Members ElectricPuppy Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 Gus just reminded me that Ensoniq used to make some pretty cool stuff. The Mirage was a miracle of its time for the price, and the FIZMO is just all kinds of attractively strange. What other now-defunct companies do you miss? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flat earth Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 Cheetah. Multitimbral Matrix 1000 type goodness gone forever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomkeen Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 ARP.. Never had or even played one, but they sound so good (judging from demos of course). It's an interesting thought what would have become of Ensoniq if it were still making keyboards. They would be so ahead of their time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElectricPuppy Posted June 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 Yeah, 'ol ARP. I wonder what else they would have done if they hadn't tanked themselves with that Avatar. The Chroma is still GAS-worthy to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Suilebhain Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 Sequential Circuits, though we are all fortunate that Dave Smith managed to make like a Phoenix. Just imagine if there was a continual line of progress through the 90's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChristianRock Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 Roland. I wish the company that gave us such great synths in the 70s, 80s and early 90s would come back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Suilebhain Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 Oh, yeah, and ElectroComp.... the only four oscillator analog in a Minimoog sized enclosure ever. Patch cords + internal routing. What an awesome machine. I talked a guy out of a Minimoog into one of those. I wonder if he ever regretted it. Somehow I doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElectricPuppy Posted June 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 Never heard of it. *fires up google* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Suilebhain Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 http://www.synthmuseum.com/eml/eml10101.html EML was the actual name of the company. I forgot about that part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Miket156 Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 I don't know about ARP from a technical aspect. "Some" of their gear was junk, like the Arp Omni II, which unfortunately, I bought. One good investment was the Arp Odyssey Model III I bought, which works well to this day. Still, not the greatest quality in the world, but back in those days those companies were seriously underfinanced and the equipmemt (like the Prophet 5) was experimental compared to the others. What...a Z80 microprocessor in a KB? Say what? We thought the Prophet 5 was the greatest invention since SEX. I still have mine, it is an excellent quality build, whats more, it still works and STILL sounds great! Mike T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Umbra Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 Quasimidi Casio (when they made pro-level gear like the CZ/VZ's) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Suilebhain Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 QuasimidiCasio (when they made pro-level gear like the CZ/VZ's) ..and FZ's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tspit74 Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 ARP is my favorite. The build quality is pretty crappy. But mine still works and I've never had it serviced. A very regal, yet sad, feminine sound. Very easy to dial in a great sound and then change it on the fly without getting lost in tons of routing and modulation options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members augerinn Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 Oberheim..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gaul Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 Sequential Circuits Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Karma1 Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 I've been a big fan of Kawai synths over the years. They are still in business making pianos, but have dropped out of the synth market. I thought the K1 was an affordable competitor to the DX-7 at the time. I spent a lot of time programming one and was able to get some great ambient music sounds out of it. Then the K4 came out and improved on the K1. But the ultimate was the K5000 series. A truly unique sounding synth in a world of romplers. I still have my K5000R and don't ever plan to sell it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ElectricPuppy Posted June 23, 2009 Author Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 The K5000 is one of the few vintage synths still on my GAS list. With that, I'd have all the major synthesis methods covered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members angstwulf Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 I'd love to walk into a shop today and try out a brand new toy from EMS or the Oxford Synthesizer Company. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted June 23, 2009 Members Share Posted June 23, 2009 ARP, the Chroma was a brilliant machine had they had the capital to keep going. Oberheim - nothing sounds like the old stuff. Anything made after the Matrix 12 is meh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Before E-MU devolved into rompler land and soundcard land, before even their breakthrough Emulator, they made some of the finest modulars in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Before E-MU devolved into rompler land and soundcard land, before even their breakthrough Emulator, they made some of the finest modulars in the world. meh... emu had breakthroughs like the polyphonic assignment system for keyboard controllers and their role in the development of SSM ICs but their modulars were pretty sterile. I've had flight time with one at Audities. And Dave Rossum refuses to design analog ever again. Where is he these days anyhow? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members setAI Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 both ARP and EMS are sorely missed the best filters and the best oscillators ever made respectively- R2D2 and Dr Who- what else do you need to know? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flowthrough Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 EMLEDPEnsoniqOberheim (the *real* Oberheim)QuasimidiRedsound (synths)Casio (pro synths)SequentialElkaCrumar each company had at least one *special* sound gem musing on what they designed and never released (or what they would be making now) is the stuff of my dreams Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 meh... emu had breakthroughs like the polyphonic assignment system for keyboard controllers and their role in the development of SSM ICs but their modulars were pretty sterile. I've had flight time with one at Audities. Well, the system I built sounded great to me. It blew away my previous synth, an EML 101, for fatness and balls. Not to mention their modular step sequencer, still the best ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AnalogBastard Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Octave synths, The Cat, Kitten & Voyetra 8 ...Korg when they made analogs..polysix-monopoly-trident-ms-20's and ps3300's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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