Which is better Korg Poly 61 or Korg DW8000

[itallstartswiththemics]

I want a fully analog synth, but i will settle with a somewhat analog synth. I was going for an emeralds or oneohtrix point never sound. for playing ambient/drone music. Which synth between the two would be better suited for that application. I know what synths each of those bands have, but i want a cheaper synth to start out with, to learn the ropes and to see if i want to invest in a $1000 plus synth. or any other suggestions of cheap analog or mostly analog synths. Thanks

[accordion squeezist]

I could be wrong but I believe the Poly61 had real oscillators and filters with digital memory. The 8000 had some digital waveforms, maybe hybrid with real oscillators.
I bought a Poly61 when they first appeared. The store I purchased it from sold 700 that week, they were flying out the door while I was in the store.
Guys in rival bands would get together and compare their Poly61's ("Hey, what does YOURS sound like?") because they were analog and slightly different sounding.

[itallstartswiththemics]

would you recommend buying it..... would it fit for what i want? since you owned it

[kslight]

My personal experience and I'm a professional synth nut...

If you are just starting out get a synth with lots of hands on control. Neither the Poly 61 nor the DW8000 really fit that bill. Yes you can program them, but it's frustrating to me to use the shitty user interface.

I am not familiar with your sonic reference points.. But I had a DW8000 for a few months, and it was the first I sold. It did a few cool things but nothing groundbreaking and I didn't dig the programming. The Poly61 is about the first Korg button programming synth, I'm not a fan of this era. It is somewhat similar to a Polysix, which I would highly recommend over the Poly61. But the Polysix had a famous battery leakage problem which killed a lot of these. I would not recommend either of the synths you suggested unless they were cheap and working...both are nearly 30 years old so they will have problems.

I love my analogs but I only buy them low...most are simply not worth the eBay prices they command, you need to budget for maintenance, and they aren't very giggable.

The good news is if you don't overpay or buy a dud you should be able to turn around whatever you buy if you hate it...

These are getting a bit well known and more expensive now but the Akai AX60 is a good budget Juno-like analog polysynth...actually I prefer it to the Juno. I got
mine for $33...they typically sell around $300-400 though.


I'm assuming you don't want a mono synth?

[itallstartswiththemics]

i wouldnt mind a mono synth. i would love one with a arpeggiator on it. so what would be cheap, analog, arpeggiated, mono or poly, and ambient sounding.......

[kslight]

i wouldnt mind a mono synth. i would love one with a arpeggiator on it. so what would be cheap, analog, arpeggiated, mono or poly, and ambient sounding.......

1. Define cheap. 2. For ambience, add reverb.

[itallstartswiththemics]

well for my first one i would say like 300. i want a juno 60 next. but i want a cheap one to start. thats why those two looked so good to me.

[kslight]

Honestly the Akai AX60 fits everything you want and more... Six voice analog, arpeggiator, MIDI, patch memory, hands on control, and similar sound to a Juno without the price tag. I would seek one of these out and you might have to pay more than $300 with shipping.. but then you won't need a Juno. You won't find a better analog value than that unless you steal it...there just isn't anything analog out there in your price range that is worth having unless it's broken. Be prepared to spend a little money on a new battery and recapping the power supply (about $10 in parts and maybe an hour in labor) unless you do your own tech work. This is normal and should be assumed for any synth or piece of equipment really this age, and then it'll be good to go for a long time.

[accordion squeezist]

I agree with these guys. Forget the Poly61 and the 8000.
Akai AX60 or Roland JX8-P would be cool.

[itallstartswiththemics]

where can i get an akai ax60? for cheap? ebay always asks for to much

[kslight]

where can i get an akai ax60? for cheap? ebay always asks for to much

That is the truth of buying vintage synths.. Easy to find cheap they are not.

Every cheap synth purchase in the last 5 years I've made has been through word of mouth or Craigslist... 10 years ago analog synths were cheap and plentiful on eBay too...but no more due to supply/demand.

Craigslist is pure dumb luck/right place and right time....usually good place to find broken synths for cheap.. eBay for those times when you need something specific.

I'd offer to sell my AX60 or any number of other synths I'm working on when they're done being restored but I am not any cheaper than eBay.

Your best bet is to stalk eBay...they usually show up every couple weeks...unless you find someone on Gearslutz or whatever that you trust.

[itallstartswiththemics]

well if you have a synth for sale..... tell me and tell me how much. i am always looking for someone oh restores as well as sells. thanks for all of your help. i would rather buy it from you then someone random on ebay. i will hunt craiglist as well.