Early 90's techno synths?

  • Thread starter Thread starter I_watch_stars
  • Start date Start date
THM said:
You missed 5 more letters:

a l p h a

:angel:

Roland Alpha-Juno (1 or 2 or MKS-50 rack) is really the synth to have for early 90ies techno.
Click to expand...

Good advice...I'm thinking seriously about the MKS-50 now. But one question for you...Why are they SO CHEAP?? I mean, I guess its a good thing, but when you can snatch one off ebay for around 120$ that is a little suspicious! Is there something here that I should know, or just nobody want this synth? Same thing with the Juno boards on ebay...
 
Why they are so cheap ?
Well actually that's a question I share with you; I can't understand why...

They are solid built, they sound great, they have MIDI, are polyphonic, and letting these repair by a Roland service centre is pretty easy, fast, and not too expensive.
So why ? I shouldn't know.

I have my Roland MKS-50 several years and never encountered any problems (knocking on wood now).

The only thing I miss is the PG-300 controller. I bet I would use it much more with the hardware controller. They are for sale often, but I spended my budget on other stuff...
 
THM said:
Why they are so cheap ?
Well actually that's a question I share with you; I can't understand why...

They are solid built, they sound great, they have MIDI, are polyphonic, and letting these repair by a Roland service centre is pretty easy, fast, and not too expensive.
So why ? I shouldn't know.

I have my Roland MKS-50 several years and never encountered any problems (knocking on wood now).

The only thing I miss is the PG-300 controller. I bet I would use it much more with the hardware controller. They are for sale often, but I spended my budget on other stuff...
Click to expand...


Is like the AKAI AX 60 and AX 80. Real analogic, MIDI, autosync, 6 and 8 voices polyphony, unison mode...
These synths sound as an arp from hell, and have seen them on $150....:bigeyes:
 
they're cheap because they only do rave sounds and most people would think as rave as dead now, well joe-public would anyway. it's not 1992 anymore.
 
technohead1992 said:
they're cheap because they only do rave sounds(...)
Click to expand...
Ooch what a bad thought... It does EVERY kind of electronic sound (analog, subtractive synthesis, did you ever hear of that maybe ?) and even sounding VERY good. Damn' the leads and basses don't have to make place for the other Juno synth basses or leads. The strings are even better if you look for warm strings; if you want the "sharper" string sounds then maybe a Juno-60 or -106 is better. And I own both of these (MKS-50 alpha-Juno rack ánd Juno-60) so don't ask if I ever played a Juno...
And even for all other analog synth sounds this Alpha-Juno is a great synth. Even with the chorus feature off.

Saying that the Roland Alpha-Juno's are "only for rave music" is a bit like saying that a Roland JP-8000 is "only for trance" - which is a giant lie too...

I didn't mean this offensively (don't worry), but I just wanted to rectify this misunderstanding...
 
Last edited:
SEQUENTIAL CIRCUITS SPLIT EIGHT: analog synth $150!!!
ENSONIQ ESQ/1: My first synth, great sound. $150!!!

with patience, you can get good deals with great vintage synths on EBAY.
 
FYI: very often on Ebay (I don't know currently) :

Roland MKS-50 (Alpha-Juno rack) : $150
Roland Alpha-Juno 1 : $150-175
Roland Alpha-Juno 2 : $175-200

Once in a season :

Roland PG-300 controller: $250-300

But I repeat: the PG-300 is not required, it's just more easy to edit the sounds. There are also several low-priced PG-300 software emulations (some even for free ?). And you can still edit via the edit buttons (MKS-50) or alpha-dial knob (1 and 2).
 
Last edited:
I just got a MKS-50 and a TX-802 (DX7mk2 rack) off the bay because of this thread! :)

Jeez..I gotta stop getting synths!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Enjoy !!!
I bet you'll like that MKS-50 (and maybe the FM rack too, but I'm not such an FM addict)...
:cheers:
 
THM said:
Enjoy !!!
I bet you'll like that MKS-50 (and maybe the FM rack too, but I'm not such an FM addict)...
:cheers:
Click to expand...

Its great so far, an incredible deal for 150$. However the presets are HORRIBLE! LOL...most of them are imitations of acounstic instruments such as "flute"..:rolleyes:

I wanted to ask you though, the manual says something ominous about the lithium battery change every 5 years. Do you know anything about this? (I think the other Juno's have this too)
 
I know I'm coming in late to this, but here's some info in case you were still interested.

what synths did techno/dance producers in the early 90's use?

Roland: D-10, D-20 (The Shamen, Move any Mountain), D-50, D-70, U20, U220, S-50, W30 (Prodigy), S750, S770, R-8 (NIN, Pretty Hate Machine), R-5
Yamaha: V50, SY-77, SY-99, RX-5, SY22, SY55, TG-33.
Korg: DS8, M1, T1, Wavestation
Kawai K1, K4
Ensoniq ESQ1, SQ80, VFX, SD1, EPS, ASR
EMU: Proteus series
Oberheim: Matrix 1000, Matrix 6/12
Sequential Pro One (Skinny Puppy, Front 242).

The early 90's was very digital, harsh, and abrasive. Think clangy bells, wind, breathy sounds, lots of cold digital 80's reverb, and everything squeaky clean and compressed to death. Thank goodness C&C Music Factory had a great vocal from Martha Walsh!
 
I_watch_stars said:
I wanted to ask you though, the manual says something ominous about the lithium battery change every 5 years. Do you know anything about this? (I think the other Juno's have this too)
Click to expand...

Every manual of every synth says something similar; don't worry, usually you'll notice when the battery comes to its end; then you can replace it or go to a repair shop or even better a Roland Service Center in your neighbourhood (if there is one...) to replace it.

Btw: signs of very low battery are e.g. slower patch change (or no patch change anymore), darker LCD-screen, etc... Well you know - the usual low battery symptoms...
 
Last edited:
Roland was so great at the early 90ies.
Now it sucks. Hope they can come back to its glorious times....
only the VSynth can be saved , all those grooveboxes, workstations and digital junos sucks a big time.
 
balma said:
Roland was so great at the early 90ies.
Now it sucks. Hope they can come back to its glorious times....
only the VSynth can be saved , all those grooveboxes, workstations and digital junos sucks a big time.
Click to expand...
I can't agree much more !!
The last thing I bought "new" was my Roland JP-8080 back in 1999 or something... It really rocks, however imho it was also the last good synth that came out by Roland... (except the XV-series of wavetable synths - which are good too, in their own category).
 
lanlan said:
Well, I'll start off with saying:

Roland TB-303 Synth
Roland TR-808 Drum Machine
Roland TR-909 Drum Machine
Roland SH-101 Synth
Roland Juno-X

I'm a bit drunk right now, so for some reason, I'm only thinking Roland. lol

:hello:
Click to expand...


drunk on Fp? is that allowed ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top