This was a question that was asked of me that I never got to answer.
My first hardware synth was a Moog Sonic Six. It cost me $600.
When I think about that, and think about what else I got at the time...
Hohner String Vox - $1,200
Teac A3440 4 Channel Reel To Reel - $1200
Teac 4 Channel Mixer - $300
That's $3,300 for 4 pieces of equipment.
Today, ITB, $3,300 could buy a setup that would dwarf the capabilities of what my $3,300 got me back in the 70s.
If I had to do it all over again, would I do it differently? Not sure. There weren't a lot of "affordable" options back then. I ultimately blew through my $10,000 inheritance like it was nothing and had very little to show for it, relatively speaking.
So what was your first hardware synth and, if you could do it all over again, would you? And, for that same money, what would you buy in software instead?
What Was Your First Hardware Synth?
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 21196 posts since 8 Oct, 2014
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- KVRist
- 107 posts since 5 Aug, 2009
Mine was a MOOG Prodigy. Still have it.
$75...at the high-point of the low-point of MOOG popularity, mid-late 80's.
I'd do it, again...and, again...and, again...
In fact, they had 2 just alike that day. Both $75. So, I should have done it, again, that day. But, who knew what was to come?
Being into bands that used them in the 70's, the "MOOG" was/is mythical to me, and I had to have one.
It was a case of my being so far behind, I was actually ahead. That's happened to me a lot with musical equipment [ARP string synthesizer; Roland Space Echo RE 201; etc].
If your question was about hardware in general, I kept all of mine over the years. Some of the racks nearly reach the ceiling. 3 more pieces on order to arrive in the coming week. I love software. It's amazing what can be done with the power of a computer. But, in the end, I still prefer hardware. So, not only would I do it, again, the same way, I'm, in fact still doing it the same way...again, and, again.
$75...at the high-point of the low-point of MOOG popularity, mid-late 80's.
I'd do it, again...and, again...and, again...
In fact, they had 2 just alike that day. Both $75. So, I should have done it, again, that day. But, who knew what was to come?
Being into bands that used them in the 70's, the "MOOG" was/is mythical to me, and I had to have one.
It was a case of my being so far behind, I was actually ahead. That's happened to me a lot with musical equipment [ARP string synthesizer; Roland Space Echo RE 201; etc].
If your question was about hardware in general, I kept all of mine over the years. Some of the racks nearly reach the ceiling. 3 more pieces on order to arrive in the coming week. I love software. It's amazing what can be done with the power of a computer. But, in the end, I still prefer hardware. So, not only would I do it, again, the same way, I'm, in fact still doing it the same way...again, and, again.
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- KVRAF
- 5678 posts since 25 Dec, 2004
Ensoniq SQ-1
dude i used to pay over $3,000 for a WEEK in the studio.
yay Macbooks loaded with plugins!
dude i used to pay over $3,000 for a WEEK in the studio.
yay Macbooks loaded with plugins!
sketches... http://soundcloud.com/onesnzeros
some artists i support... https://bandcamp.com/spectraselecta
some artists i support... https://bandcamp.com/spectraselecta
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- KVRian
- 1461 posts since 26 Jun, 2002 from London, UK
Yamaha PSS780
Actually a really good starter for FM!
Actually a really good starter for FM!
Wavetables for DUNE2/3, Blofeld, IL Harmor, Hive and Serum etc: http://charlesdickens.neocities.org/
£10 for lifetime updates including wavetable editor for Windows.
Music: https://soundcloud.com/markholt
£10 for lifetime updates including wavetable editor for Windows.
Music: https://soundcloud.com/markholt
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- KVRian
- 1107 posts since 30 Jun, 2015
bass station 2. now i have nothing 
might get in future something nice
might get in future something nice-
- KVRAF
- 10261 posts since 7 Sep, 2006 from Roseville, CA
Logic Pro | PolyBrute | MatrixBrute | MiniFreak | Prophet 6 | Trigon 6 | OB-6 | Rev2 | Pro 3 | SE-1X | Polar TI2 | Blofeld | RYTMmk2 | Digitone | Syntakt | Digitakt | Integra-7
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- KVRAF
- 12356 posts since 7 May, 2006 from Southern California
A used MS2000r. I got a lot out of that thing. I had experience with plug-ins and using other people's synths but getting my first piece of hardware was kinda special.
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- KVRAF
- 7364 posts since 9 Jan, 2003 from Saint Louis MO
My first real synth (not counting Casio VL-1) was a pawn shop MicroMoog that had seen better days. The ribbon controller didn't work at all and a couple of notes tended to stick. Cool for really deep brown noise though.
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- KVRian
- 661 posts since 19 Mar, 2001 from berlin / germany
i'm 33 now 
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- KVRAF
- 3080 posts since 17 Apr, 2005 from S.E. TN
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- KVRAF
- 7540 posts since 7 Aug, 2003 from San Francisco Bay Area
Korg DW-6000. I still maintain that it was the worst sounding synth ever made! Still, that thing served me well for many years.
Incomplete list of my gear: 1/8" audio input jack.
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- KVRist
- 238 posts since 3 Apr, 2016
A good ol' Roland SH-09.
Not a very flexible synth, but I still think it sounds awesome and is a lot of fun to tweak.
Would I start with such a simple synth again? Definitely! I think it helped me a lot to learn synths from the ground up, instead of starting with something complex.
Not a very flexible synth, but I still think it sounds awesome and is a lot of fun to tweak.
Would I start with such a simple synth again? Definitely! I think it helped me a lot to learn synths from the ground up, instead of starting with something complex.
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- KVRian
- 1034 posts since 4 Jan, 2005 from Traun Austria
