Bummer, my Kurzweil ain't worth diddly.

[percussion boy]

It is true that a lot of hiphop guys really dig that. the Motif and several others can do a whole song soup to nuts. They even have mic amps on those things.
But seriously. Everyone I knew that was into workstations WAS doing hiphop.
It's pretty easy to go from an Akai sample sequencer to a workstation.
But for most of these dudes Pro Tools is the holy grail. They are obsessed with it. As if somehow pro tools will get them over the top of the competition.
Well that and the whole hyphy, dirty south and electro are way more of an analog synth vibe. Workstations were more current when Nas and Puff were current.

Interesting update, thanks.

One of these days we will get the whole thing in one small $500 box: The synth, the DAW, the preamp, maybe even the mic. And some 17 year old genius will do the next landmark album (or download, or wireless cerebral audio implant) on it.

----
Re the original topic: It might be worth keeping the Kurz in a corner with a potted plant on it. If you had a relationship with it in the past, you may want a fling in the future. That, or give it to a school.

[Andrew707]

Interesting update, thanks.

One of these days we will get the whole thing in one small $500 box: The synth, the DAW, the preamp, maybe even the mic. And some 17 year old genius will do the next landmark album...

I think Steve Jobs said something similar about the iMac and the video editor that comes with it, except, obviously, referring to film making.

At any rate, I'm still waiting on that one. Robert Rodriguez probably would have been that guy, except he did El Mariachi before computers took over the world

As far as the original topic. That sucks! I'll buy it for $800

Seriously, though, I've had a Kawai MP8 II for sale for a while now, at what I thought was a good price, yet not even a nibble on it. I'd rather keep it than sell for under a grand. Looks like it's a keeper.

[calaverasgrandes]

they were saying that about ADATs too when those came out!

[alex matson]

Looks like it's a keeper.

Yep. Maybe it's meant to be. I've raised most of the money I need for the Rickenbacker selling other stuff.

This is the first time I've had over two grand in the bank in years. Feels good man.

[apropos of nothing]

A sampling workstation is a must for me. My ASR-10 is the shortest path between here and a jam. Swear by it. I'll be kicking beats while the other guys are still shutting down their antivirus.

[The Real MC]

Ensoniq ASR/SD series were the peak of workstation user interface development. They still have a good value because users find the interface so intuitive.

[apropos of nothing]

And is it just me or does every other film score of the last fifteen years have the word "Kurzweil" branded on it in sans-serif?

(I like mine loaded up with outer limits samples and run through moogerfoogers and an external delay.)

[alex matson]

And is it just me or does every other film score of the last fifteen years have the word "Kurzweil" branded on it in sans-serif?

(I like mine loaded up with outer limits samples and run through moogerfoogers and an external delay.)

That's the thing. As a kid, finding out that the sounds I was discovering were made on an Arp 2600, Prophet, CS80 or Oberheim 4 voice, I always focused on having a dream synth of my own someday. But the target always shifted...more importantly, these sounds existed against a backdrop of extremely talented musicians playing great songs, whether it was Dave Stewart (Bill Bruford), Stevie Wonder or Lyle Mays.

This is a major hijack of my own thread...but the root of my problem was always a lack of musical focus. I really envy people who can say, "I heard Hank and knew what I wanted to do." When I was 20, I just thought I'd somehow incorporate prog rock into Neil Young, or whatever else I was digging. I guess I have gone from focusing on sound and virtuosity to tone, mood and message. But when I was sixteen, blasting Floyd, Yes and the Dregs through my headphones as my family slept, the gatefold album cover propped on my knees as I lay on the bed, these sounds suggested that these musicians existed on some other plane. It was magic. But I think it's analogous (!) to thinking your first girlfriend is the only person you'll ever love.

About the only modern types of music that I can think of (that I like) that the Kurzweil might have a worthwhile contribution to helping produce is Boards of Canada and Radiohead. And nobody wants to hear either of them being ripped off, if the ones that already have are any indication. This is not to say that, as someone pointed out, that something like Bon Iver's Woods might be a creative use of the Kurz's vocoder. I'm not blaming the tools. It's simply that good tone is expensive. (read: I still want to own a 4-voice someday.)
And what constitute's good tone for me at this point is generally made by something like Alan Sparhawk's tele played through a 60's vibroverb, or Tweedy's simple solo on the title track of last year's album. Or even my own CP80 running through some guitar pedals...

[Stevil]

it's all fashion. in 10 years someone will make a record using that old K2*** VAST synthesis & attribute it's character to the unique converters they used on the board & there will be a run on old digital synths cuz you "cant get those chips anymore". (see also: sidstation, EMU SP1200)
the current prevailing mentality is digital is digital, but as people start to realize the filters & converters are the source of the character in many sampled sounds, i think we'll see samplers bounce back a bit, just like we saw with analog synths dropping off a cliff in the early 90's & crawling back into the 00's. so stock up on old samplers now while they're cheap & sit on em for a decade or so til they become retro.

[Zygomorph]

Jeez, I'd LOVE to have a K2600. If you're doing very composerly-type electronic music, or intricate pop stuff, who wouldn't want 16 channels of *very* powerful sample-based synthesis that won't hiccup or crash?

I think a lot of people have the impression that digital is digital, but the K series is an extremely stable, very powerful purpose-built computer. I mean, yeah, I'd hate to have to load samples from floppy discs or upload things extremely slowly through sysex or find SCSI hardware. But still...

FWIW, Brian Eno reportedly has very nice things to say about the K series and used it quite a lot in his productions in the 90's. You can hear it all over Achtung Baby, for example. In fact, a lot of the cool digital-type distortion on that record is probably due to the K2600, waveshaping and the like.

[Andrew707]

Well, I'd honestly like to have a K2600, if I could afford one. I can't afford jack, right now, though.

And speaking of sample modules, there's a local selling an EMU Proteus-1 sound module for $80. I don't have any experience with those things, and not that it matters, since I can't afford even $80, but is it something you'd pick up if you had $80?

[alex matson]

There's a really easy way to get amazing pads out of the Kurz, fwiw...the main thing I think I was going to miss. A few years ago I was noticing the pad sound off peter gabriel's 'don't give up':
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiCRZLr9oRw

I really liked the way attack seemed to vary, so i was messing around with eliminating the attack on a flute patch and came up with the sound you can hear on this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gqTznX_lA4

Then I tried it on a piano sample and it was amazing. Organic, very responsive to velocity. It's kind of like the synth from Radiohead's "Where I End and you Begin" only without the pitchiness.

[RefD]

And speaking of sample modules, there's a local selling an EMU Proteus-1 sound module for $80. I don't have any experience with those things, and not that it matters, since I can't afford even $80, but is it something you'd pick up if you had $80?

if it was 100% functional, i would jump on it for $80.

sure, it's not terribly powerful or latest-greatest, but for that price it would be worth it for some of the sounds.

before they went under, EMU was selling a daughter board for their Proteus 1000/2000/2500 line called "Protozoa" that had the sounds from the 1/2/3 modules and it was pretty popular.

[alex matson]

I tell you what - the Ensoniq comment reminded me how much I used to love my Ensoniq KS-32. 76 weighted keys, pressure sensing that you could use to switch the Leslie speed on the not-too-shabby Hammond patches, and best of all, the damn thing was simple enough that if you want to do something, you can figure it out without looking at logarithms. My techno-loving friend and I once recorded what may be the world's only trance tune in 5/4 time on it. We named it Cosmic Pap. Great fun - sequence a track, then add filter mods via the wheel.

I bring it up because there's one on ebay for $99 clams.
Item number 180378316002.