essential sound sources

[AltheKiller]

What do you guys think are some saound sources that help shape music and are just very usable? I was thinking of the tr-808. What do you guys think? I know there are endless types of synths but which one was "ground braking" or most used? In other words, If you had money to buy vinatge gear, what would be the essential peices?

 

[selector waxx]

minimoog
korg M1
Korg MS20
Yamaha DX7
Yamaha CS80
Oberheim OB-X
Sequential Circuits Prophet 5
ARP 2600
Roland JP80x0

but some of them (prophet 5, ARP 2600) are almost impossible to find in good condition, and if you still find them, they are very expensive. Others like the M1 and the DX7 and the JP80x0 are very easy to find and very cheap.

 

[yamex5]

If you are *really* into creating new
patches, get a Yamaha EX5.
They are going for about $600 to $700,
support multiple synthesis methods and samples.

minimoog - monophonic, limited
korg M1 - Not nearly as feature rich
as the newer EX5.
Korg MS20 - monophonic
Yamaha DX7 - Only FM, limited polyphony
Yamaha CS80 - rare, heavy, expensive
Oberheim OB-X - rather rare, expensive
Sequential Circuits Prophet 5 - rare
ARP 2600 - monophonic, expensive, no
midi or patch storage!
Roland JP80x0 - Not sure about this guy

 

[balma]

If you are *really* into creating new
patches, get a Yamaha EX5.
They are going for about $600 to $700,

Roland JP80x0 - Not sure about this guy

EX5 is the coolest Yamaha synth I've used. This synth is huge, with several sound synthesis like virtual acoustic, virtual analog (An1X) sampler, AW2M or rompler, and FDSP 10 complex effects that are unique for this synth.
But if patience is not one of your qualities, don't even think on the EX5. It has a terrible user interface, lot of bugs, and is very, very slow.


IMO, all the sound sources are valid. I go from crappy synths like the groovebox series, to Yamaha PSR toy keyboards and real analog like the AKAI AX60, from digital workstations, to virtual analog and all kind of samplers. The idea, is to have the sound right at your hand, no matter the source. Everything is valid on music production.