"Bob 1" Sighting

[Rev. Richard Skull]

Yesterday, the Windows Media Home page had a top add for "best of the
'80's"

And the photo for the ad was Bob1 from the cover of the Live 1980 DVD!

I looked and thought, yea, that photo pretty much sums up the early
1980's.

[Ronald Cole]

I've decided to quit playing other people's and buy my own. This is
one case of I just want a good one that can cop the sounds of Devo,
Gary Numan, The Cars... most any decent 80's synth band sound. Being
a guitar man, I don't have the inclination of learning everything up
front to make an "educated" purchase decision. I'd probably be happy
with a recommendation from analog synth players who know what's pretty
good and what's total crap.

I've looked at the Alesis Andromeda for years in my Musician's Friend
catalogs. Anyone have an opinion to offer? Any recommendations?

[Pink Pussycat]

Post by Ronald Cole
Anyone have an opinion to offer? Any recommendations?

My opinon is from the standpoint of a newbie player who is
married to a tech who specializes in analog. In other
words, I've been exposed to all sorts of analog stuff over
the past 9 years, but I can't play very well. ;-)

Beware of ANYONE describing a synth as "mint." Mint is
merely an opinion, and usually given by those who pretend to
know but don't. There are also a couple people you should
avoid buying from--email me for more details.

The Andromeda/A6 is pretty cool. Haven't seen one in years,
but most people I know who have them love them.

Roland Jupiter 8--the later version. Early versions are a
PITA to fix if they need fixing.

A Minimoog or Micromoog in good condition can be a joy to
play. I've also heard good things about the Minimoog
Voyager, which is more likely to be in good condition 'cause
it came out this decade.

A good working Polymoog will definitely get you Numan
sounds... gotta love the "vox humana" preset. ;-)

A Moog Source sounds good, but they can be problematic.

Anything Oberheim with SEM's will sound nice. Again, beware
of the "mint" label.

Some of the esoteric stuff like a WASP, OSCar, EML 101 can
be fun to play with, but only if they truly work.

Stay away from: Arp Odyssey, Arp 2600, Arp Axxe, Moog Rogue,
Moog MG-1, Memorymoog, Prophet 5 or 10, Moog Opus 3, Moog
Sonic 6, PPG, Arp Avatar...some of these sound cool, but
from a repair standpoint, they often cost more than the
synth is worth to get back into proper working order.

Hope that helps. :)

~Pink

[Fr▲nk P▲nuccأ‬]

Stay away from: ...Moog MG-1

Aw, it ain't that bad. It sounds great, but you gotta tune it every 15
minutes. I swore I was gonna sell mine, and I started to more than
once, but I always decide to sample one more sound from it. I have
unique banks of samples made from the MG-1 that would have been
practically impossible to recreate exactly with a different instrument.
It's noisy and the sliders are pretty dirty, so it's great for
capturing that DEVO "broken synth" sound. I keep a $10 Casio beside the
MG-1 for the necessary constant retuning. A 10-year-old example using
samples (some 8-bit!) from the MG-1 and a Yamaha PSS-560:
http://www.mixposure.com/song.php?songid=389

As for dependable synths that can actually be used for practice &
performance: what Pink said.

Virtual synths are the way to go these days if you want a
bigger-than-Emerson's-sized rack on your desktop. Pro53 and FM-7
virtual synths, among many others, and any sample-player that handles
multiple formats will allow you to emulate and/or reproduce the sounds
of almost every classic synth without the headaches. MIDIMan
controllers are good. I use an old Oxygen 8.


____________________
www.frankpanucci.com
http://reperkussionz.blogspot.com/

[Gary Childs]

Post by Fr▲nk P▲nuccأ‬

Stay away from: ...Moog MG-1

Oh yeah, the Concertmate MG-1 from Radio Shack. I used to wander into the
store and toy with it.

Post by Fr▲nk P▲nuccأ‬
Aw, it ain't that bad. It sounds great, but you gotta tune it every 15
minutes.

Even after it heats up? My old Moog usually stays stable after the back
panel is hot enough to cook an egg on.

Post by Fr▲nk P▲nuccأ‬
I keep a $10 Casio beside the MG-1 for the necessary constant retuning.

Of course the Casio works perfectly, and stays in tune. It was made in
Japan.

Post by Fr▲nk P▲nuccأ‬
Virtual synths are the way to go these days if you want a
bigger-than-Emerson's-sized rack

There was an article in Keyboard magazine about the restoration of Emerson's
monster rack system, and it was discovered that many of the modules weren't
even hooked up or functioning on that beast, and the basic sound he was
using was pretty much easily obtainable on a Mini-Moog.

I like the Voyager, but it's mono and very expensive.

[Fr▲nk P▲nuccأ‬]

Post by Gary Childs
Of course the Casio works perfectly, and stays in tune. It was made in
Japan.

The Casio lived through a fire that destroyed nearly everything else.
It was originally white plastic, but after the fire it was partially
blackened, sort of like Frank Gorshin in Star Trek. It's still
perfectly in tune, but the speaker was roasted, then soaked by
firehoses, and it did good things to the original toy timbre. I sampled
it years ago and I still use those sounds in some of my stuff. I got a
picture of it somewhere. Oh yeah:
Loading Image...


____________________
www.frankpanucci.com
http://reperkussionz.blogspot.com/

[Stiiv]

In other words, I've been exposed to all sorts of analog stuff over the past 9 years, but I can't play very well.<

You know it from the inside, Pink. I'd follow your recommendations
wholeheartedly.
http://www.mixposure.com/song.php?songid=389<

Wow....you must have been the most talented 10-year-old in the
country, FP! ;>

The usual greatness, here in proto- form. BTW - that pic on the
Mixposure page has been known to cause seizures. Property seizures.
It hrut my brian.

Oh yeah, the Concertmate MG-1 from Radio Shack. I used to wander into the store and toy with it.<

Same here. I wished I could play "Stairway" on it just to bug the
Radio Shack guys. Or "Feelings".

after the fire it was partially blackened, sort of like Frank Gorshin in Star Trek.<

"Vicious subverter of every decent thought"...... lol.
http://i2.tinypic.com/1zyj0r4.jpg<

You know, people pay extra for that "distressed" look....that poor kb
looks like it's waaay beyond distressed. Ultra cool.


Stiiv
http://www.stiiv.com

[m***@yahoo.com]

Post by Ronald Cole
I've decided to quit playing other people's and buy my own. This is
one case of I just want a good one that can cop the sounds of Devo,
Gary Numan, The Cars... most any decent 80's synth band sound. Being
a guitar man, I don't have the inclination of learning everything up
front to make an "educated" purchase decision. I'd probably be happy
with a recommendation from analog synth players who know what's pretty
good and what's total crap.

Really, no vintage analog synths are total crap. Even the most limited
(Moog Rogue, Arp Axxe, Yamaha CS-5, etc.) can do lots of cool things.
If you're a guitarist, I would recommend starting with one of the
smaller analogs like those (especially because they'll be less
expensive). Other good choices might be the Sequential Circuits Pro-1,
Korg MS-10/20 or 700-series, Roland SH-series, or Arp Odyssey. On the
other hand, if money isn't an issue, it's really impossible to go wrong
with a Minimoog (either vintage or the new Voyager).

Post by Ronald Cole
I've looked at the Alesis Andromeda for years in my Musician's Friend
catalogs. Anyone have an opinion to offer? Any recommendations?

That has been my main synth ever since it became available. Among
other things, I use it for *all* of the keyboard/synth sounds (except
the Clavinet [a real D6, the Nord Electro sounds very little like the
real thing to my ears] and Vocoder [cheapo Alesis Micron]) I play with
the Devo tribute band I'm in (our bassist has a Moog Rogue that he uses
for stuff like Girl U Want, Planet Earth, Beautiful World, etc.).

I would take Pink's list of "synths-to-avoid" with a grain of salt.
All of them (except maybe the more esoteric, like the PPG) are far
easier to repair than a Polymoog, which, along with the Voyetra 8 and
early revisions of the Prophet 5, is considered to be the most
unreliable synth ever (a friend owns one, and his experience would seem
to confirm this). And *any* vintage analog synth is going to be
expensive to repair if there are problems. The ones to really watch
out for are the polyphonic analogs that use custom IC's that may be
unavailable; I would highly recommending researching the availability
of replacement parts if you buy one of those.

And don't get me started on currently-available analog modular
synthesizers ... well, too late, so I'll just name the three I own:
http://www.blacet.com/
http://www.wiard.com/
http://www.synthtech.com/

good luck!

Doug

[Pink Pussycat]

Post by m***@yahoo.com
Really, no vintage analog synths are total crap. Even the most limited
(Moog Rogue, Arp Axxe, Yamaha CS-5, etc.) can do lots of cool things.

Very true.

Post by m***@yahoo.com
I would take Pink's list of "synths-to-avoid" with a grain of salt.
All of them (except maybe the more esoteric, like the PPG) are far
easier to repair than a Polymoog

True. . . if the person who does the repair has a clue about
what they're doing. Synths aren't as easy to repair as some
people think.

Post by m***@yahoo.com
And *any* vintage analog synth is going to be
expensive to repair if there are problems. The ones to really watch
out for are the polyphonic analogs that use custom IC's that may be
unavailable; I would highly recommending researching the availability
of replacement parts if you buy one of those.

Not just IC's--sliders, too.
I don't know where to find sliders for a 2600, and I've only
found one value of the Ody/Axxe/Avatar/Sequencer type.
Cleaning sliders can be done, but it can be tricky & time
consuming.

~Pink

[m***@yahoo.com]

Post by Pink Pussycat

Post by m***@yahoo.com
And *any* vintage analog synth is going to be
expensive to repair if there are problems. The ones to really watch
out for are the polyphonic analogs that use custom IC's that may be
unavailable; I would highly recommending researching the availability
of replacement parts if you buy one of those.

Not just IC's--sliders, too.
I don't know where to find sliders for a 2600, and I've only
found one value of the Ody/Axxe/Avatar/Sequencer type.
Cleaning sliders can be done, but it can be tricky & time
consuming.

Very true about the sliders for Arps! But at least they *can* be
cleaned ...

ALWAYS a good idea to check ALL the knobs/sliders/switches when
purchasing a vintage analog (some use bizarre multi-ganged pot
configurations that are "unobtanium" at a higher order of magnitude
than Arp sliders).

Doug

[Pink Pussycat]

Post by m***@yahoo.com
Very true about the sliders for Arps! But at least they *can* be
cleaned ...

Yes, as long as one understands that simply spraying the
slider won't produce long-term results. Oh, and De-Oxit is
evil--it leaves some very nasty gunk behind.

Post by m***@yahoo.com
ALWAYS a good idea to check ALL the knobs/sliders/switches when
purchasing a vintage analog (some use bizarre multi-ganged pot
configurations that are "unobtanium" at a higher order of magnitude
than Arp sliders).

Agreed.

~Pink

[r***@aol.com]

Post by Ronald Cole
I've looked at the Alesis Andromeda for years in my Musician's Friend
catalogs. Anyone have an opinion to offer? Any recommendations?

I'm waiting for the Andromeda to become available again (I've been
sniped on Ebay a couple times) but in the meantime I got a Dave Smith
Evolver module and couldn't be happier. Combined with the "labor of
love" document "The Definitive Guide to Evolver" by Anu Kirk (available
here: http://www.carbon111.com/evolverguide.pdf) it's an awesome
synthesizer from the creator of the Prophet series, and it has *real*
analog oscillators and filters in it (plus a lot more).

Your choices for brand-new *real* analog are Andromeda, DSI Evolver,
Future Retro Revolution, Jomox, Moog Voyager/LP, and some (really
expensive) modulars. There are specialty stores for this type of thing
(for example: http://www.analoguehaven.com/)

Virtual analogs are plentiful (I have lots o' VSTs), but I wanted the
real thing so I can decide for myself. I particularly want the
Andromeda because of the polyphony and the analog filters that were
designed after the filters of the Moog modular. I will look at the
Moog Little Phatty when the standard version becomes available.

The Andromeda/A6 list is very friendly if you have any specific
questions:
http://mailman.code404.com/mailman/listinfo/a6

Rik