Vintage Synth Explorer Forums

Questions:
1) The synth that made you want to play music:

2) Your first synth:

3) The synth that has surprised you most:

4) The synth that has disappointed you most:

5) The synth you love most:

6) The synth you've gigged with the most:

7) THE synth you really would like to own:

8) Your newest synth:

9) The next synth you are going to buy:

10) The synth with the best filter:

11) Favorite synth manufacturer:

I'll start
1) The synth that made you want to play music:
Minikorg700. One of my first synths, and the moment I used it and played some leads on a few tracks I was hooked.

2) Your first synth:
An Oberheim Matrix6 that I was completely baffled by. Not a good first synth, but sounded pretty cool.

3) The synth that has surprised you most:
The Novation Ultranova. This synth just looks kinda meh, kind of plain. It's incredible deep, and capable of some wild things. It's like a PPG, or Evolver on steroids.

4) The synth that has disappointed you most:
Moog Prodigy. Looks great. Has a cool layout. That's about it imo. Very basic and limited without a unique character I thought stood out.

5) The synth you love most:
Minikorg700s. Nothing comes close to it's uniquely f'd up sound. It's versatile in ways you wouldn't expect. My favorite filter too.

6) The synth you've gigged with the most:
Yamaha An1x. Great sound, great keys, and overall a workhorse for live use. I might retire mine soon though because it needs some pot and tact switch love.

7) THE synth you really would like to own:
I still want a Prophet 5. Maybe someday. Talking Heads got me into it years ago.

8) Your newest synth:
Korg Monologue. This thing is incredibly fun. Sounds really good. Has the best layout and form factor. Really enjoying it.

9) The next synth you are going to buy:
Karp Odyssey. It's already on the way. I've always wanted one. People like John Foxx and Kraftwerk have been a big influence, so I'm pretty excited about it.

10) The synth with the best filter:
The Ms20 has the craziest and most interesting filter I think. resonant high pass is amazing.

11) Favorite synth manufacturer:
Korg all day!

Questions:
1) The synth that made you want to play music:Silly,I'll skip that.I came from a classical music.

2) Your first synth:Korg IS35(made in italy)

3) The synth that has surprised you most: It was the Z1, I was just like, WTF!?!?This is the best ever dig synth I've ever heard

4) The synth that has disappointed you most: Moog Prodigy(( It's just boring and uninspiring

5) The synth you love most:Juno 106(of course)

6) The synth you've gigged with the most:none

7) THE synth you really would like to own:dunno.maybe the PS3300

8) Your newest synth:the DX1

9) The next synth you are going to buy:pretty sure, it will be the JP8 or some mono,like the 770 or new minimoog d

10) The synth with the best filter:the CS70m

11) Favorite synth manufacturer:Roland

Neat idea!

1) The synth that made you want to play music:
JX-3P The built in sequencer makes it a lot of fun to make a simple repeating bassline and try out ideas over it. The controls aren't too numerous so you end up playing it a lot rather than fiddling with knobs.

2) Your first synth:
MicroKorg, got it for Christmas. At the time all I new how to do was click presets. Only about 2 years later did I become addicted with it when I discovered that I could actually make my own sounds.

3) The synth that has surprised you most:
My MU modular. Seems like every time I create a patch on it I get surprised with some weird new sound!

4) The synth that has disappointed you most:
Eurorack modular. I was going to get an euro setup, but just to make sure I liked eurorack, I decided to make a journey out to the nearest big city to try one in their music store. I didn't like it very much at all. Felt very cramped and unfocused. All the different styles, colors, and fonts made it look a bit horrendous too. That's all just my opinion though.

5) The synth you love most:
That's like asking a parent which child they like most, I can't do it!

6) The synth you've gigged with the most:
JX-3P, definitely.

7) THE synth you really would like to own:
any from the Korg PS-3xxx series, probably the PS-3300

8) Your newest synth:
I actually can't remember, Is that a good thing? I got a few modules for my MU modular about 4 months ago if that counts.

9) The next synth you are going to buy:
The DSI 16-voice Rev2 looks very tempting!

10) The synth with the best filter:
I, like many, love the sound of the Moog transistor ladder filter, my synthesizers.com one sounds great!

11) Favorite synth manufacturer:
Probably Roland, just for their Jupiter series, great synths. I do also like Korg for their simplistic design in terms of circuitry. They've done some very creative things to save costs in the past.

philip wrote:8) Your newest synth:the DX1

9) The next synth you are going to buy:pretty sure, it will be the JP8

You just won the thread, for me...

1) The synth that made you want to play music:
I didn't know it then but they were an Oberheim poly from the OB range and a Yamaha CS80.

2) Your first synth:
Roland Juno 60 (1985)

3) The synth that has surprised you most:
Korg Wavestation

4) The synth that has disappointed you most:
Roland D70

5) The synth you love most:
That I (have) own(ed): Roland Fantom X
Never owned: Roland Jupiter 8

6) The synth you've gigged with the most:
Yamaha DX7

7) THE synth you really would like to own:
Roland Jupiter 8 and/or SCI Prophet 10

8) Your newest synth:
Roland Fantom X7

9) The next synth you are going to buy:
I am quite tempted by a first generation V-Synth

10) The synth with the best filter:
Very subjective but I like the JP8's and the Prophet 5's filters

11) Favorite synth manufacturer:
I'm a huge Roland fan for the sounds, features and looks of their products, but their lack of continued support for their customers and products is shocking. I have owned gear from other manufacturers as well!

1) The synth that made you want to play music:

Synths didn't make me want to play music. I love synths, but I love piano and violin more.

2) Your first synth:

Roland MT32. First and last Roland.

3) The synth that has surprised you most:

Korg EX8000. Sounds surprisingly good for a basic, simple synth.

4) The synth that has disappointed you most:

Yamaha FS1R. It's like watching p**n. It looks good, but you'll never get there on your own.

5) The synth you love most:

Tie: Kurzweil K2661 or Yamaha VL-1

6) The synth you've gigged with the most:

Kurzweil K2vx

7) THE synth you really would like to own:

Yamaha VP-1

8) Your newest synth:

E-mu Proteus 2000 with world ROM.

9) The next synth you are going to buy:

Probably a local Arp Omni.

10) The synth with the best filter:

Yamaha DX7

11) Favorite synth manufacturer:

Tie: Kurzweil or Yamaha.

1) The synth that made you want to play music:

ARP Odyssey - Influenced by Ultravox, John Foxx & Magazine

2) Your first synth:

Transcendent 2000 (Self built from a kit in 1979)

3) The synth that has surprised you most:

Novation Ultranova/Korg Kronos

4) The synth that has disappointed you most:

1. Oberheim OB12 - Flat and unresponsive. Nothing like I imagined it would be
2. Minimoog - Lack of modulation options and way too overrated IMHO

5) The synth you love most:

ARP2600

6) The synth you've gigged with the most:

Jupiter 6/SCI Pro One (Ahh... those were the days)

7) THE synth you really would like to own:

None I'm happy with what I have

8) Your newest synth:

Broadwave Sparta

9) The next synth you are going to buy:

See answer to Q7 - But maybe Deepmind 12 if I'm pushed

10) The synth with the best filter:

ARP Odyssey MKI, 12dB - Sharp and aggressive

11) Favorite synth manufacturer:

Korg and the original ARP brand

1) The synth that made you want to play music:

None. I had already played music (mainly guitar, plus some trombone) for about 17 or 18 years when I bought my first synth since I had the impression (which proved correct ) that some of of our guitar based rock band songs could do well with additional keyboard/organ/synth sounds.

2) Your first synth:

Yamaha DX21. I still have it today .

3) The synth that has surprised you most:

Hard to tell, perhaps the Arturia MiniBrute. The range of sounds you can get out of this little thing is amazing.

4) The synth that has disappointed you most:

e-Mu ESI-32. Not because of its functionality or sound as such, but because the implied SCSI fiddling was a nightmare. Got rid of it quickly.

5) The synth you love most:

My self-built stuff, especially my MFOS Synth.

6) The synth you've gigged with the most:

That's easy - the only synth I gigged with was the DX21 back in the 1990s. These days, it's home studio plus the occasional jam session with friends .

7) THE synth you really would like to own:

Minimoog

8) Your newest synth:

TTSH (basically finished, currently it's calibrating & troubleshooting), and Jasper (still building it, I've roughly finished a third or so).

9) The next synth you are going to buy:

MFOS DIY Vocoder, if that counts?

10) The synth with the best filter:

Hard to tell because it's what we call "comparing apples with pears" in Germany. I'll skip this one.

11) Favorite synth manufacturer:

That'd be Korg.

1) The synth that made you want to play music:

Moog Modular (Wendy Carlos, and a little later Tangerine Dream, ca. 1975)

2) Your first synth:

Korg MS-10 (loaned, 1987), Moog Prodigy (1988, still have it)

3) The synth that has surprised you most:

Roland JX-3P, Technics WSA-1

4) The synth that has disappointed you most:

Memory Moog, RSF Kobol 1/2, Serge Modular -- my expectations probably were a bit too high

5) The synth you love most:

Yamaha CS80

6) The synth you've gigged with the most:

Mini Moog

7) THE synth you really would like to own:

Korg PS-3300, Synton Syrinx

8) Your newest synth:

Korg Wavestation EX, Emu E4XT

9) The next synth you are going to buy:

Oberheim Two Voice (black) -- when there is happy money to burn

10) The synth with the best filter:

Oberheim SEM

11) Favorite synth manufacturer:

PPG

What exactly do you mean by "newest"? My latest acquisition, or the youngest member of the bunch?

Stephen

1) The synth that made you want to play music:

Not a synth, it was seeing the Beatles first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. I played organ and bass for years before I got a synth.

2) Your first synth:

Casio CZ5000

3) The synth that has surprised you most:

Yamaha Motif XF...the longer I own it, the more things I find buried inside that I didn't know it could do. My latest find was that it can do wave sequencing.

4) The synth that has disappointed you most:

Korg Minilogue, although not sure why I bought it in the first place.

5) The synth you love most:

Motif XF

6) The synth you've gigged with the most:

I've played less than a half dozen gigs, all with the XF.

7) THE synth you really would like to own:

Another synthesizers.com modular, but I can't afford one.

8) Your newest synth:

Make Noise Zero Coast

9) The next synth you are going to buy:

Probably none...I'm focusing on my bass playing again and the only reason I will ever buy another synth is becasue the ones I own now break down and need to be replaced.

10) The synth with the best filter:

Still a sucker for the Moog filter after all these years. I've owned a Slim Phatty and a Voyager RME.

11) Favorite synth manufacturer:

Dave Smith

1) The synth that made you want to play music:
I was already playing music, but the sounds of the Minimoog on records was definitely an influence.

2) Your first synth:
Minikorg 700. Got it for next to nothing in the late-eighties. Still have it.

3) The synth that has surprised you most:
Probably the Moog Prodigy. You don’t have too many soundmaking choices, but it just sounds so damn good. Wish I had one.

4) The synth that has disappointed you most:
Probably the TB-303. But I plan to get really into it one day …

5) The synth you love most:
Korg Polysix. I never get tired of it.

6) The synth you've gigged with the most:
The Novation bassstation, on top of my Acetone-organ.

7) THE synth you really would like to own:
The Minimoog, but even more: A working Fender Rhodes Mark I.

8) Your newest synth:
The Korg MS-20 mini. It gets used a lot.

9) The next synth you are going to buy:
Don’t know, I think I have enough for now.

10) The synth with the best filter:
Moog or Korg.

11) Favorite synth manufacturer:
Korg.

1) The synth that made you want to play music:

None of them. I grew up with music classes in school, but never really took to it, although I loved my toy Xylophone as a kid... I always knew I could make music, but didn't start until I got into heavy metal. Experimenting with some of my friend's instruments at the time inspired me to play the guitar, which made uo the majority of my early projects; but my evolving interests and creative ambition demanded I expand into more a more diverse arena.

2)my first synth:

I started with Cubase, and some plugins, but my first hardware Synth was the Korg Radias.

The synth that surprised you the most:

The akai s2000. Thought it was dirt cheap and basic, but ended up being extremely useful, deep, and reliable.

The synth that has disappointed you the most:

Probably the ESI 4000. It has a great reputation, and is very nice - when it decides it wants to work properly.

The Synth you love most:

Too many to list - I wouldn't want my other synths to get jealous . The sh 101 is definitely on the list though!

Synth you've gigged with the most:

I don't do gigs. But I have carted the radias around to various places. Held up well!

THE synth you would like to own:
Probably a Jupiter 8 - still after getting the JP-08.

Your newest synth:
The JP 08

The next synth you are going to buy:
Who knows!

The synth with the best filter:

Probably the Juno 60, or the TB 303

Favorite synth manufacturer:
For the synths themselves, it has to be Roland! For supporting gear like monitors, mixers, sequencers, etc it has to be Yamaha.

Fun thread!

1) The synth that made you want to play music:
Probably DX-7 and MS-20. Why? Because everyone cool I was listening to in the late 90s had an MS-20. And Covenant rocks a DX-7 all over the place.

2) Your first synth:
Poly-800, baby. Still have it, now modded.

3) The synth that has surprised you most:
MicroKorg, hands down. Great for bread and butter, weaknesses and all. Great for learning synthesis too, if you just read the frikkin manual.

4) The synth that has disappointed you most:
This is relative, but the Juno-60. Probably because it's so popular, and because I downgraded from a Jupiter 6. Still one of the biggest regrets of my synth life. It was disappointing because of how limited it is (say, compared to a Jupiter). Don't get me wrong. It's a great synth with a great sound. But it has a limited range.

5) The synth you love most:
MS-20m. Such a powerful creative tool. More than just a synth.

6) The synth you've gigged with the most:
Juno-60.

7) THE synth you really would like to own:
Sequential Pro-One.

8) Your newest synth:
Small Aries 300 modular with a funktastic homemade analog sequencer. Raw germanium power. Simple but inspiring.

9) The next synth you are going to buy:
Probably Toraiz AS-1. I hear it's got Pro-One mojo.

10) The synth with the best filter:
MS-20. Naughty boy with serious attitude.

11) Favorite synth manufacturer:
Korg. Duh.

(I have such a man crush on Tats Takahashi)

[quote="Jabberwalky"]Questions:
1) The synth that made you want to play music:
At the time I had little to know idea what synths were being used in the music I was influenced by.
In retrospect Odyssey, Minimoog, Jupiter 8 and various string machines like Solina, Performer, SS30.

2) Your first synth:
Korg Poly800 II

3) The synth that has surprised you most:
Yamaha CS5, I bought it because I wanted an old mono, and it was one of the few I could afford. It's much nicer than I was expecting.

4) The synth that has disappointed you most:
Korg Prophecy, just couldn't get to grips with it.

5) The synth you love most:
Like trying to choose your favourite child, the Alpha Juno 1 is the one I go back furthest with, but I'm quite font of all of them.

6) The synth you've gigged with the most:
I've only gigged twice, Alpha Juno 1 featured both times.

7) THE synth you really would like to own:
Jupiter 8

8) Your newest synth:
Minibrute

9) The next synth you are going to buy:
No idea, depends if something irresistible pops up in the loved used market.
If we're talking new I'd like a Prophet 6 or Odyssey FS, but I don't think it will happen.

10) The synth with the best filter:
That I own, Voyager Old School or Trident

11) Favorite synth manufacturer:
I've more Yamahas (4) that anything else, so perhaps that's the answer.

1) The synth that made you want to play music:

At the time I didn't know much about synths, but I started with a Korg M1, I needed a workstation because my first band in the early 90s was a duo, the other guy was a guitarist so I needed a workstation with a sequencer and lots of sounds, from real instruments to synthetic ones, but I have to say that what I really wanted was a Korg MS20, I was in love with its sci fi look and acid sounds, but it was not the right tool for me

2) Your first synth:

Korg M1

3) The synth that has surprised you most:

DX7, everybody were raving about how difficult it was to edit, that it was a preset sounds machine, but actually when I learned how to program it I entered an amazing world of sonic wonders, it was incredible what I could obtain with this synth with some fx, I fell in love with FM synthesis and then purchased an FS1R, another wow! synth for me

4) The synth that has disappointed you most:

Korg M1, I discovered pretty soon that I was not interested in its romper side, also the filter was meh!

5) The synth you love most:

I have to say that I love all the synths that I own now, but FS1R and V Synth with their endless sonic possibilities have a special place in my music

6) The synth you've gigged with the most:

I don't gig

7) THE synth you really would like to own:

EMS VCS3, mainly because I am a huge Brian Eno fan

8) Your newest synth:

Korg Arp Odyssey module

9) The next synth you are going to buy:

I am really tempted by Dave Smith Rev2, and every now and then I think about grabbing an Ensoniq Esq1

10) The synth with the best filter:

That I own: Korg Arp Odyssey the MK1 filter

11) Favorite synth manufacturer:

Roland and Dave Smith Instruments