[net.music.synth] PURCHASING HELP!

rmp@ulysses.UUCP (Reuben Prichard) (08/19/85)

	I am in the process of purchasing a synth. for  my eight year old
son to keep up his interest in music (At least thats what I keep telling
my wife!). Being new to the world of electronic keyboard, and after
having done a fair amount of research on the subject, I have come
up with the following two configurations that, to me, seem to be 
reasonable. They are as follows:

	Synth.		Sequencer		Drum Maching
	=======		===========		==============

1.	Yamaha DX21	Yamaha QX7		Yamaha DX11/15 or
						ROLAND-TR-707
						(Not to sure which one)
2.	KORG 8000	KORG QSD-1		 


	I am kind of leaning toward (2) since people that have had an 
opportunity to play with pre-release versions of the hardware really say 
good things about them and I have played a DW-6000 and have found it a lot
easier to program than the DX21.

	Before I drop a bundle on the above hardware I would like some
(YOUR) educated opinions  on my choices. In general and in particular,

Questions!

	1) What is a reasonable amount of internal capacity (note capacity)
for a sequencer if you are going to feed it both DRUM machine and Synth.
input?

	2) How about the DRUM MACHINE choices?? I like the features of the 
TR-707 (Graphic display for editing).

	3) Any suggestions as to the best place to purchase the equipment??
Mail orders is fine with me! I think that 30% off retail is about
right! (HOWEVER The less the better!!!!!!!!).


				Reuben M. Prichard 
				c/o AT&T BELL LABS
				600 Mountain Ave.
				Murray Hill, NJ, 07974

				201-582-4384

				mentor!rmp


THANKX MUCH!!!!!

rmp@ulysses.UUCP (Reuben Prichard) (08/19/85)

	I am in the process of purchasing a synth. for  my eight year old
son to keep up his interest in music (At least thats what I keep telling
my wife!). Being new to the world of electronic keyboard, and after
having done a fair amount of research on the subject, I have come
up with the following two configurations that, to me, seem to be 
reasonable. They are as follows:

	Synth.		Sequencer		Drum Maching
	=======		===========		==============

1.	Yamaha DX21	Yamaha QX7		Yamaha DX11/15 or
						ROLAND-TR-707
						(Not to sure which one)
2.	KORG 8000	KORG QSD-1		 


	I am kind of leaning toward (2) since people that have had an 
opportunity to play with pre-release versions of the hardware really say 
good things about them and I have played a DW-6000 and have found it a lot
easier to program than the DX21.

	Before I drop a bundle on the above hardware I would like some
(YOUR) educated opinions  on my choices. In general and in particular,

Questions!

	1) What is a reasonable amount of internal capacity (note capacity)
for a sequencer if you are going to feed it both DRUM machine and Synth.
input?

	2) How about the DRUM MACHINE choices?? I like the features of the 
TR-707 (Graphic display for editing).

	3) Any suggestions as to the best place to purchase the equipment??
Mail orders is fine with me! I think that 30% off retail is about
right! (HOWEVER The less the better!!!!!!!!).

					Reuben M. Prichard
					c/o AT&T Bell Labs
					600 Mountain Ave
					Murray Hill N.J.
						07974

					mentor!rmp

hedger@ada-uts.UUCP (08/22/85)

well rueben,
let me start off by saying what a fortunate son you have!!!!!
I think that your #2 setup is a better choice , considering expense
and the fact that the equipment is for an 8 year old. reagarding your questions
I think that the Korg sequencer with 30,000 note capacity has plenty of
note storage...unless someone was going to store some fairly long song
forms etc. he would be hard pressed to tape the capacity of this machine...
(don'tget excited all you experienced synthesists remember this is for a
beginner). another option you might want to consider is a p.c. with sequencing
software...it would probablycost more and dedicated sequencers do have
their advantages, but since your son probably won't have to worry about roda
worthiness in the next fewyears a computer would do the same (maybe better
depending on the software) job of sequencing and could be used for other
applications (i.e. patch librarian programs, voicing software)
as for the tr-707- a freind (and partner) of mine owns a 707 and I think
that they are great boxes, again considering the price. I own a tr909 and
the boxes are very similar in their funcions ( mines bigger,doesn't have the
graphic display, and uses analog sounds as opposed to the 707's digital ones)
I would strongly suggest that you check with LaSalle music in either
Watertown Mass or Hartford Conn when you're price shopping.....
    I wish your son all the luck and encouragement with his new
hobby.
keith hedger - intermetrics
ihnp4!inmet!ada-uts!hedger