Periodic check of vintage madness

[RABid]

This is why it does not bother me in the least that Behringer is releasing clones of vintage gear. I'm also very happy with my Roland Jupiter Xm and would only trade it for a Jupiter X. I'd rather have a new, working digital copy that sounds excellent than have a vintage model that I cannot get serviced in my state.

[ksoper]

So maybe this isn't the place to sell my JX-8P. 😁

[The Real MC]

You want MADNESS?  Bidding ends on the 9th.

[DrEsophagus]

iF aNyOne'S inTEreSTed i'M sELlinF a MiNt PoLy-800 for 3,000 Cdn.

[Al Coda]

47 minutes ago, DrEsophagus said:

iF aNyOne'S inTEreSTed i'M sELlinF a MiNt PoLy-800 for 3,000 Cdn.

 

I´d trade it for a Casio GZ-500 ... 

 

A.C.

[MAJUSCULE]

2 hours ago, DrEsophagus said:

iF aNyOne'S inTEreSTed i'M sELlinF a MiNt PoLy-800 for 3,000 Cdn.

 Honestly... not that far off what I've been seeing lately.  Things are getting ridiculous.

[David Emm]

I'll be glad to sell you a GX-1 and 2 CS-80s for just $100k in Dogecoin. Sure I will. Pickup only, somewhere near Mt. St. Helens.

[MAJUSCULE]

ARP Sonus posted for $3,000 CAD here (with a warning that Reverb prices are closer to $5,000)… I’d never even heard of the unit.

[HammondDave]

I have added "The Model D" to my live iPad arsenal and it sounds great!  I bought a Mini Moog way back in the early 70's and gigged with that temperamental bastard for years. This has stable "oscillators" and is polyphonic!  Plus it has built in delay, loops, and other effects.  And I doubt that anyone in the club can tell the difference (other than it is in tune). 

[marino]

1 hour ago, MAJUSCULE said:

ARP Sonus posted for $3,000 CAD here (with a warning that Reverb prices are closer to $5,000)… I’d never even heard of the unit.

 

A Solus, probably.

Kind of a late version of the Odyssey, but with a single envelope, no duophony (hallelujah), and - IIRC - no noise generator. But it has continuous 'morph' beetween saw and pulse waves, sync, ring mod, and it was contained in a suitcase. I was about to buy one a couple of times in the past.

Btw there's one for sale in Italy now for 1300 Eur. Maybe I should buy it, and resell it for 3000...

Edit: 1300 Eur.

[marino]

Now this is funny:

Sequential Pro-One 1800 Eur

Behringer Pro-One 180 Eur

[Al Coda]

2 hours ago, HammondDave said:

I have added "The Model D" to my live iPad arsenal and it sounds great!

 

O.k.,- but what do you think about it´s action ?

 

2 hours ago, HammondDave said:

 I bought a Mini Moog way back in the early 70's and gigged with that temperamental bastard for years. This has stable "oscillators" and is polyphonic!  Plus it has built in delay, loops, and other effects.  And I doubt that anyone in the club can tell the difference (other than it is in tune). 

 

I owned 3 Minimoog D and still own 1.

One of these had old voiceboard which introduced unstable tuning.

After it got the "heatchip" update, it was stable.

The 2 other already had updated/ next gen. voiceboards and were stable always after warmup time.

My last Minimoog D, once warmed up (approx. 10 min.) keeps stable as long it is powered up.

 

It belongs to rumor vintage gear is unstable, fragile or unreliable.

When maintained, it isn´t.

 

I bet, any analog gear built today won´t survive 50+ yrs !

 

☺️

 

A.C.

[Al Coda]

1 hour ago, marino said:

Now this is funny:

Sequential Pro-One 1800 Eur

Behringer Pro-One 180 Eur

 

... and music group as also dealers still earn money with it !

 

B.t.w., here it´s EUR 249,- (incl. 19% VAT)

 

☺️

 

A.C.

 

 

[marino]

8 hours ago, Al Coda said:

B.t.w., here it´s EUR 249,- (incl. 19% VAT)

 

Well, I should have clarified that the Behringer is used (as is the Sequential one, of course)

[Shamanzarek]

I had no intention of ever buying a Model D but when the price briefly went down to under $200 I couldn't resist. I had a problem finding a controller keyboard that works well with it. I tried a PX-5S and Stage 3 Compact neither of which was satisfactory. Next I tried a Europa Jupiter 6 and a Minerva Juno 60. The Juno worked best but couldn't transpose the keyboard over MIDI to play in the correct octave. I then looked at all the modern controller keyboards on the market but didn't find anything that looked ideal. Then I pulled out the Poly-800 I hadn't used since the 80s. It worked perfectly. The Model D is just the right size to sit in the open flat space and firmly stays put because there is a slightly raised edge around that area. The joystick sends pitch bend and modulation over MIDI. The bend range slider on the 800 sets the Model D range from zero to an octave. The sequencer on the 800 can play the Model D and the sounds of the two synths can be layered. I also tried the Model D with Boss PK-5 MIDI pedals and it works great with those, too, turning the Model D into Taurus facsimile. The much-maligned Poly-800 should work well as a controller for any Eurorack size module.

 

 

 

[DrEsophagus]

I'll give you 4 grand for that Poly 800

[CyberGene]

I can make my Hydrasynth sound like anything: a Moog, a Prophet, an OB, a CS-80, a Jupiter, a PG Wave and whatnot. Plus much more. In a portable, inexpensive, dependable and intuitive keyboard. Maybe not 100% accurate in emulating those. But certainly above 99% 😉 Who cares. 

[BluMunk]

Juno 60 for $4k on my local craigslist.

[Shamanzarek]

Jupiter 6 prices are now around $8K. Armen's in NYC has one listed for almost $15K.

[AUSSIEKEYS]

14 hours ago, Shamanzarek said:

Jupiter 6 prices are now around $8K. Armen's in NYC has one listed for almost $15K.

 

Not knowing of this Armen you speak of but the way I see that price is Armen's is saying

 

"let them eat cake"

 

 to reflect either Armons disregard for the starving muso or Armens poor understanding of most muso's plight.

 

Or is it simply just throw a price up against the wall and see if it sticks. 

 

Sort of as someone previously mentioned it may stick with a crypto millionaire????

[Al Coda]

On 4/16/2022 at 2:07 PM, CyberGene said:

I can make my Hydrasynth sound like anything: a Moog, a Prophet, an OB, a CS-80, a Jupiter, a PG Wave and whatnot. Plus much more. In a portable, inexpensive, dependable and intuitive keyboard. Maybe not 100% accurate in emulating those. But certainly above 99% 😉 Who cares. 

 

Is the Hydrasynth "Wavetable-OSCs" throughout and/or does it produce typical analog waveforms (not single cycle wavetables of these waveforms) where OSCs can be set to "freerun" and waveforms can be modulated,- PWM p.ex. ?

LFOs can run as "freerun" too and does modulation at "audio rate" exist ?

Is it possible to loop envelopes ?

 

Just asking by interest.

With it´s count of modifiers coming into Oberheim Xpander territory, the synth keeps to be interesting,- even I´m not sure about if I´d like the ( polyphonic AT) action so much making it worth buying the Hydra "deluxe" version.

 

Are you,- possibly,- able to provide some audio demos of your custom made Hydra patches ?

I´d really like to hear some.

 

☺️

 

A.C.

 

 

[CyberGene]

1 hour ago, Al Coda said:

Are you,- possibly,- able to provide some audio demos of your custom made Hydra patches ?

 

I haven't recorded many of them. Just two. One is a PWM pad, not imitating anything:

 

The other one is an attempt to recreate the Minimoog patch of Matt Johnson (of Jamiroquai):

 

The original sound of Matt is here: https://youtu.be/yPgct4wpgw0?t=727

 

I have many other patches I've created, but haven't recorded anything, they are just for my own pleasure  As I said, for me it's 99% there.

 

To your questions: yes to everything except for the LFO modulation to audio rates which goes up to 150 Hz, so kind of low-audio rate but not exactly

 

[CyberGene]

Found one more. Here's an attempt at recreating a Yamaha CS80 patch I heard on YouTube. I can't find the actual CS80 link, it was from the HS Facebook page, but my attempt at recreating the patch is here:

 

I didn't like how the attack is plucky, so I later modified the patch to soften it and added an aftertouch driven FM modulation in Lyle Mays style, so here it is:

 

I also found that I have created some other CS80 sounding patch but I'm not sure if it was on the Hydrasynth or my Novation Peak (that I sold later):

 

[Al Coda]

Thanks a lot for your reply and excellent audio demos in your latest posts.

These are wonderful patches,- great programming !

 

Are you satisfied w/ the  HS´s action ?

 

☺️

 

A.C.

[CyberGene]

27 minutes ago, Al Coda said:

Are you satisfied w/ the  HS´s action ?

 

Thanks for the nice words!

 

Regarding the HS action... it's complicated 😀 Take in mind I'm mostly a classical piano aficionado and I dislike even digital piano actions and can only appreciate a fine real grand piano action, I have an AvantGrand N1X (and I have my own DIY project that turned an old grand piano action into a MIDI controller through optical sensors: https://pianoclack.com/forum/d/107-cybrid-a-diy-midi-controller-with-grand-piano-action)

 

With that in mind, I knew it's a synth action and I hate those, so I purchased it only for the polyphonic aftertouch. And also with the intent of using it as a generic MIDI controller for non-piano sounds. And it turned out black keys were WAY MORE velocity sensitive than white ones and I used to complain a lot on the ASM Facebook page but almost nobody paid attention since very few patches on the Hydrasynth are programmed to be velocity-sensitive. Besides, most people there are not piano players, nor used it for controlling MIDI sounds that are velocity sensitive. There were people who said they had the same problem but didn't care. What is more, some people said they tested it and they found it OK. I thought it was mine and so I sent it back to Thomann for a warranty claim and guess what, they returned it saying: we found nothing wrong with it. But I kept complaining on the ASM Facebook page and the unbelievable happened! ASM acknowledged they were aware of the problem (which affects all of the original keyboards, not sure if it was fixed for later batches through...) and released a firmware update that not only fixed the problem but also introduced some menu settings for finer control of velocity curves, etc.

 

Ultimately, it's an OK keyboard. I've played better synth keyboards though, e.g. the Montage keyboard is better. The MODX is in the same ballpark. But that's not important, the aftertouch is very linear and controllable and is light years ahead of anything else I've tried and it's one of the main selling points of the Hydrasynth in the first place, so I can say that: it's a great keyboard action, considering the poly AT and what it can be used for sound engine-wise.

[Al Coda]

1 hour ago, CyberGene said:

 

Thanks for the nice words!

 

Regarding the HS action... it's complicated 😀 Take in mind I'm mostly a classical piano aficionado and I dislike even digital piano actions and can only appreciate a fine real grand piano action, I have an AvantGrand N1X (and I have my own DIY project that turned an old grand piano action into a MIDI controller through optical sensors: https://pianoclack.com/forum/d/107-cybrid-a-diy-midi-controller-with-grand-piano-action)

 

With that in mind, I knew it's a synth action and I hate those, so I purchased it only for the polyphonic aftertouch. And also with the intent of using it as a generic MIDI controller for non-piano sounds. And it turned out black keys were WAY MORE velocity sensitive than white ones and I used to complain a lot on the ASM Facebook page but almost nobody paid attention since very few patches on the Hydrasynth are programmed to be velocity-sensitive. Besides, most people there are not piano players, nor used it for controlling MIDI sounds that are velocity sensitive. There were people who said they had the same problem but didn't care. What is more, some people said they tested it and they found it OK. I thought it was mine and so I sent it back to Thomann for a warranty claim and guess what, they returned it saying: we found nothing wrong with it. But I kept complaining on the ASM Facebook page and the unbelievable happened! ASM acknowledged they were aware of the problem (which affects all of the original keyboards, not sure if it was fixed for later batches through...) and released a firmware update that not only fixed the problem but also introduced some menu settings for finer control of velocity curves, etc.

 

Ultimately, it's an OK keyboard. I've played better synth keyboards though, e.g. the Montage keyboard is better. The MODX is in the same ballpark. But that's not important, the aftertouch is very linear and controllable and is light years ahead of anything else I've tried and it's one of the main selling points of the Hydrasynth in the first place, so I can say that: it's a great keyboard action, considering the poly AT and what it can be used for sound engine-wise.

 

Thank you for the detailed description !

 

Yes, it´s hard to find a good synth action.

The best was possibly in the vintage 1st gen Yamaha DX7 already, followed by DX7mkII, KX76 and many years later KORG M3.

Even I still own DX7mkII and KX76, I´m currently satisfied w/ Fatar TP9S semi-weighted in Kurzweil PC361/ PC3K6.

But none of these offers Poly-AT and I can imagine these rare actions feel different from any non-poly AT actions always.

 

Does the ASM Poly AT action trigger fast,- similar to "shallow triggering" on organ actions, or like the old DX7 / DX7 mk II ?

 

☺️

 

A.C.

 

 

 

[CyberGene]

1 hour ago, Al Coda said:

Does the ASM Poly AT action trigger fast,- similar to "shallow triggering" on organ actions, or like the old DX7 / DX7 mk II ?

 I don't know how it is on the DX7. On the Hydrasynth sound is triggered around the middle of the key travel, definitely not shallow triggering. This is the original Hydrasynth though, not the newer Deluxe.

[Jim Alfredson]

7 minutes ago, CyberGene said:

 I don't know how it is on the DX7. On the Hydrasynth sound is triggered around the middle of the key travel, definitely not shallow triggering. This is the original Hydrasynth though, not the newer Deluxe.

Where did you get those wood side panels?

[CyberGene]

5 minutes ago, Jim Alfredson said:

Where did you get those wood side panels?

 

An Italian guy on the Facebook group made them for me from pear wood. He sold a few on the group but it was a rather one-off initiative, not a business. They really thicken the sound and make it warmer 😀 JK. But somehow mentally it makes me feel better when I see them, compared to the stock aluminum panels that are too cold in look and feel.

[ABECK]

https://reverb.com/item/51999742-yamaha-dx-1-1983-with-original-pedals-hcards-rare-player-collector-worthy-synthesizer?bk=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJqdGkiOiI3OGRmNGFjMC1kYTkxLTRhMGQtYjA1Zi0zY2Q0MWFkMzUwNTQiLCJpYXQiOjE2NTE2ODc4NTksInVzZXJfaWQiOiIiLCJzZXNzaW9uX2lkIjoiYjQ3ZjI0MGMtMzljOC00ODkwLThkZTItMmU1MmRlZWNjZjIzIiwiY29va2llX2lkIjoiMTdkZDI1YjQtNWVhYy00ZjJmLTkzOTctODQ5YTliZjkwODU3IiwicHJvZHVjdF9pZCI6IjUxOTk5NzQyIiwic291cmNlIjoiTk9ORSJ9.-fN6Xavmta6CkU4eJT8DzjCkNA2o8FI2UDXoEN46xFc

 

The price is outrageous, but at least the shipping is insane (positive pessimism.)