The Ridiculous Want...
From the original Analog Industries archive. Some links and images from that era no longer resolve.
As I was driving back from Idaho, I was pondering a track I’m working on, and I was thinking “which synth should I use to make that AlphaSyntauri hollow pad sound…”
Try as I might, the AlphaSyntauri is probably the only synth I’ve really wanted but never managed to obtain. I actually had everything required at one point (up to and including a Decilionix sampler card, which actually worked fine) including two (!!!) AlphaSyntauri keyboards, two (!!!) sets of Mountain Computer cards, and all the software, including the educational stuff. And all the manuals.
However, the Mountain Computer cards were fukd by way of that stupid paper connector strip that lets the two cards talk to each other. I tried hard-wiring one pair, to no avail, then gradually gave the other stuff away to other people over a couple-year timespan.
I’ve had a couple people offer to sell me a complete working AlphaSyntauri system, but the offers always came at inopportune times. Either I was broke, or I was deep in to some other aspect of synthesis, so I either wasn’t able to or didn’t want to take advantage of the opportunity.
The other thing I’d really like, and it kind of goes hand in hand if you get lucky with the version of Apple ][ you’re using as the base station, is a Roland CMU-800R. Similar situation with the AlphaSyntauri, where I wasn’t able to take advantage of the one opportunity I had. (Actually, I was a little bit resentful, because the person that offered to sell me the system, who is an AI reader, was the one that outbid me on the ’Bay for it. Never mind the fact that I was broke when the offer came.)
If I could somehow cobble together a system that was able to be a Decilionix sampler, an AlphaSyntauri, and a CMU-800R using the same Apple ][, I’d be just about as happy as a boy could be. But now I’m back to being broke, courtesy of the IRS’s annual kneecapping, so it’s just left to ponder. Oh, well.
What’s your Moby Dick? (And I’m not talking about Moby’s dick; let’s just get that straight right away.) The mythic siren, who’s song calls you on to the rocks every time?
10 comments
i still desire a fairlight cmi IIx. i am surprised no one has released a plug-in version. it's not that i want to work in page r for sequencing. i really just want the sound banks. i used to feel the same way about the chamberlain and optigan, but samples have satiated that need.
a real piano!
I'd love to have a synclavier and a PPG wave... But I don't think either will happen.
i thought AlphaSyntauri was where that alien from "the last starfighter" was from?
oh... my moby dick is planet of the apes era raquel welch.
EMS Synthi AKS. Right now its within my reach but buying something that much on eBay scares the poop out of me. I've been on the waiting list at EMS for a new one for about 7 years. Every couple of months I call to see what is up and its the same story but I actually think its going to happen in the next year or so. Too bad he's not going to do another run of KS's.
Sascha beat me to it but Synthi AKS. They had one at my college and I could never shake whatever bug that silly ass thing gave me. I can't justify spending the money on it though because although fun, it is mostly useless.
One of these days I'll get myself a modular, and I'm hoping that will scratch the Synthi AKS itch.
I got cockblocked on a DJ mixer by Frankie Bones...literally was getting unracked to purchase and Bones walks in..Andy the tool guitar center salesman on northern blvd in Queens literally put the drill down...prances over glowing to Frankie and Frankie ended up getting the mixer somehow..clout..
CR check your PM on the CMU.
Excuse my gloating, but I found an EMS Putney at my kid's middle school and bought it off the school system for $750. It hadn't been turned on in 20 y ears, and half the silver 'hubcaps' for the knobs were gone, but after a few trips to a good local engineer, it works perfectly.
What I really want, I've actually used -- a friend of mine has about 10 Serge rack units -- 2 TKBs and pretty much every module you'd ever want, including 3 racks of original pre-Rex Probe modules. I think he may just have it in storage at this point, but I don't think I'll ever have the $25K it would cost to buy it from him.
I have no reason behind it but I always wanted a rack mounted fizmo.
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