The Synth Thread...

All instruments that aren't guitars (or bass guitars).
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Singlebladepickup
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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by Singlebladepickup » Mon Nov 26, 2018 7:59 pm

Wish my Juno had midi...

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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by Telliot » Tue Nov 27, 2018 6:00 pm

Zork wrote:
Sun Nov 25, 2018 3:19 pm
I was just the other day in my local music shop and again played around with the MS-20 mini. I can't help but his thing feels so much like a cheap toy. All the pots are wobbly, everything is too small, there's no weight at all - for the money i would prefer to ditch the second oscillator and the multimode filter and get an old MS-10.
I love my MS-20. You should watch this video, he does a great job of showing how versatile the synth can be with a little know-how and patience. I can't tell if his rap is meant to be tongue in cheek (though I suspect it is), but overall, I think it's a great demonstration of the MS-20's capabilities.
The cool thing about fretless is you can hit a note...and then renegotiate.

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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by Zork » Wed Nov 28, 2018 2:48 am

I also like the MS-20 a lot. I just think the mini version is very toyish in terms of build quality and choice of materials etc. The once upon a synth guy is using an old one which is of course the same circuit but a lot more sturdy, heavy and solid.

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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by StevenO » Wed Nov 28, 2018 3:22 am

Telliot wrote:
Tue Nov 27, 2018 6:00 pm
Zork wrote:
Sun Nov 25, 2018 3:19 pm
I was just the other day in my local music shop and again played around with the MS-20 mini. I can't help but his thing feels so much like a cheap toy. All the pots are wobbly, everything is too small, there's no weight at all - for the money i would prefer to ditch the second oscillator and the multimode filter and get an old MS-10.
I love my MS-20. You should watch this video, he does a great job of showing how versatile the synth can be with a little know-how and patience. I can't tell if his rap is meant to be tongue in cheek (though I suspect it is), but overall, I think it's a great demonstration of the MS-20's capabilities.
Definitely some cool sounds in that video. I have quite a few "toy" synths already, what with the Behringer D and the Roland SH-01a, so it doesn't really bother me to have the MS-20 Mini. If I could find the module version of one for cheap, I'd buy one. Of course, I'd love an original vintage one too! :whistle:

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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by StevenO » Fri Nov 30, 2018 5:51 am

I just missed out on a cheap Roland JX8P. I know they're 80s digital craptastic, but I've been wanting one of these for awhile now and called to buy one that just came up for sale and another guy was on the other line giving his credit card info. Dang.

I need a good poly companion to my Juno 106 and I think that would have been awesome. If I can land a JX3P for a decent price, I'd be happy too!

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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by eggwheat » Fri Nov 30, 2018 8:22 am

Waddya mean? jx8p is analogue..not as fat and gloopy as a Juno 106 but very nice.

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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by StevenO » Fri Nov 30, 2018 8:27 am

For sure! I just mean they're not as hugely popular and sought after like other analog synths of the era. I dig'em!

Oh I just realized what you mean... I wrote digital. I meant sterile, but I find them fairly capable of warn pads and brass sounds. Even so, I dig digital too. My Roland Sh-01A is lovely and one of my most used synths (the poly option is incredibly useful and It's midi!).

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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by Telliot » Fri Nov 30, 2018 8:43 am

StevenO wrote:
Fri Nov 30, 2018 8:27 am
I find them fairly capable of warn pads and brass sounds
mmmmmmmmwarnnnnpadssssss :?
The cool thing about fretless is you can hit a note...and then renegotiate.

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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by StevenO » Fri Nov 30, 2018 9:27 am

Warm!

But yeah, a tad bummed about that. *Shrug*

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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by Telliot » Fri Nov 30, 2018 12:14 pm

;)
The cool thing about fretless is you can hit a note...and then renegotiate.

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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by OffYourFace » Fri Nov 30, 2018 3:19 pm

The only thing analog about Junos and JX stuff is the filter. The Juno 60 has an analog EG, the rest are digital I believe.

DCOs are half analog and half digital I guess.

IMO, having both a 106 and JX8P is a bit boring unless you really love the Roland sound.

I’d rather run a DX7 and a Roland together than two Rolands.

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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by StevenO » Fri Nov 30, 2018 3:55 pm

I already have a couple of moogs and three Rolands! I know what I like. :shifty:

But hey for the price, I could have made money off it too.

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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by oid » Fri Nov 30, 2018 4:35 pm

DCO just means that the information that tells the oscillator what pitch it should be is in the form of ones and zeros instead of a continuous changing voltage, it tells you nothing about what type of oscillator it is. The Juno DCO is an interesting beast, it uses an analog application of a very digital intergrated circuit. The binary counter, but you can wire up a counter so instead of the output increasing one binary unit each step, it increases one voltage unit each step creating a stair case wave form, aka saw. The output is stepped just like a digital oscillator, but there are no ones and zeros or DAC so it is certainly analog under digital control. This is what sets the Juno apart from the digital oscillators of the time and why it lacks the zipper noise. All the wave shipping is old standard analog circuits, which helps keep things sounding analog. I suppose the most accurate way to describe the Junos oscillator is by calling it Virtual Digital, analog mimicing digital, but that only applies to the saw wave.
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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by StevenO » Sat Dec 01, 2018 8:21 am

Out of curiosity, what are some other Roland, Korg, Yamaha, etc poly synths that I should look out for that are the $300-$800 range? Keep in mind that I am in the barren wasteland of Toronto so things aren't as plentiful.

There's a JX-8P for $600 locally, but that's too much in my mind, since I'm used to seeing these go for $350-$450.

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Re: The Synth Thread...

Post by Maggieo » Sat Dec 01, 2018 10:49 am

OK, should I sell my Little Phatty Tribute Edition and buy a Subsequent37?
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