vintage synth

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!

Here’s another demo video of the classic Roland RS 505 Paraphonic String Synthesizer.

via abertronic

It looks like VintageSynth.com may have bitten the dust.

This morning, it return the message “This site has been suspended.”

I’d be very sad to see Vintage Synth Explorer go – it’s one of the older synth sites on the Net.

If you’ve got any info on this, leave a comment!

Update: They’re back online!

via Dave Cornutt at Sequence 15.

This video is a demo of a modded Linn LM-1 – a classic drum machine that is even more flexible with the mod, which adds tuning pots to the front panel.

dlumenta has shared some nice photos of a vintage Moog Minimoog Model D:

Designed by Robert Moog in 1970, the Minimoog Model D synthesizer is still regarded as the Rolls Royce equivalent of analog keyboard-based synthesizers. Specifically designed for touring musicians, the minimoog exported electronic music experiments from university labs out to the masses – and her deep farting bass-sounds (think of Kraftwerk’s Autobahn), lead and space bleeps and sweeps have become HUGELY popular over the last 38 years.

There were originally 13,000 minimoogs produced between 1970 and 1981. After a brief hiatus during the digital-synth craze in the 1980s, the minimoog enjoyed a resurgence of interest among musicians since the 1990s…and yes, it’s becoming harder to get a hold on one.

I obtained this Mini from a studio garage sale back in 1989 for US$ 150 (in prime condition – save the crackling external input knob). After lying dormant for 7 years now, it’s time to bring life back into this 1973 model D mini. Tropical humidity heavily damaged the furnishing. It needs re-tuning of the oscillators, cleaning of the electronic board, new switches for filter modulation, and thinking about a new base panel.

Yep – that’s US $150 – read it and weap.

That was in ‘89, though, when everybody had Wham! hair and was dumping their analogs for digital synths.