Small synths

[Cementimental]

Upgraded to a non-broken DS Lite :)

[Leatherface]

Upgraded to a non-broken DS Lite :)

Sound sample...or better, one video?

[Cementimental]

Not really recorded much yet and I'm not much of a one for doing gear samples/demos but I will try and put a bit of DS noise up on soundcloud or something at some point..

[online prowler]

Upgraded to a non-broken DS Lite :)

Sound sample...or better, one video?

FECALOVE uses a DS sometimes during live performaces I've seen. Impressive sounds from that little pucker. Cheap gadget, but worth every buck.

[online prowler]

One day I will buy a synth from: http://www.dewanatron.com

[Andrew McIntosh]

I've recently ordered one of these -

https://www.storedj.com.au/products/ROL-JU06

- and am expecting it mid to late next month. Apparently these things are selling like toilet paper and I'm not surprised. I've had a couple of Rolands for years and fid them great synths, but always fantasised about having just the synthesiser component of a Roland without the keyboard. Now they've made that fantasy come true for me.

Mind you, I've never really used a Juno but I recall a high school friend of mine had one which I was always envious of (and used to love playing on when I went to his house). I'll be very interested in hearing the kinds of sounds I can get out of this.

[tiny_tove]

next purchase

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o8x4pLh3V0

[tiny_tove]

I have one of these and is a very nice piece of gear!

[Andrew McIntosh]

Got the ROL-JU06 yesterday and it's great. So far the strongest sounding of the mini synths I've heard. Not too disimilar to the HS-60 I've got in terms of tones, and being familiar with the lay out I was able to use it straight away. Again, no hold function but putting tones into every part of the step sequence gives a clean, smooth sound that is just the same as holding down the note (without the keyboard you play it with the ribbons on the left side of the thing), which lets me indulge in slider dial manipulation with both hands. Very nice indeed, and for the price, even nicer.

The dealership told me that these things sell too quickly and that they're often out of stock but I was able to get this earlier than expected. At this rate I'm tempted to get the others in the series, but now I have other ideas.

[Pax Chetyorka]

Got the ROL-JU06 yesterday and it's great. So far the strongest sounding of the mini synths I've heard. Not too disimilar to the HS-60 I've got in terms of tones, and being familiar with the lay out I was able to use it straight away. Again, no hold function but putting tones into every part of the step sequence gives a clean, smooth sound that is just the same as holding down the note (without the keyboard you play it with the ribbons on the left side of the thing), which lets me indulge in slider dial manipulation with both hands. Very nice indeed, and for the price, even nicer.

It's phenomenal! You can really ditch analog purism with no regrets.
Always been curious about the 106, but the size and potential DCO issues turned me off.

[F_c_O]

Are there any wholesalers for diy/small synths within eu? All I have found are in usa and besides costing a lot, id be hit with postage and customs fees from the ass so that really aint an option.

[tiny_tove]

I tend to contact producers, but I got nice stuff from these guys

www.effekt-boutique.de

[F_c_O]

I tend to contact producers, but I got nice stuff from these guys

www.effekt-boutique.de

Seems cool. Saddly, all the producers I've found are from USA or Japan or such and in that case, the same bullshit with postage and customs apply.

[calaverasgrande]

moog mg-1, if you can find it, is small and affordable. sounds great too

Moog MG1 is a great synth. It has a very distinct neurotic sharp sound. Not a smooth mooshy analog blowjob of a sound.
For those that don't know it was a Radio Shack Moog!
They have a couple problems to watch out for.
The note triggering is tied in with the 'polyphony' sound. Which is based on a cheesy divide down organ sound. If the divide down chip starts to go bad, your note triggering will start to suck. Then you have a hard time finding that part and end up paying some guy online $25 for one chip.
Also the dust dam foam which was supposed to prevent crud from entering the interior of the instrument has in many cases decayed into black goo which covers the internals. It takes hours to  clean off with acetone.
But it sounds completely psycho, angry, on drugs great.

The Korg Poly 800 is an underrated synth. It makes some very interesting sounds if you dig in.
It is a kind of additive/subtractive, digital shift register/analog filter hybrid.
It is hampered by the digit entry interface. But then you get to save presets.
One con which I find a pro, is that the envelopes are low resolution.
So long attacks and releases will be stair steppy. Which sounds good to me.
Also, can run on batteries, and has strap pegs.

[Andrew McIntosh]

At this rate I'm tempted to get the others in the series...

...and I can resist everything except temptation. A couple of months ago I got the JX-03. Lovely unit, two oscillators (digital), a lot more parameters than the JU-06 (which still rules), nice smooth sweeps on the knobs without a lot of that digital-jump kind of thing. The pre-set pads are kind of funny but they're just launching pads. Still getting my head around the sequencers on both units, and there seems to be a bit of an issue with the play and pause buttons on the 03 but nothing insurmountable. So, at this rate, I'll probably cave in and get the JP-08 and probably the keyboard extra and make the collection complete. Still, it's hard for me to think of needing anything else after these. Pax Chetyorka is right, digital has come of age and large, heavy, expensive keyboards and modules are pretty much becoming vanity icons.