Page 1 of 1
Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:06 pm
by DZA
So havent really got much knowledge on this type of stuff looking into to getting some,drum machines, synths ect anything old and useful really

Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:25 pm
by kwami
You wanting MIDI on your machines?
Kenton is good a doing retro fits...
How much you got in your budget?
Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:41 pm
by marshy
I've got the old ST-224 sampler that i'm looking to sell if anyones interested.
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan99/a ... ple695.htm
Would also recommend the MC-303 from Roland, if only to get samples out of of. Groovy bit of kit and can get it for like £80 off ebay.
Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 6:04 pm
by boko91
Ebay is wicked for this but prices are going up if your looking for vintage. Saw a Yamaha DX7 FM synth go for £31 not so long ago. Would of nbin mine but got end time wrong
I got Roland JV1080 which i love
Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 6:10 pm
by DZA
kwami wrote:You wanting MIDI on your machines?
Kenton is good a doing retro fits...
How much you got in your budget?
No preference on the midi
Got about £400 atm but wanna get a couple of things with that
marshy wrote:I've got the old ST-224 sampler that i'm looking to sell if anyones interested.
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jan99/a ... ple695.htm
Would also recommend the MC-303 from Roland, if only to get samples out of of. Groovy bit of kit and can get it for like £80 off ebay.
Nice one, how much selling the ST-224 sampler for?
Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 6:58 pm
by 3za
boko91 wrote:Ebay is wicked for this but prices are going up if your looking for vintage. Saw a Yamaha DX7 FM synth go for £31 not so long ago. Would of nbin mine but got end time wrong
shit thats crazy.
Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 7:04 pm
by deadly_habit
you can snag the tx7 for cheap which is the tabletop module version of the dx7
why don't you get a c64 and mssiah already

hmmm other than that depends on what you really want
some di boxes, reamp boxes and guitar pedals might be a nice investment
or some fx processors
Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 7:32 pm
by Basic A
anyone know of any filter banks that are getting cheap from dust content?
worthwhile vintage delays would make my life better too if anyone wants to give me model numbers to google.
nice thread slev.
Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 7:56 pm
by DZA
deadly habit wrote:why don't you get a c64 and mssiah already
I know man i keep telling myself im gonna get one
deadly habit wrote:hmmm other than that depends on what you really want
Anything old and cheap

Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 8:02 pm
by nowaysj
Your moms? (obligatory)
--
You could get something that would have a real impact on your workflow with 400 pounds. I don't know about getting a few things.
I say get a space echo. The Roland RE-201. If you want dubishness.
Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 8:03 pm
by kwami
should be cheap as chips on ebay sampling keyboard no end to what this can do!
Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 8:20 pm
by nowaysj
now THAT is my bathroom synth! YES.
Just have to start balling first.

Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:33 pm
by bass_killa
boko91 wrote:Ebay is wicked for this but prices are going up if your looking for vintage. Saw a Yamaha DX7 FM synth go for £31 not so long ago.
doesn't sound too bad then!
Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:41 pm
by gr0nt
Im gonna have to recommend an Ensoniq Mirage, rackmount version. Can be had for 75-200$ USD, doesn't look too bad in the rack. Just make sure you get one with a working disk drive. You can't do anything with it without a working disk drive, as the OS loads from a floppy disk. Some people say its a nightmare to edit, but there is not that many parameters compared to a modern day sampler. They're actually total shit now compared to what we're used to, but you get these things for the 8-bit converters and real analog filters. The LFO can only modulate the osc pitch if memory serves me correctly, and there is no portamento/glide. I use it to dirty anything up, re-sample vst's like predator when its not lo-fi enough. It sounds huge/aggressive if you know how to use it.
Also, big fan of my Korg DSS-1. Another 12 bit sampler, more of an analog synth with VCO's replaced by 12-bit sampler. Ditto on the disk drive. Lots of info about this on the net, with some guys doing 2010 memory updates on it, etc. I use it for lush vintage oberheim type sounds (think blade runner). Really fun, and a super nice midi controller, terribly under priced right now. (paid 150$ for mine, broken disk drive, easy repair) Sounds silky, sparkly, but also big,warm and juicy. Really juicy.
Roland S-550. Nobody wants these things right now. You practically gotta give them away. Another 12-bit sampler, this one with an all digital signal path. However, I really enjoy the digital filters on this unit, they have a lot of life and character compared to most digital filters. 8 stage envelopes, Unison mode. Can be hooked up to an external mouse (msx - rare/expensive) and a monitor for editing. The only synth in the group with a HPF. I use it for drums. I also have a thing with 1980's computer technology, loving the CGA display. Sounds pretty clean and crisp, but also full of life.
Casio SK-1. Get one and circuit bend it. Hours of fun, but I dont get much anything useful off of it. However, it is the only one of these 3 machines with true portamento despite being the only "toy".
Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 4:01 am
by deadly_habit
Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 7:10 am
by DZA
Nice one gr0nt and DH

Re: Old And Cheap Hardware?
Posted: Thu Jul 29, 2010 9:08 am
by Hexa-dB
My first post here so I'll try and make it useful
May be obvious but If you haven't got a mixer they make things a lot easier. If you gather a lot of external bits (especially if stuff has aux inputs & various sends/returns) then a patchbay can be handy too.
At one point the Korg Prophecy was going really cheap. It's only monophonic but really flexible and capable of some unusual sounds. It makes a great MIDI controller too (lots of knobs, ribbon controller/wheel thing, aftertouch sensitive). I did see them going for about £150 at one point which is crazy. I've had mine for quite a while and use it as my main MIDI controller.
The Roland JV1010 is a handy box to have. It's a little half-a-rack-width box that contains all the sounds from the JV1080 plus the optional "Session" expansion. I always found it a bit weak for leads/basses but it's great for "bread & butter" sounds and pads. It had a nice stereo grand piano too. You can also fit in another expansion board - there's a techno one, a bass & drums one, a vintage synth one and some others I can't remember. You can get quite into programming it (but it has to be done via software, you can't do anything from the front panel) and get some weird sounds. I sold mine as the sounds bundled with Logic Pro covered most bases.
Roland SPD pads are good too. I had an SPD-8 which was great for playing in drum/hat parts. The internal sounds weren't amazing (although some of the drum machine kits sounded ok with lots of distortion!) but MIDI'ed up to sampler it's great. I sold mine and bought a TD3K kit (which I no longer have room for

)
Casio CZ synths can make some interesting noises. I had a CZ3000 for a while (big beast of a thing). From what I remember it used Phase Distortion synthesis which involved picking waveforms and morphing between them,
Korg Electribes are good fun but I'm not sure how cheap they are.
A lot of people seem to turn their noses up but I quite like some Behringer stuff. You can probably get some dirt cheap Behringer effects and stuff.
Hope that's of some use
