New synth - Kawai K5000 and macro editor

I finally cracked and bought a Kawai K5000R, the last classic synth module I wanted. I paid far too much for it, and for the Macro Editor which I got separately. The K5000's additive synthesis sounds appear to be just as powerful and flexible as I thought, though the presets are uninspiring and I'll have to sort through some alternative patches to find the best ones. Interestingly, I was also prompted to power up the Kawai K5R and K3R, an additive synth and a digital waveform subtractive synth, and they both have some interesting sounds, but maybe not enough to justify the rack space they take up.

New synth - M-Audio Venom, came and went

I tried to get a demo of the M-Audio Venom some time ago, but the demonstrator from Avid didn't seem capable of explaining anything about it. I think the Venom has been a flop, and now I've discovered why. No wonder the company is now selling its M-Audio subsidiary. I bought one cheap from eBay on the principle that I could always re-sell it if I didn't like it, and that has proved to be the case, and I managed to re-sell it for roughly what I paid for it.

The trouble is that it's neither one thing nor another; it isn't a virtual analogue synth, it's based on samples of analogue instruments, yet it doesn't do as good a job as the Quasimidi instruments. The samples are few and gritty, the effects are grainy, and the presets are a boring assortment of acid sqeaks, belches, bloops and loops. Onboard editing is limited, and I wouldn't use the audio I/O features. So off it went. Now I've seen pics of the  Studiologic Sledge, obviously a more serious instrument at £700, though so far there don't seem to be any decent demos of it on the net.   

New synth - Red Sound Darkstar XP2

My latest eBay buy is a Red Sound Darkstar XP2, a desktop VA synth with a useful range of controls including a performance joystick. It's good for TB303-style basslines and reasonable for analogue pads (though it could do with a chorus unit). You can't fit Red Sound's vocoder conversion to this model - but I wouldn't be likely to do that even if I could find one, so that's not an issue. I found replacements for a couple of missing knobs, but not the joystick knob - Red Sound don't have them, so I wonder where I can find one of those?

New synth - Roland JD-990

Supposedly the rack equivalent of the JD-800 keyboard, what this lacks in real-time controls it makes up for in enhanced editing and effects functions. It certainly sounds great, and the fact that this came with the Vintage Synths add-on card means that it was almost worth the £300+ I gave for it. At least now I can sell my Vintage Synths module. The only synth I really want now is a Kawai K5000R, and the chances of finding one of those are pretty slim.

New synth - Casio VL-5

This couldn't have been more of a bargain - £2.50 from eBay. While the VL-1 (which I already have) seems to be very collectable, no-one seems much interested in its bigger cousin, the VL-5. The VL-5 is four-note polyphonic, and has a bar-code reader port for its monophonic sequencer. Unfortunately it doesn't have the sound synthesis features of the VL-1, just some preset tones. Never mind, it's nice to have, and this one's in lovely condition and came with a case.

New synth - Doepfer Pocket Control

Here's something I've been chasing for some time, a Doepfer Pocket Control. Basically similar to the PhatBoy and other MIDI controllers, it has presets for many useful applications including performance control of the Doepfer MAQ 16-3 sequencer - so it should be handy for that at least. Pity about the hideous camouflage finish, though...

New synth - Yamaha MU100R

The Yamaha MU100R isn't that interesting in itself - it's basically a G-MIDI module - but I bought this one because it comes with two optional boards fitted, the VL-PLG and VH-PLG. The first is essentially the same as the VL-70M, an acoustic modelling instrument which I've owned before and never been able to do much with. But since they now go for around £400, it was a bargain getting this MU100R for £200. The other board is a harmony generator, so probably not of much use except for vocals. The architecture of the MU100R is obtuse, but I've accessed its many interesting pad sounds plus the VL tones. My main ambition is to actually find a VL sound that's useable on my album!