Redirect Your GAS // Recommending Used Synths Based on New Releases // Spring 2021 

Think you missed to mention the Roland/Studio Electronics SE-02 as a very cheap alternative to get that Moog sound with preset storage. Highly recommend if you don't have too chunky fingers.

"Do not buy that!" from the intro - that's exactly how the voice of reason used to sound like in my head before I suppressed it

Novation is doing a great job maintaining gear for the long term. They really do a great job with not just throwing out new models. They’re building on what they’re releasing, and supporting current owners. I like that. Bass station owners really have gotten their bang for the buck.

Here’s a G.A.S. remedy that worked for me: Put all your gear away and out of sight. Don’t touch it or think about it for three months or more. Also, don’t watch any RU-vid videos about gear. This helped me re-develop a desire for the gear I already had. Not only that, when I finally decided to get back into my gear, I did it slowly. First and only piece of gear I set back up was a midi controller-my Arturia Keylab 61. So for a month I played only it and my plug-in synths. Mostly Arturia Piano and Electric piano. Only now, after four months am I starting to set up my Maschine Mikro for working on tracks, my synths and my drum machines.. And not only that, I’ve set it up in a different arrangement. Previously I had everything connected to everything else. Now I only have a few pieces connected to my M1 Mac Mini and the rest set off to the side just for enjoying playing. This helped me appreciate what I already had immensely! Not only that but I have extra $$$ in my “pocket”. I also still have G.A.S. but it’s so much easier to NOT BUY new stuff even though I’ve freed-up enough cash and cleared enough credit to buy just about anything I want. I just……well……don’t. But I do have a “jones” to at some point in the next few years, buy either a “vintage” synth-a Prophet or Oberheim-or their modern recreations. So try to enjoy the gear you already have without any pressure to create or any FOMO. Just enjoy playing and creating.

Great series. I bought lots of cheap rackmount synthesizers for pennies on the dollar back when soft synths first became popular. I actually like learning the hard to use UI on most of them. Don't need knobs and sliders that much. Always DAW-less. Just an old man in love with sounds.

you should do this recommendations videos so much more often. just covering older, somewhat forgotten synths (or they simply were never that big, in terms of audience), with huge value for the money

I have a Yamaha SY77, which can be had for probably $500. It's a worthy successor to the DX7 series. And it was Yamaha's answer to the Roland D-50 and Korg M1. Well worth checking out if you want FM. The DX27 was my first synth in '85. It does the 'Lately bass' (called 'Solid Bass'), that everyone loves, but I find it hard to recommend. I sold it a few years ago for much more than I ever thought I'd get. I'm told the TX81z and the DX21 (keyboard version, I believe) are better 4OP choices since they have additional waveforms not found in the DX27/100.

There's two things that I would love to see a synth RU-vidr talk about. One is suggestions for amps and monitors when using multiple instruments, both for live and studio contexts. Secondly I'd love to see a series in which someone builds setups for specific genres, especially ones outside of EDM. Great job with what you've made so far and I wish you the best of luck

Hell yeah I have been telling everyone that the bass station 2 is hands down the best bang for your buck analog mono synth out there. The digital features, especially with the 2.0 firmware update, make it twice the synth that the moog mono synths can be. Seriously it's so loaded with features and has ao much patch storage; it's WAY more than just an analog sound processing synth

Rest in peace Dave Smith... Great video, man.

Keep going with this series, I really enjoy the talk of price points and getting good deals. I've snagged a couple decent deals with the Ebay "ending soonest" method.

I think it’s a great idea! I’m a piano player who is getting into the world of synths so this series is super helpful! I like the idea of the 5-10 deep dives on individual gear!

Great idea! I think many of us can’t buy all the expensive high end gear, and there are lots of cheaper or used options that sound great.

Great concept. But the ability to buy more gear for less is exactly what fuels my GAS

"I don't know if this is a great idea." This IS a great idea. I have a similar approach every time I start getting that gear lust. I actually recently came to the same conclusion re: the Prophet 5 rev 4. Recently read that a firmware update lets you use the slop knob on Prophet 6/OB-6 to replicate the function of the Vintage knob on the prophet 5. Done and done. Next purchase is either Prophet 6 or OB-6 (leaning toward the OB). Anyway, I look forward to more of this series.

Would dig a workflow vid on the BassStation !

The GAS got to me again and I pre-ordered a Sonicware Liven XFM. Looks like a fun thing to use.

This is such an underrated channel.

Aw man, this is a brilliant concept, and proving quite effective in making me expand my ebay searches

In 99% of cases...I realize I already own something that can do everything the new gear can do. Haha My purchases are much more throught out these days. =) Love your channel!

More videos like this - very helpful. I'm a Moog fan, but WAY out of my price range, so good to hear about different options.

Great concept for a vid!

For the DX type of FM I`d go with software as they are 100% digital and use cases are different (dial in a static instrument patch instead of constantly modulating a signal) they don`t need that much of a tactile feedback

Nice recommendations. In the FM category I'd also include the elusive KORG DS-8. It's cheaper than the Yamahas and WAY more simple to program.

this is an incredible video idea. you should do these for sequencers and string synths, and and keyboard that do niche sounds like vibraphones or something. just something i’d like

Regarding the Prophet 600, keep in mind that Behringer are soon coming out with the Pro-800 for €600.

This was great! Keep the videos coming!

Love this idea. Hope to see more gems like the AX60. Can’t wait for more man!

subbing man. great content all around

Making my way through the archives of this channel - this is a great series! Love it. I'm a plugin synth guy, but I studied analog synthesis in college and am still very interested in synths. Love the channel.

Absolutely works for ME!!! I appreciate it very much!!! THANK MUCH! Please keep it up!

great really helpful for me just getting into synths / hardware. maybe cut a few of the classic / best patches in from each for good measure/ great job!

It’s a great idea. I’ve been mesmerized by the Seq. Pro 3 and keep saving, but now I’m reconsidering. Thanks!

Actually what killed my Opsix GAS pretty hard and seriously kicking the butt of both the Volca FM and DIgitone is the new Liven XFM - it's going to be around 200 quid. It's only 4 OP but has filters and loads of cool features.

Great video Jorb! I would love to see a video like this covering drum machines and groove boxes :)

The Opsix is worth every cent it costs! :D I even preordered mine and it's with me since its release. That's one of the synths, i'd sell last if i'd have an financial emergency. It sounds damn fine, makes programming complex sounds in this complex engine really easy and most importantly, it is so much more than a FM synth! Its additional operator types give it much more possibilities than a "pure" FM synth would ever offer. Ring Mod, Filter FM, Filters on in the operator "block", wavefolding and certain FX like EQs, Phaser, comb filter or distortion open up so many new sounds. Combine that with the freely routable user algorithm and you've got yourself a litte modular system within this box. That's an aspect of the Opsix which gets lost very often as it's mostly presented as an "extended FM" synth.

Akai AX-60 is the cheaper vintage evil twin of the Juno 106.

Waiting for part two Jorb! I really appreciate the information you've provided about used gear.

Well done I look forward to your next.

Great idea, very useful and presented charmingly! Now let's hope not too many folks will see this and drive prices up :)

Another good new video series idea. I ended up buying a Nord Lead 2 after watching your in depth, not sure why I hadn't bought one previously. Agree with your comments on buying used synths, the last time I've bought something new recently was the Erica DB-01. It was well worth it thankfully.

This is a nice idea, cheers man. It's really good to see the links between synths

Yo jorb i really enjoy your stuff GAS is really helpfull idea i recently saved up some money and have a really hard time deciding on a sampler i might go with the mpc 1000 but the digitakt looks so sexy dont know with old vs. new gear im always conflicted

Totally dig it , KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK !!!

Too late for me ...I HAD to get the Opsix. I've had a DX7 & DX100, and after the Opsix, I could never go back to programming them. Glad to find you Jorb. Subscribed :)

I don't wanna hear any this, but I need to hear it. Great stuff. Thanks for the video.

Love this idea. Found it real useful. Considering a bass station now more than ever...

Korg OpSix is really a sleeper. You have make it a 6 osc analog style subtractive and with Fx and modulation for voice spread - I initially thought- who needs another lame FM but watching oscillator sync video made me give it a try. So glad I did

If your'e doing annother episode like this, maybe talk about doepfer eurorack modules? I think theyre absurdly underapreciated and great value, especially used.

great presentation. It's always good to let people know the more affordable counterparts to newer synths. Prophet 5 completely lost my interest when it came with a mono output jack, the prophet 6 having pan spread is so much more desirable in that respect.

Great idea, these videos. BTW: There are so many options for 4op fm synths, but one looks so weird it sometimes turns up cheap, because it just looks like an 80’s answering machine. the Yamaha TQ5. Hidden gem, tx81z inside plus an 8 track sequencer and a couple of effects.

Nice job! FYI Firmware 2.x on the Minotaur gives you presets. Keep the videos coming!

Best advice - just buy as many Deepminds as you have room for. Just leave space for a sampler or a drum machine. Picked up a pretty mint DX27 for £90 a few days ago. there are still bargains to be had but far less in the 'vintage' arena.

+1 on the Bass Station vid plx, would like to hear your take on it :) Keep up the good work Jorb!

keep making these!

This was really good, enjoyed your perspective and the way you presented this

that's what I like about the microfreak; what it does is pretty unique; and it's still a good first synth and a cheap one. Even in a full software based setup it make sense because there's no direct alternative on the software side either.

This is cool, I'm always interested in cheap alternative gear. Deep dives are also great!

No one seems to want to unload a Polybrute had to buy one new. Nothing else morphs at that price point.

There is another difference between the first behringer 2600 and the special edition ones. In addition to the real spring reverb, the components used in the filter circuit are higher quality and more authentic sounding. Plus on thomann usa you can get a brand new grey meanie for like $430 + shipping which is well under Sweetwaters price. As far as rackmount stuff goes, I almost don't even wanna talk about it because if you know, you know... ;) some of the best deals in the synth world exist in those crusty, unsexy rack and half rack units... ESPECIALLY if you like lo fi digital stuff.

I like this idea a lot. I'm sorta curious since you hit the big guys right off the bat as to how many of these you might be able to do, though. But this is a cool concept. Some suggestions for fleshing this out, and also going a step or two deeper on the ideas: talk a little about what is special about each of the headline pieces and about what is carried over and/or lost in the units you are suggesting redirecting to. Another suggestion (purely because I'd love to see this) is an episode around samplers. MPCs, EMU, vs Elektron, Korg Volca Sample, Rolands SX line, and so on. Ensoniq. Good luck with this! (Came from the Bad Gear parody, btw - funny!)

You should bring this series back

My friend owns and loves his novation bass station but has had odd issues with power supply/strange involuntary parameter changing during performance etc... Sounds awesome but does have that holding it back.

Also I don't know if you looked into old Kurzweil gear, but the K2xxx(R) is be one of the best digital synths available still to this day and the K2000R for example goes for about the price of a microfreak today; but once you go kurzweil and actually learn VAST you will quickly realize that there still isn't anything close in the new produced market, which is a shame considering it's now almost 30 years old.

Never seen the micro freak without the keyboard COOL! I haven’t got one as I hate the oddball keyboard on it, hope other people do that mod as I’d like to buy one!

I think I’m with you there on the tuning issues for the neutron. I got rid of mine due to tracking via cv and midi! And I totally want an Op6 too 🤣

The Yamaha tx81z is another great FM option

Man, buying the DX 7 at near the price of the Korg seems like a choice between consumption/better UX and/or getting something with the worst UI ever. It’s a tough call. The modules in the fm range seem to have a better price and some are even multitimbral. Plus they have less internal wear thanks to their construction. The main gripe I have with used electronic gear is that it doesn’t get better with age like wood in guitars/violins.

Love the format! Great video

I am in the same boat, I cannot buy new and full price gear. It's really nice finding good deals or stuff people under estimate. A lot of the lesser brands people over look are Akai, Crumar, Farfisa, Siel, Ensoniq. And one comment: To get that prophet/oberheim sound for cheap, a good alternative is the oberheim matrix 6, 6r, 1000 family. I got a Matrix-6 for $800 USD on ebay recently, free shipping too I believe. I wanted a P5 or OB6 and figured paying less than a third of the price for a Matrix-6 would be pretty good value. Weird rack mount synths, samplers and modules are cool too like the Roland EM101, Yamaha FB01, Yamaha TG77, Akai S612.

I thought the Model D from Behringer sounded very moogish for cheap. But lack of presets made me give it up. Hate spending a half hour fine tuning an patch but having to write down, snapshot or depend on own ability to redo it.

The Creamware PRO12 asb is also a good alternative for a Prophet and probably the cheapest option.

I would love one of these on a groovebox

Love the videos, if possible it’s helpful to include bookmarks in your videos for quick reference and repeat views

If I was on the market for a classic 4 operators FM synth I would go to the TX81Z instead of a DX21, 27 or 100 because despite the TX81z is 4 ops only like the orthers it offers more than sine waves to operate and it improves a lot its capabilities. And it's dirt cheap , it's multitimbral (thus you can layer sounds) and takes only 1U of rack space. (I assume you already have some sort of MIDI keyboard and real estate can be an issue for you)

Good video man!! Love your content

Man, I love the idea of this series, especially for hobbyists like me that don't have a lot of money to throw around, and don't have use for a professional array of synths, but are interested in acquiring some physical synths to mess around. I'm really torn between buying a Microfreak now (here in Europe it's possible to find them new for less than 250 Euros), or saving up and buying a DX7, or a Casio CZ-1, or a Deepmind 12. Even the Nord Lead 2 is interesting, so it's nice to know that the almost-one-thousand-bucks price for one is too high.

I love this video, I subbed just for this series. I have to ask though, how would you sell an iconic synth with a not-small price tag that's just not the flavor of the month? (for context, I have a Prophet VS)

Add to this list the Korg DS8 which is a 4 op Yamaha FM based synth. Sounds very good and quite cheap. Great value for the money.

I think I've bought two Synths New The arturia Microbrute and the Behringer MS-101 But yeah almost everything of mine is used as well. While I do agree, with your options, (maybe add a Microbrute in there as well a Mono analgue synth with knobs and stuff) please excuse me while I sound like "that guy" for the rest of the comments: That Prophet 5 is really expencive, too much for me and I agree with you to look for alts (you could go even cheaper and go for the Sequential Circuits MAX but there's strings attached to that one) That being said compared to used prices of previous Revs. That's actually kind of tempting. Like really tempting. DX7 if you don't like keys or you're trying to cut corners you could always get the Cheaper sound module version called the TX7. If you have the budget for the Korg OPSIX but looking for a behomth of a vintage FM synthesizer there's also the TX216 (Or 816 once fully upgraded). However I would highly recommend to anyone who is using these to download and used Dexed as well as programming these can be a bit of a Migrane. I'd also say beware 4 OP can sound harsher then their 6 OP brothers but that comes at a price and and if you're looking for something cheap you could always get the FB-01

Out of respect for you and this video series I created a second account to subscribe to you twice, legally it's not cheating cause of the benefit to the music community who are mostly broke, and second cause my cat created the second account, his name and everything:) Would love to see some videos for this series on midi keyboards, if it's already made than I'll for sure see it soon:) Thanks and take care

I sold my Sub 37 and picked up a Minitaur and some other stuff. For me the Minitaur covered the bass just as well as the 37. Doesn't have the modulation options of course or the sequencer, but it has that fat Moog bass.

Already super stoked for part 2 of this series! I’m really eying an ASM Hydrasynth at the moment and I’m curious if you have any thoughts on what alternatives may exist. Seems like its a pretty solid value for the price - particularly the desktop version for 800.

Yeah boyeeee, this is a great idea!

I picked up a model d from goiter center for 240 about a month back. The microbrute is still badass too. But honestly the first analog synth anyone should buy these days is the td-3.

Wow dx7’s are going up in price. I remember when they were less than $300

Just about every band I've seen, if they have a keyboard player, he has a Nord Lead 2. Strangely, over the past few years, I've seen very few RU-vidrs using them, except for Steve Roach and some of the other elders.

Nord lead 2 is slept on

Great video. More of these please. I am curious about the Prologue, I have the Monologue and really like the way it programs, it makes sense to me. Have you ever use them both for comparison? I have a Deepmind 12 and still haven’t come to terms with it, I like grittier sounds and it feels like I am fighting with it to get those sorts of sounds. Keep doing what you do

Novation bass station AND Korg monologue, surely I've gone too far?

be careful if you think a nordlead can replicate prophets, on paper maybe, but sonically the nordleads are pretty sterile (sorry)- they are great for other stuff the prophets cannot do: glassy, hifi sound, synced noise (very cool). had a NL2x and a P08 and could compare. Low end on the analogs is much more there, the NL are more mid range + treble in terms of frequency. THe NL are very good for the infamous house basses from the late 90ies (that sounded a bit like a jazz basses - I think you'll remember)

I would like to make a recommendation I gave to Jacob Haq as well, and this works really well! For a computer interface about ten years ago Behringer came out with an IPad interface called I studio. It says right on the box will work with ANY IPad. It has thirty pin thirty pin connection, lol, but guess what? It does! I bout 30 pin adapter to female USB and connected it to my brand new M2 Pro. These were sold for $100 new and didn’t sell very well. There are a ton out there still new in the box! Amazon sells the adapter for $8! It has midi, phantom powered connectors XRL, STEREO OUTs. Check it out!😢Behringer has instructions on how to tune the Neutron on their site, it’s really easy! I just got one and had to tune it. Also the QY is a little itty bitty Yamaha module for around $200, is FM and samples BUT 16 stereo sequencer. Tracks, 32 mono. I love love love mine! Jorb I love this idea! peace brother!

What do you think about the ASM HYDRAsynth ? Does it have an equivalent ? Does it interest you ? Big salut from France 🇫🇷 Vinz🙋‍♂️

The blue and grey 2600 also have some non-surface mount capacitors in the filter.

GENIUS idea of a series. Into it!

I'm not sure if you're into them, But I would love if you did this with drum machines and grooveboxes as well!

Future suggestion: the MS-20. I have the ipad app, which is pretty sweet (1/30 or less than the price of the hardware), but I am curious if there is really a viable replacement in hardware (compared to the mini, which is about $550).

Hell yeah, good vid.

I still find it crazy that the DX7 is so cheap despite being so influential I remember looking it up just to see how ridiculously expensive it was and being shocked they were like 500$. I’ve heard they’re an absolute nightmare to program though

Honestly there is so much overlap with gear these days. Now the JDXa is one that is really hard to replicate. I haven’t found something that unique in a while. Unfortunately Roland is so Roland it’s flawed, still a jewel among newer gear for sound design. Ah... and the Matrixbrute. Hate the Steiner Parker filter, but the sound design possibilities are pretty wild with the matrix. I guess you could supplement with a Neutron for a semi modular. But that interface is so slick on the MB.