Date: Tue, 5 May 1998 11:45:18 -0400 From: Chad Gould To: "'analogue@hyperreal.org'" Subject: RE: Roland MKS series opinions? Here is a rundown of MKSes. Keep in mind I've only tried the MKS-7, a-Juno. I have a MKS-80, I have a Juno 106. The rest is based off of archive junk. - MKS-7. It DOES sound as good as a Juno 106. But no real time tweakability without one which IMHO severely limits its appeal. Engineering mode is a nightmare. Still a cheap way to get your Juno + TR707. $325 net. - MKS-10. Cheesy piano. $100 net. - MKS-20. Another cheesy piano. Goes for a bit more, though, I don't know why. $300 net. - MKS-30. JX-3P equivilent. Distinctively good for bassy and weird sounds, according to opinions. $350 net, maybe $400 w/ programmer. - MKS-50. Alpha Juno in a rack. Haven't tried 50 but have tried Alpha Juno. Harder than the Juno 106, good bass, fuzz, and other simple analog sounds. Avoid the infamous Amsterdam patch. $350 net, add $50-$100 for programmer. - MKS-70. JX-10 equivilent. Also equivilent to two JX8Ps in a rack. Never played but opinions are it is an EXCELLENT pad machine. Dark, slow, evolving things. $500-$700 net, the high end more for those with programmer. - MKS-80. Super Jupiter. Neither a Jupiter 8 nor a Jupiter 6 - its close to the 6 but it has much better bass and lacks of a multi-mode filter. Best as low bassy pads or soft high arpeggiations IMHO. $900-$1000 net, add $400 for programmer (yeesh!). - MKS-100. Rackmount S-10 sampler. Not analog. Never tried. $200 net. Other rack mount analogs: True polyphonic: Oberheim OBMX (eh), Korg EX800 (rack Poly 800), Oberheim Matrix 6R, Matrix 1000. True monophonic: Novation Bassstation (eh), Superbasstation, Waldorf Pulse (this thing rocks. Get one. (: ), Studio Electronics SE-1 (rack Minimoog sortav clone), ATC-1 (nice), and about 20 rack mount TB-303 clones. Hybrid polyphonic (completely digital oscillators at least): Waldorf Microwave 1 (rack PPGish clone), Ensoniq ESQ-M (rack ESQ-1), Seq Circuit Prophet VS Rack, Korg EX8000 (rack DW8000). And, finally, just a note as far as analog goes. The MKS-80 as far as I'm aware is the ONLY polyphonic rackmount with VCOs (aside from the OBMX, which IMHO is crap). The other polys in the list are all DCO-based. My MKS-80 (rev 4) is a HUGE and quite heavy monster for a 2U rackmount - no doubt, with 16 CEM VCO chips, 16 Roland VCF chips, and 8 CEM VCAs in it, it's a bit more complicated than the 6 "voice in a chip" CEMs / CPU-aided DCO the Matrix 6R/1000 uses. And the MKS-80 has help with things like software-generated envelopes (something which large polyphonics like the Jup 8 don't have). I think mere practicality kept VCO analogs out of racks for the most part. Only recently has things like discrete surface mount parts emerged that might make polyphonic full analog-in-a-rack even possible. ___________________________________________________ Chad Gould > Date: Tue, 5 May 98 00:53:14 -0600 > From: Caeli > Subject: Roland MKS series opinions? > > never have much space I was thinking about checking out the ROLAND MKS > series, I don't have any polyphonic/multi-timbral gear which is a void > also. Since I know you have them and LOVE/HATE the rack beasties I was > wanting opinions and price estimates. I searched the web and was able to > find a bit of information though your opinions would be greatly > appreciated on the following > What about other rack mount analogs? There's the Obie's the 1000 and the > 6r,the Bass Stations and the Wave? Besides those I'm drawing a blank it's > really a shame that as soon as the technology to rack and midi everything > came along, it all went F*C*I*G D*G!T#L >