Wavestation SR, TR Rack or FS1R

[visceralvoids]

Korg Wavestation SR vs Korg TR Rack vs Yamaha FS1R
...which one to get?

I am looking at one of these for abstract, weird, atmospheric, evolving, dark, unusual sounds + textures. Ease of programming not being an issue, which one would you guys recommend for the most fun and craziness?

Currently I am leaning most towards the Wavestation SR, always wanted one and I think it would make an awesome companion with my JD-990. My biggest concern (may not be a legit one considering the scope of the synth) is that is might sound a bit dated (?)

Any other 1U or 2U rack hardware suggestions would be awesome too!

- Happy New Year to all -

[meatballfulton]

You can get a taste of the Wavestation by trying the software version.

Download and use in demo mode, it has all the expansion libraries, too.

[abruzzi]

I can't speak to the TR, but you can get six Wavestation SRs for the price of a FS1R. I recently sold my FS1R because generally I prefered my TG77. I regret selling it a bit, because it was cool, but given the insane prices currently, it was worth selling. Both the Wavestation and the FS1R are difficult to use multitimberally due to the voice architecture, but if you consider them as single voice synths, they are very workable. The Wavestation suffers from a boring filter, but the wave sequencing an vector mixing are both pretty cool.

Another one to consider if you can find it is the Kawai K5000R. Nothing else sounds quite like it. Evolving pads are kind of its speciality. Especially because of its looping envelopes and 128 band formant filter.

EDIT: I heard that when Korg released the VI version of the Wavestation they improved the filter. If that's true, keep it in mind if you demo with an idea to buy the hardware.

[visceralvoids]

Guys, the Wavestation VST version sounds really good - I have been having a blast with it. The Wavestation has my favorite lead sound of all time on it, the upper part of the "Ski Jam" preset. I have wanted to get a Wavestation for a long time, ever since I learned Banks used one for lots of great sounds on the last two Genesis records. This is also the reason why I am curious about the Trinity/TR Rack, I think it has a great sound.

I ended up getting the whole Korg Legacy collection. While I'm nowhere near a fan of softsynths, the Wavestation, Mono/Poly and Polysix VSTs get a huge thumbs up from me, they are really good and I will definitely use these! Because of the ease of programming, (I was able to figure out how to change wave-sequences with little effort), the improvements which I am reading Korg made to the VST, the great sounds and all the patches it's got, I think my GAS for a Wavestation SR has been cured thank you, gentlemen.

Forgot all about the TG77! Both 77's (SY and TG) appear to be among the best synths Yamaha have produced. Looks like a cool unit for sure. Kawai K5000R - yes I gotta look into it, there's another great synth I see mentioned along with the FS1R. Speaking of that, I just looked at the current prices for the FS1R holy smokes. Does the cost justify the sound?

[db0451]

FS1R. Speaking of that, I just looked at the current prices for the FS1R holy smokes. Does the cost justify the sound?

No, it’s a great synth but not worth anywhere near the prices some sellers are now trying to get, which are utterly insulting. Thankfully the ones at $3000 aren’t being bought, although some at $1500+ were. If people start giving up and buying at that price, it will set a horrible precedent for everyone else.

Mine cost £425 before postage from Europe, in mint condition, never racked, with all original manuals. That’s just over $650. Yet someone on eBay thinks the same package is now worth $3000, and although they’re the current king of ridiculousness, previous attempts have not been far off. What has changed since I bought mine? Nothing – only people’s greed, hype, and false notions of rarity.

[abruzzi]

Yeah the prices are insane. I liked mine, but honestly, I was just as happy or moreso with my TG77, so I sold the FS1R a few months ago to fund other parts of my studio. (Like a Kurzweil K2661 and $500 change that I haven't spent yet, maybe a Nord Modular Rack?)

[visceralvoids]

Thanks all for the input - I have been checking out the Kawai K5000r and it seems right on like what I'm looking for (evolving pads). Love the sounds it can make, and it seems like a very deep, unique and interesting synth. I'm still looking at some Waldorfs like the Q, Microwave etc to see if I like them more or not. But right now that Kawai is what I'm leaning towards. Gotta find one without a busted backlight!

[abruzzi]

The K5000 can be a bit of a pain to program from the front panel. When they were new they came with a free version of SoundDiver for editing. I probably have a copy lying around if you need it. A while back I started putting a page together for the synth. There is not much there as I got distracted for a long time, but along with the manual, there is also a copy of the Wizoo programming book that came out at the same time.

https://xy.cx/synth/k5000/

One of these days I'll get back to finishing all my synth pages. I started at a point when I started seeing pages disappear off the web that had file archived for lots of 80s and 90s synth. So just for my own purposes I wanted to collect everything in one place.

[drumsofd00m]

Hello,

as far as I know that's one and the same person having sold one FS1r for $1500 and trying to sell another for varying prices above that. They're also a forum member here, with a link to their eBay account in their FS ad.

I recently sold my FS1r for $890 + S&H, but the buyer changed their mind as they found one locally and I was generous enough to accomodate that, so it's up FS again. I'm willing to negotiate on the price if someone is willing & able to pay swiftly and seems overall reliable. Check the classifieds subforum and PM me for photos & address.

The Kawai K5000 is my personal preference over the FS1r, not although but *because* it has a somewhat more recognizable sound/ isn't quite *that* flexible, and also simply because I have the keyboard version, which doesn't exist for the FS1r.
Both lack a decent set of individual voice outs. But that's ok as they are both best complemented with different, rougher timbres, preferably analog or acoustic.

@abruzzi, I too noticed lots of synth websites from the late 90s/ early 2000s disappearing, so it's great to see you archiving this stuff!

[drumsofd00m]

P.S. - @visceralvoids, try to go for an LED or OLED display instead of just renewing the LCD backlight. That way you can do without the inverter that causes the high pitched sustained whistle in those old synths as the backlights become weaker. AFAIK the FS1r doesn't have that in the first place.

[db0451]

FS1R (capital R everyone makes that mistake) has the same screen* as used in the MU series and VL70-m, so no problems that I am aware of, especially not inverter whine since it uses (finally) a proper LED backlight. Still mildly irritating that it is a proprietary design (as in the AN1x: custom sets of glyphs rather than pure dot-matrix), but at least it does not ever seem to fail (unlike the poor lights in the AN1x!). And at least it is not as rare and bizarre as the one in the EX5/R/7!

[edit] * or near-as-dammit the same; I cannot be held responsible for failed swaps, yadda yadda – not that I have ever heard of either LCD failing! also, I should be charitable: the glyph-y screen thus makes very efficient use of its available space, rather than filling all that space with chunky pixels that can barely display any detail.

[abruzzi]

@abruzzi, I too noticed lots of synth websites from the late 90s/ early 2000s disappearing, so it's great to see you archiving this stuff!

Yeah, I have to get back to that task. Started some time ago, but got side tracked.