Help ME

So EKT, For graduation i get 1500 US legal tenders to spend as i see fit.

Here's what i'm lookin to score:

A nice midi keyboard i can perform with (Less than 600), a CME UF8 looked nice but i guess they don't make those anymore.

A drum pad i can hit with sticks (Less than 200) (something like http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Ale...ler?sku=449753)

A Means to field recording (nothing fancy, sound quality is not terribly important, i'll be recording ambient sound and instruments) (Less than 300) (I'm clueless what to look for here)

And finally a nice cheap analogue synth would be fun to experiment with (the more versatile the better) (Less than 500) Microkorgs look cute and i like the vocoder, but i have a feeling there's something better i could get

I don't know good brands and don't have much experience in the matter (especially when it comes to analogue synths and recording equipment) so i figured i'd ask the experts.

for midi keyboard, you could drop your budget a bit, well depending on how many keys you want. I got the M-Audio Axiom 49 key for $240. I love it! it has solid keys and even 8 pads in the corner with lots of sliders and knobs, works wonders with ableton.

the best drum pad that i know of is the Roland SPD20 (dont know if that;s the one you referenced in your link, it seemed to be broken): LINK You can probably use the extra cash from the midi keyboard and put it into this. Oy you can go the finger pad route with either a Korg PadKontrol or a Akai MPD24, both of which I own and love dearly, they'll run you about $200 each.

As for field recording, I use the Roland Edirol R-09 which will run you about $400, it's top notch for the price, great sound quality.

I dont know much about Synths but you can probably use the budget for the midi keyboard and combine it with the synth 'cause most higher end synths have a midi in/out option. My friend had a microkorg which I borrowed for a few months and I loved it. I great tool to learn on.

My friend has that keyboard, it's really nice, i think it might be my first choice as far as midi keyboards go.

http://musical-instruments.pricegrabber.co...=Alesis+Control

Thats the drum pad i was lookin at.

What are the advantages of a fingerpad over something like the roland spd. To me, it just seems like those bigger pads would be better to drum on at a live show (I dont figure most people can get down watching someone drum with their fingers). But it also looks like a fingerpad has more bells n whistles

That recorder looks perfect though, a bit more than i was expecting to spend, but from what i can tell i doubt i'll find a cheaper alternative.

edirol r-09 you can find cheaper on ebay if you don't mind open box

i got one for $329 after shipping, with everything included and the box, no troubles at all

microkorgs look fun

^dorian concept

  Twentyfourange said:

My friend has that keyboard, it's really nice, i think it might be my first choice as far as midi keyboards go.

 

http://musical-instruments.pricegrabber.co...=Alesis+Control

Thats the drum pad i was lookin at.

What are the advantages of a fingerpad over something like the roland spd. To me, it just seems like those bigger pads would be better to drum on at a live show (I dont figure most people can get down watching someone drum with their fingers). But it also looks like a fingerpad has more bells n whistles

 

That recorder looks perfect though, a bit more than i was expecting to spend, but from what i can tell i doubt i'll find a cheaper alternative.

i prefer using my fingers on pads and sticks on drums, and hey, people go nuts with spastic finger drumming at live shows. Secondly you have twice as many pads which means there is twice as much to control whether it be samples or sets.

  Twentyfourange said:

And finally a nice cheap analogue synth would be fun to experiment with (the more versatile the better) (Less than 500) Microkorgs look cute and i like the vocoder, but i have a feeling there's something better i could get

 

I don't know good brands and don't have much experience in the matter (especially when it comes to analogue synths and recording equipment) so i figured i'd ask the experts.

The Microkorg is actually a digital synth (sorry to be anal about that). If you want analog with midi, and you're willing to get an older used model, you might look into some of these:

Sequential Circuits Sixtrak, Multitrak, Prophet 600 or Split 8

Roland Juno-106, Alpha Junos or any of the JX or MKS series

Oberheim Matrix 6 or Matrix 1000

Akai AX and VX series synths

Cheetah MS-6

Kawai SX-240

Korg Poly-800 or Poly-61

Rhodes Chroma Polaris

Crumar Bit 01

Siel DK synths or Opera

"And finally a nice cheap analogue synth would be fun to experiment with (the more versatile the better) (Less than 500) Microkorgs look cute and i like the vocoder, but i have a feeling there's something better i could get"

that microkorg ain't analogue, so i wouldn't bother with it (that is, if you want an analogue synth). For under 500, the best and easiest route is to look for a used roland juno 6/60/106. They usually go for under 500 and are solid synths(and polyphonic!). Synths by companies like siel, akai, teisco, (lower-end) sequential circuits usually go for under 500, but aren't as common as roland junos. I'd also look into a clavia nord micro modular g1(even though it's a digital synth).

After watching some microkorg vids on youtube i think i might be sold.

And one thing i worry about from buying from ebay is i don't get a warranty do i? That's very important for me when buying expensive equipment

Ah sorry, as i said i don't know much about synths. I dont really care whether it's analogue or digital, so long as i can touch it.

  Twentyfourange said:

After watching some microkorg vids on youtube i think i might be sold.

 

And one thing i worry about from buying from ebay is i don't get a warranty do i? That's very important for me when buying expensive equipment

well, you can't buy them new, so that's a risk you'll have to take...I had my g2 for a couple years now and it hasn't given me any problems.

"sorry, as i said i don't know much about synths. I dont really care whether it's analogue or digital, so long as i can touch it."

in that case then just get a new microkorg or alesis micron (or ion if you want more knobs ==there is a used one on http://www.analoguehaven.com/used/)

  mrx said:

  Twentyfourange said:

After watching some microkorg vids on youtube i think i might be sold.

 

And one thing i worry about from buying from ebay is i don't get a warranty do i? That's very important for me when buying expensive equipment

well, you can't buy them new, so that's a risk you'll have to take...I had my g2 for a couple years now and it hasn't given me any problems.

 

 

"sorry, as i said i don't know much about synths. I dont really care whether it's analogue or digital, so long as i can touch it."

in that case then just get a new microkorg or alesis micron (or ion if you want more knobs ==there is a used one on http://www.analoguehaven.com/used/)

Maybe I'm confused, but...

http://www.zzounds.com/item--KORMICROKORG

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Kor...oder?sku=702244

what are you confused about? broken link?

You said you can't buy them new...

get a vitnage solvient analog drum brain

  Slumlord said:

You said you can't buy them new...

he had micro modular in his post before he edited it

I thought he was talking about getting the edirol r-09s off ebay.

In the end i think i'm going with one of those m-audio keyboards, a midi router, an r-09, and then i'm going to hunt on ebay for either a microkorg or an alesis ion and a 5 piece electric drum set.

I heard somewhere microkorgs can run on batteries. is that true?

  Twentyfourange said:

I thought he was talking about getting the edirol r-09s off ebay.

 

In the end i think i'm going with one of those m-audio keyboards, a midi router, an r-09, and then i'm going to hunt on ebay for either a microkorg or an alesis ion and a 5 piece electric drum set.

 

I heard somewhere microkorgs can run on batteries. is that true?

modern midi devices are USB as well as midi ported, just in case you didnt know.

Yeah but i'm not sure the ion/korg are usb, and i dont think the drums are usb

ya def consider the alesis ion or the microkorg. Both are great for their price, I ordered an alesis ion a few weeks ago and love it.