pussy attitude in my opinion because you could easily make music you like that would get you lots of sex if you're willing to overpower everyone else with sheer musical prowess.

 

Quit being a bunch of pussies bowing down to all the latest bullshit and invent a new genre that gets bitches wet.

 

They're not going to fuck you for being a fucking advertisement for some other shit, they're gonna think you're a bitch.

[TubularCorporation]

And it also outlines the sad reality that peoples brains work like that. getting on that next trendy thing is a fucking sorry state of affairs, for vapid cunts looking for kudos rather than happiness in music.

Make what you make, the stuff you want to listen to not the music you think is going to get you known and lots of sex.

 

Not having go at anyone, i'm in a mood as I was just reading about Grenfell.

 

 

Yeah, I kind of agree (up to the point that I don't really give a shit whether something is trendy or not if it sounds good, but fashion irks me to no end).  I'm just saying get those 90s digital synths while they're still cheap and do cool stuff with them.   I went on a bit of a "dark, acid casualty 70s New Age music" kick in the mid 2000s so it's pretty funny to me to see it suddenly becoming a big fad in the last year because some compilation came out.

 

Not that some of that stuff isn't really good in its way, at its best it's kind of the North American equivalent to Berlin School and a precursor to a LOT of 90s and newer electronic styles.  It's just the faddism that's ridiculous, seeing guys I know for a fact were deep in to black metal a decade ago getting down to ambient flute music is hilarious.

 

EDIT: I also distinctly remember the turning point where in a matter of months the Grateful Dead went from being derided to cool because Animal Collective sampled them.

 

Personally I think Ilove ROMplers because I grew up on and love crappy 90s direct to video movies, and I'm in my 30s so when I was first starting to make music it was the golden age of ROMplers and I have memories of stuff like going to the local shop, pressing one key on the Korg Trinity and just sitting there in awe at the sounds it could make and the touch screen that was like something out of a sci-fi movie and just wishing that it weren't half the cost of a new compact car. They say around 12-18 is when you build most of the strongest sense memories you'll ever form and just in general one year in that age range is worth 3-5 years as an adult or child in terms of memory building, so whatever tastes you form at that age you're kind of stuck with them. 

[GetSquirrely]

 

And it also outlines the sad reality that peoples brains work like that. getting on that next trendy thing is a fucking sorry state of affairs, for vapid cunts looking for kudos rather than happiness in music.

Make what you make, the stuff you want to listen to not the music you think is going to get you known and lots of sex.

 

Forgive me for my language, but this is a pussy attitude in my opinion because you could easily make music you like that would get you lots of sex if you're willing to overpower everyone else with sheer musical prowess.

 

Quit being a bunch of pussies bowing down to all the latest bullshit and invent a new genre that gets bitches wet.

 

They're not going to fuck you for being a fucking advertisement for some other shit, they're gonna think you're a bitch.

 

damn this guy is ALPHA 

[Qalab Wighek]

im just trying to motivate you

[Guest Chesney]

damn qalab I think you schooled us there, I feel wet under your prowess, I can only hope to be able to make the stuff you want to make and ride on those pussy soaked coat tails.

 

And, no I wasn't aiming at you RSP or anyone in particular. I don't mind what people like in gear, fuck that would be awful if I looked down on people that were not using what I thought was the pinnacle. People genuinely love what is cool at a time and lots of amazing music comes from alot of it... Just sad that the mind of the typical person is geared towards getting love and adding to hype to feel part of some movement rather than making the music that comes naturally whether it be cool or not.

[sweepstakes]

lol, pseudo-Freudian internet tough guy posturing aside, I'm with Chesney on this one. After seeing TR-707s go for embarrassingly high prices I'm really over any vintage shit that has even a whiff of trendiness. I love my Mirage (OK this seems to have a whiff or two of trendiness to it but I got it for < $150) and I love my RSD-10 because they are nasty and weird. Recent gear actually covers the other bases pretty well.  

 

Sadly RSP is probably right about old romplers but I really don't need any more excuses to hoard gear. Plus, I've always had more fun faking romplers with samplers. For example, multisampling (or one-note sampling) a piano off a warbly stretched cassette gives you WAY more flavor than the, uh, "authentic" (barf) rompler ever would.

[TubularCorporation]

damn qalab I think you schooled us there, I feel wet under your prowess, I can only hope to be able to make the stuff you want to make and ride on those pussy soaked coat tails.

 

And, no I wasn't aiming at you RSP or anyone in particular. I don't mind what people like in gear, fuck that would be awful if I looked down on people that were not using what I thought was the pinnacle. People genuinely love what is cool at a time and lots of amazing music comes from alot of it... Just sad that the mind of the typical person is geared towards getting love and adding to hype to feel part of some movement rather than making the music that comes naturally whether it be cool or not.

 

Oh yeah, I knew you weren't aiming it at me specifically, didn't mean to imply I thought you were!  I was just co-venting.

[ignatius]

yamaha tx802, DX11, dx7

 

lot's of goodness there that will work well w/the crispness of the blofeld.  i'd also look around for nord lead 1 w/12 voice expansion. always a winner. :)

[Braintree]

*bursts through drywall*

 

*slaps dick over ROMpler*

 

*backflips out of thread*

[ignatius]

*bursts through drywall*

 

*slaps dick over ROMpler*

 

*backflips out of thread*

 

 

i think a cartwheel would be more appropriate than a backflip