A search on WorldCat also reveals that there are many, many libraries in the United States that hold both "The Complete Yamaha DX7" and "The complete Yamaha DX7-II." I dare say this would also be true in the United Kingdom and Canada, but I didn't bother checking. So why on earth would you bother sp...

Brilliant ideas, but it's too late now - I've already gone to Bunnings and bought the paint! I'm going to paint them bright yellow with some black stripes that gradually get thinner (a-la Juno 6 logo). I'm going to rename it the CS-15 Bee. I think this fits in nicely with the buzzy sounds it makes w...

I'm in the process of cosmetically restoring an old beaten up CS15D. I've stripped the laminate off the wood panels and sanded them back. Unfortunately there are resin stains on the wood and if I sand it back further, the wood just goes grey (yuk!). So I've decided to paint the wood panels. Only pro...

Being the nerdy librarian that I am, I did a search for "complete dx7" on Libraries Australia to see what libraries hold it in my country. I remembered borrowing a copy from Victoria University library in Footscray, Melbourne, years ago, but Libraries Australia doesn't list them as one of the holdin...

If it has to be hardware drum machine, I say go Linn. However, if you want a flexible set up that will give you WAY more options, I would definitely go with an MPC and an S950. -matia Nah, restriction is my friend! It really is about the feel isn't it? I used to use samples (using software) of the ...

I can completely understand the logic and workflow of going the sampled route for percussion. As I said earlier, if you're going to buy a big vintage drum machine, you have to want what it is as well as what it does and sounds like. Not for everyone. Some would be productively crippled by a bunch o...

Not really into the Sequential machines. Dunno why, but they just don't seem to sound as good. Oh I know I should be buying a sampler, it''s certainly the most logical thing to do. But I am absolutely a creature of habit. I've got all this old gear, and now I find the idea of buying something new an...

Dunno about the Polysix, but I have a Monopoly and it's tuning is by far the worst of five analogues I have. Takes a good half hour before I can be fairly sure it will reach and stay in the correct tuning. No bloody auto tune on the thing either!

Thanks a lot for that - excellent demo! I guess it's pretty different to the Linn, but it's got quite a lot of good sounds that you can't get on the Linn. I especially love those electric toms and the detuned cymbals. I've seen one for $100 on the website of a local music store, so maybe I should ju...

I love Art of Noise! And funnily enough I think they actually used a Fairlight for their drums!

Always nice to get a new toy and those first generation VA's are such good value now. If anything happened to my analogue stuff, I'd just replace it all with stuff like the MS2000, particularly now that VA's are cheaper..

Hopefully I'll be getting my own new toy this week; a 1 year old MacBook.

Poly61 and Poly800 aren't terribly different sound wise. But the 61 has a VCF for each voice as opposed to the 800's single VCF for the whole shebang. Therefore the 61 is better for pads. I'd say you've largely covered the mid-eighties Korg sound with the Poly800 and DW8000. Go for a different brand...

Sounds like there's no real alternative to the LinnDrum if I want 'that' sound. I currently have an Alesis HR16B for my digital sounds, and although it's got some great snares, in general it really doesn't cut the mustard. There's nothing quite like that tight Linn kick! Then again a sampler could b...

I'll try to make you a quick demo of both machine's sounds in the next few days. My LM-2 does not have the factory stock toms, instead it hasToms #6, which are "Simmons" style electronic. I'll be sending my LM-2 off to Forat soon for MIDI upgrade and seperate side stick tuning mod. Very generous of...

I wish my synthesisers weren't so discreet; I might be more successful!