Category Synthesizers
I'm in love with this little modular synth.Read More
 |
This synth was used on the song Oscilloscope (oscilloscope sounds) |
I used one of these for years back in the day. It was owned by a friend in ‘the band’. I was sad the day it left the studio and swore I’d buy one for myself. Years went by and I bought a few others along the way. I ended up passing over the Juno 6 several times because of the lack of MIDI. Instead I bought a Juno 106 and an AKAI AX-60.
A Juno 6 landed on Craigslist for a fair price and the owner said it was in great shape. I don’t know why it caught my eye this time. It might have something to do with being in the studio recently and restoring old tracks which used the Juno 6. I decided to at least go have a look at it.
As it turns out, it wasn’t in such great shape...
Read More
This is a funky E-mu "rompler"Read More 
My friend came over to my house with this DX11 under his arm. He said it had some issues, he tried to fix it, but couldn’t. He said something like “I figured if anyone could get it going, you could. If it works, have fun. If not, TURF IT”.
So,. I threw it on my bench, did a little this, did a little that, and got it running. The first synth of 2010 for me.
Specy, specy goodness…
Polyphony – 8 voices
Oscillators – 4-Operator Digital FM synthesizer
LFO – Yes
Effects – reverb, DDL delay, pan and tremolo
Keyboard – 61 Keys (velocity and aftertouch)
Control – MIDI IN/OUT/THRU (8-part multitimbral)
Date Produced – 1988
Acquired: 2010
|
This synth was used on the song Fade (Low grumbling sound) |
I don’t have many comments to add at this point as I just picked this machine up. After spending a couple hours on it I will say this synth will get a lot of use. Easy to program, nice sounds. I like it.
Insert stolen specs..
- Polyphony – 8 voices (4-part multitimbral)
- Oscillators – Alesis proprietary DSP Analog Modeling: 3 oscillators per voice (Sine, Square-Pulse, Saw-Triangle).
- Filter – 2 multi-mode filters with 16 filter types.
- Envelopes – 3 EGs: Pitch/Mod, Filter, and the Amp have their own ADSR envelopes.
- LFO – 2 multi-wave LFOs and 1 S&H. Ring Modulator. FM. hard&soft OSC sync.
- Effects – 4 Individual Mono/Stereo Insert Effects and Stereo Master Multi-FX Processor (80ms slapback delay, chorus, flanger, phaser, dis...
|
This synth was used on the song Arecebo (string sound) |
The sleeper synth of the last 20+ years. Produced in 1986, if I recall, it wasn’t a beloved machine. Of course now, people in the know snatch these up. (I know if I find another in good shape, I’ll buy it.)
The AX60 and the Roland Juno 106 are very much the same in the way of layout and patch programming.
The AX60 is a fairly rugged machine, easy to program, and a joy to sit in front of (it could use more blinky lights). It is one of my most loved synths at the moment.
I’ve had to crack this synth open a few times for a few minor repairs.
The guts of the AX60
The guts - location of battery. The AX-60 uses a soldered on BR2032. There is plenty of room to replace the soldered on battery with a BR2032 battery holder.
The guts - T...
A gritty little synth. I guess there is a vocorder add on for this (which I don’t have, but want). This doesn’t get much use at the moment because I don’t have space in the studio for desktop synths.
This synth gets bonus points for not only sounding cool, but LOOKING cool. Not nearly enough blinky lights though.
Tech Notes:
RE-LOAD ALL 64 FACTORY PRESETS: Ensure power is switched OFF. Press and hold down the [PROGRAM] button and then turn power on. The main display will show ‘SURE’ to prompt confirmation of the load. Press the MENU [EDIT] button marked ‘VALUE +’’ to confirm the operation (‘LOAD’ appears briefly in display).
Insert general specs…
Polyphony: 8 Voices
Multitibral: 5 Parts
Each part features: Level, Transpose and Note range setting...
Read More
If you ever feel the need to use samples from the Roland S-series samplers, the U-110 is a better replacement.Read More 
|
This synth was used on the song The Best Is Yet To Come (Voice choir sound) |
I wanted the S-50 when they first came out. The monitor, tablet and mouse features were the bees knees at the time. I ended up getting the S-330 first, then this S-550, and then even later I stumbled on a S-50. By the time I bought the S-50, it was sort of old hat. I think I got it for the sake of finally owning one. I rarely use the S-550 or S-330 anymore.
All three units share the same 12-bit samples.
The monitor output is a damn cool feature and I wish other keyboards included this for editing.
Specs? We don’t need no stinking Specs….
Polyphony – 16 voices
Sampler – 12-bit, 30kHz, variable
Multitimbral – 4-parts, 4 outputs
Memory – 1500kb, 46 seconds total sample time
Filter – Hi-pass, Low-pass digital fi...Read More
I wanted the S-50 when they first came out. The monitor, tablet and mouse features were the bees knees at the time. I ended up getting the S-330 first, then this S-550, and then even later I stumbled on a S-50. By the time I bought the S-50, it was sort of old hat. I think I got it for the sake of finally owning one. I rarely use the S-550 or S-330 anymore.
All three units share the same 12-bit samples.
The monitor output is a damn cool feature and I wish other keyboards included this for editing.
Specs? We don’t need no stinking Specs….
Polyphony – 16 voices
Sampler – 12-bit, 30kHz, variable
Multitimbral – 4-parts, 4 outputs
Memory – 1500kb, 46 seconds total sample time
Filter – Hi-pass, Low-pass digital filters
Acquired: 1998
Recent Comments