What's your favorite vintage synthesizer?

[himalaya]

Is the Kurzweil K2000 any good? I've heard that they are as good as a Roland, but I haven't got the chance to try one.

What do you think about the Kurzweil K2000?

Pure class.

[himalaya]

Urs loves his DV800 and I love my mini700, which is the daddy of the 700/800 series. It's my first analog synth and the most fun and quirky with the sweetest filter. The implementation is also genius since I can sweep the two cutoff sliders using one hand - and separate the cutoff points with one hand if need be. Just perfect for those night noodle sessions.

[ghettosynth]

The ESQ-1 oscillators, for example, were great for their time considering what people wanted out of synths, but, they pale in comparison to actual analog oscillators when you want an analog sound.

Since these oscillators were digital, it would be weird to expect them to make the same sound as analog ones (despite the filter being analog).

Well, no doubt. But this is a thread about analog synths, heh! But even all digital oscillators aren't created equally. The Matrix 6 tends to fetch a bit more than the ensoniqs and I suspect that it's largely owing to the better sounding oscillators.

1986 was a different time, digital was king, everybody wanted the crisp sound of the DX synths. The ESQ-1 and Korg DW8000 were popular because they used wavetable oscillators which made it easier to get non-synth sounds out of a synth. Today we just use samples for that, and, it's not of much value in an analog synth.

[himalaya]

Well, no doubt. But this is a thread about analog synths, heh!

I'm afraid, it's not.
It's about vintage synths. Read the title again.
ESQ1 is vintage (and not analog, at least not fully).

[ghettosynth]

Is the Kurzweil K2000 any good? I've heard that they are as good as a Roland, but I haven't got the chance to try one.

What do you think about the Kurzweil K2000?

Pure class.

I've had a K2000RS for quite a few years, I purchased it new towards the end of the run. On the one hand, I regret buying it because it has lost so much value and will never be "classic." But, at the time, I got a lot of use out of it.

TBH, the synthesis engine seemed really powerful to me at the time, but, a few years later when I picked up the Nord Modular, I realized that it was actually quite limited.

The (K2K) filters are usable, but harsh. The samples are excellent, but forget GM compatibility. I've thought about buying a keyboard version to be my master keyboard because they are cheap these days and feel good. It would be nice to have a decent synth for when the computer is turned off. That said, they are old, prone to heat problems, and not all that reliable in general.

I don't use my rack version AT ALL today. I should have sold it years ago, I don't really know what to do with it today. It really doesn't do anything well enough to make the inconvenience of using it worthwhile.

Along the same lines, I have an ESI-32 gathering dust. I'm thinking that the pair of them along with an MMT-8 could form the core of a good Burning Man art project, but then, what could I do with them that I couldn't do with used netbook.

Now, the 2600 isn't much more of a synth, well, it's the 2000 architecture * 3, but, the KDFX fx sound really good. But, still, it's not clear to me that they're worth the hassle of owing the hardware.

[ghettosynth]

Well, no doubt. But this is a thread about analog synths, heh!

I'm afraid, it's not.
It's about vintage synths. Read the title again.
ESQ1 is vintage (and not analog, at least not fully).

Doh!

[ZenPunkHippy]

but then, what could I do with them that I couldn't do with used netbook.

Stand out from the crowd of laptop musicians?

Amuse the kids with tales of back breaking gear haulage?

...

[ras.s]

From the ones I've played I'd say



Yes it has faders for presets.

[himalaya]

TBH, the synthesis engine seemed really powerful to me at the time, but, a few years later when I picked up the Nord Modular, I realized that it was actually quite limited.

Sure. and conversely we could compare that Nord Modular to a fully loaded puter with plugs galore and say: "yes, the Nord is limited too".

At the time, the K2000 was simply untouched by anything else. Kurzweil was ahead of the game with some of those DSP process inside the K2000. We can criticize its engine now, being enlightened by all the latest developments (including the Nord Modular), but back in the 90s it was pure class. Still is, to a degree.

[himalaya]

From the ones I've played I'd say



Yes it has faders for presets.

I want that to join my Arp Solina and Roland RS-202. Although I'd like a Yamaha SS-30 too.

[zvenx]

I never understood ppl's raving of the K2000.. yes I know for programmers the VAST was great etc etc etc....but I always found the sound so vanilla... and I had one to use for years.......for me at best it was ok sounding....but I definitely used my Roland stuff (JV1080/2080/S-760) way more....

Actually I always liken it to a very popular software synth on kvr, that Raphael also did some banks for.....People rave about its flexibility but to me the sound reminds of the K2000.... ok/vanilla/......
as always opinions are like assholes
just my opinion.
rsp

[Vectorman]

Out of the ones I've owned, it's probably a tie between the Prophet VS and Juno 60. The Juno of course has that pleasing basic sound and watery chorus, and the VS, like the PPG, had that magical combo of artifact-ridden digital oscillators and analog filters that I don't think any software wavetable synths entirely capture yet. I no longer own either but find myself using sampled sounds from both of them in Kontakt and Omnisphere on a regular basis. I think eventually I may have to pick up another Juno. I got a bit sick of the Juno sound back in the day since a 106 was the only synth I owned for the first two years after getting into synths as a teen, but I've come to be rather fond of it again.

[olikana]

the DV800 I read is 2 minikorgs. can it stack the 2 filters in series ? therefore able to deliver also a 24db sound?

[ghettosynth]

I never understood ppl's raving of the K2000.. yes I know for programmers the VAST was great etc etc etc....but I always found the sound so vanilla... and I had one to use for years.......for me at best it was ok sounding....but I definitely used my Roland stuff (JV1080/2080/S-760) way more....

I think that VAST was really usable for creating fundamentally musical sounds, but not really that interesting for creating interesting effects; this is where it lacked flexibility. That said, you could get interesting effects, but they depended a lot on the samples that you used, not on the synth engine. What it was really good at was creating good (EDM) drum kits and I don't really think that the Roland or Yamaha could compete. This was where I spent a lot of time with the unit and the samples didn't matter because I used my own. I also used it a lot for interesting bass sounds. I have one 303esqe sound with a downward pitch on release that I don't think is possible to do in the other brands.

The other thing that was reall bad in the K2K but fixed in the 2500/2600 was the inflexibility and ok quality of the effects. The K2K basically had a single Digitech DSP-256 that could be used as a send. The effects in my JD-800 were much more inspiring. In fact, I liked the effects in the Yamaha TG-500/SY-77 better for flexibility.

The K2KR has additional individual outs that don't go through the effects processor. It was the core of my live rig for a while and I did use the built in DSP, but, I used then in external mode as two mono in/stereo out processors with a Mackie 1202. This helped with the noise of the effects somewhat as the entire signal was not re-digitized with the effects processor. Like I say, I used it a lot. The thumb dent on the knob of my unit has no paint. It's a silver dimple on a black knob. Although the rack is more flexible, I think the keyboard is more productive for sound design, the ergonomics are a lot better.

Actually I always liken it to a very popular software synth on kvr, that Raphael also did some banks for.....People rave about its flexibility but to me the sound reminds of the K2000.... ok/vanilla/......
as always opinions are like assholes
just my opinion.
rsp

Yeah, I get that. Like I said, the filters didn't have a lot of good character, but, they were good for the time. But the presets were quite vanilla and the real value was in the subtle detail that you could apply with VAST. I think that they really dropped the ball with the 2500 and 2600, they fixed the effects, but assumed that more of the same core engine was all that was necessary. They really need to deepen VAST not broaden it by giving you three sections of the same thing.

[PatchAdamz]

Another one that brings back memories, The Sequential Circuits Six-Trak.



The first affordable synth with multi-tracking capabilities.


The Six-Trak features two operational modes: Polyphonic Mode and Unison Mode. In Unison mode, with all six oscillators, this baby gets fat, rich, creamy and wild making it an excellent stand-in for Moog-like sounds. Also, the Six-Trak is capable of interesting and complex sound effects, mostly thanks to useful cross modulation and the six oscillators. It also includes a simple 6-channel on-board sequencer (of little usefulness these days). Its biggest limitations were: shortest attack too slow for really percussive sounds, smallest vco frequency adjustment too big for Zawinul-style subtle frequency envelopes & LFO, and the lack of built-in chorus, which would have helped to thicken the rather thin sounds in Polyphonic mode.