Are the older hardware synths becoming the new investment?

[Guest]

...
Future 'classics', currently slipping under the radar, I predict will include:
DreadBox Typhon
Audiothingies MicroMonsta 2

Grab 'em while you can...

I have currently disconnected everything here and ripped out all the wiring, things are gradually going to get boxed up or saved for use as we are moving next year.

The only synth so far to be reconnected is the MicroMonsta 2, the G2 will be as well. Everything else I think is for the box.

So the MicroMonsta 2 must have made a very good impression on me.

Looks like I have to get a DreadBox Typhon as well, your recommendations have been sound so far

[OneWorld]

..............I buy equipment because I want or need it. There is never a thought about the resale price ............

That's my point, you can buy a synth to make music (and goodness me, over the years I've bought a truckload) but then once any particular synth has fallen out of favour with myself, I am pleasantly surprised when I come to sell it that it has almost doubled in price, not only have I had the enjoyment of using, but I get my money back and then some. Way back when, you couldn't give synths away, but hey, such is life but now it seems things have turned around and I can hardly believe some of the prices I'm seeing, hardware is going through a renaissance, well, some of it is, I get that goes for anything - quality and class never goes out of fashion

[t-sun]

I've always been a sucker for those devices that others reject out of hand - some of the humblest and cheapest keyboards I own are amongst my very favourites.

I'll mention:
Teisco S100P
Korg R3
Alesis Micron

Future 'classics', currently slipping under the radar, I predict will include:
DreadBox Typhon
Audiothingies MicroMonsta 2

Grab 'em while you can...

I'm the same way about the unsung devices that have something unique or odd about them and never made a splash. I have a Kawai XS-1 and a Korg AG-1, which are both full digital synths but were sold in the form of 1/2 size rack or desktop modules for computers and never took off like the MT-32 did (the XS-1 is a Spectra KC-10, which was the final evolution of the K4 in fact).

They're only usually of interest to the retro-gaming crowd, which is where the market for old GM modules (particularly Sound Canvas) is coming from and those are surprisingly pricey these days.

[Folderol]

Hmmm. I wonder what my Mk1 soundcanvas is worth now

[OneWorld]

They said when CDs came out, vinyl was as good as dead and gone, how wrong they were. It seems that when they (the manufacturers) stop making something, it becomes more valued

[Hugh Robjohns]

Didn't work out so well for the collectors of guillotines or roman chariots...

[OneWorld]

Didn't work out so well for the collectors of guillotines or roman chariots...

Who has a guillotine at home and where would you put it, outside in the back garden? Dare to ignore planning permission and heads will roll, as for chariots, what model? 2, 4 or 6 horsepower? Ben Hurse might have some, telephone him so you can arrange to call and see ‘em

[Hugh Robjohns]

[Arpangel]

I've always been a sucker for those devices that others reject out of hand - some of the humblest and cheapest keyboards I own are amongst my very favourites.

I'll mention:
Teisco S100P
Korg R3
Alesis Micron

Future 'classics', currently slipping under the radar, I predict will include:
DreadBox Typhon
Audiothingies MicroMonsta 2

Grab 'em while you can...

Reject out of hand? I have a Micron too, it’s at the heart of what I do, my album "Storm Clouds Over Cricklewood" was done entirely on it, apart from one sampled piano part.
The Micron really is, in every sense, an amazing thing, at any price, in my case, £140.

[The Elf]

I've always been a sucker for those devices that others reject out of hand - some of the humblest and cheapest keyboards I own are amongst my very favourites.

I'll mention:
Teisco S100P
Korg R3
Alesis Micron

Future 'classics', currently slipping under the radar, I predict will include:
DreadBox Typhon
Audiothingies MicroMonsta 2

Grab 'em while you can...

Reject out of hand? I have a Micron too, it’s at the heart of what I do, my album "Storm Clouds Over Cricklewood" was done entirely on it, apart from one sampled piano part.
The Micron really is, in every sense, an amazing thing, at any price, in my case, £140.

It's a woeful design. The sideways pitch wheel and lack of mod wheel are instant 'pass' features for many, and the editing facilities are ghastly. But if you can see past these things, and perhaps adopt an external keyboard and editor (my appoach), then it's a wondrous little machine.

Don't let on, though - I'm hoping to grab a couple more for the band!

[The Elf]

Looks like I have to get a DreadBox Typhon as well, your recommendations have been sound so far

Arrgh! I feel the weight of responsibility!

One man's meat and all that. I like the Typhon for it's raw sound and its immediacy. It looks deceptively simple, but the modulation capability hiding under the hood is immense. It's becoming my psuedo ARP Pro-Soloist in many ways, having moved my PS on to pastures new.

Much like the MM2, the trick for me was creating an editor Layout in MIDI Designer. That opens up the synth massively (though in this case I can't currently dump patches to the editor for deconstruction.).

For some reason my Typhon refuses to be seen over USB via the hub through which my other synths happily converse. For this reason I have to attach a MIDI cable to it, but happily it's a 5-pin DIN and not some minijack nonsense.

[Sam Inglis]

I've always been a sucker for those devices that others reject out of hand - some of the humblest and cheapest keyboards I own are amongst my very favourites.

I'll mention:
Teisco S100P

I was selling some of my less used synths a while back and was on the point of listing my S100P when I made the mistake of plugging it in... I kept it and sold the Studio Electronics Midimini instead.

[Arpangel]

It's a woeful design. The sideways pitch wheel and lack of mod wheel are instant 'pass' features for many, and the editing facilities are ghastly. But if you can see past these things, and perhaps adopt an external keyboard and editor (my appoach), then it's a wondrous little machine.

Don't let on, though - I'm hoping to grab a couple more for the band!

The size is great, didn’t think about the sliders, don’t mind them, I’m just worried about the data entry knob, if it’s going to wear out, I'm OK with the editing, but it just involves so much use of that one knob.
I like playing it as it is, the keyboard feels nice, I don’t like playing anything remotely, there’s an instant feeling of disconnection, that’s why I don’t like VSTi's that much.

[N i g e l]

pots & switches are available for the micron, so the interface should be repairable if it deteriorates. Not sure about the insides though as each voice has custom chips.

You have praised the micron before and I was a bit shocked given your love of physical controls and the micon's lack there of !

The quirky design is by Axel Hartmann, the knob&LCD interface is minimalist but efficent, especially with the keyboard shortcuts. PC editor recommended !
Strangely there are 3 variants to cover most tastes -
Alesis micron : small quirky design
Alesis Ion : the big one with knobs
Akai Miniak : compact with more conformist layout

I like not just the micron's handy size & keyboard action, extensive sound engine but also the use of polyphony/multitimbrality - sequences or rhythm track can be playing and still allow keyboard playing over the top - great for seting up a quick jam or practice loop.

[BillB]

It's a woeful design. The sideways pitch wheel and lack of mod wheel are instant 'pass' features for many, and the editing facilities are ghastly. But if you can see past these things, and perhaps adopt an external keyboard and editor (my appoach), then it's a wondrous little machine.

Presumably the MidiDesigner template? Does that read parameters from the synth or do you start from INIT each time?

[Tomás Mulcahy]

Alesis Micron, and the Ion (same engine better UI) are climbing in price recently. People have noticed that they sound really good. I didn't personally enjoy the Ion UI as much as I did the Novation KS Rack UI. I thought both sounded really good.

But now a used Novation KS Rack sells for more than an Ultranova... that probably won't last long...

FWIW I am keeping both!

[BJG145]

Vintage synths have been collectors' investments for years. You don't have to spend much time on Vemia to be plunged into that world. The Syrinx went for £13K yesterday.

https://spheremusic.com/Bargaindtl.asp?Item=23725

(I'm still licking my wounds because a couple of very rare MIDI controllers turned up at this latest auction, the Tonal Plexus and the Axis 64, but they slipped away this time.)

[N i g e l]

Vintage synths have been collectors' investments for years. You don't have to spend much time on Vemia to be plunged into that world. The Syrinx went for £13K yesterday.

:gob smacked:
Syrinx - the one with the repair_your_own_car_bodywork type pitchbender !
It has never looked classy but probably as artistic in use as a modern Nord wooden pitch stick [which are nice].

[BJG145]

...from SOS 1999...

First shown in 1982, it had a UK price of under £400, but now sells to analogue anoraks for as much as £1500! This is ludicrous

[N i g e l]

did the manuals ever get written ?

"
Pros
A huge range of obscure and esoteric synthesis capabilities.
Designed to high engineering standards.
Unlimited telephone and email support.
Future-proof discrete circuitry.
Great value.

Cons

Poorly laid out in places.
Legending can be very confusing.
Lacks visual 'sexiness'.
Doesn't fit in 19-inch racks or cases.
Superficial manuals (but three more are in preparation).
"

[The Elf]

It's a woeful design. The sideways pitch wheel and lack of mod wheel are instant 'pass' features for many, and the editing facilities are ghastly. But if you can see past these things, and perhaps adopt an external keyboard and editor (my appoach), then it's a wondrous little machine.

Presumably the MidiDesigner template? Does that read parameters from the synth or do you start from INIT each time?

When I write my own MIDI Designer editors I try where possible to include the ability to accept incoming patch dumps and use them to populate the on-screen controls. I'm afraid the Micron Layout, which I didn't write, doesn't read do this. Maybe one day I'll deconstruct it and add this ability, but... maybe not...

So, I find a patch close to what I need and I use the Layout to tweak it from there.

[Arpangel]

Alesis Micron, and the Ion (same engine better UI) are climbing in price recently. People have noticed that they sound really good. I didn't personally enjoy the Ion UI as much as I did the Novation KS Rack UI. I thought both sounded really good.

But now a used Novation KS Rack sells for more than an Ultranova... that probably won't last long...

FWIW I am keeping both!

I have an Alesis A-Station, that, and the Micron are still my most used synths.
I’ve had to repair my Micron and I found it easy to work on, good access, but I’m worried, about future reliability, so I may get another one, it’s very rare for me to say I couldn’t live without something, but a lot of my albums have used the Micron, it’s the "piano"of my synth world, indispensable, and capable of really unique sounds.

[The Elf]

a lot of my albums have used the Micron, it’s the "piano"of my synth world, indispensable, and capable of really unique sounds.

There's a lot I like about the Micron, but 'unique' woudn't be one of my praises. At least not in the sense that any other synth can't do something 'unique' if you tweak it enough. It does a good emulation of many old synth sounds, but it's all pretty safe stuff.

[BillB]

It's a woeful design. The sideways pitch wheel and lack of mod wheel are instant 'pass' features for many, and the editing facilities are ghastly. But if you can see past these things, and perhaps adopt an external keyboard and editor (my appoach), then it's a wondrous little machine.

Presumably the MidiDesigner template? Does that read parameters from the synth or do you start from INIT each time?

When I write my own MIDI Designer editors I try where possible to include the ability to accept incoming patch dumps and use them to populate the on-screen controls. I'm afraid the Micron Layout, which I didn't write, doesn't read do this. Maybe one day I'll deconstruct it and add this ability, but... maybe not...

So, I find a patch close to what I need and I use the Layout to tweak it from there.

I have probably said this before, but for anyone else looking for a Micron editor, Patchbase on the iPad now includes Micron/Miniak.
https://coffeeshopped.com/patch-base/ed ... sis/micron

It can download and edit patches from the synth, so in that sense is has a notable advantage over the MidiDesigner editor.

On the other hand, because of the many parameters available, it has a very busy interface of 2/3 pages, whereas the Mididesigner one is spread over 6 or so. It is always a compromise with iPad (ie small screen) editors. Lots on one page or many pages...

Also of interest is the fact that Chadwick, the Patchbase developer, recommends upgrading the Micron to the latest Miniak firmware, because this enables better data exchange with the synth. The downside is that various of the Micron button swap functions, so would need to be re-labelled. That's a job (upgrade firmware and re-label) I'll be doing at some point, as the Micron panel labelling isn't the clearest it could be anyway.

[ManFromGlass]

Vintage synths have been collectors' investments for years. You don't have to spend much time on Vemia to be plunged into that world. The Syrinx went for £13K yesterday.

https://spheremusic.com/Bargaindtl.asp?Item=23725

I’m wondering if the site is hacked. I clicked on the Auctions button and there was a naked woman and an add for Dirty Tinder. It didn’t look like an art photo site!
I guess there’s more money in that than auctioning gear?