older synthesizer reccomendations and Red Sound DarkStar XP2 opinion

[Yahoo]

I'm looking for an older synth around $100 or probably less. I want something with some knobs and or sliders, I guess the more the merrier.

I'm thinking along the lines of and considering Korg mono/poly, Arpaxxe, Korg poly6, Realistic. I want something that changes paramaters like lfo, and filter and stuff...I'm not sure what the ones I listed actually do;I already have a main analog modeling synth; I just want an older synth to tweak; I'm not really conserned about it sounding amazing, I imagine it will have a gritty older sound.

I'm also considering a Red Sound DarkStar XP2. Do you think it's pointless to get that synth if I already have a main synth for Fx, leads, pads, etc- I just want an extra flavor, though, so.

What about the red sound XP1?

thanks.

[Dr.Fuzz]

Sadly, unless you stumble onto a real deal, you won't find an older synth for 100$ **in working order**. All too often they will need some sort of work to get them right.

 

drfuzz

[coyote]

Gali, don't you still have that JP8000? Plnty o tweaking to be done there And the Darkstar XP2 is also fun, though not nearly as intuitive.

[zeronyne]

I have an XP2...it's the most average analog synth I have ever played. Average filters, average osc's, average features all around. There's nothing really bad about it per se, but depite it's huge footprint in the rack (I got the ears), I hardly notice it being there.

 

But it's a good deal for the price.

[Yahoo]

OK, so suppose I raise my max amount from $100 to $450-$500 EBAY for an old(er) analog synth with the knobs sliders and stuff- What would ya reccoment then? out of the list I listed which would yoiu suggest aND why?

[clusterchord]

ok , now you're talking. Out of monophonic analogics that you can get for $400-500 i'd recommend (taking into account sound, but reliability/maintenance as well):

 

SCI Pro-One - obvious choice. its 80s analog sound. CEM sound - ripping, cutting. very popular.

 

MonoPoly - much softer. kinda closer to 70s sound, but not quite. uses SSM chips. sweet filter. more versatile than pro-one. four VCOs, cross mod etc. i've seen them go for more than $500, but you might stumble upon one for that money, or even less.

 

Roland SH-2 - typical 'woody' Roland 70s sound. Very different than moog. Discrete based , instead chips like the other two, brings some additional smoothness and width to its sound.

 

so there you have it - three very different sounding synths:

 

PRO ONE - Dont Go

MonoPoly Workshop

CCJ_SH2_ResoBass

 

 

possibly a multimoog or prodigy in very good shape.

 

for more demos, check the link in my signature

[zeronyne]

I had forgotten just how good a MonoPoly sounds.

 

Thanks for the link!

[clusterchord]

you're welcome.

 

btw, the Pro-One example was done using sounds programmed after original program notes released by Vince Clarke. it sounds outrageously good!

[Jeebus]

If you want analog mono on a budget, look into the Yamaha CS series.

 

CS-5, CS-10, and CS-15 pop up on ebay all the time, and they're pretty cheap.