Analog Synthesisers

New obviously I could use Google but personal recommendations are always better answers!

synth museum would be an obvious place to go. after you've learned just enough about them to know how to make a godawful racket, buy one and go to synthpunk and be inspired by the equalizing possibilities these instruments had before stereolab came along and turned them into a trust fund kid fetish item.

I am going to get one, but not a smelly super-expensive antique Moog or any shit like that, I'm probably going to get a shiny new Korg MS2000, but of course if anyone can now leap in and tell me that's rubbish and to get something else instead please do.

Is that made be CASIO? I don't think so!!! CASIO = mark of quality, CASIOTONE = Keyboard of thee Gods!...

The Korg looks nice! It's probably wicked. But, I can never be swayed from my Lo-tech beliefs.

o but you're getting a shiny new one! to whack wif drumstick, DG? "something terrible is happening..." - Oscar Wilde

I wouldn't hit with a drumstick, you cheeky monkey, though it could be used to control drum pads.

http://www.vintagesynth.com/

the analogue heaven mailing list archive search engine:

http://www.midiwall.com/archives/ah/

(hint - restrict searches to last year or last six months, 'cuz it's been going for a long time)

see if U can try out a used Yamaha AN1x or Korg Z1, as they are both a little more versatile IMO. Possibly you might get one for the same price

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1404702263

FatNick is after one of those AN1X things.

Anyway, I've looked into it and found that the Korg Z1 looks great but is WAAAAAAAY too expensive, even 2nd hand, and that Yamaha AN1X doesn't appeal to me for some reason, probably because it doesn't have a built in VOCODER, ha ha ha.

whooa babee all this synth-porn. i luv my Casiotone. pretty cream with pastel buttons. looking at the synth museum i was quite taken by CASIO VL-TONE with carry bag. maybe i should make my babee one...

Thee Zoom "1201" fx processor has a rad built-in vocoder (amonst other k3wl stuff) and shouldn't cost U more than fifty quid. Ov course, up 'ere in NE england, phun stuff like thee Z1 cost v.little! Do you get thee yello free ads paper that conmes out on a Wednesday dow there (ad trader?) Our vers of that has good synthi bargains in from time to time.

I'd love a Zoom 1201 after the ukma massif recommended them ages ago, but I've never seen one second-hand (not that I've looked that hard) and you can't buy them new because they've been replaced by something else (RFX 3000? or something). Mind you I believe the RFXes have most of the old 1201 settings and aren't much over a ton, although the midified version costs more; I did consider getting one for a bit but then I realised I probably wouldn't really use it enough to justify the cost.

Unfortunately when I was considering getting one I chatted with the bloke in the local music shop about it and a shared love of Boards of Canada for ages and now every time I go in there he's all like "BoC fan! How's the music going?" which is nice and flattering and all but he's probably thinking, "Bah, she never bought that fx unit, did she chicken out or did she waste our time and then buy it somewhere else instead?"

Maybe he feels better since I bought an Evil Of Guitars [tm 2001 m jemmeson] cheapo multi-fx unit from him, which isn't great but it does have an Instant Workhouse/Slowdive/Chapterhouse Solos preset (or maybe that's one of my own presets, but it's not a million miles from one of the factory presets), and playing the demo rhythms on my 80s Casio keyboard through it and pounding random buttons provides hours of rubbish "idm" fun, heh heh.

Instant Workhouse/Slowdive/Chapterhouse Solos preset Surely this is just cathedral reverb level = full, direct signal level = zero? It works for me anyway, esp on thee original alesisi quadraverb, where U use the resonators as well, & tune them to the key yr playing in. Zoom 1201s don't seem to turn up used very often, no. It's a great little unit.

And a lot of chorus. Not a complicated formula, no, but it sounds a lot closer than I've got with my favourite software reverb + chorus/phaser/flanger units. Maybe this is just because these are probably designed to turn synthy waveforms into - ahem - banging trance anthems or something and not made specifically for the shoegazy evil of guitars (I love that phrase. Sorry, m j...)