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My first - and only - 'high-end' keyboard was a Roland.

I was living in England at the time, and me and my band-mates took to hanging out in Cambridge and prowling the music stores looking for deals. I wanted, but could not afford a top of the line Yamaha DX-1 - so instead settled for a Roland JX-3P. This was 1983/84 timeframe. Rumor had it that Thomas Dolby acquired his keyboards from the same shop (but that is highly speculative - although interestingly the linked article does mention him - so my machine could have been from the same lot :p ). I never did buy the DCO controller unit - and spent many hours programming the thing through the push button interface (perhaps why I ended up becoming a computer programmer?). It also included a pitch bender (to get the effect equivalent to slurring notes) and a rudimentary midi interface - which I never used.

I remember seeing a Moog synth - a Prodigy in the same store - slightly used - and I kick myself for not getting that one instead - again lacked the cash flow. I did purchase a BOSS DR 110 drum machine which I used for composing, and when our drummer would crap out on us; I ended up loaning that to a friend in later years - and never saw it again (friend having moved with no return address). Also acquired a BOSS DM-3 Analog Delay floor switch unit - used that as a general purpose delay for all kinds of ambient effects - and still own it today (great little unit) and use it with my guitar.

When I came back to the states I got an electrician to modify the power supply on the keyboard to handle US power. After a few years I gave it to my sister who was studying music in college at the time. No idea where it is or what it is doing now...(sigh)

This new Korg sounds interesting (combining both my love of computers and music in one device). I wonder if I will have to sell my firstborn to afford it? Has anyone priced these? Would it be better for me just to get a good midi capable soundcard and some computer software combined with a cheaper keyboard?

My first - and only - 'high-end' keyboard was a Roland.

I was living in England at the time, and me and my band-mates took to hanging out in Cambridge and prowling the music stores looking for deals. I wanted, but could not afford a top of the line Yamaha DX-1 - so instead settled for a Roland JX-3P. This was 1983/84 timeframe. Rumor had it that Thomas Dolby acquired his keyboards from the same shop (but that is highly speculative - although interestingly the linked article does mention him - so my machine could have been from the same lot :p ). I never did buy the DCO controller unit - and spent many hours programming the thing through the push button interface (perhaps why I ended up becoming a computer programmer?). It also included a pitch bender (to get the effect equivalent to slurring notes) and a rudimentary midi interface - which I never used.

I remember seeing a Moog synth - a Prodigy in the same store - slightly used - and I kick myself for not getting that one instead - again lacked the cash flow. I did purchase a BOSS DR 110 drum machine which I used for composing, and when our drummer would crap out on us; I ended up loaning that to a friend in later years - and never saw it again (friend having moved with no return address). Also acquired a BOSS DM-3 Analog Delay floor switch unit - used that as a general purpose delay for all kinds of ambient effects - and still own it today (great little unit) and use it with my guitar.

When I came back to the states I got an electrician to modify the power supply on the keyboard to handle US power. After a few years I gave it to my sister who was studying music in college at the time. No idea where it is or what it is doing now...(sigh)

This new Korg sounds interesting (combining both my love of computers and music in one device). I wonder if I will have to sell my firstborn to afford it? Has anyone priced these? Would it be better for me just to get a good midi capable soundcard and some computer software combined with a cheaper keyboard?

Yeah! Tell me about it. Nice present from Redmond guys. But let me tell you a happy story! Open Source world gave me the nicest Christmas present I could ever imagine! (well.. I had to download some software and compile a few libraries to make it work, but..)

Linux audio community gave me Yamaha DX-7 synthesizer! This is my dream come true, I can now play some great tunes that made this synthesizer one of the most well known synthesizers. This synthesizer was used on U2's Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree albums. This synthesizer was used by these artists: the Crystal Method, Kraftwerk, Underworld, Orbital, BT, Talking Heads, Brian Eno, Tony Banks, Mike Lindup of Level 42, Jan Hammer, Roger Hodgson, Teddy Riley, Brian Eno, T Lavitz of the Dregs, Sir George Martin, Supertramp, Phil Collins, Stevie Wonder, Daryl Hall, Steve Winwood, Scritti Politti, Babyface, Peter-John Vettese, Depeche Mode, D:Ream, Front 242, U2, A-Ha, Enya, The Cure, Astral Projection, Fluke, Kitaro, Vangelis, Elton John, James Horner, Toto, Donald Fagen, Michael McDonald, Chick Corea, Level 42, Queen, Yes, Michael Boddicker, Julian Lennon, Jean-Michel Jarre, Sneaker Pimps, Greg Phillanganes, Stabbing Westward and Herbie Hancock to name a few.

Can you imagine that? And all this for FREE! Thanks to you guys who made that software synthesizer for Linux!

Wanna have it? Here's where to start.

You see, sometimes the best Christmas presents can be free! Happy Christmas and thank you very much, Open Source world!

Some people still dont like software synths. There are still people that prefer to twidle with actual knobs and sliders. Hell the Roland System 700 which came out in the 80's and cost thousands is still in heavy use by those that know how to use them. You can't compare http://www.vintagesynth.org/roland/sys700.shtml to any software package.

I think it was the fault of the K1 throwing random MIDI data at the Proteus, but since it had proved itself to be unreliable in performance, I (quite sadly) had to sell the Proteus - I couldn't afford to replace the K1.

Of course, you can now get all five Proteus modules on CD for about $100US.

These days, I pretty much stick to playing the piano - I know it's not going to fail me, even if the power completely shuts down.

Hrm... I just noticed this blurb on the page for the OrchEXTRA, apparently the budget version of the Sinfonia (emphasis added):

• With OrchEXTRA in the pit, actors on stage feel fully supported while the pit musicians experience the thrill of playing with a full orchestra.

Wow! The thrill of being able to play with a full orchestra! I know it's the kind of thing that thrilled me when I started playing in the orchestra in school - the chance to actually play along with a real, live OrchEXTRA! (Iknow - the fact that my school actually had an orchestra makes me really, really old.)

So it's not a substitute, it's the real thing.

I think it was the fault of the K1 throwing random MIDI data at the Proteus, but since it had proved itself to be unreliable in performance, I (quite sadly) had to sell the Proteus - I couldn't afford to replace the K1.

Of course, you can now get all five Proteus modules on CD for about $100US.

These days, I pretty much stick to playing the piano - I know it's not going to fail me, even if the power completely shuts down.

Hrm... I just noticed this blurb on the page for the OrchEXTRA, apparently the budget version of the Sinfonia (emphasis added):

• With OrchEXTRA in the pit, actors on stage feel fully supported while the pit musicians experience the thrill of playing with a full orchestra.

Wow! The thrill of being able to play with a full orchestra! I know it's the kind of thing that thrilled me when I started playing in the orchestra in school - the chance to actually play along with a real, live OrchEXTRA! (Iknow - the fact that my school actually had an orchestra makes me really, really old.)

So it's not a substitute, it's the real thing.

How come something that emulates the MT-32 1987 sound module that most people haven't heard of gets into trouble, yet programs like Propellerheads's Rebirth, which emulates three much-sought after pices of Roland gear, seems to have no trouble? Did they pay royalties or something? What about Native Instruments cloning Yamaha's DX-7 synthesiser and Sequential Circuits's Prophet 5?

Cher really abused it on that "Believe" song.

Nearly. It was a vocoder, but the end effect is very similar. The main practical difference is that vocoders can be used to make anything sound in pitch, and even let people sing chords rather than single notes. That and they've been around far longer. Hmm, maybe I should submit them as a new technology for a Slashdot article...

Off-topic but for general sci-fi IMO a better organ would be a Yamaha cs-80, a 200+ pound analog synth used as the main axe in Blade Runner and Doctor Who. Another personal favorite would be a Synthi 100 (scroll down) used in the HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Doctor Who. For simple devices, just get a theremin. Of all of them my next purchase will be an EMS Synthi A - weird sounds emanating from a briefcase, what could be better?