Synth+Sampler+Seq:What Workstation?

[ellaguru]

hi
i'm searching for a worksatation wich is capable of synth (not rompler), good sequencer and sampler (also editing+resampling), fx...budget around 500/600€
a frined of mine told me those
yamaha motif (es6 that's good for my budget)
yamaha ex7 (don't knot it well)
korg triton (i think it's a rompler)
yamaha sy99 (i think it doesn't sample)
korg z1 (??)
could you please make advice on those, or at least, suggest me other models?
thanks

[meatballfulton]

hi
i'm searching for a worksatation wich is capable of synth (not rompler), good sequencer and sampler (also editing+resampling), fx...budget around 500/600€

All such machines are ROMplers, they are still synthesizers they just have sample based oscillators.

yamaha ex7: sequencer has known timing issues,get a Motif instead

yamaha motif ES6: I used to own one (now have XF), this is an excellent choice; can add VA and FM synth engines on plugin boards

korg triton: many versions with different features, Triton Extreme is best model to get; can add VA (MOSS) synth engine on plugin board

roland fantom X: Roland's answer to Motif ES and Triton Extreme

yamaha sy99: correct, you can import samples but it is not a sampler

korg z1: not a workstation! no sampler, no sequencer

I would look into Motif ES and Triton Extreme. Download the manuals, read reviews, etc. then go look for used ones to try out.

If you have specific questions about Motif, PM me.

[ellaguru]

I would look into Motif ES and Triton Extreme. Download the manuals, read reviews, etc. then go look for used ones to try out.

If you have specific questions about Motif, PM me.

yes i think that looking things, those are maybe the best choices

roland fantom X: Roland's answer to Motif ES and Triton Extreme

i tought it was not that cool, i will give it a look, it has "synth possibilities" (synth engine) as the motif and triton i assume...thanks
and also thanks for your PM possibility
cheers

[Ashe37]

Korg M3: Sampler, sequencer, sample-based synthesis, and (if you get one with it) a VA synth, Not gonna get one with the RADIAS card for 600 euros tho.

[ellaguru]

Korg M3: Sampler, sequencer, sample-based synthesis, and (if you get one with it) a VA synth, Not gonna get one with the RADIAS card for 600 euros tho.

thanks for this advice.
i took a rapid look at it about the prices and the only model on the KorgM series i can afford for my budget (as i said above 500/600€) is the korg M3M, i have to take a better look on its manual to see things...the other models are far over my budget...anyway, i have some synths to add on this eventually: v-synth/juno106/ms20/jv1080/tx81z/matrix1000/kawai xs1/poly800/casio ht700/an200 and xiosynth

roland fantom X: Roland's answer to Motif ES and Triton Extreme

i looked at fantom S and X manuals...they seem to me an mc909 (wich i have) , same sequencer/sampler, with almost same sound engine (XV) and something more (JV sounds+SP series pads + a keyboard) and minus the cool 909 faders...so not very tempting for me; plus: you can add some SRX cards on the mc909 too...

[Ashe37]

The only difference is the keys. the M3 module, attaches to the keyboards.

[ellaguru]

The only difference is the keys. the M3 module, attaches to the keyboards.

ok.
then the other models are not for me (budget), but thanks anyway.

any toughts about the Alesis Fusion? it's a bit snobbed, but from the demos i've heard, it sounds good to me. I didn't find the manual (you have to subscribe on alesis site ) so i cannot say more about its seq and sampler, but if you konw things about it , please share
thanks

[meatballfulton]

Fusion is very cheap used, many people only bought one when they were blown out (for about $500 here in US), primarily for the onboard FM/VA engines.

You can subscribe using a fake name and email if you want to read the Alesis manuals.

[ellaguru]

Fusion is very cheap used, many people only bought one when they were blown out (for about $500 here in US), primarily for the onboard FM/VA engines.

You can subscribe using a fake name and email if you want to read the Alesis manuals.

thanks for the email trick, i will surely do it.
the price (used i assume) is almost the same as here in europe; for what concerns the sound , i've read, maybe also on the VSE review, that the Fusion has similar engine as on ion/micron on the VA side; saying that i would see what the sequencer and the sampler can do, also because i've read on the net that some bugs are present on the OS and on Midi...

[Hugo76]

Another thing to note about the Yamaha Motif ES, if you go that route, is that you can install the plg card from your an200 into it, if you so wish

[Z]

Roland Fantom X series has synth, sampler & sequencer AND 8 stereo audio tracks.

[ellaguru]

Another thing to note about the Yamaha Motif ES, if you go that route, is that you can install the plg card from your an200 into it, if you so wish

hi man!
yes, i think you can add both AN+DX cards, and that's cool. The only thing i would like to investigate better with a manual comparison is a sort of RS7000 vs Motif, to see if there are or not many things in common...why? i got the RS and i' ll explain it better below...

Roland Fantom X series has synth, sampler & sequencer AND 8 stereo audio tracks.

thanks.
i checked the Fantoms S and X. i got an mc909 (wich is my main seq), and i saw that they got exactly the same sequencer and sampler capabilities. They share the XV engine (Fantoms got JV engine more + SP606/555 samplers pads and, obviosuly, a keyboard) and they both have SXR cards possibilities...it have not all the 909 cool faders/knobs...so that's not very tempting to me...

anyway i looked a bit the Alesis Fusison manual, it seems very interesting, but i've read on the net about many bugs on the OS and on the Midi, and that sounds (not the synth , wich indeed sounds very nice) very bad...

[meatballfulton]

If you already have both the RS7000 and MC909 why are you looking for a workstation? Just asking.

The RS7000 is very similar to the original Motif (ES is second gen) but has some limitations in the voice architecture, including no support for multisampling I believe. The sequencers are almost identical. ES supports much more sample RAM (up to 1GB...that's about two hours of stereo samples) and uses (cheaper) USB storage rather than SCSI.

[ellaguru]

If you already have both the RS7000 and MC909 why are you looking for a workstation? Just asking.

good question, don't worry.
i'm satisfied with the mc909, but when it comes to mix all 16 tracks together, sometimes something doesn't fit 100% on the mix. plus, there is a general EQ and not per track, so 2 solutions: 1)resample track by track with appropriate fx+eq OR 2)to sort out some of those tracks with the (cool!) separate outs. At the same time i was looking for Rhodes/Wurli sounds; i got a JV1080, but i don't feel that much its EP presets, so i was looking for some cool rodhes/wulritzer sound modules (Kurzweil micropiano and microensemble) and when i saw their prices or the SXR card prices, i thought that maybe a workstation could do this and more (seq/sample/mix etc).
for the RS:i bought also an RS7000 for very very cheap, so to to try it, and while the sequencer is cool and sounds and fx too, the sampler side is very complicated and i don't feel it anymore.

[meatballfulton]

If you don't like the RS7000 sampler you will probably not care for that of the Motif ES either.