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I dunno, finding a poly synth in the 300-400 price range with a full range of knobs is going to be hard. Even diy'in a mutable poly is going to cost more and still have limited control.

The esq-1's interface is pretty fluid and clear with the way they setup the display. I also find polysynths to have less of a need for real-time programming personally (kind of get the programming out of the way and it is more keyboard oriented). With monos and less voice synths, sure it is nice to give your other hand something to do (and make things seem more alive). I also think that a lot of these polys are setup with enough mod sources to kind of take care of the movement stuff, automated style.

A lot of modern poly synths still have very limited control (microkorg, op-1, tetra, etc).

Modern Dave Smith stuff may have a lot of knobs, but the programming almost feels less intuitive because there is still the screen for things like destination and to actually see what value you selected (which can be annoying)....and it has limited characters so it almost feels more difficult to me than the esq-1 (more values displayed on each page and less jumping around). I also just don't find myself tweaking knobs once I get a patch set...I kinda feel like my mod wheel, pitch, pedals, velocity, and after touch should be doing the work for me (but I've grown less tweaky with age and my first synths were the poly800 and redsound dark star).

There are polys out there with more ready control (like roland jx) but the feelings are fairly mixed. Yamaha reface might be nice, but mini keys... they all have flaws

That is just where I am coming from...I can totally understand the need for ready available, knob per function programming, it just isn't a deal breaker for me. On the other hand, all the different menus/os/synth schemes can get old and frustrating....so it is good to investigate and find something that works well with you as an individual.

Or get a jx-3p with the programmer and have the best of both worlds haha.

Ipad + Nanokey Studio ya'll.

oscillateur wrote:Buying an old knobless synth these days when there are so many other options seems weird to me...

knobFULL

plus man, you live in japan. japan still has every piece of amazing roland that ever existed before all the totally shitty shit they've put out the past decade or so.

i want to go to japan.

if you're interested in the GX7, check out the Volca FM. you can use a MIDI keyboard instead of that small surface. it's pretty amazing for what it is.. once you grasp how the operators work it opens up a whole new world. I'm in love with mine. haven't really played guitar since I got it fm synth + reverb = instant selected ambient works

My MI Ambika has become my main polysynth. The digital firmware controlling the oscillators with the analog filters/envelopes is absolutely incredible. I haven't even touched the amount of possibilities in the thing yet.

Not to mention the size of this thing compared to all others mentioned in here so far (minus the OP1)

How about looking at the yamaha reface range? I've been looking at them a little bit lately.

OP-1 is amazing, and it has a lot to offer. Sometimes you just want to have something simple though

Hey Santa 2016

The Reface's are a great idea, and very much welcomed, but I didn't like the keyboard feel, just a little too small (large keyboards are a little more welcomed as I don't intend to play out really, and I really want a full range.) They also sounded a pretty thin, and come across pretty limited, sort of like a "this gets you close to what you want, doesn't it!??" approach. Not to mention they cost as much as a DX7 or SY77 on a good day.

I've considered the Volca FM, it's really neat and intuitive, but the sound just isn't quite there for me. That's what keeps taking me back to the DX7. I get that it's hard to program, but there just isn't amother FM that matches the fullness and edge the DX7 mk1 has. May be as simple as the 12 bit converters, even the MK2 I played at the same time had quite the sound/feel.
That said, I think the the Volca FM something I'll pick up, for shows most likely, and what I'll dip my feet into FM with.

You say you want knobs??? How about this (DX7 controller abt to be released, only costs 4x more than the synth )

Holy shit!!! That is the most overwhelming thing I've ever seen I think.

Yeah, and that's a shitty interface for an instrument. More is not always better in that case.

vidret wrote:

D.o.S. wrote:

oscillateur wrote:Yeah, and that's a shitty interface for an instrument. More is not always better in that case.

Picked up the ESQ-1. This thing is MINT! So easy to program! If anything the select attribute>move 1 slider functionality has only increased my confidence in attempting the DX7 in the near future.

That said, there is more than enough to keep me busy here for the remainder of the year. I've played about 30 synths, in price range and well out, and I just knew when I test drove this at the sellers place that it was right for me. Just absolutely beautiful and stunning sounds. So simplistic in approach but so complex in possibilities.

Uhhhh fuck knobs? Haha I live being able to program a base sound and mutilate/evolve it with outboard effects. All the knobs I need really. I'll agree with the sentiments I've read elsewhere on it, absolutely slays in the Bell/"Organicly" moving Pad range. Not quite in the piano/rhodes/organ territory, but that's what I was after the least. Definitely feeling the Choir usability far more than any other synth I tried as well.

Really glad you like it!

It's really well laid out and a lot of fun.

What's a reasonable price on an ESQ-1 these days, out of curiosity?

I paid $299 for my NM specimen with the 80 preset Cart and OG manual included. I've seen the carts alone go for $100, and they are a bit of a necessity. That being said, I think it's EASILY a $400 synth on its own, and I do think in a few years we'll see it start selling for $600 with the RAM cart and sequencer expansion. It contends, and for me surpases, with the $1,000 range of Roland, Dave Smith, Kawai, and Korg I've auditioned.