Synthesizers

The Joy Circuit

Current Collection	Redundant Collection	Dream Collection	Gallery

REDUNDANT COLLECTION
Korg M-500SP	Casio VL-1	Boss DR-55	Yamaha CS-5
Casio MT-31	Korg KR-33	Yamaha CS-15	Roland TR-606
Roland TB-303	Simmons Clap Trap	Roland SVC-350	Roland SH-101
Moog Prodigy	Boss DR-220E	Casio SA-1	Roland D-110
Roland TR-505	Siel Expander 80	Bit99	Tascam 244

Korg M-500SP

The Korg Micro Preset synthesizer is a curious late 1970s beast with a slightly bizarre matrix of pre-set sounds, including laughable woodwind and similar noises and a low-quality keyboard all housed in a wooden box! It's a 32-note monophonic preset synthesizer with 6 push-button presets including voice, synth1, synth2, brass, string, and wood. Its single-oscillator design has only rudimentary decay/release envelope controls and no access to the guts of the sound generation stuff. Perhaps it was aimed at the beginners market.

Once you're over the outward appearance, a bit of probing will reveal a noise box that sounds remarkably similar to the MS-10 at times. There is a lot of fun to be had with the 'traveller' control, a sort of filter and resonance control rolled into one, offering interesting squelchy acid-style bass run effects. In fact, like the MS-10, bass is about all you'll get out of this oddity in terms of useful noises. But overall this is a bit of a novelty synth, and is not especially playable nor distinctive - apart from its looks! There are absolutely no MIDI, CV nor similar inputs so you can forget about any of that.

-Vintage Synth Explorer

	This was the first synthesizer I purchased and it was a big mistake. At time I had very little idea about how synthesizers worked, the only reference material I had was a Korg catalogue so why did I choose this one?. Well initially the cost, the only ones I could reasonably afford at the time was the M500 or the MS10, looking at the MS10 it looked too complicated, I had no idea what a VCO, VCF and a VCA were and having to use a patch panel to make a sound seemed like too much hard work.
	Looking at the spec for the M500 was far more appealing, for a start it had preset sounds. I was under the impression these were going to be very authentic and the string sound would sound like a string section, in fact they were for the most part just pure waveforms. The combined filter cut off / resonance control (traveler) only worked with the two "synthe" presets as did the release control for the envelope. The attack was only available for Synthe 2 as far as I can remember. You could press two buttons down at the same time to give a different sound, cannot remember if this worked for all of the presets.
	The other reason I purchased it was because I had seen Paul Humphries of OMD using one for many lead lines.
	The other downside was the keyboard which was very stiff and noisy.
	Rumour has it that this machine was also released and re-badged by JVC as the Victor M500.
	The M-500 was available in two colours, black or green/olive. The difference may have been due to the built in speaker which I believe was optional. The green/olive version was the one I owned and it did have the built in speaker.
	A couple of the above picture show a heavily modified and MIDI equipped version of the M-500, I would have to wonder if it was really worth the effort.
	Lacked any form of interface to other synthesizers.

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Casio VL-1

This seemingly worthless synth/calculator hybrid weighing in at under a pound has somehow found fame and fortune despite looking like a kid's toy. Its ultra cheesy sounds have been discovered and immortalized in the hit songs of such artists as Trio for "Da Da Da" and White Town. The Casio VL-1 or VL-Tone as it's also called has 29 little calculator-type button keys, five preset and one user memory patches, built-in rhythm machine (waltz, swing, rock, samba, etc.) and a 100-note sequencer. There is no chance at any external or MIDI control and there are no filters or effects. There is an LFO with vibrato and tremolo effects and an ADSR envelope.

The tinny monophonic blips and beeps that come out of the VL-1 provide a childishly funny accent to your music, if you're into that sort of thing. The VL-1 is analogue, it's tiny, it has a built-in speaker and a useless built-in calculator. The synth itself is quite small, light-weight and portable when running on batteries. The keys are unreliable and cheap soft buttons with absolutely no natural feel, response, aftertouch or velocity.

-Vintage Synth Explorer

	Probably a bit kind to include this as a musical instrument as it was little more than a glorified calculator.
	Provided me with my first drum machine of sorts.
	The built in "sequencer" would only repeat 4 times if I remember correctly which wasn't very helpful.
	Fed through some proper amplification and it sounded ok if limited.
	The keyboard was unplayable in any true style.
	The "demo song" still gives me nightmares!!
	On the positive side this was a big improvement over the Stylophone as my second instrument.

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Boss DR-55

The DR-55 introduced the world to affordable, step-write-style drum programming. With ultra-simple controls and a variety of usable drum sounds, this table-top unit quickly became a favourite among guitarists and other home recordists. It was also the first rhythm machine in BOSS' hugely successful Dr. Rhythm Series

-Vintage Synth Explorer

	A nice simple drum machine featuring Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Rim shot and a pre set Hi-Hat. An additional accent could also be placed on any beat. The Hi-Hat had its own level control but there was no way of balancing the other sounds.
	Very synthetic analogue sound that could no way be mistaken as real but was more convincing than the VL-1 it replaced.
	Unfortunately this machine got soon over taken by time and was not compatible with either Rolands Din-sync or MIDI .
	The blue capped knobs in the main picture are not originals.

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Yamaha CS-5

The CS-5 may be a lower-end CS series synthesizer from Yamaha but it still has all you need for vintage analogue bass and synth effects at a very affordable price! The CS-5 is a single-oscillator monophonic analogue synthesizer with classic filter, envelope and modulation controls. It features 37 full-sized keys, a multi-mode 12 dB/Oct resonant filter, an LFO with sample and hold, and an external audio input you can route through the VCF or VCA sections. The CS-5 is a very flexible and modulate-able analogue synth that is quite capable of warm analogue bass and bubbly synth effects! The absence of patch storage, MIDI and velocity are just reminders that the CS-5 is old - it's Vintage!

-Vintage Synth Explorer

	A proper synthesizer at last, only one oscillator but at least it had all the proper parameters which the M500 didn't.
	Very thin sound on its own and certainly didn't have the power of even the M-500SP but far more versatile.
	Took me a week try to work out how to stop it making a noise due to Yamaha's strange tradition of having an "Initial Level" parameter on the amplifier.
	An external input allowed me add some form of filtering to the M-500SP.
	Included both a High and Band pass filter alongside the usual Low pass which was unusual at the time.

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Casio MT31

No independent review available

	Very little information can be found about this instrument now, one of many that Casio produced in the 80s.
	My first polyphonic instrument so I could finally play chords, some very usable sounds as well when fed through some external amplification as the internal speaker would distort if played to loud
	Mini keys only but as I'm no keyboard player I do not find this limiting.
	Sounds were selected by pressing the corresponding key to the preset although 4 favourite sounds could be programmed for easy selection.
	As far as I can remember it was only 4 note polyphonic.
	No real way of changing the sounds apart from adding vibrato.

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Korg KR-33

No independent review available

	Preset drum machine with the great old fashioned and cheesy rhythms.
	No real way of synchronizing with anything external, I believe it would send out a trigger pulse on the BD beat which was just about useless
	The KR-55 had individual balance controls for each drum sound, the only variation on this was the level of the HH

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Yamaha CS-15

This synth really has its own sound. The CS-15's got style. Built like a tank with a lot of nice knobs and best of all, not one but two of those funny sounding multimode filters. It's actually a duo phonic / bitimbral synth but you have to connect it to CV (Hz/V like Korg not V/Oct) to get the extra voice. Each of the two VCOs has its own CV/Gate control.

The best things about it are the flexibility of the VCFs and the routings to the filters and envelopes. You can rout VCO 1 to both VCFs and the VCFs to any of the envelopes positive or negative voltage. The VCFs are 12 dB/Oct and are switchable between low, band or high-pass. They are the key to the nice sound of the Yamaha CS family. Other nice features are noise, external-in for processing other sounds, LFO with Sample & Hold for those bubbling sounds and an individual auto-bend for the VCOs.

The CS-15 is great for strange blips, bass and tiny highpass sounds. The ADSRs aren't as fast as the CS-10 but they are ok. A nice feature is the 'brilliance' slider that can control either or both VCFs. At their extremely low prices, the CS-15 is an analogue that's definitely worth checking out for yourself.

-Vintage Synth Explorer

	Basically this is a two oscillator version of the CS-10 with the added advantage of a second independent filter.
	My first two oscillator synth which helps in overcoming the Yamaha's naturally thin sound.
	Apparently it was duophonic if you utilized the external voltage control.
	My first chance to interface two synthesizers in pre MIDI days, connected easily to the CS-5 although in reality it just made the CS-5 redundant.
	The last picture above shows a heavily modified version

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Roland TR-606

A cool little box! So primitive and cute! The 606 was the percussion side-kick to the TB-303. It even looks like the 303. It stores up to 32 patterns and 8 songs. The 606 allows switching between Pattern Play and Write mode while running - making the 606 the only drum computer in the X0X series that can be edited while performing and switching patterns. It is also possible to link up to 4 consecutive patterns in Pattern Play mode. There is only a mono audio output, however there are mods from Kenton Electronics and Analogue Solutions that will add individual outputs for each drum tone.

The 606 has seven analogue drum sounds which are simple, yet great! Kick, Snare, 2 toms, open hat, closed hat, cymbal, accent. The hi-hats are a very tinny electronic sound and its toms are great for soft tribal patterns. These seven sounds alone are still quite popular today

-Vintage Synth Explorer

	A big improvement on the DR-55 but still an anaolgue machine.
	Not the easiest thing to program.
	Individual volume for each drum sound.
	Interfaced using Rolands own pre-MIDI designed DIN-Sync system which was not compatible with the DR-55.
	The middle picture above shows what is probably the most heavily modified TR-606 you will ever see.

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Roland TB-303

Review

The TB-303 is THE sound of acid and techno house music! It's a monophonic analogue bass synthesizer married to a pattern-based step sequencer released in 1982. It features a single analogue oscillator with two waveforms (ramp or square) and has a simple but excellent VCF filter with resonance, cut-off, and envelope controls. There are also knobs to adjust tuning, envelope decay, tempo and accent amount.

How does it work? Well, it's not a performance synthesizer because you have to program a pattern of notes and timing info into it (sort of like a drum machine). Patterns can then be linked into songs. It was originally made to accompany a drum machine, the TR-606 specifically, and provide bass-line accompaniment to guitarists, keyboard players, etc. It was not a successful product in its time. As a result, creative DJs and aspiring electronic musicians found them for next to no money and began using them for techno and acid music. Usually a single pattern is continuously played while the performer tweaks the knobs creating an exciting and expressive musical event.

The TB-303 has become one of the most sought after vintage synths ever! It has helped develop and stylise many forms of electronic music including House, Acid, Trance and Ambient. If ever there was a need for a repetitive bassline/groove or an extremely resonant and bubbly sound, the 303 is KING. Truly a unique machine with a very identifiable sound! It has spun off several imitators as well: Novation BassStation, ReBirth, Doepfer MS-404, MAM MB-33, Syntecno TeeBee, and more (see Related & Alternative Gear sidebar).

-Vintage Synth Explorer

This was the perfect companion for the TR-606, they looked similar and where designed to run together. A simple bass synthesizer that like the TR-606 was a bugger to program so I never really got beyond one or two bar patterns. Sold it cheaply before the "acid" house revolution hit and these started selling second hand for about 3 times the price they were when new!

Simmons Clap Trap

No independent review available

	Simple machine used to make the sound of a handclap using samples
	The first picture shows the original version before it was taken over by Simmons
	Sounds were made by combing the handclap sample with a noise generator and adjusting various pitch and decay controls
	Triggered either by top mounted switch or via an audio in trigger
	Sample could be made to start at the beginning of its loop each time or from a random place to simulate more acuratetely a true handclap

Roland SVC-350

Due my slight lack of singing talent I decided to get a vocoder in the mid 80s. Unfortunately you soon realize that a vocoded voice is great as an effect but not for every song and doesn't in fact sound very good at all on a lot of tracks. This was still very good at what it did but not suitable for the use I intended.

Roland SH-101

Review

The SH-101 is very cool, especially for techno, drum&bass and ACID! It's a monophonic bass synthesizer. Its sound lies somewhere between the TB-303 and a Juno bass sound. It has a lot of simple but cool features. You can control the VCF, pitch, LFO or all from the pitch bender. It has a white noise generator, arpeggiator with up, down and up/down patterns and a simple real-time sequencer. The LFO offers random, sine, square or noise waveforms. And normal or auto portamento effects give you that elastic bass sound. There are external clock inputs for the sequencer and arpeggiator, CV/GATE inputs and outputs and a CV hold pedal.

Unfortunately there is no patch memory storage and although it has no MIDI there are upgrades available for it from many analogue service companies that will allow you to incorporate it into any MIDI studio environment. It can also be controlled by MIDI using a CV/MIDI converter. It's great for bass sounds or bubbly analogue effects. They come in three different flavours - grey, blue or red (there was a VERY rare white version too)! It can also be strapped on like a guitar for live performance using the optional Hand Grip.

-Vintage Synth Explorer

A classic Roland monophonic, not very good at subtle sounds but did sound very clean and punchy and looked good. Not really in tune with what I was playing at the time so was a little underused but a keyboard I would like to own again.

Moog Prodigy

Preview

The Prodigy was an entry-level monosynth from Moog, which has since become a very popular and widely used Bass-synth in techno and electronic music. It was designed as an affordable dual-oscillator synth. It was, however, designed without any help from Bob Moog himself. But that didn't stop the Prodigy from becoming an excellent analogue synth!

Its simple yet effective design employs two voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs) with saw, triangle and pulse waveforms...all classic analogue stuff! There's also a genuine Moog 24dB / octave lowpass filter (emphasis), A/D/S envelope generator, and LFO with square or sine waveforms and routing to the VCF, VCO or both! Even Portamento, Pitch and Mod wheels. To save money there are no highly flexible modulation routings, no on-board sequencers or arpeggiators, and a simple 32 note keyboard.

-Vintage Synth Explorer

If you want a machine for classic Moog bass lines and can't afford a MiniMoog then you get a Prodigy. Lovely machine with a sound that was the complete opposite of the SH-101, mine was a bit unreliable and the key contacts often needed cleaning.

Boss DR-220E

A digital drum machine that was designed to create the sounds of an electronic drum kit. The grid editor made programming an improvement over my previous machines but generally you ended up with a 2 or 4 bar pattern. The sounds were very powerful but not always suitable for most styles of music. Boss also did an acoustic version called the DR-220A.

Casio SA-1

No independent review available

	Limited to 4 note polyphonic.
	Considering its cost it did hold some very good sounds if fed through external amplification.
	Mini-mini keys were not the most playable you will come across.
	Will be glad if I never hear the demo tune again for as long as I live.

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Roland D-110

Review

Second generation D-50 style synthesis. The D-10 is a Digital Linear Arithmetic Synthesizer and the D-110 is its upgraded rackmount version. Capable of decent acoustic sounds and great new synth-type sounds the D-10/110 is a great and cheaper alternative to the popular D-50. It has a confusing synthesis / editing method composed of tones, partials and timbres. Basically it all boils down to tricky programming which, if you know what your doing, can have interesting and unique results. On-board drum sounds, reverb effects and internal / external memory storage are also a plus

The D-110 rackmount version adds 6 individual outputs, and the follow-up D-20 keyboard version adds an 8-track sequencer. Definitely worth a listen for any musician on a budget!

-Vintage Synth Explorer

This has to be the most complicated synthesizer I've ever had. FM synthesis is difficult to understand but the TX81Z was simple to use as a preset and to upload 3rd party sounds, it's totally confusing trying to do the same on this machine. Patches, partials, timbres and tones none of which make sense to me at the moment.

Now holds the record as the shortest time I have ever owned a piece of equipment, in this case just over a month. I could never get an editor to work with it, had to keep changing the MIDI channel to access most of the preset tones and they were not really worth the effort anyway!. It is probably a good machine if you can understand it and have the patience but I was hoping for something a bit more immediate.

Roland TR-505

Review

A cheap (budget) drum machine. It features 16 drum tones which unfortunately, are only mediocre samples. Its memory contains 48 patterns and 6 songs. Unlike its TR cousins it does not have individual drum tone outputs. There is no drum tone editing capability either. It does however feature extensive MIDI implementation, even the pads will transmit MIDI data. The 505 works well with a computer and sequencer or as a stand alone drum machine. It is extremely basic and unexciting but does make a good starter or play-along drum machine

-Vintage Synth Explorer

A proper digital drum machine, sounded good and was far easier to program with its display. Would still be in use to day if my PC hadn't taken over the drummers duties.

Siel Expander 80

Review

The Siel DK-80 is an odd synth that could be said to bridge the gap between low end mid-eighties Roland and Sequential type synthesizers. It is an analogue synth with digital control. It is also bi-timbral with a split keyboard mode giving you 2 polysynths in one keyboard! The sounds are OK, and the DK-80 makes a great backup synth. It has an on-board two-track sequencer, chord memory and hold, programmable stereo panning and sweeping. Parameters are edited one at a time and via membrane push buttons. For a fair price the DK-80 is certainly an exotic addition to any synth set up but may be too limited to use as your main or only analogue synth.

-Vintage Synth Explorer

I got this second hand from a local pawn shop. Although the above review refers to the DK-80 they were to my knowledge identical apart from the keyboard. It's spec was good on paper but its basic sound was very weak and it's single filter shared between the oscillators made it a difficult instrument to use effectively. Useful backup but never a lead instrument.

Bit -99

Review

The Bit 99 is one of the first synthesizers from which traditional knobs and sliders have been banned. The edit method is easy to understand. The Bit 99 can produce a wide variety of sounds but bass sounds are the best. With a polyphony of three notes, instead of six normally, you can have two sounds layered! Possibilities are almost unlimited and if the 99 patches are not enough you can save the data to tape and load it when you want!

-Vintage Synth Explorer

A totally unknown name in the synthesizer world when it arrived and turned out to be made by Italian organ manufacturer Crumar. This obviously didn't bode well for it's quality as organ manufacturers were not renowned for making good synthesizers as efforts by SIEL proved. This also faced the might of Roland, Korg and Yamaha who were getting heavily into budget keyboards at the time. Luckily all doubts were unfounded and this proved to be one of the best sounding keyboards of it's day and far better than it's rival but unfortunately Crumar didn't have the marketing power to make it as big a hit as it should have been. You could also buy it as a rack unit.

Recently salvaged this from storage and it refused to work, due to it's unreliability I subsequently decided to sell it. It does have a very "clean" sound, the Korg and the Roland sound far better until you remove the effects and you realise what a beauty the Bit99 is.

RECORDING EQUIPMENT

Before the wonderful day's of PC based sequencers and hard disk recorders everything had to go down on tape and for the budget conscious musician that meant the "portastudio". I don't think anyone actually makes cassette tape based machines anymore but I have owned a couple.

Tascam 244

Famous in it's day by the pioneers of the portastudio. Always had an intermittent noise problem with mine and could never track down it's cause. A 4 track machine with a very versatile EQ section.

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Last update

20/07/2008 20:51:00