Tom at Waveformless put together a fun post taking a look at going vintage on the cheap.

There are a number of really underrated synths that seem to go for consistently low prices. They’re awesome synths, but nobody seems to know about them, which means you can get a great deal.

Here’s the list of synths that he highlights:

1. Casio CZ-101 (typically less than $100)
2. Ensoniq ESQ-1 (typically $150-$300)
3. Moog (Realistic) Concertmate MG-1 (typically $100-$500)
4. Oberheim Matrix-6R (typically $150-$350+)
5. Roland HS-10/80 (typically $25-$100)
6. Roland HS-60 (typically $200+)
7. Roland MKS-7 (typically $200+)
8. Yamaha CS-01 (typically $150-$250)
9. Yamaha TX81Z (typically $50-$85)

See Tom’s post for his take on each of these synths.

Are these great synths? No – but you can get great deals on them and make some great sounds.

As an alternative to the Casio CZ-101, I’d recommend the CZ-1, which has twice the polyphony plus a velocity + aftertouch sensitive full-size keyboard. And is still dirt cheap.

Got other ideas for cheap vintage synths that don’t suck? Leave a comment!

Goldbaby Productions has released a fun new sample pack that features arguably Moog’s worst synth, the Realistic Concermate (Radio Shack) Moog MG-1.

There are a lot of reasons the MG-1 was so cheesy, starting with the fact that it’s got the Radio Shack stamp all over it, moving on to the flawed construction to the dumbed-down control panel.

Despite the fact that it was a pretty cheesy little synth, it was a Moog with a real Moog filter, and if the sound wasn’t f’d up enough, Goldbaby ran it through a bunch of Audio Damage effects.

Download URL.

Don’t miss the rest of the free goodies at Goldbaby’s site.

Image: Kriton Visuals