The vintage synths poll

Really, the answer is Minimoog, but voted for the CS-80 to ensure some spread.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCX3MsaW-9Y

2:30 = As good an argument for Nord Lead as there is.

I'm sure you could find zillions of better arguments than a hip-hop song :)

Anyway, the Nord Lead was a welcome return of the analog synth, but there's no way it gets my vote anyway :)

You can still buy the nord lead new (I think it's up to version 3 now) hardly "vintage"!

No Fender Chroma, no Buchla 200, no Oberheim 4-voice. Damn, Geir.

I voted for the Jupiter 8. They sound great and look great too.

No 303, no credibility.

And what about 808 or 909? SH-101?

Oh, wait, it's Geir.

Oh, and the Korg 700S

Plus many more...

Tossup between the CS-80 and Fairlight. Love them both, both played a really important and unique role in the development of electronic music. Tough call.

No 303, no credibility.

And what about 808 or 909? SH-101?

Those are drum machines, not synths.

You can still buy the nord lead new (I think it's up to version 3 now) hardly "vintage"!

Same about the JP-8000. It's obvious both played an important part in making synths based music sound more "analogue" again though. Just like softsyths have done to an even larger extent now, but I didn't feel like including any softsynths here (after all, several of the most popular ones are based on synths that are in the poll anyway)

The Nord Lead really is a great synth, I don't think anyone can deny that. It will stand the test of time, definitely.

I think I'm going to have to go with the minimoog, though the MS-20 is very tempting.

Apparently the original MS-20 wasn't too user-friendly (and having a partly modular synth by the early 80s was a bit old-fashioned really). The recent softsynth version is wonderful though, and even the original MS-20 was important due to having a more "dirty" sound than most analogue synths. This was before FM synthesis made "dirty" synthsounds dominant, mind you.

The Nord Lead is great, it's true.

what, no vl tone?

I love my MG-1. And both my Synares.

Casio SK-1?

No Pro One?? What a shame. I'll go with the Blade Runner choice then...

the Juno 106 and M1 were the ones I used to notice being used the most on TOTP and other shows + some music vids. never did get these and ended up with a mate's Yamaha CS1X by the late 90s.

Whichever wins I might try and buy one - have been craving a new old synth.

Better get saving & make some space now, just in case the CS80 wins! IIRC the going rate on one of the things is 5000 quid in full working order.

yeah, change it to 'whichever ends up midtable and is actually practical+affordable'

And what about 808 or 909? SH-101?

Those are drum machines, not synths.

The SH-101 is not a drum machine it is a monosynth, and the 808 and 909 produce drums sounds which are produced by..... Synthesis. To me that is a synth. Although I will concede that the hi-hats and cymbals are partly produced by samples.

And what about 808 or 909? SH-101?

Those are drum machines, not synths.

SH-101 definitely not a drum machine. I'm not sure if it has legendary status, or groundbreaking-ness (first keyboard/synth you could wear with a strap?). I'm going to vote for it though, seeing as it's the only thing mentioned in here I own, or am ever likely to. I do have a 3rd-hand CS1X in my house though, and somehow it slipped my mind that my band has a Nord Lead (2). I never get to spend more than a couple of hours with it, so I've never really got inside it.

Duh. Seeing as I can't vote for SH-101, I'll vote for Nord.

I mean they are sample on the 909.

x-post

No VCS3, no credibility.

Synths on this list I've worked with / messed around with :

Minimoog
Moog Taurus I
Roland Juno 6
Roland Jupiter 8
Yamaha DX-7
Roland D50
Clavia Nord Lead

Out of these I'd have to say the Minimoog is the best (definitely the best mono) but since everyone'll vote for that I'll go for the Moog Taurus. Limited, but nothing else quite does that sound. Where's the Moog Rogue then?

No "Simian's bank of oscillators", no credibiltiy

And what about the SID chip?

Korg Mono/Poly?

ARP Odyssey

Carlos Santanas said something to the effect that the Minimoog is the male synth and the Odyssey is the female. He says that about a lot of things, even when he's buying crisps in the pub, probably.

I've had a load of synths pass through my hands over the years, the Korg Mono/Poly is the ONLY ONE I wish I'd kept. 2 oscillators turned up and close unison tuned, 2 turned down is the sourcs of so many rich & lovely sounds. I'll get another one one day.

where the fuck did my small but eulogising post about the juno 6 go? gah. i bet i've typed it in the wrong window and it'll appear in the middle of tomorrow's arts page.

anyway. juno 6. i want mine back. wonder which bunch of glasgow chancers are mooking about with it now?

oooh it's between the arp and the korg ms-20. i can't choose.

Both are good for patching together weird sounds and processing, but the Korg is cheaper.

No EML 101, no credibility! (And no ARP Odyssey either?!)

Still, a decent enough poll although everyone's bound to disagree with Geir as much as usual. And yet he's right about that fake MS-20, which is wonderful indeed. But call me disloyal: I've got to go with the legendary ARP 2600.

Oberheim OB-Xa, Roland Jupiter-4, Roland Jupiter-8, and Korg 770

Why?

Those are the four synths Simple Minds keyboardist Mick MacNeil used for those ethereal whooshes all over New Gold Dream.

What else would you need?

(1983 Keyboard Magazine interview with MacNeil)

A few years ago we got an ARP 2600 and it is truly a fantastic vortex of weirdness, but if I'm being completely honest and had to pick the synth I've worked with and loved the longest and which combines simplicity with power and reliability, the award must go to the Roland SH-101 (it has served us well for fifteen years now). The craziest synthesizer I have ever pottered around with would have to be the Coupigny.

Fairlight CMI

has anyone here ever messed around with a fairlight? it is kind of my dream.

I was actually the engineer in the studio on Peter Gabriel's S/T album

http://www.dongrays.com/kate-bush/images/katebush.jpg
CUETEST

I haven't used one, but I have been obsessed uncontrollably with the Fairlight for two years running now. It's not just the sound (which is extraordinary) but rather how it inspired people to write music in a certain way. In particular, how its limited memory inspired people to play with sounds outside of their natural range and how the step sequencer ("Page-R") drew people to compose some very unnatural, asymmetric rhythms and phrases.

IIRC the going rate on one of the things is 5000 quid in full working order.

But, really, isn't the Arturia softsynth version sufficient anyway? IMO it sounds great, it is way cheaper, may even be bought as part of a pack with several other great softsynths (including a brilliant Minimoog) plus it hardly weighs a ton, is more user-friendly and its doesn't have oscillators that go out of tune.

And as for all the ones that people miss, I could have included hundreds of synths here, but it makes it easier mainly included the most popular ones that are in the "canon" so to say.

And drum machines aren't synths! I mean, I don't dispute the importance of the 303, 808 or 909, just like I don't dispute the importance of the Mellotron, Rhodes, Wurlitzer and Yamaha CP. But synths they weren't.

303 was a synth

But, really, isn't the Arturia softsynth version sufficient anyway? IMO it sounds great, it is way cheaper, may even be bought as part of a pack with several other great softsynths (including a brilliant Minimoog) plus it hardly weighs a ton, is more user-friendly and its doesn't have oscillators that go out of tune.

Agreed on all points, Geir -- I have the CS-80V and it's great. Only the most obsessive purist could tell you how it differs from the original.

If you still doubt me, here's a track I did with it last year.

Here's a question, Geir: What (soft/)synths do you use in your own music?

I made a Tshirt with that CUET Kate picture. Never wore it in public, tho!

Pash - please PLEASE email me with any Mono/Poly tips+tricks you may have. I love mine to death but am trying to find new "avenues" for it.

I voted for the CS-80 on this poll. Dream synth and all that...

i love the Arturia Cs-80v and anything Gmedia has put out (Oddity, ImpOscar, Mtron). Use them lots and only some uber-geek trainspotters have called me on their use in my music.

I love me some Bernie Worrell

Here's a question, Geir: What (soft/)synths do you use in your own music?

The first demos were recorded in a studio using partly softsynths and synths that the studio owned, so I don't have a complete overview there. Several of the sounds in "Talking To a Computer" were from a E-MU Vintage Keys or self-made sounds using the fake analogue synth in my Ensoniq synth though.

As for the more recent stuff (only instrumentals so far as I haven't quite figured out vocals on my equipment) I have used a lot of different softsynths. But a lot of it is based on the Arturia series. Which is brilliant!

where is the memorymoog? that is the best synth.

http://fusionanomaly.net/momuslittleredsongbook.jpg

DX-7 for the win! Piano house for life.

I'd go with the Buchla 200 series modular system which, incredibly was updated in 2005: Buchla. Now if I only had $20-30K. Oh well.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evzxlip_M4I

i am not a fan of modulars.. too much hullabollu just to get a sound.. those yamaha cs things are cool with the aftertouch and stuff.. and they have a unique sound.. the prophet 5 is really cool too.. almost like a mememory moog.. dx7s are cool, but that roland jd 800 seems cooler to me.. it has the digitalness of the dx7, but with sliders for everything..

Looks like Kalehoff's had "more than one" already.
xpost

Arp 2600. It's a modular if you want it to be, not if you don't. It has a suitcase handle, built in speakers, built in spring reverb, you can plug it's output into it's input and have fun for hours.

The prophet 5 deserves a lot more love than it is getting on this thread.

It pretty much defined the early 80's in the sense than every chip-based poly synth in the early 1980's was basically knocking off its concept.

granted there were poly synths like the CS-80 before it, but a CS-80 went for like $30,000 in 1975 dollars.

I would rate these as era defining synths/samplers:

Minimoog
Prophet 5
DX7
Mirage
M1
S1000
nordlead/jp8000

The Prophet 5, along with the Jupiter 8, was probably the synth of the early 80s. The various attempts to turn it into a softsynth haven't impressed me though.

Also don't forget about the OB-Xa. Classic for "Jump" alone...

fairlight

Those are all cool synths, but the pro5 was the one that turned heads and made people think differently when they saw it at NAMM in 78. It was cheap, polyphonic and it stored patches. It was to analogue polysynths what the Mirage was sampling.

It was one of those products that instantly defined what the market was looking for for about 7 years.

It was the dominate design model until the dx7 and d50 took over in the mid 80's.

Those are all cool synths, but the pro5 was the one that turned heads and made people think differently when they saw it at NAMM in 78. It was cheap, polyphonic and it stored patches.

True. You still needed studio trickery to get an impression of a stereo sound though. Other manufacturers started producing synths with stereo sound around this time.

Casio SK-1?

-- snoball, Tuesday, 18 December 2007 13:53 (3 days ago) Link

This... We can't all afford a nice modular synth! Although you could tidy up on eBay now with one... wtf? Is it just the circuit bending dollar?

I thought the EPS was the first Ensoniq one, but I see that the Mirage preceded it. Which makes it the works workstation, so I guess it should have been in here too.

It wasn't until D-50/M1 that workstations would definitely start dominating the market though.

D50 was just a synth, no sequencer.

Agreed on all points, Geir -- I have the CS-80V and it's great. Only the most obsessive purist could tell you how it differs from the original.

The 2 crucial ways the vsti differs from the original are the keyboard, which plays great and has polyphonic pressure, which is rare in any case, and rarer still to be set up to work so well, and the ribbon controller, which is FANTASTIC. You can play a chord, and sweep it down to DC. Sounds great through echo & tons of reverb.

The actual synthesis engine of the CS80 is kind of dissapointing played dry, I've found. You need to run it through high-quality chorus (IIRC Vangelis used the Roland Dimension D) echo and reverb, then it comes to life. Also, the controls are pretty weird and counter-intuitive. I'd still like one though, mainly for the keyboard/ribbon.

I keep meaning to buy the Arturia VST version, what puts me off is reports of the thing sucking down processor cycler like nobody's business. In any case, My Chroma can do a decent impression, See Western Brass" here:

http://www.myspace.com/nphay

The freeware CS-80 emulator, "CS-80r" is worth a try:

http://extra.schematron.com/

...though it's also processor-heavy. The pick of that page is the "ricko-juicer" phaser plugin, which sounds great.

I have tried playing a string sequence with those CS-80 strings and adding chorus on Cubase, and it sounds exactly like something from "Equinoxe", so the use of external chorus works find with VST as well.

There's nothing workstation about the Mirage.

Pashima, I didn't mean to imply that you are an obsessive purist. But not having played a real CS-80, though having heard them extensively, I would agree -- dry, they're not much and, as the track I pasted upthread using the VSTi shows, requires a little processing oomph to really make it soar.

The CS-80V does have polyphonic aftertouch and a ribbon controller option -- but yes, you need to buy hardware controllers to actually do either (and in the case of polyphonic aftertouch, a sequencer that will record it). I love the sound of the thing enough to consider both.

Pashima, I didn't mean to imply that you are an obsessive purist.

I know! No worries - I'm on the AH list so I know all about obsessive purists! Also the mellotron list, which is even worse, if you can imagine that.

I've been after a poly aftertouch keyboard for ages, specifically an Ensoniq TS10. They get snapped up pretty quick though.

TBH I am obsessive about synthesisers, just not a purist, haha.

I already have a TS-10 from back when, which I guess is part of the reason why the CS-80V works fine here. :)

The JP-8000 is in no way classic. I thought that everyone pretty much agreed that the Polymoog was a piece of shit.

Where is the EMS Synthi? It is just as innovative and classic as many of the models here: it's basically the bread and butter of Brian Eno's career in the 70s.

STARTREKMAN TO THREAD

I definitely think VCS3 and SK1 should be in there. The Emulator probably had the biggest impact on me personally when I fooled around with one in the 80s.

I can agree with the VCS3. The SK1 isn't a synth.

I mean, personally I don't like the way the EMS sounded (generally considerably less "synthy" than the Moog and the Arp), but I can see where you're coming from, and the EMS synths were undeniably important for Eno to develop his style. Same about early Tangerine Dream although they used lots of mellotrons also by then.

Wasn't "On The Run" by Pink Floyd made using an EMS as well?

Yes, nice clip here - gets loud towards the end:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ICZkrJTLEP4
There's also a nice bit in the DSotM "Classic Albums" where Gilmour demonstrates the Synthi A with the built in sequencer doing "OTR".

I think that's the bit I saw. "Classic Albums" is a great series overall.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Interesting result I must say. Although the 2600 was a great synth, I sincerly didn't expect the little brother who came into the market and brought competition to big brother Moog to win this poll.