Love your videos! Great Blakes 7 tee shirt too!!

For me it was the Yamaha RX21 drum machine that was sold as a cheaper alternative to the RX11. It was sold to me as an RX11 with a few less sounds and no individual outputs. But the reality is that they used crappy samples to make sure that it doesn’t canibalize the sales of the RX11. I still have PTSD because of how bad the crash cymbal sounded.

Hypersynth released modern cartridge for DX7 that allows to store thousands of patches, so patch storage is not issue.

Folds by Void and Vista is totally awesome.

Please stop going on about wasting peoples time, it don’t fit with your persona bro and there’s no need for it. It’s too apologetic. 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 P.S. You’re great and love your content (baby 😂).

I totally get what youre saying on this video. I tried to buy a korg dw8000 in 2011, i plugged it in to test it and it died right there. Off topic but I'd love to own an old korg electribe emx and esx and yamaha rm1x 1 but I wont buy any of them because i know they all have faulty components.

Despite it being physically big and bulky, the DSS-1 is the model that has most fascinated me since the early 2000s out of the models you explored on the market in this video, Jeffrey. I like the idea of having a hybrid synthesizer and sampler, and that’s what the DSS-1 is. Watching a 2-part demonstration by Espen Kraft from the late 2010s about how to access its sampling features didn’t necessarily put me in the market to get one, but it - almost did. I’ve also considered the EPS 16, but that was less for the sampling features than its potential as a MIDI controller.

Can't wait for my Volca's to become overhyped and cost more that a used Ford Pinto 😉

I had an FZ1 for a short while and honestly I miss it. Unfortunately I was gigging at the time and it was just too damn heavy to keep carrying around. I also had a VZ1 and I deeply regret selling that to a bandmate. I loved that thing.

my #1 would be the Korg PS series. How stupid one coukd be to pay that amount of cash for one of those?

at least ONE sane guy ,)

I like all your videos (I've seen), but PLEASE don't plan on including the KORG DS-8 or 707 in a rating. Though I own some of the best (or most expensive) synths, DS8 became my fave of all time. It's the epitome of vintage digital (audiowise even more than Yamaha's test balloons) making edgy/crazy leads a child's play, as in general programming unique patches apart from the cheesy realm (it pretends to be with its boring presets). Of course intellectual property is free but DS8 admittedly made me a fanatic. It's the initial ignition for almost any FM synth iadded later. Before that I just had (& have) the FS1r. No other 4 to 8 OP FM "tone generator" purchased managed to hide the KORG's light under a bushel.

Nicely done Jeffrey. If anyone is pursing purchasing a Yamaha DX-7 II, you should look for the E! upgrade which provides a sequencer and some other cool features like 8 part multitimbrality.

Sorry to be that Brit, but Vocalise is our version of your Vocalize.

While Piano and Church Organ are beyond doubt in influence, the Moog Model D is the top synth beyond any doubt. It was THE by far best known and most used prototype of all analog synth technology, and wipes the floor with the likes of the DX7. And the Rhodes, with its innovative eclectro-mechanical concept, is easily as infuential as the Prophet 5, until today, when its both re-manufactured and used in tons of VSTs. In sharp contrast, the DX7 was only used prominently for quite a short time period, and isn't used even half as much as Rhodes and Wurly sounds today.

Nice but apart from the DX7 11 and the DX1 synthesizers are not so appealing .I would like to see a review on keyboards and workstations that offer real instrument emulations like the Kurzweil series starting from the 250 to similar modern units that can offer instrument samples to composers and songwriters. Most of those would offer synth samples and sounds. What is really impressive is your analysis and guide regarding price and quality and what pitfalls to look for in purchase. Wonderful.

Cool, different angle on gear. Maybe I want to sell my DX5 now.

This is beautiful work Jeffrey, thank you.

what's with the clickbait thumbnail?

A sampler with more than 16MB of ram is useless. You do not need to sample anything is a recorder.

I found an Ensoniq ESM'm for $400 in really nice shape and with a bright screen. It was still cheaper to buy from the USA than from within the EU - if you manage to find one, that is. Only the 110 volts is a bit of a problem, but one that can be solved. I bought a broken TX802, including a cartridge, for €200. I've seen it work a few years ago, and I'm confident that I just need to replace the capacitors to get it working again.

My man. Thanks for doing this video. Love ensoniq. I got an SQ1 plus for $90 during the 2020 debacle. 😅

Thank you Jeff, viva le synth!

If Espen Kraft is the '80s, Jeffrey Petro is the Mid-'80s! It's just funny, because you don't discuss it, and you don't seem to care about whether something is analog or FM or a sampler, as long as it's from 1983-1987. And you know the CZs got hot (maybe just slightly warm?) because you're browsing them less than 48 hours after Bad Gear dropped a CZ video talking all about phase distortion! 😂 And that's totally cool. It's good to have personality. Nobody wants another random dude talking about what they think of new Moogs. But you obviously love these things, so you should share more about what you love about them instead of browsing Reverb! Well, maybe not the DX7. I'm permanently tired of DX7 sounds. But to me most of the digital '80s stuff seems like much worse and much harder to program versions of '90s digital stuff. Except the ESQ1 - that's like a '90s synth with analog filters a better screen.

The DX7 for me is one of the most hyped, I never did like it’s sound much, too thin. Give me a D50 which was around at the same time any day. The CS80 is the synth that I would covet most in terms of sound, but I wouldn’t want to own one now for the kind of reasons you stated.

Any thoughts on the Kawai K-series? I always considered them a weak option in their day but some recent discussion points to some uniqueness that perhaps was not part of the original programming and they might do a ‘thing’.

The funny thing with the CZ cartridges: with the CZ101 or 1000 they are worth their weight in gold (twice the patch memory), with a CZ5000 or 3000 they are worthless, as they *only* backup entire banks, but won't give more patch memory. It's wierd 🧐

On the ESQ1 - a few more things. They often need a new battery which is a soldered-in type. A DIY project - moderate - or will need to have done. After working on a few of these I prefer the newer plastic case over the older metal. Ensoniq improved the internal design. Also, check OS. The one you highlighted had 2.3. This is a pretty solid OS that you can work with. There is a slight bug with one of the waveforms that was fixed in later revisions where they also added some minor sequencer editing functionality. I installed 3.5 with the hidden-waves at request of a buyer so had a little go at it and it is kind of interesting, but 3.5 is just fine. Easy to upgrade the OS. And finally, the other thing with the panel screws is that the cap strips easily. I replaced mine with some fancier ones (can’t remember the thread type though LOL). The SQX20 sequencer expanders are getting hard to find. I also highly recommend an EEprom 80 voice to beef up the patch memory with editable presets. What a machine!

I also have a hard time justifying buying a DX7 nowadays. It is so easily emulated through software and the MODX+/Montage have the built in FM engine. In fact MODX+/Montage have so much polyphony that you can easily recreate a TX816 with 8 FM parts in a single performance. On the 4-operator side, I would just get a V50. It’s a descendant of the TX81z which means 2nd gen 4-op (multiple waveforms for operator rather than just sine). V50 also has 16 note polyphony, drum samples and sequencer. I just picked up one off eBay a few months ago.

I’d probably go for a CZ-1 over CZ-5000. CZ-1 has the velocity sensitive keyboard. VZ-1 is probably worth a look as well since it is the pinnacle of PD synths.

And what if the silk screening was cracked ?

Love your presentation of the development keyboard sounds and application 👍 I chose an ESQ 1(Feb, 87)... and I am still seeking the ultimate stand alone workstation😊 The MPC key 61 is still tempting me as I use my much more powerful and affordable DAW at home. All keyboard and synth manufacturers could create a keyboard that could offer you everything, yet they all chose to leave out certain things? Terrible business tool keeping everyone in front of a PC .... end of rant 😊 31:08

amazing how cheap the esq1 is over there, it's hard to find in Europe. I paid 850 for mine, directly recapped cleaned etc by the seller. Perfect condition, just the screws are chrome on top instead of black 🖤

For these vintage units, rack mount is preferred for me. Less individual failure points (keys, wheels). Also, they tend to have less transportation damage. These things are going to need attention due to age and wear. If you can reduce the amount of individual contacts to check and repair, you might be ahead of the game. That being said, repairing rack mount units sometimes are harder to due to the stacked packaging of PCBs whereas keyboards usually have the PCBs not stacked like a rack mount. Keyboard PCB components are easier to get to. Less boards to remove to get to other boards. Life is a series of trades. Pick your poison. You’re likely going to have to deal with some problems either way. Vintage may give you the sound qualities you want but most will be better off picking up a Fantom, Nautilus, MODX, Montage, or K2700 if you’re a hardware person. If software is your thing, there are plenty of emulators out there for various boards.

Roland s series samplers are very underrated

recently i got me an S6000 and added a few missing option (i should of chosen scsi to sd rather than usb imo). good deals but add ons will cost, everythiung included full ram + scsi to usb (would need usb or a hd) cost me around 800 euros in 2024. I know a guy in my small town (france) with a mirage that has a key propblem (not a propblem for me i'm an electronician), the guy doesnt even use the web, so... i'm expecting get it for 300-350 euros... one cool deal for youngsters after sampled drums and an 8 bit old scholl sound, go for the korg ddd-1 (300) and get the waverex retrofit sample expansion for 100 and you get a coll stompin old school retro drum machine that can play any drum sampl;e you load in it... An S6000 (or 5k) is the best choice if you want a heavy sampler imo, because its the latest generation, it's filled with options (but just to use with single cycle waves smps and no complex programing you got a great synth on the fly), and it's got every setting regarding bitznratez that previous akai would of had in the past, even lower...

Excellent episode. I very much agree with you.

Great video Would like to get one maybe the S6000

10:40 The EPS 16+. I would not be interested by a 16+. Who needs 16 bits in an old sampler today? We have 16 or 24 bits everywhere in our DAWs and we're looking for period sounds in these machines. IMO the EPS "classic", 13 bits (what an odd number! even a prime number) is by far more valuable (or the EPS M, the rackmount, without the poly-aftertouch keyboard but wih all the memory, scsi and output expansions) . And I have the same opinion about Akais. An S900, OK, obvioulsy, it's a 12 bits classic, but an S5000 or 6000? Why do you want 16bits and hi sample frenquency from theses? Just to make things clear: I've an EPS in my studio and I use it from time to time. Loading old sounds I made ine the 90s or more often re-sampling in it . And I have an S1100 (and an S1100EX as well). Which I never use. It was my pride in the 90s but now it's too good to be realy interesting.

I keep an eclectic assortment of samplers around, mostly newer models like the Polyend Tracker, Isla Instruments S2400, Bastl Micro Granny and Teenage Engineering PO-33 K.O. which is an amazing lil sampler.

I still have an FZ-1 in working condition, rarely use it because the keyboard needs to be fixed. It has a nice keyboard otherwise IMO. Maybe a bit difficult to program and too limited for newbies, but it has a powerful synth engine where you can draw your own waveforms or re-synthesize samples + a pleasant resonant filter. Downsides: it's VERY heavy for what it is (around 18 Kg?), no LCD backlight. They go for about €300 here in Germany.

I wanted a simple drum machine cheap, that I can take with me and just lay out drums on the go. I got a Korg Volca Drum, and while it's a cool little unit, more capable than just drums. I have to synthesize all the sounds first, which taken the place of laying out the beats, it was just a bit more time consuming than I wanted. While I can reuse beats I already made, it only stores six individual sounds. I can tune them as they are played, for things like different toms, but it starts to be a bit too limited. Good for just a straight beat, but no one needs to sit down and make those, I wanted fancy fills, etc.

The missing word from the title is “vintage”. Most people need to steer away from these units. These are for those who know what they are, what they do, and can service or source servicing for them. These are for the informed. Most people today will be better served by NI Maschine Plus, MPC One, or Roland SP404 MkII. If sampling keyboards are your thing, MPC Key 61/37, Roland Fantom, etc are better values. Some Rolands of the era had transformers with multiple voltage taps. Thus regardless of what market they were made for, you could go in and set the voltage for JPN/EU/US with little fuss. One internal transformer served all Roland markets. It just needed the right jumpers set for where they were going.

25:14 what episode?

Definitely a worthy episode .I am a novice to these and enjoyed the analysis.Would like a video of some tracks composed with your favorites .Best wishes as always.

P. S.: Of course it wasn't meant to be ambiguous, I didn't either.

I've accidentally put the comment under the wrong video first. Anyway I was lying on the bed with headphones on. I've nothing to do with sample libraries but still like listening your calm talking & listened with eyes closed of course. Suddenly you said "...bum bum.bum patch". My eyes popped! 😳😳😳 You can't imagine how funny that situational was by a totally unexpected word.

The majority of artists didn't really program anything once FM synthesis came around. They basically used factory presets, because it was way too complex to program and they didn't invest the time to learn. That's why songs from the time sound EXACTLY out of the presets with no change other than reverb or delay.

Stumbled upon your video by accident and I absolutely loved it. @12:45 what you said about the “reliability of older gear” could not ring more true. I packed my equipment away back in 2003. Now that I am getting ready to move to a different state, I was thinking about putting the old studio back together at my new destination. Listening to you toward the end of the video was my tipping point to unload everything I have. You certainly have not wasted my time. I am no analog purist and I think I would be happy with an 88-key weighted controller, a 61-key synth-action controller, and a bunch of iPads and laptops. Thank you again for your insight, and by no means is this a jab at people who love to have this kind of equipment… and lots of it! It’s just not for me anymore. Time to find a good home for the well loved items of my young adulthood.

I really like how you always take it to 11! Great video