KVR Audio

Coxy · Post by **Coxy** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 1:38 am

Yeah, well since I've got more in-depth with cubase and actually dived into the manual properly and bought external media(some very good books) to facilitate my knowledge of the program I'm finding more and more flexibility and utility with this daw.

I really really REALLY want to get a hardware synth (and a mixer, and a novation remote SL, and some headphones but hey rome wasn't built...

)

I want something cheap, secondhand and quirky. I don't mean archaic I mean cheap and cheerful.

Basicly I'm a fiddler and I just wanna start fiddling with real dials and buttons for a change, so much so that I'm considering even a cheap sampler...why? I don't know lol.

To give an exmple on sound on sound ads I see things like TG500 for £140, or a jv1080 for £160. I see alot for cheap then visit vintage synth to check out the synth but would like some help from you guys.

No more than £200($400) though it would be great to see some change from that. Just after some cheap, old fun peice of crap I can twiddle and make sounds on, intergrate it with cubase via midi and my audio in's on my 1212m and record/noodle and hey perhaps even have a use for it. who knows!! Any experiences or advice? I'd get an A-station but I have the V-station already..hmm perhaps a Waldorf pulse.

(Oh and rumor has it the last people to visit my site never had to buy or program another trance patch in their life again )

Shy · Post by **Shy** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:43 am

If you find a second hand Nord Lead or Nord Lead Rack (1 or 2, doesn't matter) in good condition for that price, get it immediately. It's the ultimate fiddler synth and one of the best sounding synths ever.
Roland SH-201 is a great synth and you can get it new for pretty cheap, but not $400 cheap, more like $600 cheap. If you don't find a Nord Lead and find an SH-201 second hand, I say get it. You get great sound and fine tweakability.

aciddose · Post by **aciddose** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:54 am

sh-09s go for about 350. ms-10s for about 250. alpha junos around 150.

unless you've got a midi->cv box already, i wouldnt recommend buying anything analog unless you just want to have it as a toy. i mean, that is probably why you want them anyway but i'm just trying to say dont aim too high with them, you'll definitely run into trouble.

it can be extremely fun to mess with the stuff though. i could also recommend electric organs. a majority of them can be modified to fit into a keyboard size box.. the whole cabinets can be stripped away. amplifiers can be removed and you can run the output signal directly into a console or whatever. these go for at most 50, and usually people will pay you to take them away.

i'm thinking of going into business building small mono synths for around 150 per. i'm still having a difficult time working in an acceptable amount of profit while keeping the cost and workload reasonable. i'm not trying to sell you anything here, but i'm wondering if i were in business at the moment would you think of picking one of those up? what price range would you pay? what features would you be looking for?

i'm talking about keyboard-less instruments of course. i've also built a number of cv keyboards using salvaged boards from electric organs though, and i'm considering selling those too. what would you interest be in that?

i should probably ask these questions in the hardware forum.

anyway, there are a number more small synths that go for fairly cheap that i havent mentioned. you can get fair deals on modern modulars (150-500 range) on ebay as well.

i'm speaking in dollars here by the way.

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:55 am

I got my Korg MS-2000r for $300 USD and I have yet to regret it. The presets are so, so... for what I do anyway but it can be programmed to do a lot more. Only four voices, on the down side but three step modulators and a decent arppegiator.

I don't do much trance but I have heard that you can't do much better than Waldorf, for that style in it's price range.

Quiggers · Post by **Quiggers** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 4:35 pm

i picked up an ms2000r recently and have been delighted with it, for a cheap trance type synth why not look at novation , i've got an a-station, very hands on to programme but limited to 4 voices, the nova's and supernova's are are ebay too, maybe a korg electribe might suit you, but be aware of the differences between sound modules and synths.

pandashake · Post by **pandashake** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 4:46 pm

[quote="aciddose"]sh-09s go for about 350. ms-10s for about 250. alpha junos around 150. quote]

if you see one of those ms-10s for $250, let me know! last time i check it was double that.

justin3am · Post by **justin3am** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 4:55 pm

I just saw on Nova Music a few synths that fit your price range. Some even are real analog. The Spectral Audio synth looks nice enough, I might even pick one up for myself.

http://www.novamusik.com/search.aspx?ty ... keyword=67

Polite Company · Post by **Polite Company** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 4:56 pm

pandashake wrote:
aciddose wrote:sh-09s go for about 350. ms-10s for about 250. alpha junos around 150.
if you see one of those ms-10s for $250, let me know! last time i check it was double that.

Ditto, I've never seen one listed that low anywhere.

You may want to check out the Technosaurus Microcon II. I doesn't seem like the most flexible synth but it is pretty cheap at ~$300 but if you go for the first CV only version I've seen those for ~$150 and all analog circuitry with a 1-1 control ratio (i.e. one control for each parameter). On top of is all if you get more into analog vintage synths the second version is MIDI controlled but can also act as a MIDI->CV converter.

inf0tr8r · Post by **inf0tr8r** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:06 pm

alesis micron

aciddose · Post by **aciddose** » Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:53 pm

"if you see one of those ms-10s for $250, let me know! last time i check it was double that."

it really depends upon the time of year and where you get it from. i'm talking about buying from somebody like around here on kvr. check in local ads and join some analog synth mailing lists. you'll find lots of ms-10s and so on there for fair prices. the usual ebay prices are insane like 800 for a ms-10 - total rip off. the prices on the less trendy stuff however like literally 2nd hand (coming from the original buyer) modern modulars you can get good deals on.

if you're going to get a good deal on an old mono-synth you'll need to get it from another keyboard player, somebody who will sell it to you for a fair price rather than the price they "could" get on ebay. i have a sh-09 here and actually i would be completely willing to sell that immediately for 350, only i've replaced almost all of the circuits with modern components and it is basically now completely rebuilt. it sounds the same, but uses different components and i've put stuff on daughter boards and so on. you cant talk me into selling it to you "i dont care if it's modified" or anything like that either because i _know_ it'll break or something will go wrong and i'm not willing to pass it on to somebody who isnt able to deal with it.

Dominus · Post by **Dominus** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 12:00 am

I'll third the Korg MS2000R. I've owned most every VA (Waldorf Microwave, XT, Access Virus B, Roland JP-8080, Nord Lead 2, and more):

Sold them all, and kept the MS2000R.

Shy · Post by **Shy** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 3:27 am

microWave is really not an attempt to emulate analog synths. Heck, the first version's filter has nothing "virtual" about it

. I would never replace mine, it sounds great and unique.

intel · Post by **intel** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 3:46 am

aciddose wrote:unless you've got a midi->cv box already, i wouldnt recommend buying anything analog unless you just want to have it as a toy. i mean, that is probably why you want them anyway but i'm just trying to say dont aim too high with them, you'll definitely run into trouble.

that's rubbish. you just have to use this thing called an AUDIO OUT. its weird, but once you get used to using it you'll love it.

I'd rather have a "toy" like this over all the MIDI equipment in the world.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 3:57 am

Coxy wrote:To give an exmple on sound on sound ads I see things like TG500 for £140, or a jv1080 for £160.

These aren't "fiddly" synths, I'd say they're significantly more difficult to program than most softsynths. Others here have mentioned some decent synths but, of them, really only the Nords, MS-10, and MS-2000 have enough knobs to make them especially good for fiddling around on. The MS-2000, though not my personal choice, would make a great synth if you're into trance.

ouroboros · Post by **ouroboros** » Sun Jul 29, 2007 4:18 am

ensoniq esq-1 ~150 US$ max, fat analogue filters, nice keys. Large sound palette, too. Someone here advised me to check one out instead of buying a new synth, and I'm very glad I listened

So I gotta get a hardware synth, but a cheap one!