so I bought a new hardware synth

[noisemonkey]

Managed to get hold of a Waldorf Microwave XTK 30 voice polyphonic version.. can't wait to try it..

[Roo Stercogburn]

I've always hated you.

<switches off jealousy>

Nice one matey

[bobule]

boner! i had one about 10years ago. mental synth!

[Jason oS]

yeah enjoy that one. orange monster!

[noisemonkey]

banging clanging sounds coming soon

[chris.innocence]

nice one - love the sounds you can get from those.

this is subvert new toy week it seems... I've bought 3: a Yamaha SY35, TG77 & a TX81Z.

[hue]

nice one - love the sounds you can get from those.

this is subvert new toy week it seems... I've bought 3: a Yamaha SY35, TG77 & a TX81Z.

nice. I've been interested the TG's since I spotted a TG33 on the back of a new age LP I sampled :blush:

I've been debating picking up a TX81Z for years now. Apparently it's much more well known than I thought. I think I read an article in the guardian about the Lately Bass a month or two ago.

Can't say I look forward to learning how to program any of the tone generators, but I'm still keeping an eye out for them.

How's the learning curve on the TG & SY?

[chris.innocence]

nice one - love the sounds you can get from those.

this is subvert new toy week it seems... I've bought 3: a Yamaha SY35, TG77 & a TX81Z.

nice. I've been interested the TG's since I spotted a TG33 on the back of a new age LP I sampled :blush:

I've been debating picking up a TX81Z for years now. Apparently it's much more well known than I thought. I think I read an article in the guardian about the Lately Bass a month or two ago.

Can't say I look forward to learning how to program any of the tone generators, but I'm still keeping an eye out for them.

How's the learning curve on the TG & SY?

Steep but fun. Haven't screwed around too much with them, but I seem very comfortable in what I'm doing. The only major headache is editing the presets - a standard complaint. To overcome this I edit/upload patches from a computer, so I had to obtain an additional Midisport interface for sysex dumps/transfers, but I'm not too put out by it.
The SY35 is great for playing, the vector joystick is addictive. Can lose 30mins-1 hour just messing around with the presets, which I find very usable. Soundwise it's 2-op FM and AWM, so it can sound a little thin and twangy, but the vector joystick can help you find a sweet-spot for almost every preset.
The TG77 is awesome. At 3U it's a massive pain in the arse space-wise, but the sound is gorgeous. Possibilities are endless, you can convert classic DX7 patches into SY format... Backlights are the major problem for both the SY and TG77 - my unit is practically from the factory, and I can't read the screen for shit at times.
The TX81Z is great. Ploughing through the presets was like time travel - Lately Bass is just the tip of the iceberg. If you are going to purchase one then a word of warning - check which version OS it has. OS is stored on an discontinued EPROM chip. v1.0 will dump your sysex data, but will not re-read said data (fatal flaw right?). v1.1 fixes this, but there are other minor issues, but it is usable (trust me because I luckily have this OS). v1.6 (from 1988) is the final version, but finding said chip and installing is a logistical nightmare.
I've have since added a Yamaha DX21, FB01, a Korg 05/R/W and an Akai SG01k to the mix, and as you can see I have a glut of Yamaha 4-op FM synths. The DX21 is really fun, and I'm using that to get my head around FM. The Solid Bass preset is the same as Lately Bass, and this has some of the same classic sounds hidden away on there. Really raw sound, again I can lose 30mins-1 hour bashing away. Keyboard action isn't great, but it's built like a tank.
The FB01 is a small 4-op FM box, and at about half a rack unit is the size of a car radio. Am slowly shaping it into a portable go to box for all my best 4-op presets, but there are some nice sounds onboard. Really quiet though - but I have learned there is a fix, which I will apply at a later date.

[Wilshy]

I sold my TG33 for £30 about 4 years ago without ever having a real go on it Gutted now.

[Fada]

Not a synth (well technically it is but whatevs) but I got a yamaha a3000 recently. Proper head melter after using an akai cos programming it is so different but I'm starting to get to grips with it now.

[noisemonkey]

Not a synth (well technically it is but whatevs) but I got a yamaha a3000 recently. Proper head melter after using an akai cos programming it is so different but I'm starting to get to grips with it now.

cool.. how d'you find it? I love Yamaha gear, their OS for synths is pretty easy to use.

[Wilshy]

I always wanted an A3000 or A4000. Just seemed more creative than the similar Akai. Go for a song these days as well.

[Fada]

cool.. how d'you find it? I love Yamaha gear, their OS for synths is pretty easy to use.

Its been spot on so far. Nice having the effects as standard as well, half the time with these old 90's samplers you seem to be able to pick up the sampler itself pretty cheap but then end up paying loads for the fx card.

Just took some getting round how in the yamaha program means what an akai calls a multi, in the yamaha whats called sample is what would be a program on an akai etc.

Been decent though, been getting some nice sounds out of it anyway

[chris.innocence]

just picked up a battered Casio CZ-5000

[noisemonkey]

having fun with the XTK, still getting my head around it. Just found a preset called Superfat saw wave mania

[safetyboy]

http://www.analoguesolutions.org.uk/...or/leipzig.htm picked up one of these

[soul pride]

aw that looks sexy, can you upload a demo or have you used it in any tunes yet??

[hue]

Steep but fun.

There's 32 different algorhythms, each containing up to 6 operators, and each operator can be used as a carrier or modulator(and can feedback)?

It's definitely difficult for me to visualize.

Ploughing through the presets was like time travel

I'm almost tempted to get a TX81Z just for the video game effects, like Marble Madness or Forgotten Worlds.

Apparently someone's already done it.

just picked up a battered Casio CZ-5000

That's another interesting one.
I'm curious about the Cosmos now that people are paying too much for Poly800's. Makes me think those Korg keychain stylophone things are going to end up being cult classics in 30 years.

[chris.innocence]

Steep but fun.

There's 32 different algorhythms, each containing up to 6 operators, and each operator can be used as a carrier or modulator(and can feedback)?

It's definitely difficult for me to visualize.

Ploughing through the presets was like time travel

I'm almost tempted to get a TX81Z just for the video game effects, like Marble Madness or Forgotten Worlds.

Apparently someone's already done it.

just picked up a battered Casio CZ-5000

That's another interesting one.
I'm curious about the Cosmos now that people are paying too much for Poly800's. Makes me think those Korg keychain stylophone things are going to end up being cult classics in 30 years.

Aye, the Casio was an absolute bargain - really cute sounds, I love it. Satisfyingly tactile interface as well.
In fairness I've barely scratched the surface of my setup - I've had very little time. I thought I was going to be unemployed for a while, hence the stockpiling and barricading myself in freshly constructed studio, but I just landed a job last month back in my field of expertise and that is pretty much my life atm. Not complaining though...

I think I still want a Poly800, I've seen them go in the region of £150-175, so I've not ruled it out yet. I'm not allowed anything else for a while, and space is a major issue because I technically share a spare room with the mrs (not if you saw it mind).
What I really want is a Kawai - K1m preferably although they are more popular than the K1, but if I see a decent K3 cheap enough (sub £100) I might go for it. I've seen a lot of K4 and K4r's go really cheap. There are also a couple of Kawai/Teisco things that look interesting, but I doubt I would find one reasonably priced for what they are worth.
Would also love an Ensoniq SQ80, been using a very addictive replica VST and some of the sounds from that are really nice, and I would love to hear them come out of the real machine.

If you want a really cheap 4-op FM Yamaha go for a FB01 as they cost very little money (I paid £20).

[Paradigm X]

yeah, ive been drooling over the sq80, and variants (sq1), digital sytnh but with nice analogue filters, tres bien. The kawai sx240s are similar too.

But im putting all my eggs in one basket, so to speak, and grabbing an alesis andromeda. Pricey, but only going to go up in value, and can be used as a 16 note polysynth, 16x monosyths (8 stereo outputs!!!) and anything in between. Ridiculous.

[chris.innocence]

^ or one of them would do. My modus operandii is purchase cheap (ideally sub £100, but sub £150 is allowable) and see what I can and cannot do, and then buy a cheap something else and mess with that. It's why I've avoided a lot of obvious, classic go to synths, and these newer uber-machines.
In a past life I spent a fortune on a JP8000 and a Supernova 2, and never used them. I ended up not liking them as much as I hoped, and one became an expensive doorstop, and the other an enormous paperweight. It put me off hardware for a long time.

[chris.innocence]

just missed out on a Siel Cruise today, pretty gutted...

[chris.innocence]

picked up one of these yesterday within budget, awesome little beast

[Paradigm X]

picked up one of these yesterday within budget, awesome little beast

that looks fun. where do you get you cheap instruments out of interest?

my mtaes picked up a preset korg symphonic 80s, for £20, pure analogue string thing, preset too, but no CV or midi or anything. cant find any information about it at all !

I sacked off the andromeda, thinking its better to get more cheaper bits. bought a lod of cheap reverbs etc, but also grabbed an akai ax73, 6 note poly anlogue, pretty nice, awful editing tho. was only £200 with a free s2000 sampler (!) so not far off your budget.

nice one.

[chris.innocence]

gumtree, soundonsound, ebay... anywhere really.

the ax73 is really nice, might have to search out one if I cannot get a Poly800 or a DW6000...