Well, no one has mentioned Kurzweil yet, I have a K2000 and a K2600 and they are really good. the synthesis architecture on the K2xxx series is called VAST and is the digital equivalent of a analogue modular synth only polyphonic, I would recommend getting a K2000 as they can be bought cheaply, I got mine for £125 but it needed a new display, which is a common fault and it cost me £65 to put right. mine still has the original firmware and ROMs and no sampling option but the waveforms in ROM are plenty to be getting in to creating stuff with and others can loaded from floppy.
Its a bit like a DX7 with the different algorithms which define the routing between the modules, the big difference being that these modules are oscillators,filters and waveshapers etc etc, the list is quite large all in all quite a formidable beast, the use of samples also opens up another interesting avenue of sound design!
There is lots more info to be had here

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The Korg 707 was quite fun too, a stripped-down DS8, but with strap buttons so you can wear it like a guitar on stage, it has no onboard fx tho, but plug it into some stompboxes and it’s a lot of fun for not much money, its a 4 op FM synth btw :slight_smile:

Oh this thread has already made me purchase Yamaha TG33. And now I’m eyeing for more… what have I done! It’s great that it tapped into something.

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Yamaha TX7 (desktop version of the DX7) is small at least. :slight_smile: But if I’m being honest, I’ve had both and sold it in favour of a Volca FM.

I’ve been using an Alesis QS6 recently, it has some really nice sounds on it IMO but you wouldn’t know from the demos on yt!

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I’m very curious about patch base. You recommend it?

How are your knobs on the XT? Mine are all crumbling so I’ve purchased a big bag of replacements. Changes the look for sure but not the sound.

yeap. Great support with a growing list of synths. Check their facebook page for more day to day updates.

Check this out if you haven’t already

https://www.monstrummedia.com/product/wavext/

The cool thing is you can lock certain parameters before randomization. Which also means you can load a patch of your own and then randomize variations.

Wow, an entire thread about digital synths and not a single mention of Nord…

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does anyone else fondly remember Sealed’s Deep Synthesis Page? (so many broken links now :frowning_face:) – it was a treasure trove of info on then-forgotten-and-mostly-affordable gear, and the demos were gorgeous and weird and showed off some really clever programming tricks.

I’ll join the chorus of Ensoniq fans. I have no intention of ever giving up my ESQ-1, and I loved my EPS while it lasted – recorded an album, toured with it as my main sequencer, switching floppy disks between songs… it broke my heart when my EPS stopped working, not least because it did so by completely losing the beat in the middle of a show and never quite recovered. The ESQ-1 interface is remarkably friendly for a ‘data entry slider’-based synth – basically any parameter you might want to edit is 1-2 button presses away. And I’d be very happy to see VF displays make a comeback.

I love the Wavestation sound (which also features on the album I linked above), but I gave mine up in the end because the bizarre memory architecture, where a small(ish) number of wave sequences are shared between a much larger number of patches, and patches shared between ‘performances’, all without an easy way to tell which other patches/performances the thing you were editing might be used in, made me too nervous to really enjoy programming it. Might consider a Wavestate someday if I ever decide to go full new age keyboardist… has anyone here used/owned one?

Oh, and I’d be remiss not to mention the Yamaha TQ-5, the first proper MIDI synth I ever bought. Took me a while when I was first researching it to realize the photos I was seeing of it weren’t all artistically cropped, it actually looks like that (and from that moment, I was sold). Great internal reverbs. Lots of patches available online, from what I remember; TX81z patches are mostly compatible.

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Mine are fine, except for the main volume knob, which is a bit wobbly.

I think in this case, it’s the pot the knob is attached to, rather than the knob itself.

It still works fine, so I’ve not tried investigating any further.

It seems the XT shipped with several different knob types, incidentally.

Mine has ones like these (not my cat):

Which ones did yours have?

Yeah I have the earlier style knobs which are tall and tapered. The material those were made of is disintegrating for most owners and finding similar replacements in quantity is a lot. It’s freaky the first time it happens - you’re turning the knob and it just splinters into pieces in your fingers. I settled for cheapo generic plastic plated aluminum knobs as it became apparent it was not going to be easy to get anything that looked like the originals. It’s not like anyone sees my set up and I’ve never sold gear, just given it away.

Whoa, that sounds horrible…

I think the tapered knobs are from later runs of the XT, actually.

Mine seems to be one of the early batches, with a slightly protruding clear cover over the display, and a matte, slightly textured coating to the panel.

Your model has a better-quality DAC, apparently (though mine still sounds pretty good, to my, admittedly untrained ear).

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Yes, the tapered knobs are later, and only version 3 supports the 30 voice expansion board.

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Maybe he’s a bit… abrasive, but Jexus has a lot of old synth demos and also reviews on his website. He was dormant for a few years, but his older stuff is mostly 80’s/90’s/00’s. The sounds he can coax out of any synth will sell you on it, but his commentary is also useful.

As for me, I <3 the Blofeld, and second the recommendation of the Reface DX… its modulation capabilities are somewhat restricted, but embracing them can lead to fantastic results. :slight_smile:

I used a ESQ-1, and I think it has a really cool interface, but I didn’t fall in love with it. (Heck, if anyone from Pittsburgh wants it, hit me up.)

The Casio HT-700 is a fun instrument, but frustratingly limited, and with a really annoying interface for programming (like an Alpha Juno where the dial remembers what position it’s at and has hard stops, so you always need to find your place in the parameter list because it’ll be different once you’ve changed the value.) If you can get one cheap, go for it.

Lastly, my old roommate at one point was given an SY77 with some missing keys that had sat out in the rain as payment for reparing a Juno, and… I loved that thing. Sure, it’s a ROMPLER that I never wanted to program, but the presets and the sounds on it are just good and musical. <3

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Yay. Looks ugly but sounds better? I’ll take it!

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The tapered type knobs on my MWXT were crumbling/cracking so I replaced them with the chroma caps ones. Looks pretty good IMHO.

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Wow, you have a Shadow Edition XT, you lucky thing…

Knobs look good!

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Yes - love those knobs way more than mine!