mab@druil.UUCP (BlandA) (11/15/85)
[reposting, i don't think the first try went anywhere]
A couple of weeks ago I posted a request for info about connecting
a synth to my Commodore 64 via MIDI - I asked for recommendations
as to which synths to consider, and which MIDI hardware/software to
consider for the computer, and I wanted to limit the expenses to
about a thousand bucks. I received some good responses - thanks to
everyone who took the time to reply. As promised, here is a summary
of the responses. I've been quite busy lately, so this is a very brief
summary. If you want more detail, send me mail and I'll send you
copies of all the replies, or maybe I can summarize in more detail later.
People commented on the following synths, most were good comments:
Roland JUNO-106 (about $800) got high marks from one owner.
AKAI AX-80 recommended by several people. Under $1000, probably
the cheapest synth with a velocity sensitive keyboard.
Sequential Circuits 6-trak was recommended.
Yamaha CX5-M (computer + synth, well under $1000) good software.
Korg DW-6000 (about $800) second choice of the JUNO-106 owner.
Korg Poly-800 ($650) DW-6000 is a better choice.
Yamaha DX-7 recommended by several people, but it's really
out of my price range.
Yamaha DX-9 under $1000.
Yamaha TX-7 (DX-7 without the keyboard) about $850.
Casio (no model number given, ~$650) "seemed like a toy."
I'll be looking at/listening to most of the machines that were
recommended. The AX-80 seems like a bargain (according to the owners
and the recent netnews postings) but one recent posting said that it
could not upload or download patches, making a patch librarian
impossible - a big minus. With the popularity of the DX-7, a TX-7
could really be a bargain, if you have a computer or another keyboard
to control it with. I don't need a keyboard for my immediate
applications, so a TX-7 is certainly a possibility.
There must not be many people using a Commodore 64 as a MIDI controller,
judging from the number of replies I got on that subject (zero).
--
Alan Bland
AT&T Information Systems, Denver CO
{ihnp4|allegra}!druil!mab