Nostalgic Gear

Cameron Thomas

Cameron Thomas

New member
What are some pieces you would like to buy more for nostalgia than practicality? I have a lot of pieces of gear I'd like to buy but every time I have the money to pick them up I end up buying something modern instead or my girl spends the money before I can do anything with it...lol Some gear I would like would be...

SP1200 - So many timeless tracks were built on this machine. This is the 12 bit sound I love for drums.

MPC 60 - The original. Big and solid. Has a nice 12bit sound.

MPC 3000 - Also big and solid. Has a nice warm sound even though it is digital.

MPC 2000xl - I feel like this is the unit from my era. Not as solid as the previous but still solid. I also like the pads on the right side.

ASR-10 - Maybe not necessarily for nostalgia but this machine would definitely be fun to have. All those FX.

Roland TR-808 - Classic.

Roland TR-909 - Another classic. I actually like the sound of the 909 more than the 808.

Roland TB-303 - Goes so well with the 808 and 909. The real rebirth setup.

Roland MC-303 - Just because it was the first piece of gear I bought. I learned on this thing and I can't remember what I did with the one I had.

Mellotron - The original sampler? Dope analog sound. Reminds me of old movie scores.

Rhodes - Not sure which model but who doesn't love the sound of these EPs?

Technic sl1200's - Had to sell my mk3d's awhile back and I really want another set. Still the most solid turntables in my opinion. Price wise and feature wise not the most practical but these tables are built like tanks.

I would like at least 1 vintage analog synth as well but I couldn't tell which one. I'd like to put together an entire vintage studio but it's hard for me to justify spending the money when technology has become so inexpensive.
 
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I'd like to cop an Ensoniq Mirage....and an ASR-88

MPC-60 and NS-40's......a pair of 40's just cause people don't know they exist lol....
 
I saw a mirage on craigslist for $75 I believe. That was a few weeks ago. I forgot to add the NS-40's but those are on my list too. You want the Mirage for the analog filter?
 
Mirages seem fairly affordable. I keep seeing them on eBay.

Fun thread. I'd like:

E-MU Emax, seems like a dope sounding sampler. It probably wouldn't be strictly a nostalgic buy. I probably would use it. But not all that practical.

Any of the old school E-MU Emulators (like the original, EII, and EIII), just because I'm curious as to how they sound.

A working fully blown MPC 60 MK I; My first MPC was a delapidated 60 MKII just a lil over a year ago. Dumb impulse buy, because the thing was damn near dead when it arrived. I never really got a chance to experience a working 60. Plus they just look so damn cool.

MPC 3000, everyone wants one. I owned one briefly but just couldn't get a handle on the sample editing, scrolling through numbers was a pain. Tight sequencer tho and easy to figure out. I could never see myself strictly using it alone without a decent sample editor. I'd probably use the sequencer once in a while tho. Plus they just look so damn cool.

Studio Electronics SE-1X, I actually want one to use tho. Phat bass synth, looks like an easy interface. I will own one eventually.

Casio SK-1, I'm curious to see how the sampler sounds. Plus it seems like the perfect candidate for a DIY circuit bending project.

Other stuff that I'm just curious as to how they sound: Ensoniq Mirage, Casio RZ-1, Roland JS30, Roland W-30, Sequential Circuits Prophet 2000 among others.

If I did buy all the above I'd probably end up selling most of them in the long run anyway.
 
The Casio RZ-1 is another older 12 bit sampler right? I think Domino was talking about how he used that on the older Hieroglyphics stuff.
 
An Akai S950, SP-12 (before the 1200), and a DAT recorder. Then again, there are so many old pieces of equipment I'd like to get just to have. Also, the TR-808 as mentioned in the first post of this thread.
 
I've owned or borrowed much of this older gear over the years.

If i could buy one piece of vintage gear it would be a TR-808.

I used to have one in the 1980s. Fond memories of just using this single piece of equipment to rock a crowd. This machine is just organic, it just flows. Hip Hop was made for this machine.

For the guys lusting after a Mirage - that was my first ever 'real' sampler way back in '86. I made whole tracks on that thing. It really rocks. If I had the space for one and found one at a good price - i might be tempted.
 
Guys... since it seems relevant to this thread, I am selling the following:

Akai MPC3000 (with 32 MB of RAM and internal ZIP drive)
Akai S950
E-mu SP-12 (turbo)

Plus a few other things but these are ones that have been mentioned already.

Make offers if you like. All are in great condition and working perfectly. The S950 was serviced in 2005, the SP-12 in 2006.

If you buy the S950 I'll include a hundred or so blank 1.44 MB floppies.

If you buy the SP-12 I'll include numerous boxes of unopened and still shrink-wrapped 5.25" DD disks.

If you buy the MPC3000, I'll include 3 100 MB ZIP disks.

Cameron Thomas said:
The Casio RZ-1 is another older 12 bit sampler right? I think Domino was talking about how he used that on the older Hieroglyphics stuff.
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Nah he used a Casio FZ10M, the rackmount brother of the FZ-1 (which Deee-Lite used).
 
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djba$$ay2k5 said:
some tape reels, i need them BADLY
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+1

Just a tape reel ... I'd love to resample stuff from tape with some nice and warm saturation.

mmmmm

Oh yeah ... A Fender Rhodes would be dope ... A Hammond organ with a Leslie speaker would be dope as well.
 
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Yeah I'd like to work with tape as well but I've heard it's very hard to maintain reel to reels and isn't tape really expensive and hard to come by now that Ampex stopped making them? I hear that recording to vcr tapes can give you some of that analog tape warmth. I need to try that. I may try to find a high quality cassette recorder and see if I like the sound of that too.
 
I agree ... reel to reel is both hard to maintain and hard to come by.

That only adds to how ****ing awesome it would be to have a recorder on my desk slowly spinning with the gain up for some extra crispyness while sampling me messing around with some rhodes multi-sample patch that would otherwise sound generic and plasticy.

:-)
 
sonus said:
I agree ... reel to reel is both hard to maintain and hard to come by.

That only adds to how ****ing awesome it would be to have a recorder on my desk slowly spinning with the gain up for some extra crispyness while sampling me messing around with some rhodes multi-sample patch that would otherwise sound generic and plasticy.

:-)
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lol... Right on.
 
Cameron Thomas said:
Yeah I'd like to work with tape as well but I've heard it's very hard to maintain reel to reels and isn't tape really expensive and hard to come by now that Ampex stopped making them? I hear that recording to vcr tapes can give you some of that analog tape warmth. I need to try that. I may try to find a high quality cassette recorder and see if I like the sound of that too.
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VCR tapes actually do have great sound. In fact, as a DJ I used to do mix tapes to VCR tapes once in a while back in the day because of it...also since I was able to have a 2-hour unninterrupted mix on each tape with great sound. ;)
 
Id like to get:

TB-303.... will go well with my 808 & 909

Juno 106

Casio RZ-1

MPC3000LE Black... SICK!!!

SH-101
 
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