OK, time to update the "wish" list (and I'm just really bored, unemployed, and just rediscovered the forum after a long time away).
First, scratch the Yamaha SY77 off my list. I bought one in the fall, and I love it. Admittedly, the disk drive doesn't work, but since I'm using it mostly for control, use a pc editor/librarian program to edit/save/transfer programs via midi, and use either the Emu PX-7 sequencer or my pc (running Reaper... the midi editing isn't super just yet, but it updates insanely often with new features rather than just micro-increments, and has outrageously good audio routing... plug plug
) so not having the SY77 disc drive isn't a problem. Coming from using a CZ-101 as my only keyboard (*caugh... I've never been much of a player, more of a programmer), suddenly getting aftertouch is a whole new world... and not one, but two mod wheels. More pedal inputs than you can shake a stick at (well, ok, four), plus Yamaha's breath controller... I'm building a little box of knobs and switches to sit on top of the keyboard and plug into these sockets, as I have a hard enough time co-ordinating my hands musically without involving my feet.
And so... in no particular order...
Wish List '08
1) Waldorf Q Rack (or a Q+, but that's less likely to cross my path) - I like Waldorf. I like them a lot. And I've read some great things about the Q, with full features rather than the somewhat reduced abilities of the Micro Q. And, if I understand correctly (feel free to burst my bubble), fully five oscillators (three virtual analog plus two wavetable), compared to...
2) Waldorf Bloefeld -- More wavetables and larger tables than the Q or Microwave XT, but only three oscillators (the first two virtual analog double as the two wavetable). On the other hand, for the first time, you can use different wavetables on each oscillator. And it's a really convenient size and looks good too.
3) DSI Prophet 08 Module -- It's a Prophet 5 reincarnated as a demi-god. And now it comes in a sweet desktop module. This thing is probably going to move several thousand units easy... Dave Smith ... damn, there just aren't enough great adjectives for Dave...
4) Moog Voyager (or Voyager Old School) -- Oh, come on... it's a Moog. Anybody who doesn't want to own at least one Moog product has some loose silicon in their head, or is maybe just too young to know any better and should be dismissed with grumbling stories that start with "Why, when I was your age..." and end with "uphill both ways, barefoot in the snow!" If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would be buying at least one of each of their product line (have you heard about their new guitar project?).
5) Alesis Micron -- Well, I've read good things about it. And it's cheap.
6) Korg MicroKORG special edition with reverse color keys -- Purty! And, from what I understand, not bad sounding either.
And finally... an analog modular rig. I guess everybody dreams of eventually owning one. I just can't decide which to go for (presuming, of course, that I could actually afford one). Serge systems are radically different design ideas than most other systems, and so can do some really unique things. Doepfer have a wide selection of modules and there are a number of other people making compatible modules. ModCan are made here in Canada, which radically simplifies shipping and taxes (damn that government, always sticking its fingers into other people's jam jars), they have a wide range of modules, and they even have two different form factors (one based on banana plugs, the other on 1/4 inch). And then there's more exotic/boutique options... Buchla, Macbeth (the M5N looks like a reincarnation of the ARP2600, with some extra features), building something myself with the limited electronic engineering knowledge I managed to retain after dropping out and transferring to English writing & rhetoric...
*sigh* well, back to dreaming...
Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2007 12:34 pm