Post by pol on Jul 20, 2023 16:30:48 GMT
This was my first synth, bought with a temporary job whilst living in London. I clearly remember excitedly carrying the box home on the train from central to N London 
This was the relaxing summer of 1984, Frankie Goes To Hollywood's world takeover for those of you in the UK and were around then..... 
It still sits in my studio many years, and moves later, including being in storage while I was in the USA for 18 months. Its keyboard still works fine, (unlike some of my younger gear), but is mostly sampled these days as I find midi/CV interfaces a bit of a pain in the arse.... I didn't buy the AE MS20 filter for years as I had the real thing, but they are not actually very similar - this isn't a criticism as both are great!
This was the relaxing summer of 1984, Frankie Goes To Hollywood's world takeover for those of you in the UK and were around then..... 
It still sits in my studio many years, and moves later, including being in storage while I was in the USA for 18 months. Its keyboard still works fine, (unlike some of my younger gear), but is mostly sampled these days as I find midi/CV interfaces a bit of a pain in the arse.... I didn't buy the AE MS20 filter for years as I had the real thing, but they are not actually very similar - this isn't a criticism as both are great!I had not played with the newer versions, kits etc. but they appear to be authentic to the original. It is a machine I recommend to any synth beginner that really wants to learn synthesis/sound sculpting; no distractions with chords, pretty screens/graphics etc.. 
It also covers a massive gamut of sounds from superb (& varied) basses to soaring leads, from gentle to rip your ears off, and then there's the external input section if you want to go completely bonkers. For a few years I fed a bass guitar into it and then mixed the synth and bass together.
It also covers a massive gamut of sounds from superb (& varied) basses to soaring leads, from gentle to rip your ears off, and then there's the external input section if you want to go completely bonkers. For a few years I fed a bass guitar into it and then mixed the synth and bass together. The 2 main downsides are the non-standard HZ/V CV system, (which some new gear like the Beatstep Pro can produce however), and the non-standard labelling, e.g. an LFO is a modulation generator - not wrong just not the same name as everyone else! The upsides are the sound, the ease of use and the versatility. A machine I love and would never part with even for the silly money they can get these days.
Most late 70s/1980s synth bands used one at some point, but quickly left their arsenal as synths gained presets, multiple voices etc. I am unaware of them being used on any major hit, the most famous use I know of the Der Mussolini by DAF; what you can do with 1 synth, a drummer and a singer! Best played Loud 
