Most Missed Bit-O-Kit
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- KVRAF
- 6496 posts since 26 Nov, 2004 from Frederick, MD
What's the one (ore more) piece of kit that you used to have, but is gone and sorely missed?
I've got two:
1) Crumar Performer. I've got one and it's like WAY in bad shape. Knobs broken off, slider pots not working, bad connections, pretty much useless. But it's an often overlooked string synth that really stands the test of time (not in a hardware sense, of course, since it's falling apart!).
2) Ensoniq EPS. Not a high tech sampler by any means, this was the Mirage's replacement. Bad sampling rate, VERY limited RAM...but as a performance synth, it was wonderful (thus the P part of its name--Ensoniq Performance Sampler, duh). It had a very intuitive interface for live performance. You could load a sound while playing (not something many other samplers at the time allowed), and it had two programable Layer buttons so you could set up performance layers and trigger them via the button combinations, so 4 performance layer combinations: no buttons pressed, left button pressed, right button pressed, both buttons pressed. Each of these would trigger your pre-programmed selection of sample layers (8 in total?).
But the EPS had a wonderful bug that made it the ultimate performance abstract soundworld synth: if you loaded 8 sounds into it, then edited a loop of one of the samples, making it smaller and smaller . . . it would finally freak totally out and start playing "random" snipettes of all the sounds currently loaded! Total freak machine! But it wasn't entirely random, because each note you pressed would play the same screwed up pattern of sounds, cycling through a long and manic pattern before settling on one buzz or another. So the trick was, you would find a note that played a sequence you liked, then sample THAT sound. Do that 8 times, then load them all and do it again! Using the mod wheel set to control loop start point and setting up 8 differnt layers of freaked out sounds, you could then perform the most amazing transmigrational sounds I've ever heard. Actually it sounded a lot like a Fizmo or the Neuron, only the sound pallet was user-defined and much more chaotic.
Again, I still have mine but it's in need of repair.
I've got two:
1) Crumar Performer. I've got one and it's like WAY in bad shape. Knobs broken off, slider pots not working, bad connections, pretty much useless. But it's an often overlooked string synth that really stands the test of time (not in a hardware sense, of course, since it's falling apart!).
2) Ensoniq EPS. Not a high tech sampler by any means, this was the Mirage's replacement. Bad sampling rate, VERY limited RAM...but as a performance synth, it was wonderful (thus the P part of its name--Ensoniq Performance Sampler, duh). It had a very intuitive interface for live performance. You could load a sound while playing (not something many other samplers at the time allowed), and it had two programable Layer buttons so you could set up performance layers and trigger them via the button combinations, so 4 performance layer combinations: no buttons pressed, left button pressed, right button pressed, both buttons pressed. Each of these would trigger your pre-programmed selection of sample layers (8 in total?).
But the EPS had a wonderful bug that made it the ultimate performance abstract soundworld synth: if you loaded 8 sounds into it, then edited a loop of one of the samples, making it smaller and smaller . . . it would finally freak totally out and start playing "random" snipettes of all the sounds currently loaded! Total freak machine! But it wasn't entirely random, because each note you pressed would play the same screwed up pattern of sounds, cycling through a long and manic pattern before settling on one buzz or another. So the trick was, you would find a note that played a sequence you liked, then sample THAT sound. Do that 8 times, then load them all and do it again! Using the mod wheel set to control loop start point and setting up 8 differnt layers of freaked out sounds, you could then perform the most amazing transmigrational sounds I've ever heard. Actually it sounded a lot like a Fizmo or the Neuron, only the sound pallet was user-defined and much more chaotic.
Again, I still have mine but it's in need of repair.
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- KVRian
- 1219 posts since 12 Aug, 2002
On of my Mini Moogs. I owned several at one time but this one had *the* sound.
Got it stolen at a gig once. Then I got it back (loooong story about that) only to get it stolen again about three months later from a studio.
My other Minis could never match the sound and would not hold a stable tuning quite like the one I lost, which is one of the reasons I liked taking that particular one on gigs and sessions.
I sold my other Minis before *they* got copped.
Got it stolen at a gig once. Then I got it back (loooong story about that) only to get it stolen again about three months later from a studio.
My other Minis could never match the sound and would not hold a stable tuning quite like the one I lost, which is one of the reasons I liked taking that particular one on gigs and sessions.
I sold my other Minis before *they* got copped.
To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders - Lao Tzu
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- KVRian
- 980 posts since 25 Feb, 2003
Tell us!kilroy wrote:Then I got it back (loooong story about that)...
?????????????
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Mental Audio Deviations Mental Audio Deviations https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=43630
- KVRist
- 180 posts since 7 Oct, 2004 from NL
I used to have a lovely, white, flying V type guitar that I had to sell. Still miss that one 
Jaap
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- KVRAF
- 3528 posts since 18 Apr, 2002 from British Columbia, Canada
two things:
MC 202 by roland. Sold it to Sect (Micheal Victory et al) for a sum so low I won't tell you.
SU-700 by Yamaha
I have moaned about this one several times before, and I will keep moaning about it. This is one of the most truly wonderful instruments of all time in my opinion. I have never, before or since, used something so... arg... intuitive. I hate using that word to describe these things, but in this case it really seemed to actually be so. I will get another some day. As Dog is my witness, I will have it as my own!!!!!!

MC 202 by roland. Sold it to Sect (Micheal Victory et al) for a sum so low I won't tell you.
SU-700 by Yamaha
I have moaned about this one several times before, and I will keep moaning about it. This is one of the most truly wonderful instruments of all time in my opinion. I have never, before or since, used something so... arg... intuitive. I hate using that word to describe these things, but in this case it really seemed to actually be so. I will get another some day. As Dog is my witness, I will have it as my own!!!!!!
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- KVRAF
- 13444 posts since 14 Nov, 2000 from Hannover / Germany
My old Ibanez Roadster II series strat copy.
Modified it beyond recognition (actually, in the end only the re-shaped body was left), did some quite revolutionary wirings, finally made it have some 4:2 headstock with locking tuners (which was VERY unusual back them) and some special tremolo as well.
And while all such efforts usually fail and you better invest your time and money into some proper axe made by some experienced people, not so with this one, it was the perfect guitar for me.
Has been stolen from a gig, no insurance either (which didn't even matter that much as it was non-replaceable). I really cried for days as it was MY guitar, 100% designed to suit MY needs, which it perfectly did. And I'm sure it still would, even now (happened around 15 years ago).
Modified it beyond recognition (actually, in the end only the re-shaped body was left), did some quite revolutionary wirings, finally made it have some 4:2 headstock with locking tuners (which was VERY unusual back them) and some special tremolo as well.
And while all such efforts usually fail and you better invest your time and money into some proper axe made by some experienced people, not so with this one, it was the perfect guitar for me.
Has been stolen from a gig, no insurance either (which didn't even matter that much as it was non-replaceable). I really cried for days as it was MY guitar, 100% designed to suit MY needs, which it perfectly did. And I'm sure it still would, even now (happened around 15 years ago).
There are 3 kinds of people:
Those who can do maths and those who can't.
Those who can do maths and those who can't.
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- KVRian
- 1144 posts since 9 Jan, 2004 from tOKYO
spoonboiler wrote: As Dog is my witness, I will have it as my own!!!!!!![]()
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here's one on ebay
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... eName=WDVW
Not bad meaning bad but bad meaning good
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- KVRAF
- 1682 posts since 13 Oct, 2003 from Oulu, Finland
Kurzweil K2000VP...
I don't know if I can say that I actually miss it, but I don't have any replacement for it in my current "software only" studio setup (now I only have analog sounds)
It used to be my trusty workhorse when it was time to put some more traditional sounds in the mix. I'm still waiting for the day when the guys at Kurzweil release a VSTi version of it.
I got rid of it, because I don't like hardware synths (they are just too much trouble and take too much space). I gave it to the local dealer and got Korg Legacy Collection for it.
I might say that something very similar happened also to my Lexicon and now I don't have any reverbs in my studio arsenal
(thankfully it was only MPX-100, but it still sounded quite nice, even though it was "a bit" restricting)
I don't know if I can say that I actually miss it, but I don't have any replacement for it in my current "software only" studio setup (now I only have analog sounds)
I got rid of it, because I don't like hardware synths (they are just too much trouble and take too much space). I gave it to the local dealer and got Korg Legacy Collection for it.
I might say that something very similar happened also to my Lexicon and now I don't have any reverbs in my studio arsenal
Misspellers of the world, unit!
https://soundcloud.com/aflecht
https://soundcloud.com/aflecht
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 6496 posts since 26 Nov, 2004 from Frederick, MD
I don't mean to be sacrilegious but...there IS no Dog.spoonboiler wrote:As Dog is my witness, I will have it as my own!!!!!!![]()
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One more that just came to me:
Roland PG200 -- for my JX3P. I was just SO good at programming with that thing. Haven't written one good sound since it was stolen from a gig. There seems to be a theme here (stolen gear).
Mean people suck.
- Beware the Quoth
- 35474 posts since 4 Sep, 2001 from R'lyeh Oceanic Amusement Park and Funfair
I only ever owned one real synth... a Digisound 80 modular. Would love to have that back.
An idiot on Set Theory:
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
"In some cases there is an object called red that contains everything that is red. In much the same way a pot is a plate."
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- KVRAF
- Topic Starter
- 6496 posts since 26 Nov, 2004 from Frederick, MD
Dude. Sucks to be you.CypherOne wrote:I lost an adjustable spanner recently.
"See how he uses a spanner to tighten that nut!"
"All in a day's work for . . . Bicycle Repairman."
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- KVRAF
- 7936 posts since 18 Feb, 2003 from out there somewhere
ah not really, it's amazing how many little jobs around the house I can no longer do....emdot_ambient wrote:Dude. Sucks to be you.CypherOne wrote:I lost an adjustable spanner recently.