Jeebus Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 So what was your 1st synth, and when did you get it? What were it's pros and cons? Did you keep it or sell it? Does it have sentimental value? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJDM Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 Juno 106. It has big time sentimental value: 1. Not able to go with my Dad to Europe when I was 12 (I needed to spend $1000 on a ticket and spent it on the Juno instead) 2. It was on almost every song I produced from 1983 1999 3. I hand painted it in 1993 4. I still love the bass sounds I can manage out of it 5. You always remember your first one DJDM.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magpel Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 Roland U20 Pros: decent pre-GM sample set, esp. the piano. Nice action. Very easy to use in multitimbral setup. Cons: Utterly unprogrammable (not a con at the time)Samples aged quickly Sentimental and/or monetary value: none. It was the right board for me at the time. It's piano sound still holds up well. Now it has about 9 broken keys but is still a fully functional U220 if anyone wants to buy it... Check out the Sweet Clementines CD at bandcamp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 Roland RS101 string synthesizer, followed closely by a MiniMoog. Sold the Roland in 1981, but I still have the Mini. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeronyne Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 JX-3P, which my parents sold as a punishment for getting into trouble at school, followed the next year by a Juno 106 and a DX-7 when I graduated HS as Valedictorian. Thanks, Mom and Dad! In between, I used a friend's Korg Delta and the school's Rhodes. Sadly, I sold the 106 and DX-7 to buy an M1 and an EPS. Biggest mistake of my life. Well, not really, but it's up there.... "For instance" is not proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RABid Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 MiniMoog - I bought it because I had seen it used on TV by bands I liked. Pros - It was a great first synth for someone to learn how to create sounds. I spent hours and hours sitting on the floor with that Moog and a set of headphones. It was simple by todays standard but I learned to get a lot of sounds. Everything from Lucky Man leads to helicopters flying over mountain tops. When someone mentions a desire to get a first synth and learn to program patches I try to suggest something with the same layout as the Mini. Cons - As great as it was at home, it was a nightmare on stage. I could tune it before a song and it might be out of tune before I got to my solo. The pitch bend wheel was also hard to get back to center. It had no dead spot and I had to learn to center, then push down slightly to get some consistency. I think the only dirty looks I ever got on stage from band mates was when I would hit a note and the ting would be horribly out of tune. Robert This post edited for speling. My Sweetwater Gear Exchange Page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bleen Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 Does my Casio VL-Tone count? First "real" synth was a DX100 - little keys and FM, baby! Sold it to buy.....a Kawai K1!! The poor man's D50! Oh well, I learned better! recording/mix guy don gunn.com myspace.com/dongunnmusic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schmoron13 Posted August 20, 2003 Share Posted August 20, 2003 pc88mx got it for gigging in college and wanted the best feeling keyboard still with me...i'm too stingy to shell out for more gear...but I'm getting there Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Martin Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Korg Polysix. I still have it. The Polysix was a great board for learning about programming and synthesis. I had a MIDI kit added to it, but haven't used it in a while. The last time I used it I had to open it up and re-tune all the oscillators. There were only two things about it that I never liked. Portamento (it doesn't have it) and a pitch wheel that was spring loaded. -Mike Martin Casio Mike Martin Photography Instagram Facebook The Big Picture Photography Forum on Music Player Network The opinions I post here are my own and do not represent the company I work for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krakit Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 MiniKorg from UniVox. Still have it, still use it. Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix. Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Roland Juno-6. Lots of fun programming that baby w/ no patch memory! I miss it. Time for a new VA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Postman Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Ah, yes. The Casio CZ-101. Pros: Cheap, not a bad sounding synth in a digital kind of way. Cons: Little itty-bitty keys, no sustain pedal. I gave it to my sister. The last time I saw it was a Christmas a few years back at her place. We used it to sing carols with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Casio WK1500. Not a 'synth' to me, but a good learning tool for awhile - and some of its sounds were quite good! Gave it to a friend when I got my Alesis QS71. I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski 1642606170 Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 ARP Odyssey MkII (black/gold face) back in the late 70's. Still own it. More recently, also bought an Odyssey MkIII (black/orange face). Awesome machines. Ski www.ex5tech.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dementia13 Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Moog Prodigy. Like a junior version of a Minimoog, as fun to program and sounded great. I agree with Rabid, as powerful as synths are today, that's a great layout for learning to create sounds and great to have learned synthesis on. I loved it and would still have it, if not for that "incident" in '84. Anyway, some pawn shop customer in Tampa had a better day than I was having. I didn't own another synth for over a decade, when I got back in with a QS6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veracohr Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 I'm a young-un, I was too young during the analog days. My first was a Roland XP-10, which I still use as a controller. Pros: it was mine (that's about it.) Well, it has some barely decent pads. Cons: everything else. I've only been in the "synth world" for a few years now. "And then you have these thoughts in the back of your mind like 'Why am I doing this? Or is this a figment of my imagination?'" http://www.veracohr.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimw Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Korg Mono/Poly. Was a nightmare turning at least a dozen knobs between songs. I think it had a pretty fat mono sound though... I either gave it away or sold it cheap ($50?). When I last checked, I think they're actually worth something (being an analog synth). I kinda wish I'd hung on to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petros Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 ARP 2600 in 1980. Sold it in 1991 for $400. It only played two notes at a time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthlover Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 My first was a Poly 61 (blah). I remember begging for a Juno 60, but the Rolands were a bit pricier, and my dad didn't think a 13 year old needed anything too extravegant. So, I got the Korg, but sold it a few years later and got a CZ-1000. Not the worst move, I suppose. I don't miss it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ITGITC Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 http://www.paia.com/p4700j.jpg I built a PAiA 4700J in the mid '70s. Before that I had two Rhodes, two Wurlitzer EPs, and an RMI Electra Piano. The PAiA was a great learning experience. It had four oscillators, two filters, mixer, and a neat computer built into the keyboard that you program in hex. Programs were stored on a cassette tape. I was never very good at assembler, but enjoyed tinkering with it. Gas "Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and that which cannot remain silent." - Victor Hugo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Grace Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 What was your 1st synth, and when did you get it? My first synth was a Moog Liberation that I purchased in 1980. What were it's pros and cons? Pros: It was the first commercially available synth designed to be worn while playing. It sounded great for lead lines, and it was fun both theatrically and musically to play solos with. Cons: Its polyphonic sound sucked, and I had to program each patch live in between songs! Despite the fact that it was light enough to be worn, it was pretty heavy for extended wear: the ad aimed at unsuspecting keyboard players read, "light as a Les Paul guitar!" (That's a pretty heavy electric guitar!) Did you keep it or sell it? Neither, it was stolen. Does it have sentimental value? Yes, but not nearly as much as the Oberheim OB-8 that I replaced it with! Best, Geoff My Blue Someday appears on Apple Music | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peake Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 A Paia 2700, then some 4700 (hey GAS!) Pros: Cost less than the Minimoog did, during my high school days circa 1980! Cons: Wasn't a Minimoog ;-) I traded it off a while back but still have the first module, a VCA/Ring Modulator. Give me the ANALOG and no one gets HURT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magpel Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 So far... Roland: 7 Moog: 3 Casio: 2 PAiA: 2 Korg: 3 ARP: 2 UniVox: 1 Yamaha: 3 Kurzweil: 1 Ensoniq: 1 Cat Electronics: 1 Creative (sblive!): 1 Siel: 1 Carlo Original: 1 Check out the Sweet Clementines CD at bandcamp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rod76 Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 SIEL Cruise & surprise, surprise...... a Juno-106 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superbobus Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 I hate to see that Juno 106 posted! Could have been my first synth, but I decided to buy a D5, because it was digital and had more "realistic" sounds... http://www.bobwijnen.nl Hipness is not a state of mind, it's a fact of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 I built a synth when I was 13 or 14, with the help of a friend, out of a project taken from a magazine. We were so broke that we did it on a piece of wood - no boxes! And no keyboard either - just two knobs, one for pitch, the other for filter. A bit later, I bought a Davolisint and a FBT Synther 2000, both Italian synths, and sold both of them in a couple of months because I hated them. Quite a few years after that, I bought my first serious synth, a Korg Trident. Carlo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksoper Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 A Cat by Octave Electronics, later Voyetra, purchased in 1975. pros: two note polyphony, laid out like an Arp Odyssey, affordable. cons: pitch slider (Eeew!), not a Minimoog (but I got one after I sold the Cat) It would be interesting to hear one today, it might surprise me. k. 9 Moog things, 3 Roland things, 2 Hammond things and a computer with stuff on it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lack of me Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 I should say sblive! I got it about three years ago. It came with my dell pc. By recording and editing soundfont patches, I was first introduced to the world of syths. I still have it. And with KX driver, I can still use sblive! with vst... Pros: cheap. Cons: low quality sound. Conclusion: It's a cheap and low quality card/or synthesizer without keys... Oh, actually I owned a melodian when I was in kindergarten...It's not a synth technically since it cannot manipulate sounds but it looks like one. I remember the odd smell coming from its hose when I blew...Maybe it was my stinky breath. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggus Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Yamaha DX-100, with the tiny little keys. Ah, the AWESOME recordings I made with that, my trusty Yamaha MT4X four track, RX-15 drum machine, and Alesis Midiverb II ... Memories.... "You can't enjoy yourself unless you're having fun." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ELP71 Posted August 21, 2003 Share Posted August 21, 2003 Originally posted by Mike Martin: Korg Polysix. I still have it. There were only two things about it that I never liked. Portamento (it doesn't have it) and a pitch wheel that was spring loaded.Hey - I actually liked the spring-loaded pitch wheel. Made for some killer 'slapback' pitch bend effects on solos. Anyway - my first synth that wasn't a hand-me-down was an ESQ-1. Weasels ripped my flesh. Rzzzzzzz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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