The JohnTron Memorial Vs. Thread

[JohnTron]

I'm not too attached to anything right now, except maybe the 3P cause it sorta only half-works...only worth something to me if I keep it i guess. I need to broaden my horizons and get a vco polysynth, a vco monosynth, a digital and midi controller, GO MOOG!!! I dunno...I welcome ANY and ALL input...

Here's what I own:

Akai AX80...oldschool dirty creepy spacey stuff, meat and potatos...MIGHT sell for a Polysix
Roland Juno 60...simple, elegant, brilliant, resonant, rich atmosphere...MIGHT SELL for D50
JX3P w/ PG...Juno sound but filter is a little "numb" beats the Juno when it comes to features and dual osc, classic 80's, MIGHT KEEP FOR TRAVEL/TOURING...


Here's what I've sold:

Roland Juno 106
Casio CZ-5000
Yamaha DX7IIFD
Korg DW8000
JX8P w/ PG


Here's what I have my eye on for the future:

Korg Polysix or Monopoly...vco osc goodness, resonant, classic brass and organ stuff, oldschool fx
Roland D50...fat digital and atmospheric, midi control, great key feel
Yamaha SY77...Cool/metallic tones, FM
CS50, 60, or CS70m...Simply EPIC sounding, really crisp/clear filter
SCI Pro One...funky and loaded with features, great monosynth
Moog Prodigy or Micromoog...classic oldschool moog sounds for my inner Rick Wakeman


Any thoughts on the relatively new Korg CX3 organ? I know it's not a synth, but I'd love to learn how to use the drawbars for some Yes-inspired prog rock and blues. If not the CX3, what polysynths can do organs like the real thing?

That's my story, any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[THEODICY]

Even though I'm a champion for the polysix, looks like you could use a mono instead of another poly. From your list, I'd go with the Pro One even though I don't normally like the DSI/sequential stuff. It's really aggressive and sounds huge, has a sequencer which is great fun and can be controlled with CV.

[sequentialsoftshock]

Do you have a reason for disliking Sequential Circuits/Dave Smith Instruments gear? Or was that next sentence supposed to be your reasoning?? You should give an example of why you don't like something before you try to weigh your opinion on someone so they know others complaints.

Anyway, I'd suggest the Mono Evolver Keyboard instead of the Pro~One because it can give you most all the sounds and you won't need to worry about expensive repair costs.

[JohnTron]

I'm not too attached to anything right now, except maybe the 3P cause it sorta only half-works...only worth something to me if I keep it i guess. I need to broaden my horizons and get a vco polysynth, a vco monosynth, a digital and midi controller, GO MOOG!!! I dunno...I welcome ANY and ALL input...

Here's what I own:

Akai AX80...oldschool dirty creepy spacey stuff, meat and potatos...MIGHT SELL for a Polysix
Roland Juno 60...simple, elegant, brilliant, resonant, rich atmosphere...MIGHT SELL for D50
JX3P w/ PG...Juno sound but filter is a little "numb," beats the Juno when it comes to features and dual osc, classic 80's, MIGHT KEEP FOR TRAVEL/TOURING...


Here's what I've sold:

Roland Juno 106
Casio CZ-5000
Yamaha DX7IIFD
Korg DW8000
JX8P w/ PG


Here's what I have my eye on for the future:

Korg Polysix or Monopoly...classic vco osc goodness, resonant, classic brass sound
Roland D50...fat digital and atmospheric, midi control, great key feel
Yamaha SY77...Cool/metallic cutting digital tones, FM
CS50, 60, or CS70m...Simply EPIC sounding, really crisp/clear filter
SCI Pro One...funky and loaded with features, great central monosynth for any setup
Moog Prodigy or Micromoog...classic oldschool moog sounds for my inner Rick Wakeman


Any thoughts on the relatively new Korg CX3 organ? I know it's not a synth, but I'd love to learn how to use the drawbars for some Yes-inspired prog rock and blues. If not the CX3, what polysynths can do organs like the real thing?

That's my story, any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[JohnTron]

You should give an example of why you don't something before you try to weigh your opinion on someone so they know others complaints.

Anyway, I'd suggest the Mono Evolver Keyboard instead of the Pro~One because it can give you most all the sounds and you won't need to worry about expensive repair costs.

I tried to make my post a little more clear, where I'm coming from and where I'd like to go...does that help or is it too much info now? Thanks again for the advice!

[JohnTron]

I'm going to get a D50, period.

It is everything I'm looking for in a master keyboard right now. Even with it's midi limitations, it'll suffice for my needs. I only really plan on using it with a TG77 and Pro Tools 8, vst's.

I am curious about the controls though, both on-board and on the PG-1000. I can't tell looking at the crappy pictures on-line what the PG can do. Does the PG have any oldschool tricks up it's sleeve? Are the controls similar to the PG200 or PG800, where you can tweak oscs and tuning? Digital emulations of filter sweeps and oscillation at least...What can this guy do?

Any hint of retro synth tricks or is it just like FM and PD, whole other arenas? My goal is to cover the most roland sonic ground possible? I love Roland gear, but 2 roland synths in my setup at one time is enough. I still want to get a Korg and a moog after all. I'm looking for that epic wall of sound that can slide right into subtle atmosphere in a heartbeat. The Juno and 3P handle classic 80's pads, strings, ep's, fx well enough...but they are sooo similar, the D50 is the perfect replacement for one of them I think. If you have a D50 and are familiar with other roland analogs, i want to talk to YOU!!!


Any thoughts? I am going to shut up now, I've been posting a lot.

[Zamise]

Great story. Totally get a CX3. Organs are hotter than wet speedos in a public sauna. Grab one and hold on tight to it. Just be gentle when pushing in the drawbars as so they don't break off early in your hand.

[D-Collector]

You don't need a PG-1000. Just learn to program directly on the D-50 and you will be creating nice patches fast after a while. I recently bought a PG after owning a D-50 for many years, I sold it with profit after a week. It has some serious drawbacks. You have control over most of the synths parameters, but going back and forth between partials and making adjustments is a nightmare as the the sliders are set for the last change you made. In short it will only screw up your patches. However, if you use the same settings for all partials the PG is cool enough for some simple synth sounds tweaking.

The D-50 is known for its digital sounds, but it can create Juno/JX type sounds as well. It will definately not disappoint you. I have owned and sold a lot of gear, in fact I have almost sold everything at a few points but I have never let the D-50 go. It is such a nice, stable, deep, powerful and pretty synthesizer.

[Solderman]

Even though this is a double-post from the Shootouts section, I'll bite.

• Monopoly - Four cheap synths in one. I thought it sounded rather stiff. Very 80's.
• Polysix - Forgetting the ensemble for a moment, it rather sounds to me like a more boring Juno 60
• D 50 - Go for a JD800 unless you just want inferior digital sound and better build quality with a ultra horrible editing interface - It won't be as good a controller as a Kurzweil K2000
• CS50/60/70m - Ask Clusterchord about these - I think the first two sound lovely - 70m is too rare, imo
• Pro One - I used to own this. Bass is smooth and round, Env's are punchy, polymod is great, especially for crossmod sounds. Hi Resonance is too thin and VCO's are too stiff. They are also cheaply built.
• Prodigy - Sounds big and does Moog lite right, but very cheaply built and you'll want more features it lacks
• Micromoog - Pretty awesome for single oscillator, but good luck finding one for a fair price

[Solderman]

I answered your double post in the Buyer's Guide. Hopefully they won't ban you again for that.

[Solderman]

Might I suggest you look into a Kurzweil K2000 or K2vx as a cheap but quality keyboard controller? It's also a kick-a*s sampler and does VA pretty nicely for its generation of digital.

I hear the D50 is just a pain in the a*s to edit, PG or not. Get a V-Synth XT with the D50 V-Card, and you'll have a damn fine emulation of the D50, plus a f**k awesome digital Roland synth that will do anything you want.

[THEODICY]

No, the pro one is one of the few that I like along with the P5. I normally just don't prefer the curtis sound and hated the sixtrak's sound when I had it. I'd say I'm about 50/50 with curtis in general and DSI for that matter.

[braincandy]

Same question but two separate threads, John? They've now been merged. Please don't do this again. Thanks.

[sequentialsoftshock]

No, the pro one is one of the few that I like along with the P5. I normally just don't prefer the curtis sound and hated the sixtrak's sound when I had it. I'd say I'm about 50/50 with curtis in general and DSI for that matter.

Ahh, can't disagree more. But, the Pro~One does use Curtis chips, just not the same as those god awful ones on the Six Trak, MAX, Multi Track, & Split Eight. I'm not sure what Curtis chips Dave is using now, but they're pretty excellent. I'd guess they're more similar to the ones from Rev 3 prophets and Pro~Ones than the 3394's.

[sequentialsoftshock]

Holy s**t, how many things are you contemplating??