Brent129 Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 Hey All; I remember with fondness being 14 years old and getting my first Synth.... A CAT by octave electronics. Mostly because I could't afford a Mini-Moog. I don't know if I am now just biased, but I could make that thing talk. It was very expressive and fat sounding. In fact, I liked it better than the Mini back then. I've since owned many Synth's including a Memorymoog plus I sold on Ebay in 1999. The CAT still holds a place in my musical heart. Any one else like to reminisce?? Brent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clusterchord Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 poly800. lot of voices for little $$. couldnt afford anything else back then. piece of crap. http://www.babic.com - music for film/theatre, audio-post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 Maybe you know that already, but the Cat was a total ripoff of the ARP Odyssey. ARP sued the Cat company (Octave, IIRC), and forced them to quit production. It sounded great, BTW - like an Odissey, more or less... My first synth... I built it myself in'74; it was awful. I also resold the first couple of monosynths (early Italian stuff) very quickly, because I simply didn't like them. My first 'fond memory' of a synth is for the Korg Trident, an early polyphonic. The one I really regret to have sold is the Rhodes Chroma. I also regret not having kept the Minimoog. Among the ones I still have, my fave 'old' synth is presently the Oberheim Matrix-12. I recently made a few new sounds for it. It works perfectly, and I just love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brent129 Posted April 10, 2004 Author Share Posted April 10, 2004 I had no idea the CAT was connected to the ARP. That is really cool. I recently saw a CAT for sale on Ebay... Wanted to bid on it but wavered too long. How about the early Korg unit (forgot the name)... but it was a very short keyboard with lots-o-patch cords. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 Originally posted by Brent129: How about the early Korg unit (forgot the name)... but it was a very short keyboard with lots-o-patch cords.Maybe you're thinking of an MS20... http://www.synthony.com/vintage/vintage.images/ms20.jpg dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rod76 Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 How about the MCS70 It was used on the AUTOMAT record in Italy Marino, Have you ever seen it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 There are a couple obscure synths from the 80's--the Crumar Bit One and the Bit 99. Anyone ever play these? I tried out the Bit One.....kind of rough. Interesting sounds, though not that remarkable. When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Folkson Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 I've got an Octave Kitten in my basement, I doubt if it still works. - Jan Folkson http://www.janfolkson.com "How do you know when it's music and not just a bunch of noise" - Dennis the Menace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Zeger Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 I was going to buy an Octave Cat until I got a deal on a new Odyssey ($888 with a real ARP-logo Anvil case). ARP was closing out the "black and gold" graphics to introduce the "black/white/red" graphics and PPC pads. Still have the synth, though the case disintegrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Folkson Posted April 11, 2004 Share Posted April 11, 2004 Originally posted by Mark Zeger: Still have the synth, though the case disintegrated.Now that's some funny sh*t! - Jan Folkson http://www.janfolkson.com "How do you know when it's music and not just a bunch of noise" - Dennis the Menace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Synthoid Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 Guess that's a no on the Crumar gear.... When an eel hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a Moray. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Fortner Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 The Cat was resurrected as the Voyetra Eight, which was essentially the guts of four Cats in a rack. Multiple rack units could be controlled by a single keyboard, and the thing used XLR jacks for MIDI. Mark Vails "Vintage Gear" column on the Voyetra can be found at archive.keyboardonline.com/index_old.html Stephen Fortner Principal, Fortner Media Former Editor in Chief, Keyboard Magazine Digital Piano Consultant, Piano Buyer Magazine Industry affiliations: Antares, Arturia, Giles Communications, MS Media, Polyverse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BP3 Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 I forgot about the Voyetra. Edgar Winter was using one of those in the 80s when I was doing FOH for him. The Voyetra had balls, but was not very road worthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
resigned Posted April 12, 2004 Share Posted April 12, 2004 Actually I remember that my first "synth" was a used Moog Satellite - a cheesy one VCO preset monophonic synth meant to go with home organs and made by the Thomas Organ Company. It was pure crap but I got it cheap just so I could say that I had a "Moog synthesizer", which was the status symbol of the 70's for a keyboardist. I only had it a couple of weeks before I was able to get a real Minimoog and I sold the Satellite before I was seen with it, thankfully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Folkson Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Originally posted by Synthoid: Guess that's a no on the Crumar gear....Not on those pieces, but I've got a Crumar Roadrunner in my basement too. - Jan Folkson http://www.janfolkson.com "How do you know when it's music and not just a bunch of noise" - Dennis the Menace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marino Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Originally posted by HCMF: How about the MCS70 It was used on the AUTOMAT record in Italy Marino, Have you ever seen it?Wow, good call for a "One Hit Wonder"... IIRC, only one MCS70 was built! It was created my Mario Maggi (the 'father' of the Elka Synthex), and I have no idea if it still exists - I've only seen pictures. I would like to play with it for sure: 3 VCOs, 1 LFO, 2 VCFs, 2 ADSRs, and *patch memory*: Banks of 32 patches with switchable cartridges, all parameters included. In 1975! The Automat LP was conceived as a sort of demo for the MCS70, but failed to draw attention: The music wasn't that good. (I've only heard snippets, however) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Martin Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Anyone remember the Baldwin IKE? A repackaged Emax.... http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3717257472&category=38070 -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...
Brent129 Posted April 13, 2004 Author Share Posted April 13, 2004 I might as well throw the DK Synergy in the mix too. I've got a non-working unit sitting in my basement.... haven't had time to look at it to diagnose. Just out of curiosity, who else played the Synergy besides Wendy Carlos. And for that matter, what is she doing these days?? Brent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rod76 Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 a friend of mine has a elka 490 & a Siel Cruise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peake Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Klaus Schulze played the GDS, the Synergy's progenitor; Donald Fagen also played the Synergy. Odd timing; I tried to fit my Elka 490 into a piece of (surf) music just today. It didn't work out too well. Give me the ANALOG and no one gets HURT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Zeger Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Originally posted by Mike Martin: Anyone remember the Baldwin IKE? A repackaged Emax.... I remember that. Baldwin also repackaged the orginal E-mu Proteus under a different name. When the first Proteus was first shipped and demand was higher than supply, you could more easily get a Baldwin "Proteus" from a piano dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTRBass Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 Awesome synth's of my past. (I had a fondness for cheesy string boxes): Moog Opus 3 - Great one trick pony string box. Ensoniq SQ-80 - An ESQ-1 on steroids. Still have it, in brand new condition. Never been out of my studio. Roland RS-505 - Thick string synth with cool wood finish. Roland SH101 - Awesome but affordable mono synth w/ arp and 100 note sequencer. Sold mine for peanuts. Still kicking myself too. Yamaha CS-01 - Little mono synth w/ mini keys. Had a great PWM sound, almost like the Vangelis lead sound from the CS-80 (not as good though.)Looked like a toy, but had killer sounds. Crumar Toccata - Odd Organ that sounded like a Farfisa knockoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rod76 Posted April 13, 2004 Share Posted April 13, 2004 man muy last post was useless, i meant to say that those quirky italian synths can sound cool sometimes I had just listened to some Sensations' Fix which featured alot of those. To come back to Automat, i think it sounded pretty good. Sort of Moroder type electronic disco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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