Top Ten Most Underrated Synths

Top Ten Most Underrated Synths

Interesting article, but are folks hungry for a quality old synth going to jump ship to perceived 'lesser' synths to save a few bucks?

eh? MS-10's are not really that "affordable" these days. and they're not underrated, either.

I remember when they were £150 second hand when nobody much wanted them.

and you could get a Moog Prodigy for £250 as well.

fuck the prices these days.

:two cents:

Think I'll just wait until the current generation of awesome synths become 2nd hand bargains. (Is that ever going to happen?)

*gets excited that people are still obsessing over subtractive analog synths*

fuck yeah jx-3p. really beautiful sounding synth

  On 9/25/2012 at 10:56 PM, sirch said:

fuck the prices these days.

Newschool analog ftw.

Are the Alpha Juno's any good?

Are they perhaps comparable to the jx3p & jx8p?

Since they're Roland analogs I'm assuming they're radness....

Alpha Juno/MKS50 is great. Get the programmer for it, though.

wow that site is great!

Apparently that new Arturia Minibrute is well worth the cash. I have yet to try one myself however.

  On 9/26/2012 at 7:24 AM, LimpyLoo said:

Are the Alpha Juno's any good?

 

Are they perhaps comparable to the jx3p & jx8p?

 

Since they're Roland analogs I'm assuming they're radness....

they are decent. and they all have a slightly different sound to them. I like the alpha juno better than the 3p.

and you won't find a pg-300 (programmer for the juno) for a fair price... if at all, so don't bother with that.

they're extremely rare and will probably cost you more than an alpha juno and a jx-3p combined.

The Alpha Junos were my first thought when I saw that article. I still see them for under $200.00.

A Behringer BCR-2000 works great with an Alpha Juno - no need really for the pg-300.

I really like the sound and the two oscillators of a Jx3p, but the Alpha Juno has a lot of features missing with the Jx3p - chord memory, mono mode, portamento etc. A great synth - I use it on about every track.

Interesting article. Coincidentally, I was considering a jx-3p I found for sale right before I read this but I'm broke as hell right naw.

The person is selling it for slightly more than the canadian equivalent of the top of that price range though - $500.....

2 months ago while checking all CL's nationally I saw a JX8P AND a PG-200, together, for $250 (no kidding).

I emailed them but they said local pickup only.

But I would love to have a dinky little Roland poly for my 101 to play with. However, I don't like menu-diving, PG's are silly money and knob-per-function poly's (e.g. Juno 6/60/106) are also silly money.

also the Roland JX-8P and JX10 are excellent synths that can sometimes be found for around £500. ideally you'd want the programmers for those too which bumps up the price a lot, but they're not essential.

edit: sorry should've read the above post! also SuperJX rack is quality.

In my opinion the Jx-3p is still easy to edit without the programmer. I never felt that I needed it.

  On 9/27/2012 at 1:13 AM, scones to die for said:

In my opinion the Jx-3p is still easy to edit without the programmer. I never felt that I needed it.

Interesting.

In that case, I might have to do some soul-searching on the matter. Some inner menu-diving, if you will.

..there seems to be loads more jx-3p's about than alpha juno's, too. so that might be your best bet... and they do sound good.

apparently they have some of the same chips as the jupiter 8, as well, though I forget what/which.

There aren't really any menus on the JX-3P. Each parameter is selected with a designated numbered button, and then you adjust the value of the chosen parameter with either the common slider or the ABCD buttons. The parameters are printed on the top of the synth, and after a while you have the buttons memorized and it's pretty quick to edit.

I suspect the Alpha Juno has a similar solution with the "Alpha wheel".

  On 9/25/2012 at 10:56 PM, sirch said:

eh? MS-10's are not really that "affordable" these days. and they're not underrated, either.

I remember when they were £150 second hand when nobody much wanted them.

and you could get a Moog Prodigy for £250 as well.

fuck the prices these days.

 

:two cents:

Me too. I use scour through the gear adds in Future Music and lust after that shit.

I think the Yamaha RX-5 is a steal. I've seen em go for £50 on ebay. I'm sure soon I'm gonna nab one for the right price.

  On 9/27/2012 at 8:37 AM, psn said:

There aren't really any menus on the JX-3P. Each parameter is selected with a designated numbered button, and then you adjust the value of the chosen parameter with either the common slider or the ABCD buttons. The parameters are printed on the top of the synth, and after a while you have the buttons memorized and it's pretty quick to edit.

 

I suspect the Alpha Juno has a similar solution with the "Alpha wheel".

yeah, it's not all that bad... and if you really need to twiddle more than one knob at a time, the nice and affordable (and easy to use) BCR2000 is a great additional buy for an Alpha Juno (and your studio in general). i've had my juno for a few years and it gets much love!

  On 9/25/2012 at 10:56 PM, sirch said:

eh? MS-10's are not really that "affordable" these days. and they're not underrated, either.

I remember when they were £150 second hand when nobody much wanted them.

and you could get a Moog Prodigy for £250 as well.

fuck the prices these days.

 

:two cents:

My MS-10 was about £200 I remember, back in probably 2005 or 2006. Was forced to sell it due to being utterly broke in 2009 and got £400 for it, which seemed decent at the time.

I really miss that synth.

I also saw a Yamaha CS5 on ebay for £200 or so buy it now recently, thought that was an obscene bargain.

  On 9/27/2012 at 6:00 PM, Iain C said:

  On 9/25/2012 at 10:56 PM, sirch said:

eh? MS-10's are not really that "affordable" these days. and they're not underrated, either.

I remember when they were £150 second hand when nobody much wanted them.

and you could get a Moog Prodigy for £250 as well.

fuck the prices these days.

 

:two cents:

 

My MS-10 was about £200 I remember, back in probably 2005 or 2006. Was forced to sell it due to being utterly broke in 2009 and got £400 for it, which seemed decent at the time.

 

I really miss that synth.

 

I also saw a Yamaha CS5 on ebay for £200 or so buy it now recently, thought that was an obscene bargain.

i'd be well happy with a CS-5 for 200 quid.

they have been going for quite low prices this year. even the CS-10's and 15's have been going for much cheaper than normal.

CS-5's mostly used to go for around £300 over the last few years. the 10's around £400, and the 15's around £500.

I hope the prices keep coming down, tho! I would love to bag a CS-15 for 300 quid or something... :)

PS. I got my MS-10 for £140 in early 1997, at the very scraggly tail-end of Brit Pop, when a lot of people didn't want synths anymore, or at least didn't want old analog synths. because they all wanted to be in guitar based bands like oasis or some shite like that. lol

Heavily agree on the ESQ-1 though, it's a brilliant synth and sequencer in one. This one and the SQ-80 are getting a bit rare seeing them for sale, so I'd look into it if you find one somewhere for a reasonable price!