bmh@unc.UUCP (Brad Hemminger) (07/02/85)
I spent a few hours yesterday at a local computer music shop. I was looking around to see what's available for 1 or 2K. My interests are in a synthesizer that I can easily program from an IBM PC (via MIDI). Good sound and extra's like a velocity sensitive keyboards are nice but not necessary. Being essentially a layman with respect to synthesizer's, I would like to here some people's opinions on what's the best you can do for under 2K (including MIDI card for PC and other necessary hookup items). To start the discussion off, I'll expound on the opinions I developed from my visit yesterday. If you want to create *really* interesting sounds/music--especially in conjunction with a computer--you need the capability of several different voices at once. To accomplish this you need either several synthesizers or a multi-timbred synthesizer. The best choice seemed to be multi-timbred synthesizers. This ruled out most all the synthesizers I looked at. The only ones that fit this catergory were Oberheim's Matrix 12 (I wish I could blow 4K) and some of the Sequential Ciruits machines (e.g. Multi-Trak and Six-Trak). Of the later two the Multi-Trak features a larger keyboard and it's also velocity sensitive. This was my choice for my price range. Other nice instruments like the AKAI AX80 (nice for the money--$1050) are polyphonic but not multi-timbred. To round out my MIDI system I am considering getting the Roland MPU 401 (the salesman tells me it's becoming the industry standard for the IBM PC MIDI interface [is this so?]), the corresponding card for the IBM PC, and TEXTURE, the toolbox music editor by Roger Powell. Ok, let's hear some comments comparing my choices with your own! Oh, the only digital (sampling) synthesizer I saw was the Mirage. It looked nice, but I think I would add it on later, rather than get one as a first synthesizer. Has anyone seen any others?
lwb@watdcsu.UUCP (L.W. Borsato [DCS]) (07/12/85)
> If you want to create *really* interesting sounds/music--especially > in conjunction with a computer--you need the capability of several > different voices at once. To accomplish this you need either several > synthesizers or a multi-timbred synthesizer. Multi-timbred synthesizers are fairly new in the general consumer price range. They're great if you want to create the sound of a full band at once, but do you really need to do this on a first synthesizer ? I mean all the interesting sounds are available, just not at the same time. Right now the biggest producer of consumer multi-timbral instruments is Sequential Circuits. > Oh, the only digital (sampling) synthesizer I saw was the Mirage. It > looked nice, but I think I would add it on later, rather than get one > as a first synthesizer. Has anyone seen any others? The only other stuff in the 1-2K range for sampling is computer software. After that the jump is rather steep to the thousands of dollars for items such as the Emulator or even the Synclavier. I would recommend something like the Yamaha DX7/DX9 (which uses the same generation technology as the Synclavier) or the Roland JX3P/JX8P for a first synthesizer, as they are relatively inexpensive and still have a lot of nice features. -- A memo from the desk of : Larry W. Borsato Just one step away from total mental collapse ... but fine otherwise. {decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra|clyde}!watmath!watdcsu!lborsato
peterb@pbear.UUCP (07/15/85)
> {decvax|utzoo|ihnp4|allegra|clyde}!watmath!watdcsu!lborsato > I would recommend something like the Yamaha DX7/DX9 (which uses the same > generation technology as the Synclavier) or the Roland JX3P/JX8P for a > first synthesizer, as they are relatively inexpensive and still have a lot > of nice features. The only problem with a DX-7/DX-9 as a FIRST synth is the requirement to shift thinking from the time domain into the frequency domain. This is the major hurdle for FM synths. It would make a fine second synth, but stick to a basic synth that is simple to create sounds with. From experience, I know that good sounds from the DX-7 come out from the "what if" approach with no intended direction. I.E.: when I once tied to make a deep bell sound, I have tripped over a fantastic buzz-saw. Peter Barada {ihnp4!inmet|{harvard|cca}!ima}!pbear!peterb