106

 

Roland MKS 50 with a casio controller

 

Korg MS2000, and the B. First synth I had a go at that wasn't mine? Roland JP8080

 

Casio CZ-5000. Brand new. Think I bought it 1986.

 

1986, it was a bit ashamed to have purchased a SIEL DK-80.

Despite the (below) kind review, it was a PITA to program and really, really limited.
The only acceptable sound I made was a kind of little bell.

At the end I gave it for free to a boy who was playing at a church, I was happy he was too.
http://www.muzines.co.uk/articles/siel-dk80-polysynth/1871

 

SY99, 1992.
I still have it and ten years ago I wanted to upgrade it with new "cool blue" display and USB slot vs floppy (belt broken, repaired, broken again).
Then VSTs got their way up to a point I was not interested anymore, SY99 hybernated now, as all other few remaining hw stuff.

 

It was 1974 and I bought a Roland SH-3A.

 

Moog matriarch

 

polysix

 

Original Kurzweil K2000 the year of its release, then the K2000S, then the K2500X. Oddly, the only one I still have is the original. Roland was an overshadow.

 

kawai k4. still works.

 

had a KORG Polysix when it was brand new and loved it ... and: yes, I'm that old ;)

 

Sequential Six Trak

 

Yamaha DX7

 

Juno 106.Sold it for stupid money on ebay. The emulation is just as good and I wouldn't buy the "old" stuff anymore, because they got nothing on software now imho.
The first softsynth was Asynth on MS-DOS. That one with the Cruelle distortion plugin must be a match made in hell. Maybe something for Merzbow to consider.

 

My first analog synth was the virus xl rack i brought it new in 2007 and still use it to this day. I recently had to ship it off for a service and have the rom battery replaced . I tried to do it myself and ended up snapping the battery housing from the main board , costly mistake but worth the repair

 

I lost my virginity to Casio cz101

 

Yamaha PSS-680 arranger keyboard with mini keys. 1985... I was eyeballing DX7, but it was like 4 times (or more?) the price. You gotta start somewhere, eh? This is the synth I played for about 2-3 years. I founded a synth pop band later in secondary (high) school, then traded C64 for my first "real synth" Roland Jupiter-4 and the hell broke loose afterwards... PPG 2.3, Korg 707, Casio CZ-1000, D-5, D-20, SH-101, 808, 303... lots of Rolands, Korgs, Oberheim Matrix 6, Ensoniq ASR-10, Akai S-950...

What I still have is Kurzweil K-2000VP, Akai S3200, Yamaha A3000, Yamaha A5000, Roland S-760. Thanks for starting this thread. It feels nice to remember your roots and all the audio tools we've used and/or still use. I do 90% ITB now, but it feels nice and inspiring to edit the samples and sounds the oldschool way sometimes.

Cheers!

 

Last edited: Apr 7, 2024

ARP AXXE

 

Bought an Elka EK 22 back in 1986. Still works flawlessly.