V.Cheap But Good Old Synths....!?? (ie. < $150)

[HideawayStudio]

In a sea of cheap old tat there are some real gems to be had for next to nothing... any suggestions?

My Suggestions Are:

Yamaha TG33 - Super cheap vector synth by Dave Smith - Brilliant Strings - as used by the Pet Shop Boys
Yamaha V50 - one of best examples of Yamaha 4OP FM around but forgotten and currently probably worthless
Roland D-110 - A real synth in a cute little rack with terrible UI and factory patches but capable of some very unique sounds

Please note the above are only worth it as cheapies - I love them but let's not try and talk them up into anything valuable on eBay!

And definitely where the parts are worth more than the synth....

DO NOT throw away Kawai K1's - their keys are the same as the almighty EII and hence worth real money!!

[Ashe37]

Roland Alpha Junos and/or MKS-50.

[HideawayStudio]

Roland Alpha Junos and/or MKS-50.

I didn't think the alpha variants were all that cheap anymore??

[CfNorENa]

Korg Poly 800? Have never heard one, mind you, but VSE itself says that it is "in many ways better" than the Junos (!), and there's one on my local craigslist for $150 (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/msg/1316286035.html); and another, with non-functioning joystick, for $70!

[garranimal]

maybe this goes in buyers guide 8)

+1 for alpha-junos. Cheap, but a bit over $150.

ESQ-1. Lambda. Sigma. DW-6000. JX-3P, JX-8P (you need the programmer though), sequential Fugue? (never used one), DX-21, DX-27 and TX81-Z ($80-$100) for that matter.

[OriginalJambo]

Basically anything from the 80s that has digital parameter access. On second thought, you probably could omit the former.

[THEODICY]

I got an Alpha Juno-1 here for $100. Not a wide sound pallet but still a pretty good bargan synth. It was worth keeping.

[CZ Rider]

Hey, if we had this discussion 15 years ago, it would be Pro-1, Odyssey, Minimoog. (I was the crazy musician buying them, what was I thinking?)
Still one of the best buys today includes a Casio CZ. I guess they made so many, they can be had for cheap. Can still score a CZ-1000 for around $100.00. Not bad for a synthesizer that can scream a loud as they can. My two favorite synthesizers are a Moog 1P and a CZ-101. One cost a small fortune while the other cost $40.00. Perhaps someday they will be worth more?


Screaming CZ-101 lead played over Moog1P sequence
Any synthesizer that sounds like that should cost more than $100?

[mattio]

Korg Poly 800? Have never heard one, mind you, but VSE itself says that it is "in many ways better" than the Junos (!), and there's one on my local craigslist for $150 (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/msg/1316286035.html); and another, with non-functioning joystick, for $70!

I had a Poly 800 MKII and can't really say I liked it more than my Juno 106, but it's a nice little synth. For that price, I'd give myself the go ahed.

As for cheap old synths I'd also agree to the Alpha Junos, great sounding simple workhorses with good snappy envelopes and good LFOs.

Also the JX-3P and JX-8P turn up very cheap around here once in a while especially when sold without the PGs.

Mattio

[Christopher Winkels]

I've seen good condition the Kawai K3 go for that figure. I owned the rackmount module for a while, and while it isn't a monster synth, it did have a few good sounds in it.

[vin14]

I'd also suggest a poly 800, it should be possible to get one for that money. Like some of the other posters I'd also suggest the alpha juno1, but I doubt you'd get one quite so cheap. I'd also say that the juno is better than the poly 800, having owed both. Other than that, a DW6000, Poly61, Casio CZ of some sort could be close to the budget

[Christopher Winkels]

I forgot about the DW-6000. That was my first synth and it remains a class act to this day. Good on you for mentioning it.

[Pro5]

I forgot about the DW-6000. That was my first synth and it remains a class act to this day. Good on you for mentioning it.

As used by Nick Rhodes on Arcadia's 'So Red The Rose' album..

[StepLogik]

Casio HT Series

[AstroDan]

You can add $4 to the DW-6000 and have the 8000.