Members Mysteron Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Crumar. I still look for a Bit-One in good condition but they could have done so much with that concept had they taken it further. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members raffor Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Helmey Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Pre-Emu Ensoniq was a great synthesizer company and designed some of the best workstations ever made. They made their name on the Mirage which was an unbelievable value at the time, even though it was an insanely difficult and limited sampler when it came to editing. I worked at a music store and sold dozens of ESQ-1 keyboards, which was the first comprehensive mass-produced multichannel MIDI workstation that you could use to control other MIDI devices. I still have my third-generation VFX-SD that I bought 20 years ago and took on hundreds of gigs. It was/is such a fun workstation and great live keyboard - I'll never sell it. They had an amazing run of great keyboards. It's sad to think of all the groundbreaking U.S. synth/software companies that disappeared, or were acquired and ruined - Ensoniq, Linn, Moog, Sequential, Oberheim, E-Mu (the hardware/sampler version), Opcode (remember Studio Vision, the first digital audio DAW for the masses?), Synclavier, pre-Pro Tools Digidesign, Rhodes. Each of these companies were leaders in the industry at one time. It's a tough business.... There were a lot in Europe that went away too - EML, EDP, Crumar, Elka, PPG, etc. There's a lot we didn't see on this side of the pond. The Japanese manufacturers seemed to fare much better over the long run. I miss the good old days when Tom Oberheim, Dave Smith and Bob Moog were all making great synths and you didn't know what to expect next - it was like waiting for rock stars to drop their new record. OB8 or Memorymoog?...... tough choices I lived near LA and remember Tom Oberheim demoing the Oberheim System at Hanich music in West Covina. It's hard to imagine how limited and inaccessible synths were in the 70's and 80's - at least they were to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Acid Hazard Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Yeah, i'd really like to see what Alan R. Pearlman could whip up now a days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Franz Schiller Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Farfisa. They made some synths in addition to their organs. But I'll second Casio. Although their stuff wasn't the most amazing ever, their build quality was tremendous, and they DID invent another method of synthesis Phase Distortion, and then reinvented THAT with interactice phase distortion. I wonder what may have happened had they developed for another decade or so. By the way, I had an ARP Omni and I thought it was great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Yeah, i'd really like to see what Alan R. Pearlman could whip up now a days. So would I, but Pearlman is now in his 80s and has gone on record that he is not enamored with the analog synth revival. The fall of ARP left a big scar on him. Of any of the synth builders, Pearlman was the most detached from popular musicians. Back in the ARP days he couldn't relate to their music or to the artists at all. He left that job to AR people like David Friend who bankrupted ARP with the Avatar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Suilebhain Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 But I'll second Casio. The FZ-1 Sampler had built-in synthesis AND allowed up to six loop points in a sample. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus Lozada Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 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? I'm glad I contributed I was going to mention OPCODE but I see someone else already covered. Many good software companies are gone, too. Is Kawai still alive? Do anyone miss the PEAVEY synths? they were so cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tomkeen Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 What about NED? Did anyone ever play a synclavier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stikygum Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Ensoniq was THE company that's sorely missed for me. I had a soft spot for that company because they seemed to make innovative yet groovey products. Voyetra 8 was interesting. I don't really miss the Big 3 analogs, but in a way things maybe seem a little lonely without some of that going on. Still, I'd rather have all these boutiques than 3 companies making analogs. Lastly, I don't actually see any of the above coming back necessarily, but I have for a long time wanted to see another PM synth. But there was the nice Oasys, but still that's big money. Oh wait! The Waldorf Microwave 1 is something I have and yet miss since Waldorf hasn't touched analog since. One of my tastiest favorite synths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Do anyone miss the PEAVEY synths? they were so cool. According to a book I found on the Peavey company, their business model for the synths depended on sales of software upgrades. When the prevailing opinion emerged that musicians didn't want to pay for software upgrades, they discontinued the synths. These days software upgrades are replaced by new products. Another reason I got off the upgrade treadmill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xpander Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 I was going to mention OPCODE but I see someone else already covered. totally. i remember going to Opcode in palo alto (well, maybe that's really los altos) as a kid back in their heyday to pick up Galaxy+Editors. at the time i was most impressed with the "broken" poster signed by trent reznor near the lobby. it's remarkable that the two companies from the 1960s selling stuff first are still around & selling original designs of the founders. moog music's still selling Voyagers & theremins & don buchla's still designing stuff- awesome! even the two guys who designed my beloved Xpander went on to found the Line6 company. from the old Opcode website: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members idiotboy Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gaul Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 Technics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mate_stubb Posted June 24, 2009 Members Share Posted June 24, 2009 What about NED? Did anyone ever play a synclavier? Yes. The studio I worked at with the big E-MU modular replaced that (along with various Oberheim Xpanders and other analogue goodness ) with a Synclavier w/ sampling option. The keyboard action was fantastic, and it was an amazing instrument for its time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gus Lozada Posted June 24, 2009 Share Posted June 24, 2009 What about NED? Did anyone ever play a synclavier? I played one when it was already a vintage piece... at a museum (in Argentina). Given the common human was not able to afford one and modern tools for studios are better/more powerful than what a Synclavier beautifully did on its time, they seem not to be really missed nowadays. Still, those were awesome synths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jason_stanfield Posted June 25, 2009 Members Share Posted June 25, 2009 Roland. I wish the company that gave us such great synths in the 70s, 80s and early 90s would come back Let me reflect that sentiment with: Nord, back when they were more synth than piano. Don't get me wrong -- I love their stuff -- but there was a time not too long ago when the Lead 2X, Lead 3, and Modular G2 series were all out together, and it was heavenly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members augerinn Posted June 25, 2009 Members Share Posted June 25, 2009 Hanich music in West Covina Holy Crap ! It's been 25 years since I heard that name. I remember going to their store next to the 10 freeway and drooling over ARPS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members midinut Posted June 25, 2009 Members Share Posted June 25, 2009 This would actually make a good start for a "what instruments would you like to see as a VSTi?" thread, yes? I miss Ensoniq more than most of the others mentioned. I had a neighbor growing up that had an ElectroComp EML101 that blew my mind to play with. It was one of the reasons I got into keyboards. He also had an RMI Electra Piano so I'll take the opportunity to add the RMI company to the growing list as well. PAIA is still in business aren't they? Cool kits, I just don't do well with kits ... or working on cars either for that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nos Posted June 26, 2009 Members Share Posted June 26, 2009 I don't know if I "miss them" because I wouldn't and won't ever shell out that kind of dough but I thought they deserved a mention... Fairlight, CMI. Funny thing: My band is recording and at the first session I noticed the console/hard disk recorder was a Fairlight. I asked the engineer about it and he gave me the rundown. It's 9 years old, so apparently Fairlight didn't go out of business. They just moved into Pro Audio/Recording. According to him, this system was pretty state-of-the-art 9 years ago, and from what I can tell he's right. It has some pretty killer capabilities, however all of the file-management functions, ie. loading .wavs from an external drive, are reeeeeaally slow by today's standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Real MC Posted June 26, 2009 Members Share Posted June 26, 2009 Holy Crap ! It's been 25 years since I heard that name. I remember going to their store next to the 10 freeway and drooling over ARPS. I remember Hanich had way cool ads in Keyboard mag with pictures showing a room full of synths and EPs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Nismology Posted June 29, 2009 Members Share Posted June 29, 2009 Quasimidi. Man, I really want a raven IMO, one the best looking 90s keyboards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RPdigital Posted June 29, 2009 Members Share Posted June 29, 2009 ELKA. I wish there was a VSTi of Synthex! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Umbra Posted June 29, 2009 Members Share Posted June 29, 2009 IMO, one the best looking 90s keyboardsThere is one on ebay for something stupid like $1900. It was $3200 but they lowered the price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members midinut Posted June 30, 2009 Members Share Posted June 30, 2009 According to a book I found on the Peavey company, their business model for the synths depended on sales of software upgrades. When the prevailing opinion emerged that musicians didn't want to pay for software upgrades, they discontinued the synths.These days software upgrades are replaced by new products. Another reason I got off the upgrade treadmill. I spent a few days at "Peavey School" back in my days of Music Retail and this was during the time the Peavey synths were selling fairly well. I owned several as a matter of fact. The whole premise that Peavey bought into was the "no more obsolescence" factor. "It'll be the last synth you will ever need". The software guy that delivered the OS to Peavey wasn't able to deliver what he had promised after all. They had originally been told they would be able to build future-proofing into the board by being able to add FM, Wavetable, Additive, etc. through software upgrades. They did deliver on the sampling end of things to a degree. Now all this is based on my recollection and I have slept a day or two since then. It was a great idea in concept and the boards did sound good at the time. I was an Ensoniq fanboy and they stacked up pretty even next to them I thought. They were user friendly and had great customer service. I was sad to see them drop the keyboards. The DPM C8 still stands to this day as one of the best MIDI controller EVAR !!! Saw one go on ebay last week for $300-400. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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