synth buy suggestions-poly

gryphon · Post by **gryphon** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:45 am

My friend is looking for an analog polysynth in the $500-ish range. Any suggestions? Preferably not a Juno-106 or an AX-60, as we have access to these if needed to some degree. I've been racking my brain for a while and am out of ideas. Thanks in advance!

Joey · Post by **Joey** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:54 am

The roland Jx series should fall into that price figure.

I think the prophet 600 gets in that range as well...

gryphon · Post by **gryphon** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:15 am

i hadn't considered the 600. good idea, we'll try to look for one. the jx series seem cool but finding the controller is a liability. if anyone else has some bright ideas (other than the buyer's guide) i'm all ears. cheers

Post by **killedaway** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:19 am

gryphon wrote:...if anyone else has some bright ideas (other than the buyer's guide) i'm all ears. cheers

i don't think BF was suggesting the Buyer's Guide forum as "an idea", but rather where you should have posted this thread in the first place.

"Wondering, "what synth should I buy?" Want to compare synths (synth1 vs. synth2)? Looking for advice on future purchases? This is the forum to discuss all things related to finding and buying the gear that's right for you."

clusterchord · Post by **clusterchord** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 2:21 am

both AX and Juno are sorta cleaner sounding and have, for lack of better terms, DCO-type sound, so i think most complementary would be somthing like Sequential Prophet600. its got a darker sound, organic due to its Curtis VCOs. far greater modulation capabilities with filter and vco fm.. etc.. 2VCOs per voice ..

it floates arround 500 - 600 region depending on the condition, which makes it one of if not the most affordable VCO vintage polyphonic on the market.

Jupiter 4 also falls within or lil above budget, yet w limited polyphony and only one VCO per voice, it aint as suitable for typical polyanalog duties (pads/strings) in case that is what u seek... however, if not - JP4 has a beautiful sound and its strenght lies in other applications.. like bass/sequences/arpeggio/leads/fx to name a few.. where its liquidy filter and lightnin speed envelopes show their advantage.. (in comparison, P600 is much much slower machine).[quote][/quote]

Post by **WDW** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 3:41 am

BF wrote:Buyer's Guide?

And the member with 13 posts (compared to the one with 95) knows!

Off we go..

WD

Automatic Gainsay · Post by **Automatic Gainsay** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 3:57 am

Yamaha CS-50. With its incredibly well designed modulation matrix, resonant low pass AND high pass filters, post-filter sine wave generator, incredible sound, and awesome functionality, it's a great choice.

scope4live · Post by **scope4live** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:33 pm

Don't forget about the Oberheim cheapies. They sound pretty FAT even at these prices.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Oberheim-Matrix-100 ... dZViewItem

Since old action is damn near impossible to get parts and sucks anyway, this little rack has a decent interface and can b e controlled by an external MIDI controller via CC's.

OriginalJambo · Post by **OriginalJambo** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 1:37 pm

You could grab a PolySix for that if you are patient.

Analogue Crazy · Post by **Analogue Crazy** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:15 pm

The CS-50 and Jupiter-4 are worth looking into. They are both great sounding and characterful VCO synths but if you go for one you must be prepaired to tune them up. They kinda big too.

drummy · Post by **drummy** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 4:37 pm

BF wrote:PolySix, Mono/Poly, Bit 99, SK-600, Six-Track, Arp Explorer or Axxe, p600 was already mentioned but +1. What exactly are you looking for, just analog and poly are your only requirements (aside from price)? Keyboards only or interested in racks & desktops as well?

The ARP Axxe isn't a poly. Neither is the Explorer.

paugui · Post by **paugui** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 7:05 pm

If controls aren't a big necessity to you, I would recommend you the Cheetah MS6 (a 1 unit rack module, which can be quite useful if you are lacking space) and the Korg Poly 800, which are the only analog synths I have (I have the Poly 800 II).
I think both are quite cool, if you don't mind to get a board without realtime control, I guess these could be nice boards to you, and I think you can find both of them for much less than 500 dollars.

Good luck finding a good deal

crystalmsc · Post by **crystalmsc** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 8:13 pm

gryphon wrote:an analog polysynth in the $500-ish range.

sometime with some luck, that might get you a MKS module and the controller. I got my MKS-70 + PG-800 for less that that and it's one h**l of an analog poly.

ianjhicks · Post by **ianjhicks** » Wed Feb 06, 2008 11:10 pm

+1 to the polysix, very rich sounding synth good for strings and pads

cprescott08 · Post by **cprescott08** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 11:39 pm

As previously mentioned I also recommend:

Yamaha CS50
Roland Jupiter 4
Korg Polysix

All of which generally go for more in the range of $750+
but, can occasionally be found for much less.
With a little luck and invested time.

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