About The Machines - Page 1 - Go to page 2 - 3 - 4
 ARP AXXE Model 2312 (1975):
Monophonic, single oscillator little monster. Full range 37-key synth with deep sub-bass and squeaky bleeps. As simple as they get really, VCO with saw, PWM and noise waveforms, single EG, LFO with sine, square and S&H, 24 dB/oct low-pass filter. Audio input, CV, Gate and Trig in/outs.
Rating: Sound: 8/10. Ease of use: 10/10. Connectability: 7/10. Overall: 9/10.
 Korg Mono/Poly (1981)
Monophonic or four-voice polyphonic dream-machine with 44-keys F to C. All four VCO's have their separate knobs: tune, waveform (triangle, saw, PWM, PW), range and level. Separate EG's for VCF and VCA. Two LFO's, 24 dB/oct low-pass filter, ring-modulation and arpeggiator. Trig and gate inputs/outputs, also VCO frequency, VCF frequency CV inputs and arpeggiator trig in. How good can it get? It can do so many different things that it still surprises me occasionally, even now after fifteen years of use.
This machine was true love at first sight for me.
Rating: Sound: 9/10. Ease of use: 8/10. Connectability: 8/10. Overall: 9/10.
 Korg PolySix (1981)
Monophonic or six-voice polyphonic (as you could guess by the name). Early 61-key programmable poly-synth which was actually affordable to regular people. VCO with saw, PW and PWM waveforms. Single EG and single LFO. 24 dB/oct low-pass filter and a nice multi-effect (chorus, phase and ensemble). Same arpeggiator as Mono/Poly. Trig and gate inputs/outputs, also VCF frequency CV input, chord-memory trig and arpeggiator trig in. Beware of leaking battery!
Rating: Sound: 7/10. Ease of use: 8/10. Connectability: 6/10. Overall: 7/10.
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 Roland MC-202 Micro Composer (1983)
The 202 is basically a SH-101 with a 32-note micro-keyboard and a two-channel sequencer. The sequencer is more advanced than that of the 303, and holds 2,600 notes. It can't store the data if the machine is turned off, however there is a tape interface to store sequences and there are CV/Gate outputs for both sequencer channels. The synth is standard Roland SH-style: Oscillator with saw and PWM waveforms, sub-osc switch, simple sine LFO, 24 dB/oct low-pass filter and ADSR envelope. It goes full range from sub-sonic to bat-frequencies with everything in between. All together this is a very powerful machine, both as a synth and as a dual CV/Gate sequencer.
Rating: Sound: 9/10. Ease of use: 9/10. Connectability: 8/10. Overall: 9/10.
 Roland SH-101 (1982)
The SH-series trace their heritage back to 1973 and the SH-1000, Roland’s and Japan’s first commercial synth. The 101 was the last of the old SH’s, and a real power-house. 32-note keyboard, arpeggiator and sequencer with clock input. It could run on batteries and had an optional modulation-grip and shoulder strap so it could act as a “keytar”. It came in three different colours: gray, blue and red. The sound section is almost identical to the 202, but has a LFO with four waveforms. The sequencer is absolutely lovely. Press the load button, play notes, press the play button and trigger it from your 606 or whatever you have that spits out a voltage. It’s that simple. The 101 is an amazing travel companion.
Rating: Sound: 9/10. Ease of use: 10/10. Connectability: 9/10. Overall: 9/10.
Machines - Page 1 - Go to page 2 - 3 - 4
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